Dacre Castle is in the village of Dacre

Dacre, Cumbria

Dacre is a small village and civil parish in the Lake District National Park in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, and was historically in Cumberland...

 some 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south-west of Penrith

Penrith, Cumbria

Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....

, Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

 .

In 1307 William de Dacre was granted licence to crenellate his dwelling on the site. (Actually the crenellation is for Dunmallard Hill, about 1/2 a mile away) The present building is a pele tower

Peel tower

Peel towers are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger...

 rather than a castle which was built in the 14th century for protection against the Scots

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

. In 1675 Thomas Lennard, 15th Baron Dacre

Baron Dacre

Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, every time by writ. The first creation came in 1321 when Ralph Dacre was summoned to Parliament as Lord Dacre. He married Margaret, 2nd Baroness Multon of Gilsland, heiress of a large estate in Cumbria centred on...

 and 1st Earl of Sussex

Earl of Sussex

Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel were often also called Earls of Sussex....

made additions to the tower. When the Earl died in 1715, his possessions were sold off. The castle was bought by Edward Hasell of Dalemain and it remains part of the Hasell estate. It is unusual in that it has been occupied almost continuously from the 14th century.

Further reading

• Stretton, E H A, Dacre Castle, Hayloft Publishing Limited, 1994 ISBN 095-186-9019