Eslington Tower (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Esselyngton; Eslyngton

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NU042122
Latitude 55.40381° Longitude -1.93523°

Eslington Tower has been described as a certain Pele Tower.

There are no visible remains.

Description

In 1334/5 Robert of Eslington had licence to crenellate his house at Eslington. The tower was held by Thomas of Hazelrigg in 1415, and was reported to be suitable for a garrison of 20 men c.1514. In 1587, the tower was stormed by the Scots under Buccleuch after the execution of Mary Queen of Scots. Nothing now remains of the old tower, last mentioned in 1594.
The mansion house of Eslington Park dates mainly from the early Georgian period (post 1714) of which it is a fine example. The medieval home of the Eslingtons and their successors, the Hazelriggs, and Collingwoods, has entirely disappeared, but it is believed to have stood a short distance north of the present house on a slightly higher level in what is now the kitchen garden (Area NU 042122), where wrought stone work is still occasionally dug up. The north wall of this garden and the ha-ha east of it contain a good deal of old ashlar re-used, some of it appearing medieval. There is also, built into the potting shed in the kitchen garden, a simple Tudor doorway, but this was brought from Collingwood House upon its demolition (Dodds 1935).
Described in the survey of 1514 as a tower with a barmkin (Bates 1891).
Lord Ravensworth of Eslington Hall had no definite information regarding the tower, but believed that it stood somewhere north of the present house. His gardener, with 56 years service, has encountered no foundations in the kitchen garden but has found stones in the small fir plantation to the immediate north of the house. In view of the lack of other evidence the tower has been sited to the area occupied by the kitchen garden, and the fir plantation. The stonework in the walls referred to by Dodds appears old and well weathered but there is no evidence to show its origin or date (F1 DAD 04-APR-57). (PastScape)

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1335 Feb 20 (Click on the date for details of this licence.).

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 5396.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N3206.

Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 159-60
  Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 51
  Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 1 Northern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
  Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlisle) p. 62-3
  Rowland, T.H., 1987 (reprint1994), Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p. 33
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 348
  Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p. 152
  Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 100
  Dodds, Madeleine Hope (ed), 1935, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol. 14 p. 515-18
  Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p. 9, 17, 24, 43 (Also published as the whole of volume 14 (series 2) of Archaeologia Aeliana view online)
  Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3 Part 2 p. 410 online copy
  Hodgson, J. and Laird, F., 1813, Beauties of England and Wales; Northumberland Vol. 12 p. 213
Periodical Articles
- Hodgson, J.C., 1910, 'On the medieval owners of Eslington' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser3) Vol. 6 p. 1-33 online copy
  Bates, C.J., 1891, 'Border Holds of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser2) Vol. 14 p. 9, 17, 24, 43 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
  Brewer, J.S. (ed), 1867, Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII Vol. 3 p. 852 No. 1986 online copy
  1509, Holdis and Towneshyppes too lay in Garnysons of horsmen Survey of Tevedale
  1415, Nomina Castrorum et Fortaliciorum infra Comitatum Northumbrie online transcription
  Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1895, Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward III (1334-38) Vol. 3 p. 78 online copy

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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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