PERCHED halfway up the northern edge of Danby Rigg, with the village of Danby to the north, and en route to the dale of Little Fryup, is one of North Yorkshire's forgotten treasures.

It's not a Bolton Castle or Rievaulx Abbey, but Danby Castle is still an excellent example of the switch from building castles as fortresses to combining elements which made for a more comfortable residence.

It stands proudly, looking down on Danby below. Its diagonally projecting corner towers show a relationship to what has been referred to as the "Quadrangular Palace" style, built by John de Neville about 1380. It's almost a kind of Grand Designs for the 14th century. And now there are a few other designs on its use that the new tenants are pursuing.

Different schools date the castle from the 14th or 15th centuries, with the Latimer family having built it after the estate had passed to them from the Thwengs.

Its most famous resident, although again there is a degree of conjecture over this, was Katherine Parr, or rather Katherine Nevill as she would have been called. Before she became the sixth wife of Henry VIII, Katherine had already had two husbands. By the time she was 16, she was the widow of Lord Borough, who was himself a wealthy widower and in his 60s when they married. The next one at the altar was John Nevill, the third Lord Latimer, who owned Danby Castle. The castle may have been the marital home; others say Snape Castle, near Bedale, is where John Nevill lived.

The present residents are Duncan and Carolyn Bavister. They arrived from Wiltshire 18 months ago with two offspring and are about to double it at Christmas when their fourth child is due (their third was born eight months ago). They believe Danby Castle will probably become better known now than ever.

Originally, Duncan comes from Barnsley, and is the son of an ex-headmaster-cum-preacher. His career has been in music and events, as a sound engineer, and he worked for the BBC for a number of years.

He sees Danby Castle, their home for at least the next eight-and-a-half years, as they are on a 10-year tenancy, as a venue that can make the most of its historic interest. Carolyn agrees.

For such an old building, even accounting for some alterations and additions undertaken over the centuries, it is still an impressive sight and offers a unique flavour. The couple's plans are in keeping with the Tudor fascination for weddings, and Carolyn feels that the castle is well suited to hosting them.

"Carolyn has just put together the website and we're getting three or four inquiries a day. It's very encouraging," says Duncan.

"The whole point of having a wedding here is so that you can have what you want. At the last one, the couple had a big ivy arch put at the end near the car park, and made a walkway with candles embedded in logs."

The castle passed to its present owners, the Dawnay family, in the 17th century. It became a farm residence, but there have been times in recent years when the property has not been lived in. Duncan understands that creates its own problems.

"This is one of those places that was closed for a lot of years and when it was a farm, the general public couldn't come in unless they were invited. Since we came here, we do now get walkers around, coming to have a look. We encourage them to, but we like to know if we have visitors. Some people just feel they have a right to walk around, even though we have signs saying this is a private residence. The castle, on the whole, as a historic site has never been plugged. It's a hidden gem and we're now getting some interest from English Heritage and the other bodies."

Katherine Nevill and her husband, John, may have danced or entertained, but they certainly weren't dancing to tunes like Tiger Feet or Sugar Baby Love by Seventies bands Mud and the Rubettes, who are booked to play next Saturday.

"We're starting to put on music events. We've just had Chris Helme, (from York, ex-Seahorses) play, then we're also doing bigger things like the Seventies' night. Next year, we're hoping to put on a two-site, two-day event."

Red tape has hampered Duncan and Carolyn's progress so far. But they
have been happy with the overall response from the various organisations and
the locals.

Carolyn sees the castle as a great move for them.

"I wanted to be able to take my children to school and pick them up. I couldn't do that in London where I worked. And there wasn't much chance of a family life. It's a completely different world up here. The kids love it, they've settled into their schools really well. Now
we just need to make our plans work."

www.danbycastle.com