Isel Hall (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Ishall; Yshale; Isehale

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NY15843368
Latitude 54.69120° Longitude -3.30698°

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

There are major building remains.

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Tower house and hall wing. Late C14 or early C15 with late C15 hall and C16 extension with C19 alterations. Tower of extremely thick calciferous sandstone rubble walls with flush quoins, under battlemented parapet; gabled greenslate roof within parapets. Hall and wing of mixed calciferous and red sandstone walls, under graduated greenslate roof with C19 yellow brick chimney stacks. Rectangular tower of vaulted basement and 3 storeys over. Hall adjoins north angle of tower almost at right-angles: 2 storeys, 5 bays with 3-storey, 6-bay extension under common roof. Tower has some original loops but mostly irregular 2-light C16 windows under hoodmoulds. Hall and extension have 2- and 3-light Tudor windows and doorway, the parapet with shaped finials. Rear has irregular Tudor doorways and windows. The rear wall of the hall has 2 buttresses. Interior of tower has newel and straight stairs in thickness of walls. Garderobe chamber. Interior of hall has Tudor panelling with traces of contemporary painting. (Listed Building Report)

The situation of the hall is most picturesque, in the midst of a charming, undulating, and well-wooded country. It stands on a considerably sloping bank, close to the deep and rapid waters of the Derwent, which here bend round its southern face; and it is bounded on the west by a mountain beck, which falls into the river. The position was no doubt originally chosen for defence, and the old keep, which still remains in its entirety, presents a good example of a border pele tower still in a habitable condition.
The defences of the rudimental fortalice were strengthened by a moat on the land side. The depression formed by the ditch is fairly traceable on the east side of the tower, and on the north side the line would be continued through the bell, which afterwards came to be converted into a pleasaunce and terraced garden. It is supposed that the mediaeval approach to the place was by a drawbridge over the moat at this part. On the west side all vestiges of the ditch have been obliterated by the carriage drive and avenue from the high road, and by later improvements. So far as can be made out of the scarp of the moat was distant by several yards from the tower. (Taylor 1893)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1137970
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 9468.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 873.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Historic Houses Association
  Visit Cumbria
  Charles Taylor's ecastles
  Old Cumbria Gazetteer
Books
- Cooper, Nicholas, 1999, Houses of the Gentry, 1480-1680 (Yale University Press) p. 22, 209
  Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 16-17
  Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 63
  Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 1 Northern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 215
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 42
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 87
  Hudleston, C.R., Boumphrey, R.S. and Hughes, J., 1978, Cumberland Families and Heraldry (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 23) p. 199-200, 203-4
  Hugill, Robert, 1977, Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p. 101-103
  Pevsner, N., 1967, Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland (Harmondsworth: Penguin) p. 143-4
  Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 13) p. 377
  Taylor, M.W., 1892, Old Manorial Halls of Westmorland and Cumberland (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 8) p. 327-31 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Collingwood, W.G., 1923, 'An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Cumberland' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 23 p. 247-8 online copy
  Curwen, J.F., 1911, 'Isel Hall' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 11 p. 122-8 online copy
  Taylor, M.W., 1893, 'Manorial Halls in the Vale of Derwent' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 12 p. 157-8 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), 1904, Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward I Vol. 3 p. 446 No. 594 view 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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