 The situation was still chaotic when King Henry III became king after his father 's death in 1216 . Although Bolsover fell to Ferrers ' forces in 1217 after a siege , there is no indication that Peveril was assaulted , and it is likely that Brian de Lisle negotiated his surrender . Ferrers only had possession of the lordship until King Henry III came of age . When the time came he was reluctant to hand over the property , and after an initial deadlock the Crown took control in 1223 . Although contemporary Pipe Roll records of expenditure at Peveril survive , they do not specify how the money was spent . As a result , it is unclear what constitutes maintenance and what marks substantial construction work ; however , Richard Eales , who wrote the 2006 English Heritage guidebook , suggests that there were two periods of building , when sums spent were larger than usual : £ 54 in 1204 – 1207 and £ 67 in 1210 – 1212 . The medieval historian Sidney Painter estimated that in about 1200 there were only seven magnates in England whose annual income exceeded £ 400 and a knight could easily live on £ 10 to £ 20 per year . 
