Dovenby Hall

Dovenby Hall – Cockermouth

The original Dovenby Hall, with its pele tower, was the principal residence in Dovenby village. It lies 2.5 miles north-west of Cockermouth surrounded by parks and woodland and is 115 acres in extent. The Hall was built in three stages: pele tower, front and arch, then the back.

The Tower was built in the 12th Century from stones taken from the Roman road which ran through the village from Maryport to Papcastle. The pele tower is the oldest part of the building, being early Norman. When there was an attack on the tower, the animals would be driven into the bottom of the tower, and the men would man the arrow slits at the top of the tower. There is only one arrow slit left and that is inside the main hall, which was built around the tower.

During its history it has served as a private residence (1154 – 1930), and a mental institution (1930 – 1997).

Dovenby Hall is now the home of the magnificent multi-million pound development on behalf of the Ford World Rally Team. The £10 million facility is owned by M-Sport, founded by the former world class rally driver (and Cumbrian), Malcolm Wilson.

M-sport is the organization chosen by the Ford Motor Company to mastermind the assault on Ford’s major Global Motorsport activity, the World Rally Championship.

M-Sport currently employs 116 people from design, engineering and technical backgrounds as well as administration staff – almost all recruited from the local area.

• www.m-sport.co.uk
• www.malcolmwilson.co.uk – Malcolm Wilson Rally
• Malcolm Wilson Rally – photos of previous events
• Wikipedia – Dovenby Hall

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