Turton Tower is a manor house in Chapeltown in

North Turton North Turton is a civil parish of the unitary authority of Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 the civil parish has a population of 3,736, increasing to 3,867 at the 2011 Census. North Turton ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England. It is a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

and a grade I

listed building 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 ...

. It was built in the late

Middle Ages 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

as a two-storey stone

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 ...

which was altered and enlarged mainly in late 16th century. It is built on high ground 600 feet above sea level about four miles north of

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Ann ...

described it as being built "amongst precipices and wastes." A north wing and additions were made during the reign of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and alterations were made during the early years of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

Structure

The oldest part of the building, which was probably built in the early 15th century, is the stone pele tower which measures 45 feet in length from north to south and is 28 feet in width. It is about 35 feet in height with walls four feet thick. In the northwest corner of the tower, the shaft of a

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

projects from the main structure. The tower had three low storeys as evidenced by the blocked window openings. Its walls are rough with large corner quoins. During the early 16th century, two

cruck A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which support the roof of a building, historically used in England and Wales. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally naturally curved, timber members that lean inwards and ...

framed buildings were added to the tower, and later an extension at the front of the house created the entrance with its imposing front door. Inside the building, this

Tudor architecture The Tudor architectural style is the final development of Medieval architecture in England and Wales, during the Tudor period (1485–1603) and even beyond, and also the tentative introduction of Renaissance architecture to Britain. It fo ...

can be seen, including part of the cruck structure along with exposed and restored sections of the

wattle and daub Wattle and daub is a composite building method used for making walls and buildings, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung a ...

and

lath and plaster Lath and plaster is a building process used to finish mainly interior dividing walls and ceilings. It consists of narrow strips of wood ( laths) which are nailed horizontally across the wall studs or ceiling joists and then coated in plaster. The ...

wall panelling. The entrance and entrance hall belonged to the rebuilding of 1596 when vast changes were made, and the tower raised to its present height. The new upper storey was built in ashlar stone separated from the old rubble walling by a moulded string course. The old floors were removed, and the walls were raised to 45 feet to the top of the

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

s. The narrow windows were blocked up, and replaced by large three, four, and five-light

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

ed and transomed windows, transforming the appearance of the old part of the building. During the 17th century, the cruck buildings were clad in stone and the structure remained unchanged until the 19th century. Small alterations in the 18th and early 19th century by the Chetham family before the house passed to Kay family. After 1835 the Kay's were responsible for Victorian renovations, including the

Dutch gable A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the termination of a ...

façade. Other alterations include the Ashworth and Bradshaw rooms.

Occupants

Turton Tower was home to the lords of the Manor of Turton and, in about 1200, was part of the barony of Manchester, by which time part of the manor was in the hands of the de Lathom family. It was inherited in 1420 by the Orrells, who rebuilt the

. In 1603

described it as built first for defence, that tournaments were held there in the 14th century and that it was entirely rebuilt of stone in 1594. In 1628 the Orrells sold Turton Tower to

Humphrey Chetham Humphrey Chetham (10 July 1580 – 1653) was an English textile merchant, financier and philanthropist, responsible for the creation of Chetham's Hospital and Chetham's Library, the oldest public library in the English-speaking world.Crosb ...

, the Manchester merchant responsible for the creation of

Chetham's Library Chetham's Library in Manchester, England, is the oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world.Nicholls (2004), p. 20. Chetham's Hospital, which contains both the library and Chetham's School of Music, was established in ...

and

Chetham's School of Music Chetham's School of Music () is an independent co-educational music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates students between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. Students receive a full academic education a ...

. It passed to his descendants, the Bland, Green and Frere families who leased it to a succession of tenant farmers. The tower was sold in a state of disrepair in 1835 to James Kay, who restored it. He sold the tower to Elizabeth and Anne Appleton who leased it to William Rigg, a

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

manufacturer, whose daughter, Ellen, wrote "Victorian Children at Turton Tower". In 1903 the tower was bought by

Sir Lees Knowles, 1st Baronet Sir Lees Knowles, 1st Baronet (16 February 1857 – 7 October 1928) was a British barrister, military historian and Conservative politician. Early life Knowles was the son of John Knowles and Elizabeth Lees of Green Bank, Oldham, Lancashir ...

, MP for Salford West, for £3,875. After his death in 1929, his widow, Lady Nina Knowles, presented it to

Turton Urban District Turton Urban District was, from 1873 to 1974, a local government district centred on the historical area of Turton in the administrative county of Lancashire, England. History Background Turton was a township and chapelry of the civil and e ...

Council in 1930, and it became the council's

seat of local government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...

. After local government re-organisation in 1974, Turton was split, and the tower became part of the new Borough of Blackburn and was administered by Lancashire County Museums Service. Following changes to the Lancashire County Museum Service, the tower was taken over by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Gallery

File:Turton Tower Tapestry Bedroom.jpg, The Tapestry Bedroom File:Turton Tower Morning Room.jpg, The Morning Room File:Turton Tower Bradshaw Bedroom.jpg, The Bradshaw Bedroom File:Turton Tower Dining Room.jpg, The Dining Room File:Turton Tower Drawing Room.jpg, The Drawing Room

References

Bibliography

External links