Elwick Tower of Thomas Bradforth (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
'Turris Thomas Bradforth in Elwicke'; Ellwick

In the civil parish of Middleton.
In the historic county of Northumberland.
Modern Authority of Northumberland.
1974 county of Northumberland.
Medieval County of Northumberland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NU115369
Latitude 55.62549° Longitude -1.81790°

Elwick Tower of Thomas Bradforth has been described as a certain Pele Tower.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Site of shrunken village of Elwick. One of two pele towers were recorded in the survey of 1415, and extant in 1561, but no trace of such structures survives. (PastScape)

Elwick a small village not far from ye sea, with ye ruin of two ancient piles belonging to Lord Ossleston (Survey of 1715 quoted in Hodgson 1916)

n medieval times the ownership of Elwick was divided between the Bishop of Durham and the barons of Wooler. It is mentioned in historic documents dating back to the 13th century when five people were liable for tax. In the 15th century two towers are mentioned, although there is no trace of them today. In the 18th century a small village is shown on a map of 1769 together with two ruins at the west end. Today there is a farm and some cottages, behind which is a raised platform with six broad ridges nearly 50m in length with a hollow way on its east side and these may be the back of a village toft. (Keys to the Past)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 7551.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N5069.

Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 61
  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. 23
  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. 151
  Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 98
  Bateson, Edward (ed), 1893, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol. 1 p. 411 online copy
  Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p. 17, 53 (Also published as the whole of volume 14 (series 2) of Archaeologia Aeliana view online)
Periodical Articles
- 1963, Medieval Village Research Group annual report Vol. 11, App C No 50
  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 p. 5 abridged transcription
  Bates, C.J., 1891, 'Border Holds of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser2) Vol. 14 p. 17, 53 online copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- 1561, The Survey Booke of Norham and Ilandshire, taken and made in the 3rd year of our Sovereign Lady Elizabeth, Queen of England, etc. Survey of Norham and Islandshire
  1415, Nomina Castrorum et Fortaliciorum infra Comitatum Northumbrie online transcription
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Dixon, P.J., 1984, The Deserted Medieval Villages of North Northumberland Vol. 2 (PhD Thesis: University of Wales) p. 226-8

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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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