The Gatehouse website record for Hazelslack Tower

Hazelslack Tower

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Beetham 2; Helslack

In the civil parish of Beetham. In the historic county of Westmorland (Modern Authority of Cumbria, 1974 county of Cumbria).

This site has been described as a;
Pele Tower.

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

Major remains.

Tower, probably former solar block with Hall to East now demolished. Late C14 (RCHME). Roughly-coursed rubble. 4 storeys, part demolished. Scattered fenestration, mostly loop lights to ground floor with small square windows to upper floors. West side has 2-light window with trefoiled lights in square head at 3rd floor level. Large fireplace with segmental head to ground-floor in East side with smaller fireplace above and marks of gable of former adjoining building; original doorway with 2-centred-arched head in return wall of projecting part of tower. Interior has cross-wall, various fireplaces, some with segmental heads, base of open stone stairway becoming enclosed circular stair above, garderobes to south-west angle. (Images of England)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 76596)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SD47627881

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 41496
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 2520 '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.visitcumbria.com/sl/hazelslacktower.htm
http://www.ecastles.co.uk/hazelslack.html
http://www.matthewpemmott.co.uk/2007/04/hazelslack-tower-storth.html
http://www.matthewpemmott.co.uk/2006/06/hazelslack-tower-nr-storth-cumbria.html

Books

Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (CWAAS) p344
Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern) p59
Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p210
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p269
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p490
Hugill, Robert, 1977, Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p93-4
Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1967, Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland (Harmondsworth) p250
RCHME, 1936, An inventory of the historical monuments in Westmorland (HMSO) p41
Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal) p375
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p287
Taylor, M.W., 1892, Old Manorial Halls of Westmorland and Cumberland (CWAAS extra series Vol8) p215-16 http://www.archive.org/stream/oldmanorialhall00taylgoog#page/n316/mode/2up

Journal Articles

Barnes, J.A., 1904, 'Hazelslack and Arnside Towers' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol4 p341-2 http://www.archive.org/stream/transactionsofcu04cumb#page/341/mode/1up

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.

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.

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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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