More information : (NY 61571556) Crake Trees (NAT). (1)
Crake Trees, house, about 1,000 yards N.W. of the church, is of two storeys; the walls are of rubble and the roofs that survive are slate-covered. it is said to have belonged to the family of Lancaster and seems to have been built late in the 14th or early in the 15th century. It was of the local Medieval type, with a single-storeyed hall-block and wings at the N. and S. ends: the S. Wing was of the semi fortified type and probably carried up as a tower. The main block was remodelled at various times and an upper storey added; the house has long been abandoned and is now roofless and ruined, except the S. wing which has been much reduced in height and is covered with a modern roof. (2)
Crake Trees (tower house) House, now ruinous, incorporating a tower. At least two separate builds. The tower is probably 14th century, linked to the solar block by a single storey hall; a first floor was probably added to the hall in the 16th or 17th century. Later additions and alterations. Grade 2. (3)
NY 61571555 Crake Trees tower house. A ruinous hall block with wings at the north and south ends. The tower forms the south wing; it was abandoned at the turn of the 20th century; scheduled. (4)
In the wnter of 1999-2000 Crake Trees was the subject of a detailed architectural and archaeological survey. A full report and plans are available from the NMR and only a summary of the findings is given below.
Crake Trees is a medieval house, ofwhich only the vaulted ground floor of the 14th century solar wing now survives. A timber-framed chapel, with a piscina, was attached to the outside of the wing which was at the upper end of what must have been a timber-framed hall. The hall must have had a service block at its lower end. In the late 16th or early 17th century the medieval hall and service block were demolished and replaced in stone by a new single-storey hall range, which comprised an entrance hall and hall-kitchen, with a solar tower of two storeys and attics attached at what had been the service end. The vaulted ground floor of the solar wing became the service block of the rebuilt house. In the late 17th century an upper floor was added over the hall range. During the 19th century the house was subject to further alteration and subdivision but by 1881 the house had been vacated.
Surrounding the house are a number of earthworks associated with the medieval house. The most prominent of these is a fishpond, approximately 24m by 26m, immediately to the NW of the house, which was fed by a nearby spring. Around the house are a number of rectilinear fields and enclosures defined by low stony banks, which appear to have been laid out with the house. Both broad and narrow ridge and furrow ploughing can be seen in the surrounding fields. (5)
Listed with plan. (6) |