Not to miss - Day 3

ST MARY'S CHURCH, MALLERSTANG

nationalchurchestrust.org/church/outhgill-st-mary

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Anne extensively rebuilt the entire church at a personal cost of £46 15s.When she travelled to Mallerstang Dale to stay at her castle of Pendragon, she needed a church so that she and her retinue could worship. A stone plaque was mounted above the church entrance to mark the restoration.

 

But Lady Anne did not just rebuild the walls; she ensured the church's future survival. She purchased land in nearby Cautley (Sedbergh) to form a permanent financial endowment. This money funded church maintenance and paid the salary of a resident curate and schoolmaster, Reverend Rowland Wright, to teach local children.  The usual stone inscription and reference to Isaiah 58 is above the porch door. The church is usually open during hours of daylight. 

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PENDRAGON CASTLE

sedbergh.org.uk/locations/pendragon-mallerstang/

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Pendragon Castle was one of five ancestral homes Anne found in ruins when she moved north to claim her inheritance. It was an isolated 12th-century Norman tower house and had been derelict since a Scottish raid in 1541. 

 

From 1660 to 1662, Anne completely renovated the central tower. She added a curtain wall, gates, and various outhouses. She also constructed a new bridge over the River Eden to make the site accessible. 

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But after Anne died in 1676, her successor, the Earl of Thanet, dismantled the castle and stripped the valuable lead from its roof. The castle soon fell into terminal disrepair. It is open to the public during daylight hours.

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KIRKBY STEPHEN

kirkby-stephen.com/

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Look out for the life-sized bronze statue of Lady Anne outside the Tourist Information Centre. Lady Anne with flowing clothes is seen ever striding forward. Created by Diane Lawrenson, it was installed in 2020 and stands on the route of her main journey between her houses and castles. 

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But its position in Kirkby Stephen is not without irony. During the Civil War, Kirkby Stephen was a strong Parliamentarian town, whereas Lady Anne was a staunch Royalist and she clashed with a local Parliamentarian leader from Kirkby Stephen named Captain Robert Atkinson, referring to him as "that great enemy".

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BROUGH CASTLE

english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/brough-castle/

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As part of her master plan to restore all her properties Anne repaired the main 12th-century keep of Brough Castle in 1659. It had been destroyed by fire during a Christmas feast in 1521. She built a new courthouse on the old foundations, along with stables, service buildings, and roughly 14 new living rooms. She also added some modern comforts. By 1665, the castle boasted 24 individual fireplaces.

 

Her most notable stay lasted from 10 November 1665 until 19 April 1666. Whenever she stayed at Brough, she intentionally occupied the high bedchamber at the very top of Clifford’s Tower. But tragedy struck a year later in 1666 when another accidental fire broke out, making the living quarters uninhabitable once more.  The usual plaque appears marking the restoration and citing Isaiah 58:12.

 

St Michael's Church sits directly next to the castle grounds in Church Brough. Anne attended services here regularly during her residential stays. Because the church had been damaged during the Civil War, she funded major repairs to the building, including restoring the windows and the pulpit. 

 

Typically, her diaries note that whenever she travelled into or out of the town in her horse-drawn litter, she would stop to distribute financial alms directly to the poor and elderly residents of the town. 

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Don't miss the cafe next to the castle and its amazing ice cream!