had no use for the castle and removed anything of value from it, including the lead from the roof. By the 1770s much of the building above the second storey had collapsed, and it has since gradually decayed further to become the romantic ruin seen today. In 1962, the castle was sold at auction by Appleby Castle Estate to Raven Frankland, a landowner and archaeologist, for £525. During the Second World War, Frankland's father, Edward, had written a book about the Arthurian legends associated with the castle. The current owner, John Bucknall, inherited the castle following the deaths of his cousin Raven in 1998 and Raven's wife Juliet in 2013. In recent years some of the rubble has been cleared, some consolidation of the crumbling walls has been undertaken, and a limited archaeological survey has been carried out by the Lancaster University Archaeological Unit published in 1996. The castle is privately owned and on farmland. There is public access to the outside of the building, with a warning that the castle walls should not be entered. It appears that some remedial work has been carried out with the aid of a grant. Etymology The name Pendragon was first recorded in 1309 and is likely to have been a product of later medieval enthusiasm for Arthurian romance. It is less likely that the name is derived from Brittonic pen, meaning "head, top, summit", and dragon, "dragon", honoratively "prince, warlord" (Welsh pen draig). See also Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria Listed buildings in Mallerstang References External links Visit Cumbria Castles in Cumbria Tourist attractions in Cumbria Ruins in Cumbria Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria Locations associated with Arthurian legend Uther Pendragon Mallerstang