Burnfoot

Has been described as a Questionable Pele Tower, and also as a Questionable Bastle

There are no visible remains

NameBurnfoot
Alternative NamesYe Burnfoote
Historic CountryCumberland
Modern AuthorityCumbria
1974 AuthorityCumbria
Civil ParishArthuret

A map of 1590 depicts a tower or stonehouse, referred to as 'Ye Burnfoote', on this site. A plot of 1607 depicts it as a house. (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

It is difficult to really known what the symbols on the 1590 map actually meant. They mainly refer to sites that are now lost and which were never gentry status sites. This suggests these were not pele towers. It is more likely they were some form of bastle or stonehouse. The lack of survival of such houses in this area, as opposed to their fairly frequent survival in the higher Pennine lands, may reflect the good agricultural quality of this land producing wealth (once the area was politically stabilised and decriminalised) which allowed for the building of brand new farmhouses and farmbuildings in the C18/C19. It would not unreasonable to suppose the current Burnfoot Farm is built on the site of the C16 building. Nothing suggests this was a gentry status site so the likely form of the C16/C17 building would be a pele-house type bastle.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceNY368661
Latitude54.9866485595703
Longitude-2.99044990539551
Eastings336800
Northings566190
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

No photos available. If you can provide pictures please contact Castlefacts

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Books

  • Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 99 (slight)
  • Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 228
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 92
  • Jeffrey, A., 1864, History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire Vol. 4 p. 232 (facsimile of map) online copy

Journals

  • Graham, T.H.B., 1914, 'The Debatable Land Part II' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 14 facing p. 148 online copy [online copy of 1607 platt > http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelakes/html/maps/m067.htm] [online copy of 1552 map > http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelakes/html/maps/m068.htm]
  • Ellis, H., 1829, 'Copy of a manuscript tract addressed to Lord Burghley, illustrative of the Border topography of Scotland, AD 1590, with a platt or map of the Borders taken in the same year' Archaeologia Vol. 22 p. 161-71 online copy

Primary Sources

  • 1590, A Platt of the opposete Borders of Scotland to ye west marches of England (The Aglionby Platt) British Library online Gallery and [Old Cumbria Gazetteer > http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelakes/html/maps/m048.htm] (see also [Gatehouse Essay 'The Aglionby Platt' > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/APHome.html])