More information : A list of 1415 mentions the Vicar's tower at Stamfordham. (1)
There are no visible remains of a tower in, or around, the present vicarage (NZ 07667195), and no local tradition of one survives. (2)
The Swinburnes built a tower at Stamfordham before 1460, almost certainly for the vicar. The present vicarage is a Tudor building with 18th century modifications, but much older vaulted cellars. These may be the last remains of a tower. Alternatively, the church tower, which has no outside door and from which the ground falls steeply, may have been the vicar's pele. (3) |