One of the finest Gothic buildings of the northwest, Lowther Castle was built on the site of two previous houses by Robert Smirke for William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale between 1806 and 1814. Unfortunately, the Lowther family fortune was undermined by the extravagances of the 5th Earl and the building fell into disrepair, culminating in the demolishing of walls and the removal of the roof in 1957 to avoid duties and taxes.

The Lowther Castle and Gardens Trust, with the assistance of funding from Heritage England, The Northwest Development Agency and various other individuals and organisations embarked on a programme of restoration on the estate in 2007 with a view to creating a new visitor attraction in the Lake District National Park.

Stirling Stone Ltd were engaged in the summer of 2011 to carry out the extensive consolidation and repair works required on the existing stonework to reinstate the original profile of the castle together with the restoration and repair of the adjacent derelict stables buildings for use as a visitor and education centre.

The 18 month programme of works included extensive cleaning; raking out, consolidation and repointing of the rubble walling; petrographic stone matching; recovering and cataloguing of original masonry details from fallen stone stockpiles with a view to rebuilding and recreating original features; procuring and hand masoning of replacement dressings/details where originals were not available; replacement of phosphor bronze lintels and installation of Cintec anchors where additional structural support was required.