Bolton Old Hall

Has been described as a Certain Pele Tower

There are major building remains

NameBolton Old Hall
Alternative NamesBolton on Swale Hall
Historic CountryYorkshire
Modern AuthorityNorth Yorkshire
1974 AuthorityNorth Yorkshire
Civil ParishBolton on Swale

Tower house. C15, C16 and C17. For the Scrope family, with extensions and alterations by the Tancred and Wastell families. Roughcast rubble with ashlar dressings, pantile roof. C15 tower of 3 storeys, now reduced to 2, with south wing, perhaps of C16, of 2 storeys, both sections refenestrated and altered c1680. Quoins. Tower, west elevation: on ground and first floors, 1 bay of sash windows with glazing bars; on second floor, blocked 2-light mullion window, and 2 loopholes in battlements. South elevation of tower: on ground floor, sash window with glazing bars below stone lintel from mullion window; on first floor, casement in surround of 4-light double-chamfered mullion window: on second floor, blocked 2-light mullion window and 2 loopholes in battlements. North elevation of tower: external stepped stack with strapwork carving near top, and ashlar superstructure. West elevation of wing: 4 bays. In second bay, ashlar porch with panelled Tuscan pilasters, frieze and swan-neck pediment containing chamfered panel carved with fist holding a laurel wreath. Sash windows with glazing bars, those to first and third bays of ground floor in chamfered surrounds; those on first floor in architraves with keystones. Ashlar copings with Jacobean finials. South elevation of wing: on ground floor to right, sash window with glazing bars. On first floor, 2 tall window openings with double-chamfered surrounds, that to the left with a casement, that to the right an 18-pane sash window. Interior: in ground floor of tower, good bolection panelling of c1680, with imported matching fireplace. In ground floor of south wing, fireplace with moulded triangular soffit to lintel, flanked by round-arched niches. First-floor room in south end of wing: C17 plaster ceiling with central circular motif, Tudor roses in corners and part of cornice. (Listed Building Report)

Not scheduled

This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSE253991
Latitude54.3871307373047
Longitude-1.61176002025604
Eastings425310
Northings499140
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink
Copyright jandal44 All Rights ReservedView full Sized Image

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.

Calculate Print

Books

  • Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 24
  • Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p. 24
  • Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 1 Northern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 312-
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 301 (slight)
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 514
  • Ryder, P.F., 1982 (paperback edn 1992), The Medieval Buildings of Yorkshire (Ash Grove Book) p. 108-22
  • Pevsner, N., 1966, Buildings of England: Yorkshire: North Riding (London) p. 82 (slight)
  • Page, Wm (ed), 1914, VCH Yorkshire: North Riding Vol. 1 p. 155 (tenurial history) online transcription
  • Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3 Part 2 p. 210 online copy

Journals

  • Clark, Ross, 2001 Oct 10, 'Age-old story of a medieval fortress' The Telegraph online transcription
  • Bernard Wood, G., 1960 Dec., 'Tower Houses of Yorkshire' Country Life p. 1481

Other

  • Creighton, O.H., 1998, Castles and Landscapes: An Archaeological Survey of Yorkshire and the East Midlands (PhD Thesis University of Leicester) p. 581 online copy
  • Degnan, S., 1993, Yorkshire Pele Towers (University of York: MA Thesis) p. 35
  • 1985, Yorkshire Vernacular Buildings Study Group Report No 1090