Pengersick Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Pengersyck; Pengersech; Pengewick; Pengerswick

In the civil parish of Breage.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).

Fortified manor house built circa 1510 incorporating earlier remains. There is documentary evidence for a house on the site from C13, including licences of 1391 and 1400. Shown as ruined in a print of 1743 the north range was pulled down and stone reused in farm buildings and walls. A three storey tower remains, now a private residence, and an annexe was added in 1927-8. The need for short term defense on a site so vulnerable from the south coast at a time of constant threat from French and Spanish raids is obvious, but the form that the house took as a consequence is original. There is a well recorded history; in 1335 Henry 'Le Fort' Pengersick was excommunicated for wounding a priest. In 1526 John Milliton was implicated in the disappearance of valuables from the wreck of the King of Portugal's ship San Antonio. On the death of William Millton in 1556 the estate was divided among his 7 daughters and the castle declined into ruin thereafter. King calls this a square 'pele-tower' although this seems to be part of a building of higher social status than usual for pele towers.

This site has been described as a Fortified Manor House.

A high status fortified residence not capable of withstanding an army but able to resist an armed band. They are generally moated and have a gatehouse with loops and crenellations. They tend to be sited with much less consideration for tactical and strategic defence and with domestic considerations, such as ease of access, to the fore. The difference between a small castles and a fortified manor house is a subjective one and may well be an artificial division in that for contemporary medieval citizens it may not have existed. David King did not use this term and preferred the term Strong House, since not all fortified high status houses were manorial, but use of his term Strong House has not been widely adopted possible because it is widely used as a synonym for bastle. Such buildings did not require a licence to crenellate and having a licence to crenellate does not mean a building was certainly fortified. However, I have recorded all buildings issued a licence to crenellate under this group since they clearly were at least intended to be [re]constructed in a fortified style.

The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.

Major remains.

This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 65781)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SW58132843

Modern Map from

Good for landscape form and features

Modern Map from

Good for general location

Air Photo from

1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 424575
Web site links
- http://www.pengersickcastle.com/
Books
- Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p612-4
  Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p136-43
  Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p30-1
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p20
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p75
  Jope, E. (ed), 1961, Studies in Building History (Odhams) p204-5
  Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p122-4
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
  Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p10-11
  Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol1 (London) p521-7
  Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p361
  Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p32
  Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol8 p44-6
Journal Articles
- Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p227
  Schofield, Sydney, 1973, 'Pengersick Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol130 p264-5
  Saunders, A.D., 1973, 'The coastal defences of Cornwall' Archaeological Journal Vol130 p265
  Henderson, C., 1955, Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall Vol2 p36
  1907-9, Journal of the Royal Institute of Cornwall Vol17 p208-9
Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
- Cornwall Archaeology Unit, 1998, Pengersick, Breage

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The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of Cornwall

With thanks to Philip Davis

Pengersick Castle

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SW58132843

Sources of information, references and further reading