The New Murrey and Blue blog

Muncaster is a castle in the Lake District, owned by the Pennington family since 1208. The area was heavily occupied before that and parts of the castle may even lie over a Roman fort–hence the ‘caster’ in Muncaster.

One of the castle’s treasures is the ‘Luck of Muncaster, ‘ a bowl given to the family by Henry VI, who took shelter there after the Battle of Hexham in 1464. (Some sources say after Towton, but this in incorrect.) The bowl is made of Venetian glass.

Henry, when in flight, first went to Irton Hall, where he was refused entry. He then apparently stood out in the rain under a huge tree, where several sympathetic shepherds found him and sent him on his way to Muncaster, where he was welcomed. When he left, he gave the family the bowl, which became synonymous with the luck and good fortune of the Pennington family–as long as it remained unbroken.

It seems to have worked as the attractive bowl is still in one piece and the family are still living at Muncaster. Henry was not so lucky, of course–after leaving Muncaster, he went to another castle where he was betrayed and captured in 1465.