Peel Castle is a castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 in Peel, Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

 originally constructed by Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

s. The castle stands on St Patrick's Isle

St Patrick's Isle

St Patrick's Isle is a small island off the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, largely occupied by Peel Castle and noted for its attractive and relatively well preserved historic castle ruins. These ruins include St Patrick's Church and an Irish-style round tower, St German's Cathedral, and the more...

 which is connected to the town by causeway. It is now owned by Manx National Heritage

Manx National Heritage

Manx National Heritage is the national heritage organisation for the Isle of Man. It was established in 1951 as the Manx National Trust, and its legal title is the Manx Museum and National Trust.-Overview:...

 and is open to visitors during the summer.

The castle was built in the 11th century by the Vikings, under the rule of King Magnus Barelegs. While there were older stone Celt

Celt

The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....

ic monastic

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 buildings on the island, the first Viking fortifications were built of wood. The prominent round tower was originally part of the Celtic monastery, but has had battlements added at a later date. In the early 14th century, the majority of the walls and towers were built primarily from local red sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

, which is found abundantly in the area. After the rule of the Vikings, the castle continued to be used by the church due to the cathedral

Peel Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Saint German or Peel Cathedral is located in Peel, Isle of Man. The cathedral is the parish church of the parish of German, which includes the town of Peel, and was built 1879-84. It was made the cathedral by Act of Tynwald in 1980...

 built there – the see

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

 of Sodor Diocese – but was eventually abandoned in the 18th century.

The castle remained fortified and new defensive positions were added as late as 1860. The buildings within the castle are now mostly ruined, but the outer walls remain intact. Excavations in 1982-87 revealed an extensive graveyard as well as the remains of Magnus Bareleg's original wooden fort. The most spectacular finds were the 10th century grave of "The Pagan Lady" which included a fine example of a Viking necklace and a cache of silver coins dating from about 1030. The Castle's most famous "resident" is the so called Moddey Dhoo

Black dog (ghost)

A black dog is the name given to a being found primarily in the folklores of the British Isles. The black dog is essentially a nocturnal apparition, often said to be associated with the Devil, and its appearance was regarded as a portent of death. It is generally supposed to be larger than a normal...

or Black Dog ghost.

Peel Castle features today on the reverse side of the £10 notes issued by the Isle of Man Government

Isle of Man Government

The Isle of Man Government is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, representing HM Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Mann...

.

Peel Castle is sometimes confused with Piel Castle

Piel Castle

Piel Castle also known as Fouldry Castle, is a castle situated on the south-eastern point of Piel Island, 1 km off the southern tip of the Furness Peninsula, protecting the deep water harbour of Barrow-in-Furness in north west England.....

, located on Piel Island

Piel Island

Piel Island lies half a mile off the southern tip of the Furness Peninsula in the administrative county of Cumbria, though historically within Lancashire north of the sands. It is located at . It is one of the Islands of Furness in Northern England...

, around 30 miles to the east in the Irish Sea

Irish Sea

The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...

. This particularly occurs in reference to the William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....

 poem describing Piel, spelling its name as 'Peele'. Further confusion is added by the fact that Wordsworth is documented as having visited Peel Castle, and wrote about the Isle of Man on a number of times.

Peel Castle has been proposed as a possible location of the Arthurian Avalon

Avalon

Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...

. http://www.electricscotland.com/history/avalon.htm http://www.lawsons.ca/isleoman/iom_002.html

Cathedral of St. German (ruins)

The cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 ruins located within the walls of Peel Castle is the former Cathedral of St. German. Like the structures throughout the castle grounds, the cathedral's roof is completely missing. An examination by Robert Anderson to determine what repairs were required to restore the cathedral was completed and reported to the island's lieutenant governor in 1877. However, none of the suggested repairs were carried out.

A pointed barrel-vaulted crypt

Crypt

In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....

 exists below the chancel

Chancel

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

 measuring 34 feet by 16 feet by 9 feet high at the west end, sloping to the entrance at the east.

In the middle of the transept

Transept

For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...

 is the tomb where Bishop Rutter

Samuel Rutter, Bishop of Sodor and Man

Samuel Rutter was Bishop of Sodor and Man between 1660 and 1662 .It is suggested in the Mona Miscellaney that Sam Rutter was probably a native of Lancashire, educated at Westminster school, and elected from there in 1623, to Christ Church, Oxford. He was nominated as Archdeacon of Man in 1640...

 was interred in 1661.

A cemetery exists in what was once the cathedral's nave.

In 1980 the parish of German, part of the Church of England's

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 Diocese of Sodor and Man

Diocese of Sodor and Man

Sodor and Man is a diocese of the Church of England. Originally much larger, today it covers just the Isle of Man and its adjacent islets.-Early history:...

, was officially transferred to the newer Cathedral Church of St German

Peel Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Saint German or Peel Cathedral is located in Peel, Isle of Man. The cathedral is the parish church of the parish of German, which includes the town of Peel, and was built 1879-84. It was made the cathedral by Act of Tynwald in 1980...

on Albany Road in Peel.

External links

• Information about Peel Castle and St Patrick's Isle
• Peel Castle - Manx National Heritage
• Peel Heritage site
• http://www.isle-of-man.com/heritage/sites/peel-castle/index.shtml
• An aerial view of St Patrick's Isle and Peel Castle
• Cathedral of St. German floorplan c.1727
• Isle of Man Guide to Peel Castle