Hewthwaite Hall (The Gatehouse Record)

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NY15203288
Latitude 54.68342° Longitude -3.31621°

Hewthwaite Hall has been described as a probable Pele Tower.

There are no visible remains.

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

Description

Hewthwaite Hall 3-3-67 II-star Farmhouse. Dated and inscribed 1581 over entrance. Whitewashed rubble walls with flush quoins, raised in height under C20 graduated greenslate roof with coped gables; C20 brick chimney stacks. 2 storeys, 3 bays with rear extension forming overall L-shape. C20 door in painted chamfered stone surround, under carved panel of Royal coat-of-arms and reversed Cumberland arms; with further inscribed panel above JOHN SWYNBUN ESQUIRE AND ELISEBETH HIS WYFE DID MAK COSTE OF THIS WORK IN THE DAIS OF THER LYF AND DOM (date) AND REG 23, both panels flanked by carved figures and picked out in colour. Ground-floor 3-light double-chamfered stone-mullioned windows with round-headed lights, under hoodmoulds with plain shield stops. Upper-floor cross-mullioned windows. Rear cross-mullioned stair window with cusped heads. Extension has sash windows in stone surrounds. Interior has beamed ceilings. C17 staircase has heavy turned balusters and broad handrail. Some C17 panelled oak bedroom doors. (Listed Building Report)

Hewthwaite Hall is a 16th century, two storey stone house with a slate roof. The date 1581 AD is inscribed above the lintel. According to Pevsner some of the windows may be as early as 1500 AD (Listed Building Report: Pevsner).
JH Martindale states that, because of the earlier occupation of the de Huthwaite family, 'we might expect some sort of a pele tower with wings, but I am afraid very little, if any, of the original house is visible. A plan of the site suggests that an earlier tower may be present in the west of the house, fragments of its north and west side being incorporated (Perriam and Robinson). (PastScape)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1145129
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 9474.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 4492.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Old Cumbria Gazetteer
Books
- Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 93 (plan)
  Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1967, Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland (Harmondsworth) p. 145
Periodical Articles
- Martindale, J.H., 1911, 'Hewthwaite Hall, Cockermouth' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 11 p. 163-6 (plan) 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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