Many people have been surprised that the Castle name still exists. Furthermore the claim that the family was descended from the Castle family of shipbuilders based on the Thames in the seventeenth century has also created a great deal of interest among many people. Accordingly we can confirm the outstanding success of the website and of the increasing number of daily visits from many countries around the world.  

From March 2016 we have added an Articles page to our website and additional items will be added thereto from time to time, which creates supplementary information not provided on the web site pages or in the eBook. This page now replaces the previous Blog link that existed on our former website design and the items included therein are now shown as separate articles, however visitors can still add comments if they so wish. 

The website has stimulated a considerable amount of interest to date and provides a rich source of knowledge about Castles that could not otherwise have been generated very easily. Accordingly in 2016, as mentioned above, we have re-designed the entire layout of the site in order to present a new and fresh look as well as incorporating many new features.  We hope you like it.

The project is still on going and more information comes to light every week from various sources and in view of these benefits we considered that publishing a book about the Castle family and its rich heritage might be appropriate. However, We now felt that the history was more of an educational project rather than a commercial endeavour. Accordingly we have completed an eBook history which tells the story in much greater detail. In order to access the eBook click the link above. We believe this is the best way forward as more information may well come to light.

The activities and lives of the Castle family were adventurous and offer a rich insight into the important, but little understood industry of shipbreaking during the 19th century. The era spanning the lives of Henry Castle and his son Sidney Castle and grandsons is of particular relevance to this fascinating period about the history of The Thames and of the Royal Navy. 

This website therefore concentrates, in the main, on the commercial activities of Henry Castle and his family, However an important and parallel study has been undertaken into the Castle family tree dating back to the seventeenth century in an endeavour to prove the link with William Castle and his brother Robert Castle, shipbuilders in Rotherhithe & Deptford in the 1660s and 1670s. The former is mentioned several times in Pepys's Diaries.

Investigations and research have shown that records were destroyed over the years. Limitations in the scope of the research have also occurred because of the destruction of records by Companies House as well as a result of Second World War bombings. In addition much of the written material available is anecdotal and has never been properly authenticated. 

Historians of The Thames find that the story about the Castle Yards at Baltic Wharf and Longs Wharf is of special interest. 

The researches to date have however unearthed a vast quantity of material, but special care is being taken to examine the validity of all the information available. Inevitably this has proved to be a time consuming process and is ongoing. There is a very interesting story to tell about the last of the wooden sailing ships and their figureheads,which is summarised within the pages of this website and explained in detail within the eBook. We hope you enjoy the visit and look forward to receiving your feedback via our Contact page.