Blencow Old Hall (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Dacre.
In the historic county of Cumberland.
Modern Authority of Cumbria.
1974 county of Cumbria.
Medieval County of Cumberland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY45663256
Latitude 54.68515° Longitude -2.84438°

Blencow Old Hall has been described as a certain Fortified Manor House, and also as a probable Pele Tower.

There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Blencow Old Hall moated tower house. Remains of C15 fortified tower house consists of an island or platform measuring approximately 42m east-west by 30m north-south. On the western end of the island there is a rectangular platform measuring c18m by 7.5m which contains sandstone building foundations identified as the remains of Blencow Old Hall tower house. Surrounding the island are traces of a partially infilled shallow moat, now dry, measuring approximately 6m wide by 0.2m deep. This site is first mentioned in 1406, a lease of the following year records the hall, six crucks, barn and a cowshed. By 1513 the family moved to the new hall. (PastScape)

Despite some infilling of the surrounding moat, the site of Blencow Old Hall fortified tower house and moat survives reasonably well and remains unencumbered by modern development. It will retain evidence for the buildings which originally occupied the moated island.
The monument includes the remains of the 12th/13th century Blencow Old Hall fortified tower house and its surrounding moat. It is located on gently sloping land between High Farm in Great Blencow and the River Petterell, and includes a platform or island measuring approximately 42m east-west by 30m north-south. On the western end of the island there is a rectangular platform measuring c.18m by 7.5m which contains sandstone building foundations identified as the remains of Blencow Old Hall tower house. Surrounding the island are traces of a partially infilled shallow moat, now dry, measuring approximately 6m wide by 0.2m deep. The monument can be clearly seen on an aerial photograph which also depicts traces of an outlet channel running downhill from the moat's north east corner to the River Petterell. Blencow Old Hall is mentioned for the first time in documentary sources in 1406 when it was given as a conditional gift by the trustees of Thomas of Blencow's estate to Thomas's son William and his wife Joan. A repairing lease dated to the following year and thought to refer to this site gives some idea as to what the property was like; William Southwaick was to repair the roof of the hall with slate, the kiln of six crucks, the barn and the cowshed, and to enclose the garden towards the fold with a stone wall five feet high. By 1513 the family had moved to a new site, the present Blencow Hall some 650m to the west. Documentary sources indicate that Blencow Old Hall was in use as the manor court of the manor of Blencow in 1785. The date of its abandonment is not known. (Scheduling Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1012827, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 23774
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 1044108.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 5651.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Matthew Emmott's Castle Blog
Books
- Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 21
  Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 180
  Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 13) p. 351
  Nicholson, J. and Burn, B., 1777, The History and Antiquities of the Counties of Westmorland and Cumberland (London) Vol. 2 p. 375 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Jones, Bruce, 1984, 'Blencow Old Hall' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 84 p. 269-70 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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