History

Arnside Tower was built in the second half of the 15th century; tower houses were then often built in the insecure areas of northern England and southern Scotland. Constructed of limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 rubble, the tower was originally five storeys high, measuring 50 feet by 34 feet. The tower was built with an adjacent wing of equal height built onto the side of the tower in a style common in Scotland, but rare in English tower houses. Historian Anthony Emery suggests that the design may have been influenced by that at Ashby de la Zouch Castle

Ashby de la Zouch Castle

Ashby de la Zouch Castle is in the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England . The ruins have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and they are a Scheduled Ancient Monument...

, rebuilt in 1464 by Lord Hastings

William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings

William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings KG was an English nobleman. A follower of the House of York, he became a close friend and the most important courtier of King Edward IV, whom he served as Lord Chamberlain...

. The tower suffered a serious fire in 1602 but after repairs remained in use until the end of the 17th century.

One of the walls of the tower collapsed around 1900, and as of 2010 English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

considered the condition of the castle to be poor, and to be at risk of further slow decline. Arnside Tower is a Grade II* listed building.

Biliography

• Emery, Anthony. (1996) Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300-1500: Northern England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521497237.
• Pettifer, Adrian. (2002) English Castles: a Guide by Counties. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. ISBN 9780851157825.