Pilkington in Wakefield (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Pylkyngton Hall; Snapethorpe Old Hall

In the civil parish of Wakefield.
In the historic county of Yorkshire.
Modern Authority of Wakefield.
1974 county of West Yorkshire.
Medieval County of Yorkshire West Riding.

OS Map Grid Reference: SE313202
Latitude 53.67763° Longitude -1.52727°

Pilkington in Wakefield has been described as a probable Fortified Manor House, and also as a probable Pele Tower.

There are no visible remains.

Comments

Gatehouse was informed by John Goodchild this was the manor house of Snapethorpe. Christopher Saxton's 1601 plan of Thomas Pilkington's estate shows the site of of the Old Hall and, close by but separate, a tower (Evans, 1979). Pilkington had acquired the manor of Snaypthorp and Lupset in 1474. He died at the end of 1478. In his will Pilkington Hall nigh Wakefield with Snapethorpe was left to his wife providing she lived there. The tower, said to be built in 1477, was pulled down in 1724 (Walker, 1934). The form of the tower is not clear but it is likely to have been crenellated and probably had other defensive features. The separate mention of Pilkington Hall and Snapethorpe may suggest the tower was intended as a separate dwelling, possibly a replacement to the old Snapethorpe Hall. Possibly the old hall was retained as either ancillary accommodation or was intended to be demolished when the new house was finished. Sir John's death only 18 months after the licence was granted might suggest the tower was only part of the intended house (cf. Kirby Muxlow Castle). Alternatively the tower may represent an elaborate gate lodge into the estate.
Snapethorpe Hall (SE307200) was demolished in the mid 1970's, although that building was certainly one of several rebuilds. It does not seem to ever have been described as having any defensive features (such as a moat). The given map reference is for the approximate position of the tower as shown on Saxton's 1601 'Plat'.
Although described as in Wakefield this was not a town house (as previously assumed by Gatehouse) but a manor house in the exceptional large parish of Wakefield.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record.

Books
- Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 1 Northern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 422
  Evans, I.M and Lawrence, H., 1979, Christopher Saxton, Elizabethan map-maker (Wakefield Historical Publications) p. 113, 114-115
  Walker, J.M., 1934, Wakefield, its History and People (West Yorkshire Printing Co.) Vol. 2 p. 659-63
  Pilkington, John, 1912 (3edn), History of The Pilkington Family of Lancashire p. 75, 76 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.)
- Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1901, Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III (1476-85) p. 71 online copy
  1601 Snapethorpe Hall. A plat of Mr. Pilkington his landes, belonging to the old Haule and new Haule, in the parish of Waikfeild,. Made by Christofer Saxton
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Goodchild, John, 16 July 2008, 'Pray for his Soul: A Medieval Adventurer, Sir John Pilkington of Wakefield' Talk given at the Pilkington Chatry in Wakefield Cathedral for the Wakefield Historical Society.

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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.
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