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39-558: Appleby Castle is in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland overlooking the River Eden ( grid reference NY685200 ). It consists of a 12th-century castle keep which is known as Caesar's Tower, and a mansion house. These, together with their associated buildings, are set in a courtyard surrounded by curtain walls. Caesar's Tower and the mansion house are each recorded in the National Heritage List for England as

78-473: A "stepped" form, with each merlon shaped like an inverted 'T'. European architects persistently used battlements as a purely decorative feature throughout the Decorated and Perpendicular periods of Gothic architecture. They not only occur on parapets but on the transoms of windows and on the tie-beams of roofs and on screens, and even on Tudor chimney-pots. A further decorative treatment appears in

117-544: A Misplaced Pages page: Battlement The function of battlements in war is to protect the defenders by giving them part of the parapet to hide behind, from which they can quickly expose themselves to launch projectiles, then retreat behind the parapet. A defensive building might be designed and built with battlements, or a manor house might be fortified by adding battlements, where no parapet previously existed, or cutting crenellations into its existing parapet wall. A distinctive feature of late medieval English church architecture

156-402: A basic deterrent against wandering bands of thieves, and it is suggested that the function of battlements was comparable to the modern practice of householders fitting highly visible CC TV and burglar alarms, often merely dummies. The crown usually did not charge for the granting of such licences, but occasionally charged a fee of about half a mark . Battlements may be stepped out to overhang

195-596: A designated Grade I listed building . The uninhabited parts of the castle are a scheduled ancient monument . Ranulf le Meschin founded the castle at the beginning of the 12th century. In about 1170 the square stone keep known as Caesar's Tower was built. The castle was in royal hands when the Scottish king, William the Lion , invaded the Eden Valley in 1174. The constable of the castle surrendered without

234-491: A fight. In 1203 the castle was granted to Robert I de Vipont by King John . In 1264 it came into the possession of Roger de Clifford , through his marriage to Isabel de Vipont, one of the two daughters and co-heiress of Robert II de Vipont. Appleby Castle remained for nearly 400 years in the ownership of the Clifford family, who were responsible for much restoration of the castle. Roger's son, Robert de Clifford , inherited

273-478: A gap of any kind, for example a parking space at the side of the road between two cars, interval between groups of marching troops or a timeslot in a broadcast. In medieval England and Wales a licence to crenellate granted the holder permission to fortify their property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within their jurisdictions, e.g. by the Bishops of Durham and

312-544: A siege by roundhead forces in 1648, during the Second English Civil War . However, it was restored by Lady Anne Clifford in 1651–53. On her death the castle passed to the Earls of Thanet . They were responsible for converting the hall block into a classical mansion house. The upper parts of Caesar's Tower were altered in the 17th and 18th centuries. The house was largely rebuilt in 1686 and the northwest wing

351-407: Is a square stone building in two storeys with a pyramid roof and a door on the lower level. The upper level has a pointed arched window on each of three sides and a door on the fourth side. It is also listed Grade I. Two stretches of the sandstone outer walls to the castle dating mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries are listed Grade II, as is the battlemented North Lodge which dates from

390-641: Is a stop on the Settle-Carlisle Line . It was opened by the Midland Railway in 1876. Northern Trains operates a generally two-hourly service in each direction between Leeds and Carlisle , via Settle . Appleby East station also served the town on the North Eastern Railway ; it was closed in 1962. As of November 2024 the town is served by two bus routes: A chronological list of notables from Appleby with

429-487: Is held on the first weekend of June. Appleby Agricultural Society, founded in 1841, puts on an annual show. From 1989 to 2007 it hosted the Appleby Jazz Festival . Other local events are listed on the community website. Appleby was a parliamentary borough from medieval times, electing two Members of Parliament (MPs). By the 18th century it was a pocket borough , whose members were effectively in

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468-464: Is that battlements became an architectural status-symbol much sought after by the socially ambitious, in Coulson's words: "Licences to crenellate were mainly symbolic representations of lordly status: castellation was the architectural expression of noble rank". They indicated to the observer that the grantee had obtained "royal recognition, acknowledgment and compliment". They could, however, provide

507-445: Is to crenellate the tops of church towers, and often the tops of lower walls. These are essentially decorative rather than functional, as are many examples on secular buildings. The solid widths between the crenels are called merlons . Battlements on walls have protected walkways, termed chemin de ronde behind them. On tower or building tops, the often flat roof is used as a protected fighting platform . The term originated in about

546-588: The Arabs had a more decorative and varied character, and were continued from the 13th century onwards not so much for defensive purposes as for a crowning feature to the walls. They serve a function similar to the cresting found in the Spanish Renaissance architecture . "Irish" crenellations are a distinctive form that appeared in Ireland between the 14th and 17th centuries. These were battlements of

585-519: The Caldbeck TV transmitter. Appleby's local radio stations are BBC Radio Cumbria on 95.6 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Cumbria & South West Scotland on 102.5 FM, and community based station Eden FM Radio which broadcast from its studios in Penrith on 107.5 FM. The town's local newspapers are Cumberland and Westmorland Herald and The Westmorland Gazette . Appleby railway station

624-539: The Earls of Chester and after 1351 by the Dukes of Lancaster . The castles in England vastly outnumbered the licences to crenellate. Royal pardons were obtainable on the payment of an arbitrarily-determined fine by a person who had fortified without licence. The surviving records of such licences, generally issued by letters patent , provide valuable evidence for the dating of ancient buildings. A list of licences issued by

663-808: The European Union , Appleby was in the North West England European Parliament constituency. For local government purposes it now forms part of Westmorland and Furness unitary authority. It formerly bridged the Appleby and Bongate wards of Eden District Council and the Appleby Ward of Cumbria County Council . Its own parish council is named Appleby-in-Westmorland Town Council. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Border . Television signals are received from

702-565: The Old English æppel-by , meaning "farm or settlement with apple trees". St Lawrence's Parish Church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building . Appleby Castle was founded by Ranulf le Meschin in the early 12th century. The Borough followed by royal charter in 1179 and the Moot Hall was built about 1596. Surviving timbers in the roof had been felled between 1571 and 1596. In

741-681: The River Eden , Appleby is the county town of the historic county of Westmorland . It was known just as Appleby until 1974–1976, when the council of the successor parish to the borough changed it to retain the name Westmorland, which was abolished as an administrative area under the Local Government Act 1972 , before being revived as Westmorland and Furness in 2023. It lies 14 miles (23 km) south-east of Penrith , 32 miles (51 km) south-east of Carlisle , 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Kendal and 45 miles (72 km) west of Darlington . The town's name derives from

780-704: The Second English Civil War Appleby was placed under a siege, in which the Regicide Major General Thomas Harrison was wounded. Appleby Grammar School dates from two chantry bequests in 1286. It was incorporated by Letters Patent of Queen Elizabeth in 1574. George Washington's father and two half-brothers, born in Virginia, were educated at Appleby Grammar School. He would have followed, but his father died suddenly in 1743, just as he reached

819-490: The 14th century from the Old French word batailler , "to fortify with batailles " (fixed or movable turrets of defence). The word crenel derives from the ancient French cren (modern French cran ), Latin crena , meaning a notch, mortice or other gap cut out often to receive another element or fixing; see also crenation . The modern French word for crenel is créneau , also used to describe

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858-459: The 19th century. The grounds around the castle are listed Grade II*. 54°34′27″N 2°29′20″W  /  54.57423°N 2.48878°W  / 54.57423; -2.48878 Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness , Cumbria , England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census . Crossed by

897-509: The Act. As the only county town disenfranchised, Appleby was a controversial case in the debates on the Reform Bill, where the opposition attempted vainly to save it at least one MP. It gained a new charter in 1885. The town remained a municipal borough until such status was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 . It was superseded by Eden district, based in Penrith . Appleby

936-597: The English Crown between the 12th and the 16th centuries was compiled by Turner & Parker and expanded and corrected by Philip Davis and published in The Castle Studies Group Journal . There has been academic debate over the purpose of licensing. The view of military-focused historians is that licensing restricted the number of fortifications that could be used against a royal army. The modern view, proposed notably by Charles Coulson,

975-494: The age when the two older boys had made the voyage. Appleby is overlooked by the privately owned Appleby Castle , a largely Norman structure that served as home to Lady Anne Clifford in the 17th century. Appleby's main industry is tourism, through its history, remoteness and scenery, and its proximity to the Lake District , North Pennines , Swaledale and Howgill Fells . From 1973 Ferguson Industrial Holdings Plc

1014-404: The castle in 1282. The north wall of house and the west part of the north wing with the round tower date from the 13th century. The eastern part of the house was built in 1454. King James I stayed in the castle in 1617, between visits to Brougham Castle and Wharton Hall . In the mid-17th century, Lady Anne Clifford made the castle her home. The castle was partly dismantled following

1053-718: The defender might stand so as to gain complete protection on one side. Loop-holes were frequent in Italian battlements, where the merlon has much greater height and a distinctive cap. Italian military architects used the so-called Ghibelline or swallowtail battlement, with V-shaped notches in the tops of the merlon, giving a horn-like effect. This would allow the defender to be protected whilst shooting standing fully upright. The normal rectangular merlons were later nicknamed Guelph. Many South Asian battlements are made up of parapets with peculiarly shaped merlons and complicated systems of loopholes, which differ substantially from rest of

1092-527: The existence of battlements. The Great Wall of China has battlements. In the European battlements of the Middle Ages the crenel comprised one-third of the width of the merlon: the latter, in addition, could be provided with arrow-loops of various shapes (from simply round to cruciform), depending on the weapon being utilized. Late merlons permitted fire from the first firearms . From the 13th century,

1131-461: The fabric of all the buildings, not least the 12th-century keep . During this period, the castle was the headquarters and training centre of FIH PLC and for those running the conservation 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 . The castle was bought by Christopher Nightingale in 1998. In 2009, Mrs. Sally Nightingale became

1170-683: The gift of the Lowther family . They included William Pitt the Younger , who was MP for Appleby when he became Prime Minister in 1783, although he stood down in the next general election, preferring to take a Cambridge University seat. A later Appleby member was Viscount Howick, later as Earl Grey the Prime Minister under whom the Great Reform Act of 1832 was passed. However, that did not save it from losing both members under

1209-433: The merlons could be connected with wooden shutters ( mantlets ) that provided added protection when closed. The shutters were designed to be opened to allow shooters to fire against the attackers, and closed during reloading. The Romans used low wooden pinnacles for their first aggeres ( terrepleins ). In the battlements of Pompeii , additional protection derived from small internal buttresses or spur walls, against which

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1248-411: The north wall of the north wing and a large square tower is at the south end of the east wing. The gateway to the castle courtyard and two adjoining cottages are listed Grade I. The gateway is in grey stone and battlemented, dating probably from the 17th century. In the grounds of the castle is Lady Anne's Beehouse, which was built by Lady Anne Clifford in the middle of the 17th century. It

1287-476: The sole owner of Appleby Castle. The castle and grounds are open to the public during specified hours. The keep houses the Norman Centre , a museum and interactive experience. Caesar's Tower is built in grey stone rubble and ashlar . It is about 80 feet (24 m) high and has four storeys. The main house is in two wings which are at right angles to each other. A semicircular round tower protrudes from

1326-643: The wall below, and may have openings at their bases between the supporting corbels , through which stones or burning objects could be dropped onto attackers or besiegers; these are known as machicolations . Battlements have been used for thousands of years; the earliest known example is in the fortress at Buhen in Egypt . Battlements were used in the walls surrounding Assyrian towns, as shown on bas reliefs from Nimrud and elsewhere. Traces of them remain at Mycenae in Greece , and some ancient Greek vases suggest

1365-411: The wall). Sometimes a merlon was pierced with two or three loopholes, but typically, only one loophole was divided into two or three slits by horizontal or vertical partitions. The shape of loopholes, as well as the shape of merlons, need not have been the same everywhere in the castle, as shown by Kumbhalgarh . In Muslim and African fortifications, the merlons often were rounded. The battlements of

1404-458: The world. Typical Indian merlons were semicircular and pointed at the top, although they could sometimes be fake: the parapet may be solid and the merlons shown in relief on the outside, as is the case in Chittorgarh . Loopholes could be made both in the merlons themselves, and under the crenels. They could either look forward (to command distant approaches) or downward (to command the foot of

1443-423: Was added in 1695. In the 19th century it was again restored and sash windows were inserted. 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. The Vernons lived at Appleby Castle until 1990. Vernon, a passionate conservationist, established a rare breeds survival centre. Considerable improvements were made to

1482-627: Was based at Appleby Castle. WA Developments Limited , now Stobart Rail Limited, was long based in Appleby as a civil engineering firm founded by Andrew Tinkler and William Stobart, specialising in railway maintenance. Appleby's economy is based mainly on the service sector, in small firms, eating houses and pubs. The private shops include butchers, grocers, bakers and newsagents. Appleby Creamery makes premium, hand-made cheeses, including Eden Valley Brie . Appleby and nearby villages host old-established events such as Warcop rushbearing , dating back at least to 1716. The four-day Appleby Horse Fair

1521-815: Was the county town of Westmorland . The Courts of Assise met at the Shire Hall there, although the former county council sat at the County Hall in Kendal . Appleby today is in the parliamentary constituency of Penrith and the Border . At the 2019 general election , the Conservative Neil Hudson was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP), replacing Rory Stewart . While the UK remained in

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