Tillmouth Tower, Cornhill-on-Tweed

Has been described as a Certain Pele Tower

There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains

NameTillmouth Tower, Cornhill-on-Tweed
Alternative NamesTilmowthe; Tilmouth; Tylemouth
Historic CountryNorthumberland
Modern AuthorityNorthumberland
1974 AuthorityNorthumberland
Civil ParishCornhill on Tweed

Site of the deserted medieval settlement of Tillmouth, which included a tower built between 1415-1496, and described as ruinous in 1561. All that now remains of the site are narrow ditches of uncertain date, visible as faint cropmarks on aerial photographs. (PastScape)

A survey of 1542 mentions a tower in the town of "Tylemouth" which stood on the west side of the river Till near where it flows into the Tweed (Hodgson). The tower at Tillmouth was destroyed by James VI. in 1496, a survey of 1561 describes it as a little tower or pile much decayed with a little barmkin about it. A survey of 1715 refers to Tillmouth as a small village in which are the ruins of an ancient chapel (Bates). The area in the vicinity of the chapel is arable land. There are no visible remains of either the village or the tower (F1 EG 03-NOV-55). Narrow ditches of uncertain date are visible as faint cropmarks on aerial photographs centred at NT870 428. A long ditch running between NT8716 4281 and NT8690 4283 and abutted by shorter ditches coincides with the given location of the site of Tillmouth village (Oblique aerial photograph reference number NMR NT 8742/45 (2233/11) 20-JUL-1982). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

Given map reference for St Cuthberts Chapel which stands on the site of a chapel mentioned in 1311 and which was, presumably, close to the tower.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceNT870429
Latitude55.6794891357422
Longitude-2.20828008651733
Eastings387000
Northings642900
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 32
  • Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 115 (slight)
  • Graham, Frank, 1993, Northumberian Castles Aln, Tweed and Till (Butler Publishing) p. 42
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 354
  • Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p. 326
  • Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 162
  • Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p. 22, 52 (Also published as the whole of volume 14 (series 2) of Archaeologia Aeliana view online)
  • Raine, J., 1852, History and Antiquities of North Durham (London) p. 326
  • Hodgson, J., 1828, History of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Part 3 Vol. 2 p. 178 online copy

Journals

  • Bates, C.J., 1891, 'Border Holds of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser2) Vol. 14 p. 22, 52 online copy

Primary Sources

Other

  • Dixon, P.J., 1984, The Deserted Medieval Villages of North Northumberland Vol. 2 (PhD Thesis: University of Wales) p. 582-3