Ulfstead Castle (RWS)

Ulfstead Castle is an ancient medieval fortress and the seat of the Earl of Sodor.

History
The name derives from Ulf who came to Sodor in 1067. As Thorkell's trusted lieutenant, Ogmund gave him charge of this strong point which guards the approach to Peel Godred. He had built a castle here by 1070. Ulf boasted that he would hold it against all comers till the lake ran dry. He was a jovial man with a perpetual thirst. His thirst was really for ale; but his men, in jest, called the lake Chybbyr Ulf - Ulf's Well - and the name stuck.

Ulf's castle defied all efforts of the Scots to take it, till their expulsion in 1078. During the Resistance Period (1263-1404), when Sudrians under their Regents repelled all efforts of successive Lords of Man to take over their Island, Ulfstead Castle was many times besieged but never taken. When however in 1404 King Henry IV assisted Sudrians in expelling the Percys, Sir Arnold de Normanby the last Regent, ceded the castle to the King. Henry restored it to Sir Arnold and at the same time created him Earl of Sodor and Governor of the Island.

The castle was held for the King throughout the Great Rebellion and the Protectorate. As in the case of Peel Godred, the outworks were so well sited that Roundheads could never get their artillery properly within range. At the Restoration, the Earl abandoned the castle and built himself a mansion in the grounds. The Earldom was extinguished by Attainder in 1715; but on the conclusion of his first term of office as Governor in 1873, Her Majesty Queen Victoria responded to popular opinion, and restored to John Arnold Norramby the Earldom of Sodor and the estates of Ulfstead Castle of which his ancestor had been deprived, and which had, in consequence, reverted to the Crown.

By 1965 however, life in the Mansion had become impossible and it was sold. The castle itself was offered to the Sodor Island Trust who gladly accepted it. It was complete and undamaged except for natural decay. Repairs and renewals continue. It is of the greatest interest to archaeologists and military historians. The castle muniments which included such treasures as the Sigrid Saga and the Book of Sir Harald are on loan to the Island Record Office at Suddery. The Earl now lives in a comfortable house on the outskirts of the town. The Mansion has been turned into a luxury hotel, known as The Castle, with correspondingly high prices.

Appearances
Railway Series=

Companion Volumes

 * 1987 - The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways