Castle has been occupied by the same family since 1150. Several
different buildings have occupied the spot, the last of which was the
castle itself. It was commissioned by William, 1st Earl of
Lonsdale in 1806 and designed by the architect Robert Smirke, later
responsible for many great civic buildings in London including the
British Museum. In its heyday, the castle boasted a room for every day
of the year. There was a grand art collection and the house was a
celebrated beacon of the north.
130 years after it was built however, the castle was abandoned for good. The ‘Yellow Earl’, 5th Earl of Lonsdale spent his way through a vast fortune and the castle became a luxury too far.
War-time requisition by an army tank regiment, then crippling death
duties finally sealed the castle’s fate and in 1957, James Lonsdale, the
7th Earl removed the castle roof. Every chimney pot, every
door handle, every fireplace was sold and Lowther Castle became an empty
shell.
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