Richard, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton, built Bolton Castle between 1378 and 1399. A contract was made in September 1378 with the mason John Lewyn, and the license to build was granted in July 1379. The article gives its reputed cost as 18,000 marks and calls it a quadrangular castle.
Sir Francis Knollys described its walls as the highest of any house he had seen. Mary, Queen of Scots was held there for about six months, from July 1568 to January 1569, and her quarters were in the southwest tower. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and later slighted, though much survived.
It has never been sold and remains with the Scrope family's descendants. It is a Grade I listed building and a tourist attraction.
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