Choppington Tower (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Chopington; Chapyngton

In the civil parish of Bedlington.
In the historic county of Northumberland.
Modern Authority of Northumberland.
1974 county of Northumberland.
Medieval County of County Palatinate of Durham.

OS Map Grid Reference: NZ255830
Latitude 55.14082° Longitude -1.60222°

Choppington Tower has been described as a probable Pele Tower.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Tower is mentioned at Choppington in 1541 and is thought to have been built in about 1500 by Gawen Ogle. The exact location of the building is not now known, although it may have stood on the site of Glebe Farm. (Keys to the Past)

Approximate site of a fortified house or pele tower, built in 1503. The exact site of the building is not known, though sources suggest it may have stood at NZ 254830 or in the area of Choppington now known as Scotland Gate. (PastScape ref. King, 1983 and Dodds, 1999)

Choppington Tower. Now disappeared, site unknown, though it may have stood on the site of Glebe Farm (NZ 25458301). First mentioned in 1541. Built by Gawen Ogle c.1500 (Long 1967).
The site of Choppington Tower has been suggested to lie in a field further north, near Choppington Wood. The field contains earthworks (Pers Comm, J Nesbitt, 1990s). (Northumberland HER)

In 1715 recorded as "a large old tower belonging to the bishop of Durham; lessee, George Bulman, merchant in Newcastle." (Hodgson 1916)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 1399757.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N11771.

Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 218
  Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 114 (slight)
  Rowland, T.H., 1987 (reprint1994), Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p. 77
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 347
  Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p. 110
  Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 84
  Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p. 22 (Also published as the whole of volume 14 (series 2) of Archaeologia Aeliana view online)
  Raine, J., 1852, History and Antiquities of North Durham (London) p. 371 and note
  Hodgson, J., 1832, History of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Part 2 Vol. 2 p. 364 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Hodgson, J.C., 1916, 'List of Ruined Towers, Chapels, etc., in Northumberland; compiled about 1715 by John Warburton, Somerset Herald, aided by John Horsley' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser3) Vol. 13 abridged transcription
  Bates, C.J., 1891, 'Border Holds of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser2) Vol. 14 p. 22 online copy

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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