Ormside Hall

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

Ormside Hall, 70 yards S.E. of the church, is of two and three storeys; the walls are of rubble and the roofs are slate-covered. The house belonged to the family of Barton till late in the 16th century, when it passed to Sir Christopher Pickering and from him to the Hilton family. The building was probably of the usual mediaeval form with a hall-block and cross-wings at the N.E. and S.W. ends. The existing S.W. wing dates from late in the 14th or early in the 15th century, but the main or hall-block appears to have been rebuilt in the 17th century and the other cross-wing no longer exists. The S.W. wing is of three storeys; at the S.E. end the middle storey has an original window of two trefoiled lights in a square head with a moulded label; the label of a similar window remains in the floor below and in the top floor is a 15th-century window of two cinquefoiled lights; the N.W. end has two 17th-century windows and on the top floor a 15th or early 16th-century window of two lights with arched heads under a square moulded label. On the S.W. side are two windows with elliptical heads probably of the 17th century; one of these has a square moulded label. Inside the wing, there was formerly a circular staircase in the E. angle, now cut through to form an entrance and opening into a small lobby with 17th-century round-headed doorways, in the thickness of the N.E. wall. The first floor has a 17th-century frieze of modelled plaster, with scroll-ornament. The main block has a late 17th or early 18th-century doorway with a moulded architrave and key-block. The out building, N.E. of the house incorporates two 17th-century windows. The entrance to the courtyard is flanked by two late 17th or early 18th-century rusticated piers with moulded cappings and ball-terminals. (PastScape–ref. RCHME)
Although usually called a defensible (pele) tower the RCHME called this a cross-wing and it is a matter of discussion as to if this is a pele tower.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY702176

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 14868
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 4312 '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.matthewpemmott.co.uk/2008/01/great-ormside.html
    http://www.visitcumbria.com/pen/greatormside.htm
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/ormside.html
• Books
  • Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (CWAAS) p302
    Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern) p78
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p274 [slight]
    Jackson, M.J.,1990, Castles of Cumbria (Carel Press) p77
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p495 [possible]
    Hugill, Robert, 1977, Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p152-3
    RCHME, 1936, An inventory of the historical monuments in Westmorland (HMSO) p187
    Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal) p310-11
• Journal Articles
  • Brunskill, 1956, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol56 p79-83