Elyburne; The Lee (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Elyburn; Eliburn; Elliburn; Eliburne

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NZ08089787
Latitude 55.27496° Longitude -1.87431°

Elyburne; The Lee has been described as a Pele Tower although is doubtful that it was such, and also as a probable Bastle.

There are no visible remains.

Description

There are records of a pele tower at Elyburne in 1569. There is no trace of an old building at The Lee today. (Keys to the Past)

At Elyburne p'cell of the lordeshippe of Rotheberye is a strong pele house of the kings maties Inherytaunce as of thaugmentac'ons of his graces crowne & p'cell of the late erle of Northumb'lands landes (All memory of the strong pele house of Elyburne has been lost; the very name has perished. It was evidently between Whitton and Ritton; and the passage 'Rothebury: Thornyhaughe - Roger Mutford tenet unum tenementum &c. in Elybornemouth' in Hall and Humberton's Survey of the confiscated estates of Thomas Earl of Northumberland in 1569 (Vol. I., p. 65 P.P.O.) seems to prove the Elyburne to be the same stream as that now known as the Forest Burn which flows into the Coquet near Thornyhaugh. Consequently we may be justified in regarding the Lee, a farm house on the Forest Burn, in the direct line between Whitton and Ritton, as occupying the site of Eliburne pele. Mr D. D. Dixon of Rothbury, it is gratifying to find (considering the great knowledge he possesses of the Forest and its history), agrees with the identification. 'The proximity (to the Lee) of an old hollow way - the ancient road - seems,' he remarks, 'to denote the spot as an old centre.'). (Bates 1891)

Sources of information, references and further reading

County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N10753.

Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 194
  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. 145
  Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 97
  Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p. 45-6 (Also published as the whole of volume 14 (series 2) of Archaeologia Aeliana view online)
Periodical Articles
- Bates, C.J., 1891, 'Border Holds of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser2) Vol. 14 p. 45-6 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.)
- 1541, View of the Castles, Towers, Barmekyns and Fortresses of the Frontier of the East and Middle Marches Survey of the East and Middle Marches

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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.

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