# Sizergh

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Historic house in Cumbria, England

Sizergh Castle, [solar tower](/source/Solar_tower) and Tudor house

**Sizergh Castle** ([/ˈsaɪzər/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English)) is a [stately home](/source/Stately_home) with [garden](/source/Garden) and estate at [Helsington](/source/Helsington) in [Cumbria](/source/Cumbria), England, about 4 miles (6 km) south of [Kendal](/source/Kendal). Located in [historic](/source/Historic_counties_of_England) [Westmorland](/source/Westmorland), the [castle](/source/Castle) is a Grade I [listed building](/source/Listed_building).[1] While remaining the home of the Hornyold-[Strickland family](/source/Strickland_(surname)), the castle with its garden and estate is in the care of the [National Trust](/source/National_Trust).

In 2016 the Sizergh estate was included in the newly extended [Lake District National Park](/source/Lake_District_National_Park).[2]

## Details

The tower at Sizergh Castle, as viewed from the South

The earliest part of the building is a tower of fourteenth or fifteenth century date.[1]

### Woodwork

Some of the early furnishings date from the time of [Walter Strickland](/source/Walter_Strickland_(died_1569)) (1516–1569) who married Alice Tempest in 1560. She made inventories of the house after her husband's death. These mention three oak armchairs and three chests still in the house.[3]

There are [oak](/source/Oak)-panelled interiors, including the Inlaid Chamber, where the panelling is inlaid with floral and geometric patterns in pale poplar and dark [bog-oak](/source/Bog_oak). The contents of the Inlaid Chamber were sold to the [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum) in the 1890s and it was displayed as a reconstructed [period room](/source/Period_room). The return of the panelling to its original location at Sizergh was advocated by among others [Mark Girouard](/source/Mark_Girouard), an authority on England's country houses. The panelling returned in 1999 under a long-term loan.[4] In 2017 it was reported that transfer of ownership to the National Trust had been made formal.[5]

The [bargeboards](/source/Bargeboard) on the gables probably date from the seventeenth century.

### Paintings

The Castle contains a variety of paintings, including the following:

- a collection of portraits of the [Catholic Royal Stuart family](/source/Jacobite_succession) reflects the Strickland family's links to the Jacobite court in exile at [Saint-Germain-en-Laye](/source/Saint-Germain-en-Laye) in France. There are portraits by [Alexis Simon Belle](/source/Alexis_Simon_Belle), [painter in ordinary](/source/Painter_in_ordinary) to [James VII & II](/source/James_II_of_England) and the [Old Pretender](/source/Old_Pretender), of Queen [Mary of Modena](/source/Mary_of_Modena) and her daughter [Princess Louisa Maria](/source/Louisa_Maria_Teresa_Stuart).[6]

- Strickland family portraits, including - works by local artist [George Romney](/source/George_Romney_(painter)),[7][8] - a portrait of Mrs. Anne Strickland (the artist's mother) by Harriet Strickland (1816–1903),[9] and a portrait of Lady Edeline Sackville.[10]

### Portraits gallery

		- Mary Matthews (1823–1890), Mrs. Julien-Francois-Bertrand de La Chère

		- Marie Louise Geneviève Alice de La Chère (1856–1943), wife of Alfred Joseph Gandolfi-Hornyold (1850–1922)

		- Thomas Strickland Standish (1763–1813), Lord of [Standish Hall](/source/Standish_Hall)

		- Henriette Rose Peronne de Sercey (1770–1849) by [François Gérard](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_G%C3%A9rard)

		- Thomas Strickland Standish of Sizergh (1792–1835)

		- Ursule Ida de Finguerlin de Bischingen (1805–1846), Mrs. Thomas Strickland Standish of Sizergh

## History

The [Deincourt family](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deincourt_family&action=edit&redlink=1) owned this land from the 1170s. On the marriage of Elizabeth Deincourt to Sir William de Stirkeland in 1239, the estate passed into the hands of what became the [Strickland](/source/Strickland_(surname)) family, who owned it until it was gifted to the [National Trust](/source/National_Trust) in 1950 by [Lieutenant Commander](/source/Lieutenant_commander_(Royal_Navy)) Thomas Hornyold-Strickland, 7th [Count](/source/Count) della Catena, [R.N.](/source/Royal_Navy), a grandson of [the 1st Baron Strickland](/source/Gerald_Strickland%2C_1st_Baron_Strickland).[11]

[Katherine Parr](/source/Katherine_Parr), the [sixth wife](/source/Wives_of_Henry_VIII) of [Henry VIII](/source/Henry_VIII) and a relative of the Stricklands, is thought to have lived here after her first husband, [Sir Edward Burgh](/source/Edward_Burgh_(knight)), died in 1533. Katherine's second husband, [Lord Latymer](/source/John_Neville%2C_3rd_Baron_Latimer), was kin to the [dowager](/source/Dowager) Lady Strickland, Katherine Neville.[12][13]

It was extended in [Elizabethan](/source/Elizabethan_era) times. [Sir Thomas Strickland](/source/Thomas_Strickland_(Cavalier)) went into exile with [King James II and VII](/source/James_II_of_England).

Around 1770, the great hall was again expanded in the [Georgian](/source/Georgian_era) style.

## Gardens

Sizergh Castle and part of the garden

The gardens are [registered Grade II](/source/Register_of_Historic_Parks_and_Gardens_of_Special_Historic_Interest_in_England).[14] There is a lake, a kitchen garden and a [rock garden](/source/Rock_garden). The rock garden, constructed in the 1920s, is the largest [limestone](/source/Limestone) rock garden belonging to the National Trust.

Sizergh houses part of the [National Collection](/source/National_Plant_Collection) of [ferns](/source/Fern), which are to be seen in the rock garden, the [stumpery](/source/Stumpery) and the orchard.

## Estate

In 1336 a grant from [Edward III](/source/Edward_III_of_England) allowed Sir Walter Strickland to enclose the land around Sizergh as his exclusive park.

The estate covers 647 hectares (1,600 acres).[15]

### Biodiversity

There are various types of habitat on the estate. For example, in 2014 it was reported that 35 [ha](/source/Hectare) of wetland habitat was being created in the [Lyth Valley](/source/Lyth_Valley) on the western edge of the estate. The project received funding from [Natural England](/source/Natural_England) as part of a [higher level stewardship scheme](/source/Environmental_stewardship_(England)). It is hoped to attract [bittern](/source/Eurasian_bittern) and other wildlife.[16]

Sizergh has received support from the Morecambe Bay [Nature Improvement Area](/source/Nature_Improvement_Area) which was launched in 2012. It received three years of government grant funding (2012–15). Projects continue under the auspices of the Morecambe Bay Partnership, a registered charity.[17]

#### Birds

The Sizergh estate is a good place to see birds. For example, [hawfinches](/source/Hawfinch) are attracted to [hornbeam](/source/Carpinus_betulus) trees around the main car park, and despite being a shy species can often be seen there in the spring.[18][17]

#### Butterflies

[Fritillary butterflies](/source/Argynnis) (including [pearl-bordered](/source/Pearl-bordered_fritillary) and [high brown fritillary](/source/High_brown_fritillary)) live on the estate.[18]

### Sizergh Fell

**Sizergh Fell** is a hill of 123 m (404 ft), about 1 km (0.62 mi) south-west of the castle. It is classified by the [Database of British and Irish Hills](/source/Database_of_British_and_Irish_Hills) as a [Tump](/source/Tump_(hill)) (Thirty and Upwards Metres Prominence).[19] It has been suggested that a group of stones on the fell form the remains of a stone circle.[20]

## Literary and media interest

The castle was featured in the [ITV](/source/ITV_(TV_network)) documentary *Inside the National Trust*.[21]

The room known as the Inlaid Chamber is the subject of [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](/source/Letitia_Elizabeth_Landon)'s poetical illustration *The Queen’s Room, Sizergh Hall, Westmorland* to an engraving of a painting by [Thomas Allom](/source/Thomas_Allom), published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1836.[22]

English [Wikisource](/source/Wikisource) has original text related to this article:

**[The Queen’s Room, Sizergh Hall, Westmorland, a poetical illustration by L. E. L.](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/en:Letitia_Elizabeth_Landon_(L._E._L.)_in_Fisher%27s_Drawing_Room_Scrap_Book,_1836/The_Queen%E2%80%99s_Room,_Sizergh_Hall,_Westmorland)**

## See also

- [gardening portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Gardening)
- [Cumbria portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Cumbria)

- [Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria](/source/Grade_I_listed_buildings_in_Cumbria)

- [Listed buildings in Helsington](/source/Listed_buildings_in_Helsington)

- [Castles in Great Britain and Ireland](/source/Castles_in_Great_Britain_and_Ireland)

- [List of historic houses in England](/source/List_of_historic_houses_in_England)

- [Strickland (surname)](/source/Strickland_(surname))

- [Strickland-Constable baronets](/source/Strickland-Constable_baronets)

- [Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland](/source/Gerald_Strickland%2C_1st_Baron_Strickland)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-EH_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-EH_1-1) [Historic England](/source/Historic_England). ["Sizergh Castle (Grade I) (1318962)"](https://HistoricEngland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1318962?section=official-list-entry). *[National Heritage List for England](/source/National_Heritage_List_for_England)*. Retrieved 10 July 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-BBC_2-0)** ["Yorkshire Dales and Lake District national parks to be extended"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34614556). BBC News. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Wheeler, Megan (2018). ["Early Elizabethan Chests at Sizergh Castle"](https://regionalfurnituresociety.org/publications/journal/backjournals). *Regional Furniture*. **32**. Regional Furniture Society: 103–25. Retrieved 28 December 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-VandA_4-0)** ["Inlaid Room at Sizergh Castle"](http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/l/loans-and-exhibitions/). Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 31 March 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Guardian_5-0)** Kennedy, Maev (2 January 2017). ["V&A returns Tudor bedroom to original Sizergh Castle setting"](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jan/02/va-returns-tudor-bedroom-to-original-sizergh-castle-setting). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Corp, Edward (23 September 2004). "Belle, Alexis-Simon". *[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography#Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography)* (online ed.). Oxford University Press. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/ref:odnb/46466](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F46466). (Subscription, [Wikipedia Library](https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/partners/88/) access or [UK public library membership](https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public) required.)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Walter Strickland (1729–1761)"](http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/998426). National Trust Collections. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Nicholson, Savannah (19 March 2020). ["18th century Romney painting returns to Sizergh Castle"](https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/18316954.18th-century-romney-painting-returns-sizergh-castle/). *Westmorland Gazette*. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Anne Cholmeley (1796–1829), Mrs. Jarrard Edward Strickland (the artist's mother)"](https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/anne-cholmeley-17961829-mrs-jarrard-edward-strickland-132140). Art UK. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Lady Edeline Sackville (1870–1918), Lady Strickland"](https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/lady-edeline-sackville-18701918-lady-strickland-132135). Art UK. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Meet Henry Hornyold-Strickland, Sizergh"](http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1355807867628/). [National Trust](/source/National_Trust).{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** James, Susan E. (2009). *Katherine Parr: Henry VIII's Last Love*. The History Press. p. 56. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0752448534](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0752448534).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [Porter, Linda](/source/Linda_Porter_(historian)) (2010). *Katherine the Queen*. Macmillan. p. 58. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0330460804](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0330460804).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-EHgard_14-0)** [Historic England](/source/Historic_England). ["Garden (1000673)"](https://HistoricEngland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000673?section=official-list-entry). *[National Heritage List for England](/source/National_Heritage_List_for_England)*. Retrieved 22 May 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Sizergh – Visitor information"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121111084944/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/home/item273909/). National Trust. Archived from [the original](http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/home/item273909/) on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-WG_16-0)** Dickinson, Katie (16 October 2014). ["Park End Moss aims to bring wildlife flooding in"](http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/farm_and_country/11541212.Park_End_Moss_aims_to_bring_wildlife_flooding_in/). *[Westmorland Gazette](/source/Westmorland_Gazette)*. Retrieved 21 November 2014.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-LNP_17-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-LNP_17-1) ["Hawfinch recovery project"](http://www.morecambebaynature.org.uk/hawfinch-recovery-project). Morecambe Bay Local Nature Partnership. Retrieved 7 April 2017.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-wildlife_18-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-wildlife_18-1) ["Wildlife at Sizergh"](https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sizergh/features/wildlife-at-sizergh). National Trust. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Sizergh Fell"](https://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?rf=16288). *Hill Bagging*. Retrieved 17 September 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["Sizergh Fell Stone Circle"](https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=54190). Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 17 September 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["Video: 'Inside the National Trust': preview"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131012153808/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelvideo/10372939/Inside-the-National-Trust-preview.html). *[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)*. 12 October 2013. Archived from [the original](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelvideo/10372939/Inside-the-National-Trust-preview.html) on 12 October 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1835). "picture". [*Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1836*](https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=2dBbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PT110). Fisher, Son & Co.Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1835). "poetical illustration". [*Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1836*](https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=2dBbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PT112). Fisher, Son & Co. p. 49.

## Bibliography

- Taylor, Michael Waistell (1892). ["Sizergh Castle"](https://archive.org/details/publications08cumb/page/182). *The Old Manorial Halls of Westmorland & Cumberland (Publications of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, Extra Series, volume 8)*. Kendal: Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. pp. 182–198.

- Taylor, Michael Waistell (1889). *Sizergh, No. 1*. 10 Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society. p. 48. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.5284/1064162](https://doi.org/10.5284%2F1064162).

- Curwen, John F (1889). [*Sizergh, No. 2*](https://archive.org/details/transactionsofcu10cumb/page/66). 10 Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society. p. 66. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.5284/1064161](https://doi.org/10.5284%2F1064161).

- Goodall, Ian (September 2002). "Privacy, Display and Over Extension: Walter Strickland's Rebuilding of Sizergh". *The Antiquaries Journal*. **82**. The Society of Antiquaries of London: 197–245. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0003581500073789](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0003581500073789). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [162616633](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:162616633).

- "Helsington: Sizergh Castle, Sizergh" (2007) [7](https://books.google.com/books?id=SodnAAAAMAAJ) Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archeological Society (Third Series) 257 [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.5284/1064350](https://doi.org/10.5284%2F1064350)

- Emery, Anthony (1996). ["Sizergh Castle"](https://books.google.com/books?id=D8vhhaR3JxsC&pg=PA249). *Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500*. Vol. 1 (Northern England). Cambridge University Press. pp. 248–250. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0521497237](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0521497237).

- Fry, Plantagenet Somerset (1996). "Sizergh". *Castles of Britain and Ireland*. BCA by arrangement with David & Charles. p. 181. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0789202789](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0789202789).

- Strickland, Edeline Sackville (1898). [*Sizergh Castle, Westmoreland, and Notes on Twenty-five Generations of the Strickland Family*](https://books.google.com/books?id=GfM1AQAAMAAJ). T Wilson.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Sizergh Castle](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sizergh_Castle).

- [Sizergh Castle & Garden information at the National Trust](https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sizergh)

- [Sizergh Castle garden](http://www.gardenvisit.com/g/siz.htm)

- [Artworks at Sizergh](https://artuk.org/visit/venues/national-trust-sizergh-castle-5834), on the [Art UK](/source/Art_UK) site

- [wikidata List of paintings at Sizergh Castle](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata%3AWikiProject_sum_of_all_paintings%2FCollection%2FSizergh_Castle_and_Garden)

- [Illustrated guide to Sizergh Castle](http://www.english-lakes.com/sizergh_castle.html)

- [The Cumbria Directory – Sizergh Castle Garden](http://www.thecumbriadirectory.com/Tourist_Attractions/Gardens_and_Parks/garden_view.php?garden=sizergh_castle)

[54°17′04″N 2°46′19″W / 54.28444°N 2.77194°W / 54.28444; -2.77194](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Sizergh&params=54_17_04_N_2_46_19_W_type:landmark_source:dewiki)

Authority control databases National United States Israel Other Kulturenvanteri monument

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sizergh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sizergh) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sizergh?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.