The castle bears the name of William Peveril, who was granted the title of bailiff
of the Royal Manors of the Peak - in effect the King's agent for the Royal Forest of the
Peak - after the Norman conquest of 1066. Peveril is thought to have been an illegitimate son of William I.
Peveril created Castleton and in 1080 he fortified the site of the present castle and constructed a wooden keep.
However, Peveril's son (also called William) became too independent for Henry II, and was
accused of poisoning his lover's husband, the Earl of Chester.
The result was that in 1155 King Henry II confiscated the Peveril estates and the castle
has belonged to the Crown or the Duchy of Lancaster ever since.
Henry visited Castleton several times, to hunt and, on one occasion, to meet King
Malcolm of Scotland, who paid homage to Henry here in 1157. The court records show that
an enormous amount of wine was consumed on this occasion!
The castle fell into disuse after Tudor times, and by the 17th century only the keep
was in use - as a courthouse. When this was abandoned the castle gradually became ruined
until what remained was restored in the 20th century.
You enter the castle up a very steep climb from Castleton, but this was not the
original main approach, which went up Goosehill and zig-zagged up the hill to approach
along the ridge above Cavedale which reaches towards the keep. Peveril dug a breach in
this ridge to create a moat which had a wooden bridge across it. Sadly, this bridge has
gone and not been replaced.
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