Piel Castle

Piel Castle stands as a ruined 14th-century fortress on an island at the entrance to Barrow-in-Furness harbour in Morecambe Bay, built in 1327 by John Cockerham, Abbot of Furness Abbey. Originally constructed to guard the abbey's holdings against Scottish raiders and pirates, the castle features an imposing stone keep with inner and outer baileys surrounded by extensive curtain walls and two protective ditches. The castle gained historical prominence when Lambert Simnel landed here in 1487 with a mercenary force during the Wars of the Roses. After Furness Abbey's dissolution in 1537, the castle became Henry VIII's property and subsequently fell into ruins. In 1920, English Heritage took stewardship of the site, which is accessible by small ferry from Roa Island between Easter and October, weather permitting.