Sedbury Hall, Gilling West near Richmond

Has been described as a Certain Pele Tower

There are uncertain remains

NameSedbury Hall, Gilling West near Richmond
Alternative Names
Historic CountryYorkshire
Modern AuthorityNorth Yorkshire
1974 AuthorityNorth Yorkshire
Civil ParishGilling With Hartforth And Sedbury

At the north end of the village, about a mile up a by-road running south-east, is Sedbury Hall, the seat of the lords of Sedbury Manor. Behind it the land sloping up towards the north forms a large and well-wooded park. The house consists of a large rectangular block in classical style with an older west wing and a small modern court on the west. The oldest part now standing is an embattled tower about 45 ft. square, of three stories, with windows of two or three trefoiled lights under square heads, mostly modern; but on the west side are a twolight cinquefoiled window and some small single trefoiled windows which appear to be original. On the ground floor the original division wall which carried the kitchen fireplace still exists. In this stage of the tower are doorways east and west, opening to a small hall and the stable-yard respectively. In the south wall is a shield bearing quarterly (1) Darcy, (2) Aske, (3) Conyers and (4) Nevill, differenced with a molet; over all is a molet for difference. In the south-east angle of the tower is a newel stair entered from a small hall, apparently of the same date as the tower, which joins it on the east and connects it with the later buildings. In general design the building may be compared to Mortham Tower. Over a door into the modern buildings is a painted leaden figure of a boar about 2 ft. long, brought from the Blue Boar Inn in Holborn when it was dismantled about the end of the 18th century. (VCH)

Gatehouse Comments

Substantial C15 tower, enveloped by later Baroque house, all destroyed by 1957. Emery write was compared "with Mortham Tower, but a closer parallel is Belsey Castle, minus the bartisans, and possibly of similar date." In 1463, licence was granted to celebrate mass in the chapel or oratory.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceNZ198050
Latitude54.4407501220703
Longitude-1.69605004787445
Eastings419810
Northings505080
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Calculate Print

Books

  • Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 1 Northern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 313
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 517
  • Page, Wm (ed), 1914, VCH Yorkshire: North Riding Vol. 1 p. 72 online transcription
  • Whellan T, 1859, History and topography of the city of York and the North Riding of Yorkshire Vol. 2 p. 485 online copy

Antiquarian

  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England  (Sutton Publishing) p. 566
  • Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1909, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 4 p. 27 online copy

Other

  • Creighton, O.H., 1998, Castles and Landscapes: An Archaeological Survey of Yorkshire and the East Midlands (PhD Thesis University of Leicester) p. 594 online copy