Elsdon Tower is a
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
medieval
tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
converted for use as a
Rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically ow ...
situated at
Elsdon,
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
.
Originally part of the estate of
Elsdon Castle, it later become a rectory and is now a private residence. The original construction dates from the 15th century and has been modified several times.
History
The property was first recorded as ''Vicars Pele'', a
pele tower
Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...
in the occupation of the Rector of Elsdon in 1415.
[ There is nearby a ]medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortification ...
castle, which was built by Robert de Umfraville
Sir Robert de Umfraville KG, Lord of Redesdale ( 1363 – 1437) was a knight in late-medieval England who took part in the later stages of the Hundred Years' War, particularly against Scotland. The de Umfraville family had been influential i ...
and is known as Elsdon Castle.
The tower originally contained four storeys, was reduced in the 17th century to only three with a steeply sloping roof above a castellated parapet.[ The parapets display the crest of the ]Umfraville
The Umfraville family were Anglo-Norman landowners, administrators and soldiers who were prominent from about 1120 to 1437 on the northern border of England, where they held the strategic lordships of Prudhoe and Redesdale in Northumberland. The ...
family, who lived in the area but abandoned Eldon Castle for Harbottle Castle
Harbottle Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated at the west end of the village of Harbottle, Northumberland, England, west-north-west of Rothbury overlooking the River Coquet. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed buil ...
.
Subsequent buildings have been adjoined on the north and west of the tower.[ Between 1820–1826, Archdeacon Singleton built an entrance porch and a two-storey, two-bayed house extension.][ It was in use as the Rectory until 1960.][ It was fully renovated and restored between 1995 and 1998, which included a significant amount of archaeological research during the works.][ The tower is closed to the public but access is available to view it from nearby.]
References
External links
{{Commons category, Elsdon Tower
GENUKI
(Accessed: 27 November 2008)
Houses completed in the 15th century
Towers completed in the 15th century
Grade I listed buildings in Northumberland
Peel towers in Northumberland