In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Piel like this:
FOULDREY, a rocky islet in Dalton-in-Furness parish, Lancashire; 1¾ mile SSW of the extremity of the Lower Furness peninsula. It was anciently called Fulder. It is of small extent, and is suffering diminution by the action of the tides; but it contains a public house and one or two cottages, and is an object of attraction to Lake tourists. ...
A castle was built on it by the monks of Furness abbey, soon after the erection of that edifice, for the double purpose of serving as a retreat to themselves in the event of danger at the abbey, and of protecting their harbour at Peel Pier. This may not, at first, have possessed much strength; but, after the devastation of Furness by the Scots under Robert Bruce, it was reconstructed into a formidable fortress; it thence, till the Reformation, held full command over all the neighbouring coast; and, in 1487, it was used by the impostor, Lambert Simnel, for covering the descent of his army on Lancashire. Considerable ruins of it, including outer walls, corner towers, portcullised entrance gateway, and strong, three-story, central keep, still exist; they form a picturesque object, seen many miles out at sea; they also command a brilliant and extensive prospect of the Furness region; and they are popularly called Peel Castle or the Peel of Fouldrey.
Piel through time
Piel is now part of Barrow in Furness district. Click here for graphs and data of how Barrow in Furness has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Piel itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Piel, in Barrow in Furness and Lancashire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/24680
Date accessed: 30th April 2024
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