Jacobite take over at Muncaster Castle!

History lovers can delve into the fascinating era of the 18th Century Jacobite uprisings thanks to a special event at Muncaster Castle this weekend.

One of the UK’s leading Jacobite experts will be at the castle to give a talk and a selection of Muncaster’s historic Jacobite papers will be on display.

Dr Jonathan Oates, and a panel of other historians, will examine the often-panicked response of local authorities in Cumberland and Westmorland to reports of the Jacobite army led by Bonnie Prince Charlie marching south from Scotland in 1745.

Muncaster would have had a significant role in the defence against the 1745 uprising as its custodian at the time – Sir John Pennington, 3rd Baronet Muncaster, was colonel of the

Cumberland and Westmorland militia.

Henry Lowther, 3rd Viscount Lonsdale, as Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland, was responsible for organising the defence of Carlisle, Cumberland, and Westmoreland. His papers, which are held today in Muncaster Castle and the Whitehaven Record Office, have never been transcribed or published in full.

The talks will examine if the non-existent or ineffectual attempts to tackle the uprising meant support for the Hanoverian dynasty in north west England was lukewarm at best.

Jeri Cormack, from the University of Aberdeen, will discuss what the Muncaster papers reveal about local efforts to counter the Jacobite threat, the Jacobite and Hanoverian sieges of Carlisle, the role of Sir Joseph Pennington, and the connections with Muncaster Castle.

The talk and question and answer sessions take place on Saturday, March 4 at 3pm jointly chaired Peter Frost-Pennington of Muncaster Castle and his brother, historian Professor Robert Frost, of the University of Aberdeen.

Tickets are available on www.muncaster.co.uk/ and include entry to Muncaster for the day. Muncaster opens at 11am with a World of Owls flying display at 1.30pm. The event will start with tea, coffee and cake (included in the ticket price) at 3pm in the castle.