Peveril Castle in Castleton, Hope Valley, Derbyshire Peak District, England

Peveril Castle stands in an impregnable position on a clifftop above Castleton, flanked by the steep side of Cavedale. It is an evocative place, with an impressive view in all directions and sufficient ruined remains to construct a good idea of how the castle looked in its heyday. The castle bears the name of William Peveril, who was granted the title of bailiff of the Royal Manors of the Peak - in effect the King's agent for the Royal Forest of the Peak - after the Norman conquest of 1066. Peveril is thought to have been an illegitimate son of William I.

Peveril created Castleton and in 1080 he fortified the site of the present castle and constructed a wooden keep. Later, these buildings were converted into stone. However, Peveril's son (also called William) became too independent for Henry II, and in 1155 the King confiscated the Peveril estates and the castle has belonged to the Crown or the Duchy of Lancaster ever since.

Henry visited Castleton several times, to hunt and, on one occasion, to meet King Malcolm of Scotland, who paid homage to Henry here in 1157. The court records show that an enormous amount of wine was consumed on this occasion!

The castle fell into disuse after Tudor times, and by the 17th century only the keep was in use - as a courthouse. When this was abandoned the castle gradually became ruined until what remained was restored this century.

You enter the castle up a very steep climb from Castleton, but this was not the original main approach, which went up Goosehill and zig-zagged up the hill to approach along the ridge above Cavedale which reaches towards the keep. Peveril dug a breach in this ridge to create a moat which had a wooden bridge across it. Sadly, this bridge has gone and not been replaced.

The Castleton entrance leads in through the remains of a gatehouse which was built in the 12th century and into the main courtyard of the castle. Around this is the remains of a curtain wall, which was constructed in early Norman times by the Peverils, and includes Roman tiles which presumably were taken from the ruins of the Roman fort at Navio (Brough).

Dominating the site are the remains of the keep, which was built by Henry II in 1176 and is relatively well preserved. The keep was originally about 60 feet high and was faced with fine gritstone blocks, which still remain on the east and south sides. It dominates the view across both Castleton and Cavedale below. Inside the courtyard it is possible to trace the foundations of a Great Hall and kitchens and other buildings, but it is the view across the surrounding countryside which is the finest feature of the visit.

The castle is now in the care of English Heritage.

An excellent short walk around the castle is to go up Cavedale from the centre of Castleton. When the dale begins to level out towards the top, cut up to the right to reach a path coming back along the top of the ridge. This approaches Peveril Castle from the west, and then descends to Goosehill via the original approach route mentioned above.