The History of Egremont and its Castle
In 990 the Danes invaded the area building a fort on the site of what later became Egremont Castle. When William the Conqueror's son marched north to Carlisle in 1092 the Normans began to influence the North West of England and it is believed that Egremont's name is likely to have derived from the Norman French "Egremond").
The castle was needed because of the continuing threat from the Scots and their wish to control land seized by William Rufus and also local opposition to the Kingdom of Strathclyde.
Egremont Castle was built after the Norman Conquest on the site of a Dane fort above the River Ehen although there was also an earlier Norman mound nearby. The early Motte and Baillie structure was fortified with sandstone and although the entrance tower and courtyard were completed in about 1180 and the Great Hall was not finished until 1270.
In 1092 Ranulph de Briquessart (Ranulph le Meschines) was given a large part of Cumberland and Westmorland by Rufus William II and on becoming the Earl of Chester in 1100 his estate was returned to the Crown. Around 1120 Henry I gave the Barony of Copeland to Ranulph's son William le Meschines who made his home at Egremont.
William inherited the land lying between the River Duddon in the south to the River Derwent in the north and from the Irish Sea in the west to the interior mountains in the east. William began building the castle around 1130 -1140 although it took 150 years to complete.
William's son, Ranulph le Meschines, had no male heir and the Barony passed to his sister Alice who married William Fitzduncan. Their child met an untimely death, becoming known as "the Boy of Egremont", so William's three daughters Annabel, Cecily and Alice inherited and eventually the estates passed down to Annabel's son Richard de Lucy. Richard's daughters both married into the de Multon family, Alice (now called de Morville) married Alan de Multon and Annabel (now called de Morville) married Lambert de Multon.
In 1177 Lambert and Annabel inherited the Barony of Copeland and Egremont Castle again had a Lord. He granted, by Royal Charter from Henry III in 1267. Egremont's borough charter and the right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair that was to become known as "Crab Fair" held on the Saturday nearest the 19th September. 
Richard de Lucy established his rights to the Lordship of Copeland, sued his relatives for his estates and obtained his inheritance in 1200. Around 1205 Grunwilda, Richard's wife, was killed by a wolf on a hunting trip and this was recounted in the poem "The Woeful Chase".
Richard died without a male heir and a superstition began that no male heir should inherit Egremont Castle because of the previous conduct of William le Meschines to one Robert Curthose by desertion and for atrocities to women and children by William Fitzduncan, known as the "Butcher of Craven".
1295 Egremont had two members of Parliament but as this was expensive the town petitioned the Crown and was spared this expense.
Today the town is much as it was in 1300 and land that he set aside for agriculture at Briscoe and Ullcoats, remains under agricultural usage.
During the the1300's the Scots made raids into Cumbria and in 1315 Robert the Bruce invaded England. Copeland was ravaged, James Douglas besieged the castle and Egremont was devastated. David I of Scotland used Egremont as his headquarters while raiding far as Furness. In 1322 Robert Bruce pillaged and plundered the town on a great raid lasting three weeks and resulted in many deaths. After 1330 there were a few decades of peace.
In 1386 Maud, sister and co-heiress of Anthony, the fourth Lord Lucy, married Henry Percy the Earl of Northumberland on condition that he should quarter his arms with hers. The estate then passed by marriage to the Seymours of Somerset.
By 1400 the castle at Egremont fell into a state of neglect and disrepair because it was left empty for long periods. The Scots were making less and less raids down the Cumberland plains and life was more predictable. In 1463 King Edward IV had made a truce with the Scots and the Duke of Gloucester, later to be crowned King Richard III. The condition of the castle has also been attributed to Cromwell's forces in the civil war but it was already in an advanced state of decay in 1578. Stone from the Castle ruin was used by locals for building and by 1667 they had houses and shops on the Main Street and in the Market Square.
Accounts for repairs to the castle date from 1678 and1762 and these may have been for repairs to stabilize the ruins or to maintain the manor court building, a later addition to the castle. It was in use as late as 1789 and survived as a roof building well into the nineteenth century. Responsibility for the castle upkeep passed to the local authority in 1981 and since considerable maintenance work has happened to the castle and grounds.
1565 The building of a stone "brygge" mentioned in a property deal at this date is most likely the bridge known as "Old Bridge".
Egremont has had several bridges. In 1683 Edward Benn was granted a plot of land on which to build a barn, on condition that he rebuilt and his heirs maintained the stone bridge or ‘brygge' of 1565 forever after. Another local, Isaac Pearson, built a tannery on the riverside near Black Bridge after the Borough Court granted him a plot in 1710, again on condition he rebuilt and maintained the bridge at the bottom of Bookwell Hill over Skitter Beck. Yet another bridge was built in 1748, close to Briscoe Mill by John Pearson, a Hatter at accost of £28-15s-0d
Egremonts infrastructure and services gradually improved to accommodate increased trade and traffic. A "Turn Pike Trust" was set up in 1749 and roads improved well enough to service the port of Whitehaven, then of national importance and the third largest port in England.
By 1800 a mail coach ran through Egremont three times a week on its way from Ulverston to Whitehaven and as Egremont thrived, tanneries, corn Mills, sailcloth Mills, flint Mills and flax Mills grew up alongside the River Ehen.
The Old Bridge of 1565 and 1683 was demolished and a new double arched sandstone one upstream replaced it in 1822. 1824 The bridge near Briscoe Mill was widened to allow passage of wheeled vehicles.
In 1830 Iron ore mining began, by 1850 it was flourishing and in 1879 Wyndham and Gillfoot mines also began to lift ore but by 1882 the iron ore trade suffered a depression, the first of many during the next 60 years. Betweem1800 and 1880 the population increased six fold to 6,000
A small company formed of local business men built a gasworks to light the town and the first piped water supply to standpipes on Main Street came from a 6,000 gallon reservoir at Howbank and a year later, in 1880, the town had its own mains supply from Cogra Moss. Egremont had its own telephone lines by 1885, three years later the Main Street was paved and further improved with tree planting...
The railway connecting Egremont to Whitehaven via Moor Row was extended in 1869 via Beckermet to Sellafield joining it up to the coast line from Furness to Whitehaven. By 1945 the passenger service had ceased on the Whitehaven to Sellafield via Egremont line.
1881 The Parish Church was rebuilt. In 1881 and in1901 the tower extended and bells installed.
1909 The last Leet Court is held in the castle, a long tradition is no more.
In 1909 the Beckermet Mining Company open their first mine at a depth of 600 fathoms, followed by a second at Briscoe Mount, after the first world war.
120 local men lost their lives in the First World War and the survivors returned home to find a lot of unemployment. By the 1930's this was very high and at one point 9 out of every 10 men were on the dole. In the Second World War 30 men lost their lives but as a result of the War the iron ore mines are in full production again and there was work.
In 1915 new housing was built at Briscoe Mount to the east of the town and in 1920 a new housing estate, Castle Croft, was built with semi-detached 3 and 4 bedroom houses. These had piped water, gas lighting and water sewage, all with rentals from 6/3d per week. Later an estate was built at Smithfield and in 1950 at Gulley Flatts. 1964 Comprehensive Schooling comes to Wyndham, the first in the British Isles.
After the war industry began to grow, Rowntrees had chocolate crumb factory at East Road and the Atomic Energy Authority took over the Royal Ordnance factory at Sellafield. The expansion brought many workers to the area and many sought accommodation in Egremont. By the 1980's Windscale Mine was closed and the iron ore mining industry finished. With only part of the new Florence mine left to produce some high grade iron. As Sellafield expanded its operation many Egremont residents got work in the nuclear industry.
