Castlefacts³

Cliffe

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

There are no visible remains

Name	Cliffe
Alternative Names	The Cliff
Historic Country	Cumberland
Modern Authority	Cumbria
1974 Authority	Cumbria
Civil Parish	Kirklinton Middle

(Area centred NY 415661) A map in the British Museum, dated December 1590, marks "ye Cliffe" with a tower symbol (Jeffrey; Perriam and Robinson). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

The Cumbria HER locates this at NY415661, a field between Clift House and East Cliff, although there doesn't seem to be any evidence of a structure in that field. Perriam and Robinson also use this map reference. The lack of evidence of remains may suggest a site under the farm house either at East Cliff (NY41706601) or Clift House (at given map reference), although neither house is said to contain evidence of a C16 building. The site is near to a crossing of the River Lynn.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.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)

11567

County Historic Environment Record

maps.cumbria.gov.uk/eggp/eggp.aspx?dept=Environment&scriptname=1%20Historic%20Environment

OS Map Grid Reference	NY412661
Latitude	54.9861183166504
Longitude	-2.91939997673035
Eastings	341260
Northings	566110