Trough Head

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

There are no visible remains

NameTrough Head
Alternative NamesTroughead; Trough heade
Historic CountryCumberland
Modern AuthorityCumbria
1974 AuthorityCumbria
Civil ParishSolport

(Name centred NY 48137515) A map in the British Museum, dated December 1590, has marked 'Troughead' with a tower symbol.

Trough Head is a farmhouse of uncertain age with many late additions, but its walling is of only average thickness and the tenant has no knowledge of an earlier structure.

The outbuildings reveal nothing significant, and the surrounding land, mostly under rough pasture, appears featureless (F1 JRL 24-AUG-79). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

Vanished tower shown on map of 1590 as 'Troughead' and on 1607 platt as 'Trough heade'. Although the current Trough Head does not contain old structures the farm is likely to be the site of the building marked, which may have been a bastle rather than a tower. 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)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceNY479751
Latitude55.068229675293
Longitude-2.81586003303528
Eastings347990
Northings575160
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.

Calculate Print

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. 244
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 94
  • 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])
  • 1607, Platt of the Forrest of Nicholl and the Mannor of Liddale, Arthurett and Randelinton with the Debatable groundes online copy (Troughheade)