Stonegarthside Hall

Has been described as a Possible Pele Tower

There are uncertain remains

NameStonegarthside Hall
Alternative NamesRo foresters; Standgarthsyde; Stangartick; Stangartikside
Historic CountryCumberland
Modern AuthorityCumbria
1974 AuthorityCumbria
Civil ParishNicholforest

Shown as tower of 'Ro forsters' on 1590 map and as a house 'Stonegarthside' on 1607 platt. Current house on site built 1684 by John Forster (a descendent of Robert Forster) and is thickwalled but does not seem to incorporate earlier work. (Perriam and Robinson)

House, formerly a tower house, which was probably built in the late C13 with wings dated 1682. The house is made from large mixed blocks of calciferous and gray sandstone on projecting plinth stones with shaped quoins. Medieval moulded stonework was built into C17 extensions, thought to be from the original entrance to the building. There are crow stepped gables, ashlar chimney stacks and a graduated Welsh slate roof. It is three storeys high and has numous bays, in the Scottish Baronial style. (PastScape)

Remains and foundations of an apparently defensive wall with a ditch outside it suggest that a place of strength existed here considerably before the 14th/15th c. A moat existed on the south-west where the site was not protected as on the other three sides, by marsh land. The external walls of the existing building are 4' thick, there are dressed stones from an older building built into its walls, and a dungeon and a massive staircase still exist (Curwen 1928)

The hall is double-L shape in plan and of rough masonry measuring 23 by 15 metres with an open courtyard on the southeast. Externally it is a fine example of its period and is consistent with Pevsner's date. A recent plan held by the owner shows no evidence of an earlier uncorporated structure. The supposed dungeon appears to be a contemporary cellar, and the considerable amount of earlier stonework built into the 17th century fabric, may have come from another source (See NY 48 SE5). No trace of an external ditch or moat was found in the grounds (F1 JRL 20-AUG-79). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

The standing house is a fine house of 1682 which Perriam and Robinson state does not seem to contain any earlier structure. Curwen thought the original C13 building was a wooden hall within a moat, although that seems unlikely as the house is on quite a slope. It is difficult to really known what the symbols on the 1590 map actually meant and the assumption they were all 'towers' is incorrect. However this house is shown as a tower on Saxton's map of 1579. Needs to be discriminated from Stonehaugh at NY463804 which was also called Stonegarthside on the early maps. Formerly in the ownership of The Vivat Trust and available as a holiday let. However the Trust went into liquidation in 2015. Gatehouse is unaware of the current status of the site but there is no reason to believe it to be at risk.

- 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 ReferenceNY480818
Latitude55.1283798217773
Longitude-2.81648993492126
Eastings348020
Northings581860
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Cooper, Nicholas, 1999, Houses of the Gentry, 1480-1680 (Yale University Press) p. 240, 280, 281
  • 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. 240-1 (plan)
  • Hugill, Robert, 1977, Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p. 177-9
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1967, Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland (Harmondsworth) p. 172
  • Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles (1970 Reprint by Frank Graham) p. 201-3
  • Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 13) p. 240
  • Jeffrey, A., 1864, History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire Vol. 4 p. 232 (facsimile of map) online copy

Journals

  • Hudleston, C.Roy, 1961, 'The Forsters of Stonegarthside Hall' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 61 p. 169-201 (on Forster family) online copy
  • Curwen, J.F., 1928, 'Stonegarthside Hall' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 28 p. 389-392 online copy
  • 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]

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])
  • 1607, Platt of the Forrest of Nicholl and the Mannor of Liddale, Arthurett and Randelinton with the Debatable groundes online copy (Long Clughside)