The Gatehouse website record for Prior Castell’s Tower, Inner Farne Island

Prior Castell’s Tower, Inner Farne Island

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Farne Island Tower; Prior Castel’s Tower

In the civil parish of North Sunderland. In the historic county of Durham; North (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

This site has been described as a;
Tower House.

Confidence: This site was certainly a medieval fortification or palace.

Major remains.

Tower house. Originally a 4-storey building, now 3-storey. Said to be for Robert Castell, Prior of Durham 1494-1519, but appears to incorporate earlier work. Random rubble with chamfered plinth. 3 storeys. Round-headed doorway on south side. Offset above 1st floor. Castellated parapet with higher stair turret in south-west corner which has 2 very small lancets to the stairs. On north side 3 scattered early C19 windows with pointed-arched heads and intersecting glazing bars. Interior: keeled tunnel-vaulted ground floor with well in the corner. Mural stair to 2nd floor given handrail, splat balusters and newels with incised Gothick decoration. 1st floor room has trefoiled piscina. Garderobe with seat. 2 C18 segmental- arched fireplaces, one incorporating earlier stonework. The original room divided in two by screen of mid C18 panelling with 2 segmental-arched cupboards. Used as a fort between 1559 and 1637. Repaired 1848 and 1927-8.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 410373)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NU21783599

Air Photo from

Air Photo and general mapping

1st edition OS Map from

Mid to late 19th century maps

Modern Map from

Landscape form and features

Modern Map from

General location and route planning

Geograph British Isles
occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 1085348
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is N5889 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

Web site links

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/historicproperties/index.cfm?fuseaction=property&property_id=196
http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/75/farneislandtower.htm
http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N5889
http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=55

Books

Harrison, Peter, 2004, Castles of God (Woodbridge; Boydell Press) p67
Brooke, C.J., 2000, Safe Sanctuaries (Edinburgh; John Donald) p79-81
Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p135-6
Ryder, P.F., 1999, Archaeology in Northumberland 1998-1999 p28-29
Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p54
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p184
Dobson, B., 1992, 'The Church of Durham and the Scottish Borders 1378-88' in Goodman, A. and Tuck, A. (eds), War and Border Societies in the Middle Ages (London; Routledge)
Pevsner, N., 1992 (revised by Grundy, John et al), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p277
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p333
Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p157-8
Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p103
Watt, G., 1951, The Farne Islands p31-2, 34-5, 41-2
Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p26
Raine, J., 1852, History and Antiquities of North Durham (London) p339, 360-2

Journal Articles

Hadcock, R.N., 1939, 'Map of Mediaeval Northum and Durham' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol16 p171
Tate, G., 1850-6, History of the Berwickshire Naturalists Club Vol3 p226-7

Guidebooks

Farne Islands Guide Book (National Trust)

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/isleseng.html#25]

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes. I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself.
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.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with this site.

*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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