Mindrum Tower

Has been described as a Questionable Pele Tower

There are no visible remains

NameMindrum Tower
Alternative Names
Historic CountryNorthumberland
Modern AuthorityNorthumberland
1974 AuthorityNorthumberland
Civil ParishCarham

A tower and barmkin at Mindrum, recommended to be built in 1550, is shown on Dacre's map of 1584 (Bates).

Saxton's map shows a tower in the vicinity of Mindrum, but is not accurate enough to locate it precisely, and Dacre's plot is probably a recommendation that a tower should be built. Rejected as a former tower site (Dodds, King). (PastScape)

In 1550 it was recommended that a fortified tower should be built here as a defence against raiders. It is not known whether the tower was ever built. (Keys to the Past)

Gatehouse Comments

Saxton's map of 1576 shows a tower here, as does Dacre's map (King writes as place not tower), though this may be a recommendation. The evidence as a whole is described as 'shaky', Scots raids in the vicinity and descriptions of them seem to indicate that an impassioned plea for a tower here, by Sir Robert Bowes in 1550, was not heeded. The intended location for this proposed tower is not known.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceNT842329
Latitude55.5886192321777
Longitude-2.25165009498596
Eastings384200
Northings632900
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 77
  • Graham, Frank, 1993, Northumberian Castles Aln, Tweed and Till (Butler Publishing) p. 35
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 361 (reject)
  • Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p. 234
  • Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 135
  • Vickers, Kenneth H. (ed), 1922, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol. 11 p. 82 online copy
  • Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p. 51, 78 (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. 51, 78 online copy