Dacre Castle Dacre Castle is a moat ed tower house in the village of Dacre , south - west of Penrith , Cumbria . It was constructed in the mid - 14th century , probably by Margaret Multon , against the background of the threat of Scottish invasion and raids , and was held in the Dacre family until the 17th century . The tower house is tall , built out of local sandstone , topped by crenellations , with four turrets protruding from a central block , and includes an ornate lavabo in the main hall . Renovated during the 1670s and 1960s after periods of disrepair , the castle is now used as a private home . History . Dacre Castle was probably built by Margaret Multon , the wife of Ralph Dacre , in the middle of the 14th century . The Dacre family had risen in prominence in Cumbria during the 12th and early 13th centuries , and William Dacre , Ralph ' s father , had acquired a licence to crenellate the property of Dunmallogt in 1307 , quite close to the future site of Dacre Castle . Ralph married Margaret in 1317 , becoming extremely wealth as a result , and received permission to found Naworth Castle in 1335 . Margaret built Dacre Castle at some point between Ralph ' s death in 1339 and 1354 , with the intention of creating a fortified home . Many tower houses were built across the region during the period in response to the threat of Scottish raids and invasions . There may have been an older building already on the site , possibly moat ed , but this is uncertain . After Margaret ' s death , the castle continued to be owned by the Dacre family until the death of Randal Dacre in 1634 , when it passed briefly to the Crown . By 1675 the castle had become derelict and was restored by the then Lord Dacre , Thomas Lennard . A new entrance to the castle was constructed and square , 17th - century windows installed . After Thomas ' s death in 1715 the castle was sold to Edward Hassell . The condition of the castle deteriorated again in the 18th century , becoming overgrown and dilapidated , and by the 19th century the Hassell family were using it as a farmhouse . In 1961 , the castle was leased for 22 years by Anthony and Bunty Kinsman , at a cost of £1 , 000 . The property required extensive structural repairs and renovations in order to be made habitable , which the Kinsmans undertook over the next two years . The construction work cost £8 , 596 , and some financial support was provided by the Ministry of Works in exchange for the castle being opened to the public for the next fifteen years . The new oak doors in the castle were fitted with iron hinges that had originally been used in nearby Lowther Castle . In 1967 , the castle was visited by Princess Sharada Shah , the daughter of the King Mahendra of Nepal , as part of an official trip to the UK . In the 21st century the castle is owned by the Hassell - McCosh family and is rented out as a private home . It is protected under UK law as a grade I listed building . Architecture . Dacre Castle lies in a valley , overlooking a stream and fields . It comprises a tower house surrounded by a three - sided moat , creating an enclosed courtyard to the east by across . The moat is between to wide and up to deep , with a protective bank on the south and west sides ; originally a wall would have surrounded the outside of the courtyard . The courtyard originally held various buildings , possibly stables and offices , but the tower house was designed to operate independently , without the need for attached facilities . Architecturally , the design of Dacre resembles Harewood and Langley Castle s . The tower house is in the north - east corner of the enclosure and takes the form of a square , central block , with two large turrets on one side and two smaller turrets resembling angular buttress es on the other . It is made of large blocks of local sandstone and the roof is crenellate d . The central block is by inside , and is tall , with thick walls . The building was originally entered through the south - west turret on the ground - floor , but since the 17th century the entrance way has been directly into the central block up an exterior staircase . The ground floor of the central block contains two vaulted chambers and the first - floor forms a hall containing an ornate lavabo , with smaller chambers in the turrets . The second floor similarly forms a single large chamber , high , with rooms in each of the adjacent turrets , and is traditionally called the " Room of the Three Kings " , after the legend described by William of Malmesbury . In the 14th century , these large chambers would have been subdivided into smaller rooms . The renovations in the 1960s uncovered a possible priest hole behind the fireplace in the Room of the Three Kings , by ; this chamber was re - sealed to avoid the cost of restoring it .