THE remains of a medieval castle and village at Lowther will be the subject of a new archaeological investigation in summer 2023, thanks to funding from the Castle Studies Trust.
The project aims to reveal how the Normans conquered and colonised the region and what this process was like for inhabitants - and to chart the origins of the Lowther estate.
Preliminary work suggests that the remains of Lowther’s medieval castle and its adjoining village may date to the late eleventh or early twelfth century.
If so, the site might provide rare evidence of the conquest of Cumbria by King William Rufus and his brother, King Henry I – a generation after the Normans seized control of the rest of England.
The project is led by Dr Sophie Thérèse Ambler, a reader in medieval history and deputy director of the Centre for War and Diplomacy at Lancaster University.
The archaeological investigation will be run by Allen Archaeology, together with students and staff from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
Dr Ambler says: “This is a tremendously exciting project. We have little written evidence for Cumbria in the early and central Middle Ages: since this region wasn’t part of William the Conqueror’s kingdom it isn’t included in Domesday Book, and few records have otherwise survived.
“The archaeology at Lowther offers a fantastic opportunity to understand how the estate was established – and this will hopefully provide important new evidence for a critical period in Britain’s past, when Cumbria was annexed to the English realm.”
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The team will conduct a geophysical survey and open trenches across the earthworks of the castle and village.
Their goal will be to uncover evidence of when the castle was built, its relationship to the adjoining village, and how the site changed over the centuries.
The investigation will run for a month in the early summer of 2023.
Visitors to Lowther Castle and Gardens will be able to view the excavations, and the findings will be used to share the story of the estate’s medieval past.
Jim Lowther, the owner of Lowther Castle, says: “The Lowther family has been on this site for many hundreds of years but our knowledge of their buildings and history only really starts from the late 16th century.
"It will be fascinating to learn more about the estate’s early past.
“Moreover, for our summer visitors, the excavation work itself will add an intriguing element to the experience of visiting Lowther Castle. We are much looking forward to all that this project unfolds.”
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