button to main menu Egremont Castle
item:-
Dove Cottage : Lowther.40
image:-
©  see bottom of page 		image, button to large image
click to enlarge
Print, engraving, Egremont Castle, drawn by Thomas Hearne, engraved by William Byrne and Samuel Middiman, published by T Hearne and W Byrne, London, 1786.
Plate 7 ?from the Antiquities of Great Britain, published 1786-1807.
Pasted in the Lowther scrapbook, vol.3; between pp.34-35; with descriptive text:-
EGREMONT CASTLE / Is situated upon the top of an hill or mount near the river Egan (now corruptly called End), from which it is supposed to have derived its name, i.e. Ege-er-mont. / Ranulph de Meschines, the first Earl of Chester of that name, to whom the Conqueror had given the whole county of Cumberland, granted the great barony of Coupland, which contained all the land betwixt the rivers Dudene and Darwent, to William de Meschines his brother; who thereupon seated himself at Egremont, where he built the Castle, and made it the head of his barony; from whence all the lands within the district of Coupland were held of the Castle in Egremont. / He married Cecily de Romely, lady of the honour or manor of Skipton in Yorkshire, and had issue Alice de Romely, who in respect of the great estate she inherited from her mother, retained her name. / She married William Fitz-Duncan, Earl of Murray in Scotland, and had three daughters, co-heiresses, of which Amabel the second married Reginald de Lucy, and had for her portion the Castle and Barony of Egremont. / From the De Lucys' by an heiress, they descended to the Percys Earls of Northumberland, who held them till the last century, when that great House expired in an heir-female married to Charles Seymour, Duke of Somerset; who settled Egremont upon his grandson, Sir Charles Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham, in the county of Somerset, Baronet. In the year 1749, Algernon Seymour, Duke of Somerset, son of Charles, was created Earl of Egremont, with limitation of that honour to his nephew the said Sir Charles Wyndham, Baronet, and dying the year following, Sir Charles accordingly succeeded thereto, and was father of George the present Earl. / This castle, though not of great extent, appears from the present remains to have been a place of considerable strength. The Print shows the approach from the south, which was the principal entrance by a draw-bridge over a deep moat, which surrounded the Castle: the access is by a gateway surmounted by a strong tower. The walls enclosed a considerable area, forming a square, but are now so much decayed, that no conjecture can be made in what manner they were guarded. On the side next the town a postern is now standing. To the west from the area, there is an ascent to three narrow gates, standing in a line, which had a communication with some out-works; these are apparently of more modern architecture than the tower and gate-way before mentioned; they were defended by a portcullis to each gate, and communicated with a circular tower which fell down a few years since. This tower was erected on a remarkable mole or mount, seventy-eight feet perpendicular above the ditch. / The circular arch over the entrance, and the manner of building the lower part of the wall, seem to indicate, that this castle was raised on a foundation of more remote origin than the Norman invasion. / This view was taken in 1777. / No. VII.
source type:- Hearne and Byrne 1786 (plate 7)
inscription:- printed bottom, left, right, centre
Drawn by T. Hearne / Engravd by W. Byrne & S. Middiman / To the Right Honble. the earl of Egremont / This View of EGREMONT CASTLE is Inscribed, By his Lordship's most Obedient Servants, William Byrne and Thomas Hearne
wxh:- 250x206mm
from:-
Scrapbook, 4 volumes, History of Westmorland and Cumberland Illustrated, of descriptive texts, maps, and prints of views and coats of arms, for Westmorland and Cumberland, assembled by a member of the Lowther Family, late 18th early 19th century.
The volumes are quarter bound, with marbled paper on the covers; each has a bookplate inside the front cover. The pages cut from various sources are nicely mounted, two sided pieces set neatly in a window in the scrapbook page.
The main content is the whole of the two volumes of The History and Antiquities of the Counties of Westmorland and Cumberland, by Joseph Nicolson and Richard Burn, published London, 1777. Nicolson and Burn volume 1 is in scrapbook volumes 1 and 2, volume 2 in scrapbook volumes 3 and 4. Maps and prints are interspersed to make an illustrated version of the history.
Some of the sources of maps and prints have been recognised:-
Maps - coast of Cumberland etc by Andrew Dury, 1764; Westmorland and Cumberland by Richard Blome, 1673; sheets from Britannia Depicta, Emanuel Bowen, 1720; Cumberland by John Speed, Henry Overton edn 1695; Cumberland by John Cary 1787.
Prints from the Set of prints, 20 engravings, Views of the Lakes etc in Cumberland and Westmorland, drawn by Joseph Farington, published by William Byrne, London, 1789. Note that plate numbers vary from edition to edition of this set.
Prints from the Antiquities of Great Britain, drawings by Thomas Hearne, engraved by William Byrne, published by Hearne and Byrne, London, 1786-1807.
Prints from Britannia Illustrata, drawings by Leonard Knyff, engraved by John Kip, published London, 1707-1740.
Print from A Tour in England and Scotland, by Thomas Newte, published by G G J and J Robinson, Paternoster Row, London, 1788..
Some of the coat of arms are cut from A Display of Heraldrie by John Guillim late Pursuivant at Armes, published London, about 1610-11 to 1755.
Coats of arms probably from The Baronetage of England, by Edward Kimber and Richard Johnson, published London? 1771.
Pages from The Antiquarian Repertory, by Francis Grose, Thomas Astle, et al, published London, 1775-1809.
Text from the Baronetage of England by Collins?
Scraps cut from an unidentified gazetteer.
At the end is the title page and pp.7-51 from A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Cumberland, by John Bailey and George Culley, published by C Macrae, London, 1794.
Individual maps and prints are documented separately; with a note of their position in the scrapbooks.

inscription:- : embossed: label on spine: (tatty remains): HI[ ] / [ ]/WEST[ ]M[ ] / [ ] / CUM[ ]M[ ] / ILLUS[ ]T[E ] inscription:- : printed & embossed: bookplate: gold on grey; crest, 6 annulets from the coat of arms, flowers, thistles: LOWTHER