Stanton Old Hall, Netherwitton (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Turris de Stranton

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NZ13138958
Latitude 55.20035° Longitude -1.79531°

Stanton Old Hall, Netherwitton has been described as a probable Pele Tower, and also as a probable Bastle.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Stanton Old Hall II Strong house, late C16 incorporating medieval fabric, refenestrated mid-C17 and south end remodelled c.1700. Rubble with re-used squared blocks, dressings, south end ashlar-faced; slate roof. West front 3 storeys, 4 bays. Rusticated quoins to right. C20 doorway in 2nd bay cuts C17 window opening; older door in 4th bay blocked with C20 window inserted. Other ground and 1st floor windows, formerly each of 4 lights, have C20 glazing set in C17 chamfered surrounds; some retain king mullions. Remains of blocked C16 openings on ground floor. 2nd floor shows bricked-up cross windows of c.1700 in first 2 bays, remainder of wall hidden by ivy. Coped left gable with old brick stack; stone cross wall with similar stack on line of 2nd bay; to right of this the block is roofless. South wall 2 bays; rusticated quoins, C20 glazing in former cross windows in architraves with scrolled pediments. Irregular east elevation with 2-light mullioned windows, mostly blocked, and remains of medieval fireplace with heavy corbels; projecting gabled stair turret near north end. C16 hollow-chamfered doorway on left of turret concealed by C20 single-storey addition which is not of interest.
Interior: stone winder stair in turret, several old fireplaces including one with large segmental chamfered arch, probably C16, and hall fireplace of c.1700. Unusual roof trusses each with one convex and one concave curved principal. Thicker walls and a change in masonry suggest that the north part of the main block was a 2-storey gabled structure heightened in the C16. (Listed Building Report)

Late C16 house, incorporating some medieval fabric. The house was refenestrated in the mid C17 and the south end remodelled circa 1700. Thicker walls and a change in masonry suggest the northern part of the main range was originally a two storeyed structure, heightened in C16. This earlier section may represent the tower recorded on this site in a survey of 1415. The building was in use as a blacksmiths in 1902 and had previously served as the parish workhouse. (PastScape)
STANTON, the seat of JOHN FENWIK Esq., is pleasantly situated on the east side of the river FONT; the house is large and well-built (Hodgson 1916 citing Warburton 1715).
Listed in the 1415 Survey as 'TURRIS DE STRANTON'. {Not mentioned in the 1541 Survey pp 29-49} (Bates).
Modern alterations have so defaced the tower, that few traces of it are now observable. Sashed and stone mullioned windows have been inserted at different periods by the FENWICKS. A part of the tower is still tenanted (Hodgson 1832).
The old manor-house of the FENWICKS which appears to have been a pele-tower in the reign of HENRY VI, is now partly occupied by a blacksmith. It was used for some time under the old poor-law system as a parish workhouse. VEITCH, the Covenanter moved in May 1677 from HARNHAM to STANTON HALL (Tomlinson 1902).
Apparently a late 15c or early 16c. date, it is fast going to decay.
The south and west fronts have been eased with ashlar about the end of the 17c or beginning of the 18c (PSANuT 1893-4).
The remains of STANTON HALL stand upon a steep south-west slope, ovelooking the FONT valley to the west, south and east, and commanding the slopes to the north.
The structure consists of a tall rectangular block, with a stair turret against the east side. The north end is still inhabited as a private dwelling. The south end is roofless and ruinous.
Few original features remain. There are several small square-headed windows, blocked with bricks.
All the large windows are of 16c date, except those in the south wall which was rebuilt in early 18c style. The walls of the main block are 1.0m thick.
There are modern additions adjoining the inhabited part on the north and east sides (F1 ASP 14-JAN-57). (PastScape)

Comments

A C15 tower of some form. It is called a turris in the 1415 list and is fairly low down the list which is roughly size ordered. It is likely, therefore, to have been a chamber or solar block attached to an unfortified hall but possibly one of the larger of these pele towers. It appears to have been either rebuilt or considerable refurbished as a superior bastle in the C16. This, in its turn, was substantially altered and its original form is unclear. After years of neglect is now roofed and inhabited.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1370645
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 23301.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N11040.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Stanton Hall Gardens and Nursery
Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 246-7
  Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 96
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 200 (slight)
  Pevsner, N. et al, 1992, Buildings of England: Northumberland (London) p. 578
  Rowland, T.H., 1987 (reprint1994), Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p. 70
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 341
  Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p. 319-21
  Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 159
  Tomlinson, W.W. 1902, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle) p. 273
  Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p. 16 (Also published as the whole of volume 14 (series 2) of Archaeologia Aeliana view online)
  Hodgson, J., 1832, History of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Part 2 Vol. 2 p. 110 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Hadcock, R.N., 1939, 'A map of mediaeval Northumberland and Durham' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser4) Vol. 16 p. 148-218 esp 176
  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. 12 abridged transcription
  1893-4, 'Report of Field Meeting' Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (ser2) Vol. 6 p. 207
  Bates, C.J., 1891, 'Border Holds of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser2) Vol. 14 p. 16 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.)
- 1415, Nomina Castrorum et Fortaliciorum infra Comitatum Northumbrie online transcription

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Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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