The village lies between the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness in the Furness peninsula, Cumbria, England.

Gleaston Castle descended through the Harrington family until 1458 when it passed to William Bonville through marriage and was subsequently abandoned.

In the 14th century, the Scots attacked the Furness peninsula during the Scottish Wars of Independence; around the same time coastal erosion threatened Aldingham Motte.

These factors may have led to the Harrington family abandoning Aldingham and establishing the administrative centre of the manor at the newly built Gleaston Castle, though the construction work could have been the result of their growing social status,[1] and they may have needed more room for a greater number of servants.

In 1415 John Harington was granted a papal indult for a private chapel and a portable altar for mass.

[4] According to a 1905 document from the Cumbria Archive Centre up to four human skeletons were discovered at the castle in the 19th century when the farm buildings were built.

[11] Since the late 20th century there have been efforts to preserve the site: in 1998 the Lancaster University Archaeological Unit conducted an assessment of the standing building for further research and whether it would be possible to open the building to the public, but Historic England notes that "no agreement was reached regarding a scheme of consolidation"[11][12][13] The castle's precarious condition meant that the structure was not fully recorded until 2015, when the Morecambe Bay Partnership with funding from the Castle Studies Trust commissioned Greenlane Archaeology to carry out an aerial survey of the site.

In 2016 the University of Central Lancashire undertook a geophysical survey, using it as training for archaeology students and volunteers.

The remains consist largely of limestone, which was quarried locally, while sandstone was used for doors and windows.

[21] John Harrington was given a licence to create a 600-acre (240 ha) park in Aldingham manor and, while its location is uncertain, it may have been east of the castle.

It is likely that the manor’s mill was also close to the castle, allowing the Harrington family to control an important local economic resource.

According to Greenlane Archaeology, establishing how the castle related to the wider landscape has been identified as a future research priority.