Dalston Hall (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Dilston

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NY37675155
Latitude 54.85499° Longitude -2.97267°

Dalston Hall has been described as a certain Pele Tower.

There are major building remains.

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

Description

Fortified house now hotel. Mid or late C15, dated by inscription below parapet: JOHN DALLSTON ELSABET MI WYF MAD YS BYLDYNG. West wing c1556 for Sir John Dalston, with central block of c1620; late C17 alterations and further extensions, dated 1899 on lead rainwater heads, by C.J. Ferguson for E.W. Stead. Large blocks of red and calciferous sandstone. Flat lead roofs on towers; graduated greenslate roofs on wings; ashlar chimney stacks. 3-storey C15 tower to right; 4-storey C16 tower to left, linked together by C16 wing with early C17 2-storey projecting entrance bay; flanked by late C19 wings and C19 extension to rear. Early tower has extremely thick walls on chamfered plinth with string courses and battlemented parapet. Angle stair turret projecting above parapet has 4 C15 carved shields of arms of the Kirkbride and Dalston families. 2-light stone mullioned windows in moulded surrounds under hood moulds. 3-light first floor window with rounded heads in round arch. Interior: stone vaulted basement, now library. newel staircase for full 3 storeys to roof. Ground floor inner yett of iron is C15. Bedroom above has mural recess: former fireplace cut through to form bathroom. Wing to left has plank door in roll-moulded architrave. 2- and 3-light stone mullioned windows in roll-moulded architraves. Roll-moulded cornice has cannon-like water spouts. Battlemented tower to left with similar 2- and 3-light windows. Side wall to right has corbelled-out semicircular stair turret from first floor to roof. C19 extensions have stone mullionedwindows imitating the earlier work. C20 extension to extreme right is not of interest. Interior of C16 wing was extensively altered by C.J. Ferguson in Arts and Crafts style; banqueting hall inglenook with firehood of pewter dated 1900 with initials E.W.S. Ground floor room on extreme left has fireplace with William de Morgan tiles. (Listed Building Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1087441
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 10787.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 3776.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Dalston Hall Hotel
  Visit Cumbria
  Old Cumbria Gazetteer
  Abaroth's World
Books
- Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 200-1 (plan)
  Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 47
  Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 1 Northern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 206
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 40
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 85, 95
  Hugill, Robert, 1977, Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p. 80-82
  Pevsner, N., 1967, Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland (Harmondsworth: Penguin) p. 118-9
  Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 13) p. 366-7
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 p. 310-11 online copy
  Jefferson, S., 1838, History and Antiquities of Carlisle p. 394-6 online copy
  Hutchinson, Wm., 1794, The history of the county of Cumberland Vol. 2 p. 440-456 esp 448 view online copy
Periodical Articles
- Taylor, M.W., 1883, 'On Legends and Inscriptions over Doorways of Old Houses in Cumberland and Westmorland' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 6 p. 280- esp 283 online copy
  Ferguson, C.J., 1882, The Archaeological Journal Vol. 39 p. 451 online copy
  Ferguson, C.J., 1874-5, 'The development of Domestic Architecture: Rose Castle and Dalston Hall' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 2 p. 165-71 online copy
  1790, The Gentleman's Magazine Part 2 p. 1069-70 online copy
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Sandford, E. C. 1675, in R.S. Ferguson (ed), 1890, A Cursory Relation of the all the Antiquities and Familyes in Cumberland (Kendal: CWAAS Tract Series 4) p. 29 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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*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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