Sizergh Castle & Garden

Sizergh Castle & Garden is a castle, stately home and garden in Sizergh, Cumbria, England, about four miles south of Kendal, and in the care of the National Trust.

The Deincourt family had owned the land here since the 1170s and on the marriage of Elizabeth Deincourt to Sir William de Stirkeland in 1239, the estate passed into the hands of what became the Strickland family, who owned it until it was gifted to the National Trust in 1950. The family still inhabit the estate.

The core of the medieval castle is a 14th-century pele tower surrounded by a Tudor house. It was extended in Elizabethan times and has oak panelled interiors, including the Inlaid Chamber, furnished with period furniture and panelling inlaid with poplar and oak. (The contents of the Inlaid Chamber had been sold to the Victoria and Albert Museum. During the last part of the 20th century, the V&A starting loaning the panelling back piecemeal. The entirety of the panelling was restored in 1999 under a long-term loan.) Around 1770 the great hall was again expanded in the Georgian style.

The estate covers 6.38 square kilometres (1600 acres), in the midst of which is a garden including two lakes as well as an award-winning rock garden. The estate dates from 1336, when a grant from Edward III allowed Sir Walter Strickland to enclose the land around Sizergh as his exclusive park. The rock garden is the largest limestone rock garden belonging to the National Trust and includes part of the National Collection of hardy ferns.

The Castle contains some good paintings, including portraits by Alexis Simon Belle of Queen Mary of Modena and her daughter Princess Louisa Maria. [Corp, Edward, "Belle, Alexis-Simon (1674–1734)" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, September 2004)]

See also

* Castles in England
* List of historic houses in England
* Strickland (surname)

References

External links

* [http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-sizerghcastlegarden/ Sizergh Castle & Garden information at the National Trust]
* [http://www.gardenvisit.com/g/siz.htm Sizergh Castle garden]
* [http://www.english-lakes.com/sizergh_castle.html Illustratd guide to Sizergh Castle]