Kitridding (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Swainshawbank Abbey; Swainshaw-bank Abbey; Kit-ridding

In the civil parish of Lupton.
In the historic county of Westmorland.
Modern Authority of Cumbria.
1974 county of Cumbria.
Medieval County of Westmorland.

OS Map Grid Reference: SD581843
Latitude 54.25266° Longitude -2.64460°

Kitridding has been described as a Fortified Manor House but is rejected as such, and also as a Pele Tower but is rejected as such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

'Near the limits of Preston-Patrick township, on a hill, are large and strong foundations, surrounded by a moat, with a road to it, and called by some Swainshaw-bank Abbey, by others Kit-ridding' (Perriam and Robinson).
The above quotation is actually from the Rev J Hodgson's Topographical and Historical Description of Westmoreland, published in 1810. However, Perriam and Robinson, who use the quote as evidence of a medieval moated tower house having existed at Kitridding, which they site to SD 581 843, are probably in error, and the site referred to by Hodgson is rather the prehistoric/Romano-British defended enclosure (UID 43113) on the eastern saddle of Kitridding Hill. Certainly the other references cited by Perriam and Robinson in support of their suggestion of a tower house at Kitridding are confused and actually relate to Kirkby Thore Hall (UID 13571) in the Eden valley or to nearby Kitridding farmhouse (SD 58034 83903) (Marcus Jecock and Rebecca Pullen/19-JUL-2013/EH: NHPP 6304 NAIS Upland Pilot Project). (PastScape)

Kitridding, house, has an original doorway with an elliptical head and a chimney-stack with a cylindrical flue. Inside the building is a two-stage cupboard of the local type with turned pendants and fascia with the initials and date I. and A.T. (16)94. There are also some early 18th-century panelled doors. (RCHME)

Comments

To be fair to Perriam and Robinson they do clearly cite the source of their quote which they seem to have got from the Cumbria SMR (although this is a reference to a site in square SD5884). Their other main source, the RCHME Inventory, is not for Kirby Thore Hall but is clearly for Kitridding Farmhouse. However, their description of the house as 2 star listed is wrong and does refer to Kirby Thore. Confabulating Hodgson's 'moat' with Kitridding Farm, seemingly purely on the bases of name, was probably not helpful.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 1390382.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 4949.

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. 356
  RCHME, 1936, An inventory of the historical monuments in Westmorland (HMSO) p. 162 no. 7 online transcription
  Hodgson, J., 1810, Topographical and Historical Description of Westmoreland p. 231 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Marcus Jecock and Rebecca Pullen, 2013, EH: NHPP 6304 NAIS Upland Pilot Project

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