| Abstract | Danby Castle occupies a commanding position on the far slopes of Danby Rigg. It was built in the 14th century for Lord Latimer as a sign of his great wealth and, in its day, was of pioneering architectural design, combining both defense and comfortable living. Catherine Parr once lived at the castle, before she became the sixth wife of Henry VIII. The castle is a working farm today and part of the building is a farmhouse. Danby court leet, the all male, baronial court whose origins were, in the past, those of a manorial court, but whose functions are now restricted to the management of common land, regularly meet in the castle’s courtroom. The castle is home to a working manorial court, the Danby Court Leet. This is a rare survival of a medieval court which manages thousands of acres of moorland in Danby Manor. The castles, court and manor have been in the Dawnay family, ancestors of the present lord, Viscount Downe since 1656. |