| Summary : The ruined remains of a medieval tower house or pele known as Coldmartin Tower, which was ruinous in 1590. The tower is rectangular in plan and measures around 10 metres east-west by 9 metres. The south wall, of coursed roughly squared blocks, stands 2.5 metres high and measures 1.6 metres thick; the internal facing has been removed except for one course at ground level, but the ragged core overhangs in a way suggestive of the springing of an east-west vault. The west wall stands one or two courses high for most of its length, but only a few stones of the north and east walls are exposed. The interior of the tower is raised above the surrounding ground level and has an uneven surface, probably composed of fallen masonry from the tower. One stone appears to have been reused from an earlier structure as it bears a cup mark of Bronze Age date. Against the south wall are traces of the stone foundations of an adjacent rectangular structure measuring around 7 metres by 3 metres and of unknown function. |
More information : (NU 99092691) Peel (1)
Coldmartin Tower is first mentioned in 1584 when it was the property of Roger Fowberry. It was then stated to be utterly decayed.
The tower seems to have been about 27 feet square, outside measurement. All that now (1891) remains is a fragment of the south-western wall which has been 6 feet thick and still stands about 9 feet high in an exposed situation overlooking Wooler Water. (2)
The remains are (1935) situated on the western verge of a quarry on the hill to the north of Tower Martin. A dry stone wall along the top of the hill becomes for a few yards a mass of masonry, which breaks off at the quarry edge, showing a core of cement and rubble. (3)
Site on pastureland, overlooked by higher ground to SE and SW. A strong wall running NW-SE, 9.5m long, 1.7m wide and 2.5m high. Foundation lines of the NW wall are visible for 5m. To the SW and NE of the wall are two platforms of earth and masonry.
The peel was constructed upon a mound which is still visible, standing to a max. height of 1.5m No ditch is visible. No architectural features are visible in the remains. There is an adjacent water supply. See photograph (4)
Condition unchanged. (5)
The site has been scheduled. (6)
The ruins of the peel, comprising an upstanding section of wall surrounded by a low hummocky mound can be seen on several vertical aerial photographs. (8-12) The location of the site on these photos agrees with that on the OS map (1) and on the scheduling documents (6), but in no way tallys with the description given by authority 3. It does not lie on top of a hill and there is no trace of a quarry in the area. (7)
The upstanding wall and underlying mound have been mapped from aerial photographs as part of the Milfield Geoarchaeology Project. (see archive object MD000297).
Additional bibliographic references. (13,14) |