Lilburn Tower is a privately owned 19th-century mansion house at Lilburn, near

Wooler Wooler ( ) is a small town in Northumberland, England. It lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, near the Cheviot Hills. It is a popular base for walkers and is referred to as the "Gateway to the Cheviots". As well as many shops ...

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 ...

. The property is a

Grade II* 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 Ir ...

and forms part of the Lilburn Estate. A number of discrete buildings and monuments are scattered across the grange, including the Hurlestone, Hurlestone Tower and an astronomical observatory. Lilburn Tower - geograph

The ancient manors of East and West Lilburn were united when both were purchased separately by John Clennell of the Clennel family of Clennell Hall about 1700. The ruinous remains of the old 15th-century manor house, known as West Lilburn Tower, which incorporated 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 ...

, are scheduled as an

Ancient Monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...

and protected by

Grade II 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 Ir ...

status. On the death of Thomas Clennel, the estate devolved to his nephew, Henry Collingwood, who was

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

in 1793. The estate was bequeathed to Henry John William Collingwood of Cornhill in the 1820s, and in 1828 he began the construction of the imposing new Elizabethan-style mansion designed by architect John Dobson. The house, to be known as ''Lilburn Tower'', was eventually finished in 1842 at a cost of some £25,000. Collingwood himself designed the park and gardens. He was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1832. On 3 January 1829, the foundation stone of the mansion house was laid in an elaborate ceremony under direction of the architect. A

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...

of various items was deposited beneath the stone: "two glass vessels, one containing the different coins of the reign of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

, the other a newspaper of the 3rd of January, together with a MS. containing the following names: — 'Robert Hall, Alnwick, mason; Thomas Wallace and Sons, Newcastle, carpenters and joiners; Ralph Dodds, Newcastle, plasterer; Robert Wallace, clerk of the works.' Both vessels were sealed with the arms of Collingwood." In 1842, shortly after the death of Henry, the estate was sold to his kinsman Edward John CollingwoodClarke, Benjamin (1852). ''The British Gazetteer'', Vol. I, p. 727. London: H. G. Collins. (1815–1895) of

Eglingham Eglingham is a village in Northumberland, England, situated about north-west of Alnwick and from Wooler. It lies in the sheltered valley of the Eglingham Burn, a tributary of the River Aln, about above sea level, in a rural conservation area ...

, nephew of Admiral Lord Collingwood. His son Col Cuthbert Collingwood (1848–1933) and grandson Edward Foyle Collingwood, High Sheriff in 1937, were later owners. The house and estate are now owned by Duncan Davidson, the founder of the house-builders

Persimmon plc Persimmon plc is a British housebuilding company, headquartered in York, England. The company is named after a horse which won the 1896 Derby and St. Leger for the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). It is listed on the London Stock Ex ...

.Business Profile: Persimmon's master builder
'' Daily Telegraph'', 19 March 2006.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Lilburn Tower country house, Lilburn
English Heritage, architectural description of Grade II* listed house

English Heritage, architectural description of Grade II listed ruined tower

Structural Images of the North East

Keys to the Past

The National Gardens Scheme, Lilburn Tower Garden
Grade II* listed buildings in Northumberland Country houses in Northumberland