Clifton Hall, Cumbria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clifton Hall today

Clifton Hall in the civil parish of Clifton, Cumbria was a 15th century fortified manor house which was home to the Clifton family for almost 600 years. Only the tower block now survives as small pele tower which stands on its own beside a farmyard, next to the M6 motorway.

In its design, the Hall does not have the usual massive walls associated with such towers and it is thought that it was built in the 16th century. The tower measures 33 ft x 26 ft and comprises three floors, with the ground floor being divided into a number of smaller rooms.

At Clifton Hall, the windows are larger than in some of the other older peles; there is also a newel stair in the south-west corner leading upstairs and to the roof. Some archaeological excavations have uncovered the remains of a Medieval hall and cross-wing. The present tower replaced the cross-wing and in the 17th century a new larger hall was built on the south side. Some restoration work was carried out on the building in 1979.

This site is a scheduled monument and as such is protected by law and is now in the care of English Heritage.

1 Location
2 Views
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Location

Map grid Reference NY53072711

[edit] Views

[edit] References

Yates, Sarah (ed), 2002, Heritage Unlocked; Guide to free sites in the North West (English Heritage) p28-9
Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern)
Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (CWAAS) p272-3
Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p201
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge)
Hugill, Robert, 1977, Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p68-9
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2
RCHME, 1936, An inventory of the historical monuments in Westmorland (HMSO) p69-70
Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p208
Fairclough, G., 1980, ‘Clifton Hall, Cumbria: excavations 1977-79' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol80 p45-68
Cherry, John (ed), 1978, 'Post-medieval Britain in 1977' Post-Medieval Archaeology Vol12 p115