More information : (NT 99021098) TOWER (NR) (1)
(Listed in the Survey of 1541. Not mentioned in the Survey of 1415. pp 12-20). (2)
"Near to the church are the ruins of an ancient well-built pile
seemingly to have been a building of note, but, at present, claimed by the parson of the vicarage." (3)
The vicarage lies to the west of the church. It is referred to as a
little tower in 1541, and as ruinous in 1963,having fallen during
the Commonwealth period.It was still in ruins in 1758 when the vicar lived at ILDERTON.
The old tower was a fine specimen of 14c or 15c work,with moulded-base course, walls 9ft thick, and barrel-vaulted lower storey. The old window openings, which were unusually ornate, have been destroyed and the present ones, with the parapet and the adjoining modern wing all date from about 100 years ago, as the vicarage was still uninhabitable in 1828. (4)
The tower, composed of large wall dressed stones is correctly described except that the base course is not moulded but has a plain chamfer. The north-east wall and a portion of the north-west wall have been removed to enable extensions to be made to the building.
There are two storeys but no traces of an original access between them, or of an original entrance to the tower are now identifiable.
The tower stands on the extreme west end of a promotory, and a ditch which extends across the promotory some 100 metres to the east (within ALNHAM Churchyard - NT 91 SE 4) may have served as an outer defence to it. (5)
Condition unchanged (6)
Basically as described by authority 5. The thickness of the original wall is 1.7m and the barrel-vault mentioned by authority 4 has been rendered. A slight scarp in the field about 30.0m to the NE containing varying amounts of dressed stone may be the remains of an outer defence or barmkin.
Published survey (1:2500) revised. (7)
A 14th century pele tower with a T-shaped extension added to the right in the 19th century. The stone-built pele tower, which stands immediately west of the church, was in ruins by the late 17th century but was restored between 1821 and 1844. The building was later used as a youth hostel and is now a private house. Listed Grade II*. (8)
Listed by Cathcart King and by Dodds. (9,10) |