About
Perched on a promontory above the small Cumbrian market town of Brough, where the Roman road through Stainmore Pass descends from the Pennines into the Eden Valley, Brough Castle occupies one of the most historically layered sites in northern England. The medieval castle was built directly on the site of the Roman fort of Verterae — a strategic garrison that controlled the road between York and Carlisle — and beneath the Norman and medieval masonry lie the earthworks and foundations of this earlier Roman presence, giving the site a historical depth spanning nearly two thousand years.
The castle was built by the Normans shortly after the Conquest on the Roman foundations, then developed through successive phases by a series of powerful northern lords. Its most dramatic story is that of Robert Clifford, who was granted the castle in 1283, and whose family — the Cliffords — would play a central role in English history through the medieval period. The castle was badly damaged and largely ruined in 1521 when it was accidentally destroyed by fire. It lay in ruins for nearly 150 years until the extraordinary Lady Anne Clifford — one of the most remarkable women in 17th-century English history — undertook a systematic programme of restoration of all her northern castles in the period 1659–1661. Brough was among the castles she rebuilt, and her inscription recording the restoration is preserved in the castle.
Lady Anne Clifford's personal connection to these northern castles transforms a visit to Brough from a purely architectural experience into an encounter with a remarkable historical personality. Her tenacious defence of her inheritance rights against the wishes of James I and her male relatives, her extraordinary diary and correspondence, and her systematic restoration of the family castles in extreme old age, all mark her out as one of the most formidable characters of her century. English Heritage maintains Brough Castle as a free open-access site, and the ruins of the keep, great hall, and surrounding earthworks are accessible at all times.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Combine Brough with Appleby and Pendragon Castle for a 'Lady Anne Clifford trail' through the Eden Valley — all three were restored by Lady Anne in the 1660s.
- Look for Lady Anne Clifford's restoration inscription within the castle — a personal and moving connection to this remarkable 17th-century woman.
- The views westward across the Eden Valley toward the Lake District are particularly good on clear days — bring binoculars.
- The A66 through Stainmore is notorious for severe winter weather — check conditions before visiting in winter months.
- No facilities at the castle — the town of Brough has pub and basic refreshments.
- The castle is best in good weather when the full sweep of the Eden Valley and Pennine landscape can be appreciated.
- Visit in combination with the Settle–Carlisle railway for an excellent heritage tourism day — the railway runs through similar scenery a few miles east.
- The Roman fort of Verterae beneath the castle is best appreciated by reading the interpretive panels first, then looking for the earthwork traces around the castle perimeter.
Highlights
Lady Anne Clifford's Restoration
The most compelling story at Brough Castle is that of Lady Anne Clifford, who at the age of nearly seventy undertook the restoration of Brough and her other northern castles — Skipton, Appleby, Pendragon, and Brougham — in the period 1659–1661, asserting her ownership of her ancestral inheritance by making the buildings habitable and usable again.
Lady Anne's restoration programme was a remarkable act of both practical determination and symbolic assertion: by repairing her castles she was demonstrating her rights over them in the most physical way possible. Her inscription at Brough, recording the date and fact of the restoration, is preserved and forms one of the most personal connections between a historical figure and their surviving castle anywhere in northern England.
The Roman Fort of Verterae
Beneath and around the medieval castle lie the earthworks and foundations of the Roman fort of Verterae — a garrison established by the Roman army to control the strategically vital Stainmore Pass, the route across the Pennines that connected the Roman frontier fort of Brocolitia on Hadrian's Wall with the legionary fortress at York.
The site of Verterae was identified archaeologically in the 19th and 20th centuries, and aerial photography has revealed the characteristic playing-card shape of the fort beneath and around the medieval castle. The layering of Roman and medieval history at Brough — with the Norman builders deliberately choosing a site already associated with power and military significance — is one of the most interesting aspects of the site's long history.
The Norman Keep
The substantial remains of the Norman keep at Brough Castle rise from the high point of the promontory, its walls surviving to considerable height and providing fine views over the Eden Valley and the Pennine fells to the east. The keep was built in the late 11th or early 12th century, adapting the Roman fort platform as its foundation, and represents the earliest phase of medieval castle-building on the site.
The stone construction replaced an earlier earth-and-timber fortification and established the basic defensive character that subsequent generations of owners would develop and elaborate.
The Norman keep at Brough, although less well-known than those of Richmond or Newcastle, is a significant example of early Norman military architecture in the north of England.
The Clifford Family and Northern Power
The Clifford family, who held Brough Castle from 1283 through to Lady Anne Clifford's death in 1676, were one of the most powerful magnate dynasties of medieval and early modern northern England. The family's history encompassed the turbulent politics of the 14th and 15th centuries — participation in the Wars of the Roses, the service of successive Clifford lords in royal armies, and the dramatic fall and restoration of their fortunes with the changing of royal favour.
The 'Butcher' Clifford of Shakespeare's Henry VI, the Shepherd Lord who disguised himself as a commoner during his family's eclipse, and the formidable Lady Anne herself — the Clifford story at Brough spans three centuries of northern English history in miniature.
Collections
Brough Castle is a free open-access site with no permanent museum collections. Interpretive panels on site explain the history of the Roman fort, the medieval castle, and Lady Anne Clifford's restoration. The nearest relevant museum collections are at the Penrith Museum in Penrith, which holds material relating to Cumbrian history.
Brough Castle Interpretive Panels
Outdoor interpretation boards covering the history of the site from the Roman fort of Verterae through the medieval castle to Lady Anne Clifford's 17th-century restoration.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.