Ulleswater,
Helvellyn, Skiddaw, Saddleback, some of the Yorkshire hills, and Carlisle
Cathedral can be distinctly seen on a clear day. BROUGHAM CASTLE is situated
one mile and three-quarters from Penrith. It was one of the strongholds of
the great Barons of the Borders in the feudal times. At present it is in a
very decayed state, but still is majestic in its ruins. Its earliest owner
was John de Veteripont, from whose family it passed by marriage into the
hands of the Cliffords and Tuftons successively, and it is now the property
of Sir John Tufton. Tradition records, but on what authority we know not,
that Sir Philip Sidney wrote part of his "Arcadia" at this baronial mansion.
Wordsworth's "Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle" is one of his noblest
lyrical effusions. "The Countess's Pillar," a short distance beyond the
castle, was erected in 1656 by Lady Anne Clifford, as "a memorial of her last
parting at that place with her good and pious mother, Margaret, Countess
Dowager of Cumberland, the 2nd of April, 1616, in memory whereof she has left
the annuity of 4 pounds, to be distributed to the poor, within the parish of
Brougham, every 2nd day of April for ever, upon a stone hereby.
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