Appleby Castle

Appleby Castle is in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland overlooking the River Eden (grid reference NY685200).

[NH 3] Ranulf le Meschin founded the castle at the beginning of the 12th century.

The castle was in royal hands when the Scottish king, William the Lion, invaded the Eden Valley in 1174.

[3] In 1203 the castle was granted to Robert I de Vipont by King John.

The castle was partly dismantled following a siege by roundhead forces in 1648, during the Second English Civil War.

[NH 2] Ferguson Industrial Holdings (FIH PLC) purchased the castle in 1973 and it became the primary residence of Denis Vernon, the company's CEO, and his family.

Vernon, a passionate conservationist, established a rare breeds survival centre.

Documentary and movie director Susannah White featured Denis Vernon and Appleby Castle in her 1998 BBC documentary The Gypsies Are Coming on Appleby Horse Fair.

It is a square stone building in two storeys with a pyramid roof and a door on the lower level.

Appleby Castle from above
The 12th-century Caesar's Tower
The Great Picture , a huge triptych measuring 8ft 5" high and 16ft 2" wide, commissioned in 1646 by Anne Clifford, attributed to Jan van Belcamp (1610–1653), formerly hung in Appleby Castle [ 2 ]
East range of Appleby Castle in 2002