Lowther Castle dig hopes to uncover Norman conquest in Cumbria

A dig is set to be carried out on the grounds of Lowther Castle in Penrith come the end of June and will last four weeks.  

Project lead Dr Sophie Thérèse Ambler said she hopes the dig will shed light on the 'lumps and bumps' believed to be a medieval castle and village just north of the 19th century castle and between the church. 

"I walked past it and hadn't thought about what it was, it's not very well-known to historians or archaeologists either. When I started looking into it, I thought this would be a fantastic site to investigate. 

"Our working hypothesis is that its part of the Norman conquest - there was an earthwork survey conducted in the 90s, they tracked the lumps and bumps, estimating the dates to be the late eleventh or early twelfth century. 

'Lumps and bumps' to hopefully unearth a sign of Norman Conquest (Image: Dr Sophie Ambler)

"If that is the case it's really significant, that's because Cumbria wasn't conquered in 1066 by William the Conqueror, it was only conquered in the second wave in 1092. 

"We have barely any documentary evidence to tell us about this phase of the conquest. 

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"If it is the case that it does date to that period, it gives us some of our first archaeological corroboration to chart this phase of the conquest," she said. 

Dr Ambler said it's very much a possibility that once the dig commences the 'medieval site' doesn't date to the century's suggested, but 'that's the nature of archaeology'. 

"We have so little evidence, anything we find will be a major contribution to a period of Cumbria's past in the middle ages.  

Area marked Castle Stead is dig location (Image: Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland)

"For Cumbria, archaeology is our best bet to say what happened here in the 11th 12th and 13th century onwards. Both in terms of the national picture in how Normans conquered new territories but also life for ordinary people," she said.  

Archaeology students from University of Central Lancashire will participating in the dig, with members of the public being encouraged to come along and find out about the project as it begins. 

Charlotte Fairbairn of Lowther Castle said: "Lovely to think that so many secrets which have lain dormant for hundreds of years might be uncovered – and even more exciting to think that these secrets will shed light not just on Lowther’s past but also on the medieval history of Cumbria at large."