Pendragon Castle: King Arthur’s Birthplace or Mere Faded Ruin?

A ruined castle in wind-swept northern England may mark the birthplace of King Arthur, its owner believes.

Farmer Raven Frankland has spent almost 30 years painstakingly restoring Pendragon Castle since buying it at auction for a bargain price in 1963.

Amid the tangle of fact and myth surrounding Arthur, he believes Pendragon’s claim to the legend is as strong as anywhere else.

“It’s the legendary home of Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur,” Frankland said. “I think it’s the only place that claims to be the residence of Arthur’s father.”

Sheep graze on the banks of the River Eden beside the ruined walls of present-day Pendragon, set in the shadow of steep hills in the northern county of Cumbria.

The remains date from around 1170, when a Norman castle was built on the spot. But Frankland believes the artificial mound on which it stands dates from Roman times, when it may have served as a signal station.

He thinks the ancient British King Uther Pendragon may have built his own wooden residence on the existing mound after the Romans withdrew from Britain in the 5th Century.

Hard evidence of an Arthurian connection is scarce. But the fact that the Norman castle retained the name Pendragon bears witness to the strength of the legend, as does the local folklore associated with the castle.

One local rhyme, first recorded in the 17th Century, suggests that Uther may have tried unsuccessfully to divert the nearby River Eden to flow into the castle moat:

Let Uther Pendragon do what he can,

Eden will run where Eden ran.

Scholars have worked for centuries to unscramble fact from fiction and uncover the truth about King Arthur and the knights of his Round Table. Many places, especially in Cornwall and other parts of southwest England, claim links with his exploits.

“Arthur may well have been a general who fought successful battles against the invading Saxons from the east all the way up and down the western side of the country,” Frankland said.

Two American scholars last year pinpointed a site near Stirling in central Scotland as the probable site for Arthur’s Round Table, which they claimed was not in fact a table but a circular meeting hall used by the king and his knights.

One of the Americans, Norma Goodrich, agreed that Pendragon Castle seems a plausible location for Arthur’s birthplace.

“Arthur really was born right around northern England or within a very short distance of Hadrian’s Wall and Carlisle,” she said.

Goodrich said the name Pendragon refers to a banner designed by the magician Merlin and carried by Uther into battle.

“He made a banner in the shape of a dragon. It was a long pennant and had a tail of fire so that the man who fought under the banner was called the dragon--the man you’d better be scared of. It means head dragon, commander.”

Uther died in battle against the Saxons when Arthur was still a boy, according to one version of the legend. The future king was brought up by Merlin until he proved his royal blood by drawing the now-famous sword Excalibur from a stone anvil and was elected king at the age of 15.

Frankland, a farmer and local councilor who works on the castle in his spare time, is used to journalists’ questions about the chances of unearthing Arthur’s famous sword or other finds that would substantiate the legend.

“The chances are extremely slim but, of course, it doesn’t do to say that they’re nil. It would only be if something of precious metal or bronze were to be lost . . . timber, leather, iron all disappear, especially in this wet climate,” he said.

Frankland, whose father was a passionate Arthurian enthusiast, jumped at the chance to buy Pendragon when it was put up for auction in 1963. He paid just $860 for it.

The castle is closed to the public, but scholars and historians visit regularly, as do less welcome guests.

“We were worried by the fact that the tourist authorities put out a statement that there was a secret room with buried treasure, which of course is absolute nonsense, and we did find that in the unopened vault somebody had been quarrying away the wall to try to get in,” Frankland said.

Norman barrel vaults, stone arches and large portions of the walls still stand, despite centuries of plundering when the castle was used as a source of stone for local buildings.

Spiral staircases on either side of the main entrance are among its more unusual features.

To Frankland, the architecture and the medieval history of the castle--its first occupant was a Norman knight who took part in the murder of Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket--are more interesting than any connection with King Arthur.

“I’m not a tremendous Arthurian fan myself,” he said. “It wouldn’t upset me terribly if I heard it was all bunk.”