Castle has been occupied by the same family since 1150. Several different buildings have occupied the spot, the last of which was the castle itself. It was commissioned by William, 1^st Earl of Lonsdale in 1806 and designed by the architect Robert Smirke, later responsible for many great civic buildings in London including the British Museum. In its heyday, the castle boasted a room for every day of the year. There was a grand art collection and the house was a celebrated beacon of the north.

130 years after it was built however, the castle was abandoned for good. The ‘Yellow Earl’, 5^th Earl of Lonsdale spent his way through a vast fortune and the castle became a luxury too far.

War-time requisition by an army tank regiment, then crippling death duties finally sealed the castle’s fate and in 1957, James Lonsdale, the 7^th Earl removed the castle roof. Every chimney pot, every door handle, every fireplace was sold and Lowther Castle became an empty shell.