About
Sizergh Castle represents one of the most compelling intersections of history, architecture, and family continuity in the National Trust's portfolio. The Strickland family held this Cumbrian estate for over seven hundred and sixty years — from the fourteenth century until 1950, when they transferred it to the National Trust while retaining the right to occupy part of the castle — making it one of the longest unbroken family occupancies of any National Trust property in England.
At the heart of the castle stands a massive pele tower, one of the largest in Cumbria, built around 1340 during the period of Border conflict when stone towers were the standard defence of the gentry of the far north. The Stricklands extended this medieval core with a great hall in the fifteenth century and substantial Elizabethan additions in the sixteenth, creating the irregular but harmonious ensemble visible today. The interior is particularly distinguished for its Elizabethan woodwork: the carved oak overmantels in the great chamber are among the finest examples of late sixteenth-century decorative woodwork surviving in England. One of these remarkable overmantels was removed to the Victoria and Albert Museum in the 1890s; it has since been returned to Sizergh in the form of a high-quality plaster cast, reinstated in its original position.
The Stricklands were prominent Catholic recusants who maintained their faith through two centuries of persecution. Their Jacobite sympathies brought them into contact with the exiled Stuart court; several family members followed James II into exile in France after 1688 and served in the king's household at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. This history of loyalty, sacrifice, and survival gives the family's long presence at Sizergh an intensity that a merely prosperous continuity could not. The family portraits and artefacts in the castle tell this story with unusual directness.
The gardens at Sizergh are managed in partnership between the National Trust and the Strickland family and include the National Collection of hardy ferns — one of the most important collections of its kind in Britain — displayed in a Victorian rock garden of considerable beauty.
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Plan Your Visit
💡 Visitor Tips
- Check the National Trust website carefully for opening days before visiting — the castle house is not open every day, and Tuesdays are often closed. Arriving on a closed day is a frustrating waste of the drive.
- The National Fern Collection in the rock garden rewards close attention: the labelling is detailed and the species range enormous. Allow at least 30 minutes in this area alone if you have any interest in plants.
- The Elizabethan carved overmantels are the interior highlight — look closely at the detail of the strapwork and heraldic carving, which is extraordinary for a domestic rather than royal context.
- Combine with Levens Hall (3 miles south) for an outstanding Cumbrian day of historic houses, gardens, and landscape. The contrast between Sizergh's ancient family weight and Levens' astonishing topiary is memorable.
- National Trust members visit free — if you are likely to visit three or more NT properties in a year, membership more than pays for itself, and Sizergh is a good reminder of this.
- The estate tarn walk (about 1 mile) is a gentle and rewarding addition to the castle visit, with views back to the pele tower and across to the Lake District fells. Allow an extra hour.
- Bring binoculars for the estate walk — the meadows and tarn attract interesting birds including kingfisher and heron.
Highlights
The Great Pele Tower — Medieval Border Stronghold
At the centre of Sizergh stands one of the largest and best-preserved pele towers in Cumbria, built around 1340 when Border conflict with Scotland made stone tower houses the standard response of the northern gentry to the threat of raids. The tower rises through four storeys, its walls four feet thick, its battlements intact.
The ground-floor vault — used as storage in times of siege — the great hall on the first floor, and the family apartments above convey the austere practicality of medieval Border life.
The tower was built not for show but for survival, and its massive bulk projects an authority that all the later Elizabethan additions have not diminished.
The Elizabethan Carved Oak Overmantels
The interior of Sizergh Castle is justly famous for its extraordinary collection of Elizabethan carved oak overmantels — decorative chimney-piece surrounds of exceptional quality and ambition. The examples in the great chamber and withdrawing room, dating from the 1560s to 1580s, are among the finest sixteenth-century decorative woodwork surviving in England: deeply carved with strapwork, heraldic devices, floral ornament, and figural panels of a quality that implies court-connected craftsmen.
One overmantel was controversially removed to the Victoria and Albert Museum in the 1890s; following negotiation with the Strickland family and the National Trust it has been returned to its original position in the form of an exact plaster cast — a satisfying outcome that reunites the room's decorative programme.
The National Collection of Hardy Ferns
The gardens at Sizergh hold the National Collection of hardy ferns — one of the most important fern collections in Britain, comprising hundreds of species and cultivars of temperate ferns from around the world. The collection is displayed primarily in the Victorian rock garden, built in the 1920s from local limestone, whose shaded pockets, crevices, and moisture-retaining structure replicate the conditions of ferns' natural habitats.
The collection demonstrates the extraordinary diversity within this ancient plant group — from the tree-like royal fern to the delicate maidenhair spleenwort — and is of significant scientific value as well as considerable ornamental beauty.
The National Plant Collection scheme is run by Plant Heritage, and Sizergh's fern collection is one of its most celebrated.
The Strickland Family — Catholic Recusants and Jacobite Loyalists
The seven-hundred-year presence of the Strickland family at Sizergh is more than a record of continuous ownership: it is a story of faith, loyalty, and survival under pressure. The Stricklands remained Catholic through the Reformation and subsequent centuries of persecution, paying recusancy fines and risking imprisonment for their faith.
When James II was deposed in 1688 several family members followed him into exile in France, serving in the Jacobite court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye — a loyalty that cost them financially and politically.
Their story is recorded in the family portraits, manuscripts, and artefacts in the castle: a remarkable primary-source archive of English Catholic and Jacobite life.
Collections
Castle Rooms — Medieval to Elizabethan
The sequence of castle rooms open to visitors, from the pele tower ground floor to the Elizabethan great chamber, with the famous carved oak overmantels and family portraits.
National Collection of Hardy Ferns
The rock garden housing the National Collection, with labelled specimens and interpretation of fern diversity and the collection's history.
The Walled Garden and Estate Landscape
Formal and informal garden areas including rose garden, wildflower meadow, orchard, and estate tarn walk.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.