Little Bavington Tower

Has been described as a Possible Pele Tower

There are no visible remains

NameLittle Bavington Tower
Alternative NamesBavington Hall; Babington
Historic CountryNorthumberland
Modern AuthorityNorthumberland
1974 AuthorityNorthumberland
Civil ParishBavington

The present house was probably built or begun by Admiral George Delval who purchased the estate in 1719/20. Previous to this it belonged to the Shafto family who had been connected with Little Bavington since the 13th.c.

The main structure is oblong in plan with a wing projecting from the NE corner. In the angle formed between the main building and the wing, a low brick building of two stories is enclosed, which appears to be of an earlier period (Hodgson 1897).

The main portion of Bavington Hall appears to be 18c. and displays no evidence of an earlier structure other than the "low brick building" referred to by Hodgson, the brickwork of this feature is early but no dateable architectural details are visible (F1 FDC 13.4.56). (PastScape)

(Marginal) A tower at 'Babington' occurs in a list of Border fortalices of 1415. (Location is attributed to Little Bavington, NY 989786) (Hodgson 1897).

There are no traces or surviving tradition of a tower at Little Bavington (F1 BHP 02-AUG-1967).

Little Bavington Tower. The present hall may stand on the site of the tower (Long 1967). (Northumberland HER)

Gatehouse Comments

In the 1415 list called Turris de Babington held by Robti Langwath. It is unclear what relationship Langwath had with the Shafto family (? Bailiff) who were the main tenants in complex manor but it is difficult to see any other possibility for a location of this turris other than Bavington Hall. In the context of the 1415 list and the tenurial history and social status of the Shafto's this is likely to have been a solar tower attached to an unfortified hall.

- Philip Davis

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 ReferenceNY989786
Latitude55.1030197143555
Longitude-2.01448011398315
Eastings398900
Northings578600
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 32-3
  • Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 115 (slight)
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 345
  • Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p. 227
  • Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 132
  • Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  • Hodgson, John Crawford (ed), 1897, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol. 4 p. 414 online copy
  • Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p. 16 (Also published as the whole of volume 14 (series 2) of Archaeologia Aeliana view online)

Journals

  • Bates, C.J., 1891, 'Border Holds of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser2) Vol. 14 p. 16 online copy

Primary Sources