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Summary

C16 manor house, now largely destroyed

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 36039: Pengersick Castle and associated building platform

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SW 52 NE 7
• National Record of the Historic Environment to Historic Environment Records data transfer
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 424575

Monument Type(s):

• COUNTRY HOUSE (16th Century - 1501 AD to 1600 AD)
• COURTYARD (16th Century - 1501 AD to 1600 AD)
• FORTIFIED MANOR HOUSE (16th Century - 1501 AD to 1600 AD)

Full description

The site of a now largely destroyed early C16 fortified manor house, the principal surviving elements of which are its crenelated four-storey tower, Pengersick Castle, and a substantial portion of its western gatehouse, which was extensively modified in the nineteenth century (for more detail, see child records). In addition, some lengths of the manor's northern retaining wall also survive (1), and carved stonework from the manor buildings has been reused, such as window tracery reused in the C19 century gables of the castle gate (4).

The original form of the castle is preserved in an C18 copy of a of an earlier painting found by Borlase on the first floor of the tower, which at that time preserved its original wood panelling (2). The manor conisted of a larger eastern courtyard, the outline of which is preserved by more recent buildings and gardens, as well as a smaller western courtyard now covered by the C19 farmyard, and largely destroyed. There is some uncertainty over the position of the southern wall of the western courtyard, which may have been the main entrance of the manor (3), but archaeological evaluation has identified a robber trench from a substantial building, possibly an aditional tower, suggesting that the western courtyard extended roughly as far south as the surviving tower (4). The two courtyards were divided by the main hall, which extended to the north of the tower but which has now been completely destroyed and lies under the more recent Shippon (1-3). A building in the north east of the eastern courtyard is customarily believed to have been a chapel (1), and C15/C16 window glass and cames have been found in its vicinity, although it is unclear whether these derive from the chapel building or another structure within the manorial complex (5).

The manor was constructed in the early C16 probably following the inheritance of the site by the Millaton family through marriage in the late C15. An earlier manor house to the north east was probably abandoned in favour of a new, less restricted site (1); archaeological evaluation has identified field ditches under what would have been the western courtyard, perhaps supporting this (4). The manor soon fell into decline however, following the sudden death of William Pengersick in the mid-C16 the castle was divided between his seven daughgters, who were already married, and by the early C18 the castle was already a romantic ruin (1, 6).

<1> Herring, P, Thorpe, C & Morley, B, 1998, Pengersick, Breage; An Archaeological Assessment (Report). SCO1114.

<2> Various, 1973, Report of the Summer Meeting of the Royal Archaeological Institute at Truro in 1973, 264-5, Plt. VI (Schofield, J.) (Article in Journal). SCO30748.

<3> Herring, P, Thorpe, C & Morley, B, 1998, Pengersick, Breage; An Archaeological Assessment, Appendix 1 (Morley, B.) (Report). SCO1114.

<4> Gould, J & Mossop, M & Thomas, N, 2005, Pengersick Farm, Breage, Cornwall. Historic Building Recording and Archaeological Watching Brief (Report). SCO948.

<5> Mossop, M, 2004, Pengersick Castle Glass, Breage, Cornwall. Archaeological Investigation (Report). SCO1618.

<6> Buck, S & N, 1734, The east view of Pengersick Castle in Cornwall (Graphic material). SCO30993.

<7> Oman, C, 1926, Castles, 123 (Bibliographic reference). SCO4041.

<8> Cathcart King, DJ, 1983, Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands., 75 (Bibliographic reference). SCO29959.

<9> Borlase, W, 1740, Parochial Memoranda, 33 (Unpublished document). SCO2884.

<10> Lysons, D, 1814, History of Cornwall, Vol. 3, 42 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3884.

<11> Gilbert, CS, 1820, An Historical and Topographical Survey of the County of Cornwall, Vol. 2, 759 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3360.

<12> Hitchins, F & Drew, S (Eds), 1824, The History of Cornwall, Vol. 2 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3595.

<13> Penaluna, W, 1838, An Historical Survey of the County of Cornwall, Vol. 1, 81-82 (Bibliographic reference). SCO4104.

<14> Polsue, J (Editor), 1867-72, Lake's Parochial History of Cornwall, Vol. 1, 136 (Bibliographic reference). SCO4139.

<15> Coulthard, HR, 1913, The Story of an Ancient Parish: Breage with Germoe, 127-128 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3181.

<16> Pounds, N, 1937, The Medieval Castle in Cornwall, 31-32 (Article in Serial). SCO4152.

<17> Henderson, C, 1955-60, Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the 109 parishes of West Cornwall & Ecclesiastical History of the 4 Western Hundreds, 36 (Article in Journal). SCO3499.

<18> Leland, 1967, Early Tours in Devon and Cornwall, 29 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3860.

<19> EVANS, A, 1970, PENGERSICK CASTLE (PRIVATELY PRODUCED SHORT HIST) (Unedited Source). SCO8059.

<20> Various, 1973, Report of the Summer Meeting of the Royal Archaeological Institute at Truro in 1973, 264-265 (Schofield, J.) (Article in Journal). SCO30748.

<21> SOC FOR MED ARCHAEOL, 1986, CONFERENCE PROGRAMME (TRURO) (Unedited Source). SCO8851.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• ECO1156 - Pengersick Castle Gate, Breage: Watching Brief and Historic Building Recording, 1999
• ECO1407 - Pengersick Castle Shippon
• ECO1445 - SM Management: Pengersick Castle Glass
• ECO1449 - Pengersick Farm Outbuildings
• ECO1525 - Pengersick Castle, Breage: Geophysics, 1998
• ECO1716 - Pengersick Farm, Praa Sands
• ECO1984 - Pengersick Castle, Cornwall
• ECO4167 - Pengersick Castle, Breage: Research Report, 2011
• ECO54 - Pengersick Castle, Breage: Archaeological Assessment, 1997
• ECO5993 - SMT 2125 Castle Gate, Pengersick Lane, Praa Sands, Penzance, Cornwall TR20 9SJ
• ECO633 - Pengersick Castle, Breage: Management recommendations and archaeological recording, 2000
• ECO4125 - Pengersick Castle archaeological works 2011-12 (Ref: 2011034)
• ECO3743 - Pengersick Castle, Breage: Dendrochronological Dating, 2012 (Ref: 38-2012)

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