'Muncaster Castle & Gardens'

Muncaster, Ravenglass, CA18 1RQ. Tel 01229 717614.
Grid Ref 96: SD 103964
Email: information@muncastercastle.co.uk

The Great Hall

A tour of the castle may be made, with audio commentary, narrated by Patrick Gordon-Duff-Pennington, the present owner. He describes what can be seen in the Great Hall, the Library, the Dining Room, the Drawing Room and the Bedrooms.

The Great Hall was the central room in medieval times, with the rest of the accommodation leading from it - the kitchen (on the site of the libary), the servant's hall, and the pele tower which was primarily a defensive refuge. Over the door to the libary is a rare portrait of King Henry VI. In 1780 the Hall became the Dining Room. Various portraits and studies of horses hang in the Hall, and there are some Flemish wood carvings from the early 17th Century.

The Library

The Libary is one of the most acclaimed rooms in the Castle, with its brass railing and elegant coved ceiling. It dates from 1780, though alterations were made in 1862 by Anthony Salvin for the fourth Baron Muncaster. The library stands on the site of the medieval kitchens, and countains about 6000 volumes. There is an Elizabethan banqueting table, on which is a collection of miniature furniture, made as samples during the reign of Charles II. There are various portraits in the gallery, mostly of Penningtons.

The pictures on this page were supplied by Muncaster Castle.