Millom Castle stands on the South side of the A5093 about a mile to the North of Millom in Cumbria. To the rear of the castle remains, stands the 12th century church of the Holy Trinity. The whole site would once have been surrounded by a moat, or a dyke, which John de Hudleston was granted permission to build in 1335. The licence to crenellate was granted on the 24th of August (1335) and reads "Licence for John de Hodleston to enclose with a dyke and crenellate his dwelling-place of Millum, co. Cumberland." Some sources state that a later licence was granted on the 10th of March, 1622, though it is doubted that this is actually a licence at all. This would have been the last documented licence to crenellate in England, and mentions Ferdinand Hudleston of Millom Castle. It appears to be Curwen who has identified this as a Royal licence to crenellate (See details here.)
There are further earthworks and traces of buildings to the South East of the church, some of which may have been connected to the castle, and some of which may be from a much earlier date.
The raised earthen mound on which the castle stands probably dates from the same period as the remains of ditches to the South and the East of the castle. These may have been built by Godard de Boyville when he was granted the manor in 1134. Around 1240, the manor passed to the de Hudlstons, with license to crenellate the manor house at ‘Millum’ being granted by Edward III in 1335. It’s from this period that walls of around 5 to 7 feet remain in many parts of the castle. The castle was captured and slighted by Parliamentary forces in 1644, with subsequent repairs being made in the 1670’s. A print dated 1739, shows the site occupied, but in disrepair.
The manor in which Millom Castle stands, was held by Earl Tostig up until 1066. Tostig held in excess of two hundred manors up until the Norman invasion of 1066, when he died in the battle of Stamford Bridge attempting to wrestle the English throne from his brother Harold. In all likely hood, he would have had his lands confiscated after the Norman invasion as he was not open to Norman influence in England.
Above. The undercroft.
Above. Beautiful arched windows with small amounts of tracery still visible.
Above. View of the upper storeys of the castle showing areas of robbed stone.
Above. Internal doorway with chimney above.
Above. Courtyard entrance.
Above. Internal view of the kitchen area.
Above. Internal view of wall showing holes for floor supports.
Above. Bricked up window, interior view.
Above. External view of the curtain wall.
Above. The much altered gatehouse.
Above. External view of the kitchen block.
Above. Portion of wall on the boundary with the church.
Above. Looking along the still wet moat bordering the church yard.
Above. The only decent floor plan of the castle that I could find.