Tower near Biddeford

Has been described as a Rejected Masonry Castle

There are no visible remains

NameTower near Biddeford
Alternative Names
Historic CountryDevonshire
Modern AuthorityDevon
1974 AuthorityDevon
Civil ParishAbbotsham

The remains of a keep or watch tower, supposed to be the work of the ancient Britons, lies two miles from Bideford on the road to Hartland (The 2nd mile-post from Bideford is at SS 42332567).

Davidson amassed a quantity of information from various sources for which there is no substantiating evidence.

There is nothing to be seen in the vicinity of the second milestone from Bideford, but it is possible he was referring to the old windmill site (SS 42 NW 15) nearby (Davidson 1861; F1 NVQ 05-DEC-80). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

Davidson was clearly working from King, where the 'keep' is briefly described and illustrated. Although King attributes the 'tower' to the ancient Britons here compares it with Saffron Walden castle. The illustration shows a building said to be about 14 feet in diameter about 5m high with a rough ground floor doorway described in the text as 'rude breach' and said to have walls 'near 5 feet thick.' It also said to have an inset on the inner wall to support an upper floor. Norman Quinell's supposition that this was a description of "An 'Old Wind Mill' at Abbotsham Cross (SS 42102063 (sic is SS42102563 meant?)) shown on Donn's Map of 1765." seems reasonable but is not proven.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSS423256
Latitude51.0086288452148
Longitude-4.25177001953125
Eastings242300
Northings125600
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Davidson, James, 1861, Notes on the antiquities of Devon before the Norman Conquest p. 16
  • King, Edward, 1804, Munimenta antiqua or Observations on antient castles (W.Bulmer and Co) Vol. 3 p. 122 online copy
  • Donn, Benjamin, 1765, A Map of the County of Devon online copy