Pengersick Castle


Pengersick Castle is a fortified Manor House located between the villages of Germoe and Praa Sands in Cornwall, England. The tower house, which is in the parish of Breage, is a Grade I listed building. Parts of the building date from the early 16th century.

Description

The tower house is of late medieval date and features one of the few towers of its type preserved in Britain. Lysons wrote as follows: "There are considerable remains of an ancient castellated mansion on this estate, called Pendersick Castle, the principal rooms in which are made use of as granaries and hay-lofts; one of them, which is nearly entire, is wainscotted in panels; the upper part of the wainscot is ornamented with paintings, each of which is accompanied with appropriate verses and proverbs in text hand".

History

It was built in about 1510 by William Worth. The Worth family originated at the manor of Worth in the parish of Washfield in Devon. Elizabeth Worth, a daughter of Thomas Worth, married John Militon of Meavy in Devon.
The Militon family, which originated in Devon, inherited Pengersick, and enlarged the building. John Milliton of Pengersick Castle became High Sheriff of Cornwall. Sabine Baring-Gould wrote as follows:

Pengersick Castle was improved circa 1530 as a fortified manor house using the proceeds of the wreck of a valuable Portuguese ship. Job Militon of Pengersick Castle was Governor of Saint Michael's Mount, Cornwall, in 1547.

Haunted by ghosts

Rumours of ghosts and devil-worship surround the castle. The ghost of John Milliton is said to haunt the castle. Legend says that he attempted to poison his wife, but she switched goblets with him and the Devil was all too happy to take them both to hell. Historical research has proven some of these stories to be false: no monks were murdered there, the supposed plague pits featured in the television programme Most Haunted were located in another part of the castle, and the Black Dog is reported to be a myth created by 19th century smugglers to frighten people away. Additionally, Sir John Milliton died in 1570, and his wife in 1579.