# An Englishwoman's home is her castle!



## Capt Lightning (Sep 19, 2018)

This is Wray castle in Cumbria, N.England.  It was built in 1840 by Margaret Dawson as a retirement home for herself and her husband.
Unusually, Margaret had been left a fortune with the condition that she was a "_Femme sole_".  This meant that she was not subordinate to her husband and she had sole control of her inheritance.  The castle was designed my a Mr Lightfoot who was an accountant - NOT an architect.

So, it's not strictly a castle, just a large house built by someone who had little idea of what a castle was.  After the Dawson's death,  it changed hands several times before being opened as a tourist attraction .


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## hollydolly (Sep 19, 2018)

I wouldn't want it in a lucky bag tbh... the land around it yes, but the house...naaaa


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## RadishRose (Sep 19, 2018)

Not for me either.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Sep 19, 2018)

I wouldn't want it either,I would get lost in it.


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## Aunt Bea (Sep 19, 2018)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I wouldn't want it either,I would get lost in it.



I agree If I lived in that house I would always have my cell phone and a couple of sandwiches in my pocket!

It would be a wonderful place to raise kids and dragons.


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## RadishRose (Sep 19, 2018)

There was a famous actor named William Gillette who played Sherlock Holmes, who lived in my state a long time ago.  He built a sort-of pseudo-castle called aptly "Gillette's Castle". It has been a tourist attraction for many years.

 If for nothing else, the view from the verandah looking down at the Connecticut river is very beautiful.


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## AprilT (Sep 19, 2018)

Looks like a fun place to live.  I like the whole "Femme Sole"  clause that was thrown in as a condition.  The parties I would have had, of course I would have had a more modern decor inside most of the home.


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## Keesha (Sep 19, 2018)

That would be fun to visit , leave and have others clean  it up once you’ve left.


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## jujube (Sep 19, 2018)

I'd love to live in that castle.  Of course, I'd demand a title to go with it.  Lady Jujube of the Heathers.....how does that sound?


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## Keesha (Sep 19, 2018)

And you’d have a team of maids serving you ?
That would drive me nuts. Not that they were serving you. Lol. 
Thats just not my thing. I’m too independent for that.


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## -Oy- (Sep 19, 2018)

I do like a castle - and Wray is not one I'v ebeen to despite being an hour away!

Here's one we stumbled across in Yorkshire earlier this year.

Ripley Castle.


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## Capt Lightning (Sep 19, 2018)

A rather grander castle, but still a private house is the castle of Mey in the northernmost part of Scotland.  This was the private residence of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
According to her staff, she was rather eccentric and used to walk down to the local beach to collect sea shells and come back with the pockets of her shabby old overcoat bulging.
She would also take a flask and rug and sit by the side of the road for a picnic, and chat to the locals.  They all knew and respected her.


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## Aunt Bea (Sep 19, 2018)

This is the closest castle to me, Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands region of New York.

Not really a fortified castle just a big stone summer house.

The smaller castle on the water was the power plant that supplied electricity and the second picture is of the yacht house.

Boldt Castle is now a tourist attraction.


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## jujube (Sep 19, 2018)

The nearest thing to a castle that we had in Central Florida (well, beside Cinderella's Castle at Disney World) was the "castle" Glenn Turner built with his ill-begotten gains from his pyramid scheme Koskot Kosmetics.  

He never finished it and when it was being sold (he was in prison), it conveniently burned down the day before it was to be sold, leaving only the boathouse, which still stands.


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