Embleton Tower
Encyclopedia
Embleton Tower is a peel tower
and Grade I listed building in the village of Embleton
in Northumberland
, England
. Tradition states that in 1395, the tower was built to protect the minister and church goers of Embleton's Church of the Holy Trinity
after the village suffered from a raid by the Scots
. It was provided for the vicar of Embleton by Merton College, Oxford
, who held the patronage
of the parish, in 1332. According to the Montagu Francis Finch Osborn (1843-1910), vicar of Embleton in 1884, the vicarage was erected at three different periods; by 1416, the Vicar's Turns de Emyldon was known to exist.
. Its garden was sheltered with trees. In the field adjoining the tower, there is an ancient dovecote
. Dunstanburgh Castle
is approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) away. Howick
is 5 miles (8 km) south of the vicarage.
40. Mentioned as the vicar's property in 1415, the tower was remodeled in the 16th century. In about 1828, a vicarage, designed in the Tudor style
by architect John Dobson
, was built on one side of the tower. From 1875 to 1884, the vicarage was occupied by the historian and clergyman Mandell Creighton
and his family. He began his History of the Papacy at the vicarage; he and his wife Louise
between them wrote a total of 15 books while there. Peter Karney, son of Bishop Arthur Karney, was the vicar from 1954 to 1974; on his retirement the vicarage passed into private hands and became known as Embleton Tower. A new vicarage was built nearby.
and Morpeth
, the Embleton tower has stone groining. Built as a rectangle with a high, plain, chamfered base, it measures 19 feet 8 inches (6 m) from east to west, and 40 feet 7 inches (12.37 m) from north to south. A chimney projects near the centre of the east wall. A three-light window and a small slit have been blocked up to the south side of it. There is a two-light window of the same type on the second floor. The roof rests on thin gables. It appears that the original roof was on a higher level than the present one. The embrasure
s are well proportioned. The tower probably had a spire made of wood and lead, similar to another at Ryton
.
Interior features
Internally, the first floor is not unusual. The stair to the vaults is not accessible in the present day. Some steps of the stairs that led to the second floor are, however, to be seen in a cupboard in the north-east corner. The second floor was likely one room with plain stone corbels around the walls.
Stages
The structures consists of three stages, the lower one retaining its original Norman
features. The two upper stages are of the 1330-40 era, when large alterations were made in the church. The middle stage has on the west side two small square-headed windows, and on the south a small trefoil-headed one. This stage may have been used as a chamber for temporary or even more permanent residence. The parapet
has an open style, with six openings. The upper belfry
stage has on each side a window and is divided by a transom
. The belfry contains a peal
of bells cast by Mears
, a foundry in London
.
Vaulted chambers
This tower has two vaulted chambers in its basement, the vaults both resting on a partition wall in the centre. The northern chamber is 16.5 feet (5 m) long from north to south, and 12.3 feet (3.7 m) wide. In the middle of the north wall is a fire-place 5.5 feet (1.7 m) wide. On the left of it is an aumbry 2 foot (0.6096 m) wide and deep, and 1.7 foot (0.51816 m) high; on the right is a smaller aumbry. Near the south-west corner of this vault are located two pointed doorways. These vaults, renovated with modern partitions, are approached by a door in the northern vault. The churchyard immediately to the north is much higher than the ground where the tower is located. There is a square-headed original opening at the north end of the east wall. A vaulted chamber on the ground floor was a receiving area for cattle.
Vicarage
The vicarage was a large house, built onto the fortified peel tower. Constructed of black basalt
, it was covered with creeping plants.
Peel tower
Peel towers are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger...
and Grade I listed building in the village of Embleton
Embleton, Northumberland
Embleton village in the English county of Northumberland is about half-a-mile from the bay that carries its name. The sandy beach is backed by dunes where a variety of flowers bloom: bluebells, cowslips, burnet roses and, to give it its common name, bloody cranesbill, amongst others. Dunstanburgh...
in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Tradition states that in 1395, the tower was built to protect the minister and church goers of Embleton's Church of the Holy Trinity
Church of the Holy Trinity, Embleton
The Church of the Holy Trinity is located in Embleton, Northumberland, England. The church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is west of the village. Built in the form of a cross, it consists of a two aisle nave, a clerestory, a chancel, a porch, and a chantry chapel. It has a tower with a small...
after the village suffered from a raid by the Scots
Scots
Scots may refer to:*The Scottish people, the inhabitants of Scotland*Scots language *Scotch-Irish*Scottish English*Scots pine, a Scottish tree*Short for Pound Scots...
. It was provided for the vicar of Embleton by Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
, who held the patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
of the parish, in 1332. According to the Montagu Francis Finch Osborn (1843-1910), vicar of Embleton in 1884, the vicarage was erected at three different periods; by 1416, the Vicar's Turns de Emyldon was known to exist.
Geography
A low ridge lies between the vicarage and the sea, about a mile away at Embleton BayEmbleton Bay
Embleton Bay is a bay on the North Sea, located to the east of the village of Embleton, Northumberland, England. It lies just to the south of Newton-by-the-Sea and north of Craster. Popular for paddling, it is overlooked by the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle and by Dunstanburgh Castle Golf...
. Its garden was sheltered with trees. In the field adjoining the tower, there is an ancient dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
. Dunstanburgh Castle
Dunstanburgh Castle
Dunstanburgh Castle lies on a spectacular headland on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton....
is approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) away. Howick
Howick, Northumberland
Howick is a village in Northumberland, between Boulmer and Craster. It is just inland from the North Sea, into which Howick burn flows, from Howick Hall...
is 5 miles (8 km) south of the vicarage.
History
The tower was built in 1395, at a cost of £Pound sign
The pound sign is the symbol for the pound sterling—the currency of the United Kingdom . The same symbol is used for similarly named currencies in some other countries and territories, such as the Irish pound, Gibraltar pound, Australian pound and the Italian lira...
40. Mentioned as the vicar's property in 1415, the tower was remodeled in the 16th century. In about 1828, a vicarage, designed in the Tudor style
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
by architect John Dobson
John Dobson (architect)
John Dobson was a 19th-century English architect in the neoclassical tradition. He became the most noted architect in the North of England. Churches and houses by him dot the North East - Nunnykirk Hall, Meldon Park, Mitford Hall, Lilburn Tower, St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn,...
, was built on one side of the tower. From 1875 to 1884, the vicarage was occupied by the historian and clergyman Mandell Creighton
Mandell Creighton
Mandell Creighton , was a British historian and a bishop of the Church of England. A scholar of the Renaissance papacy, Creighton was the first occupant of the Dixie Chair of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge, a professorship that was established around the time that the study...
and his family. He began his History of the Papacy at the vicarage; he and his wife Louise
Louise Creighton
Louise Hume Creighton, née von Glehn was a British author of books on historical and socio-political topics and an activist for greater role of women both within society and within the Church of England. In 1872, she married Mandell Creighton, later a historian and bishop in the Church of...
between them wrote a total of 15 books while there. Peter Karney, son of Bishop Arthur Karney, was the vicar from 1954 to 1974; on his retirement the vicarage passed into private hands and became known as Embleton Tower. A new vicarage was built nearby.
Architecture
The tower is three storeys high and has two vaulted rooms in the basement. Similar to the towers of AlnwickAlnwick
Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....
and Morpeth
Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population...
, the Embleton tower has stone groining. Built as a rectangle with a high, plain, chamfered base, it measures 19 feet 8 inches (6 m) from east to west, and 40 feet 7 inches (12.37 m) from north to south. A chimney projects near the centre of the east wall. A three-light window and a small slit have been blocked up to the south side of it. There is a two-light window of the same type on the second floor. The roof rests on thin gables. It appears that the original roof was on a higher level than the present one. The embrasure
Embrasure
In military architecture, an embrasure is the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle...
s are well proportioned. The tower probably had a spire made of wood and lead, similar to another at Ryton
Ryton, Tyne and Wear
Ryton is a semi-rural small town near the western border of Tyne and Wear, England. Once an independent town in County Durham it became incorporated into the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1974. It has a population of 15,742.- Location :Ryton lies...
.
Interior features
Internally, the first floor is not unusual. The stair to the vaults is not accessible in the present day. Some steps of the stairs that led to the second floor are, however, to be seen in a cupboard in the north-east corner. The second floor was likely one room with plain stone corbels around the walls.
Stages
The structures consists of three stages, the lower one retaining its original Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
features. The two upper stages are of the 1330-40 era, when large alterations were made in the church. The middle stage has on the west side two small square-headed windows, and on the south a small trefoil-headed one. This stage may have been used as a chamber for temporary or even more permanent residence. The parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
has an open style, with six openings. The upper belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
stage has on each side a window and is divided by a transom
Transom
Transom may refer to:* Transom , a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window* Transom , one of the beams running athwart the ship's hull at the fashion timbers or the surface that forms the flat back panel of a stern of a vessel* Operation Transom, a major bombing raid* Transom knot,...
. The belfry contains a peal
Peal
A peal is the name given to a specific type of performance of change ringing. The precise definition of a peal has changed considerably over the years...
of bells cast by Mears
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
, a foundry in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Vaulted chambers
This tower has two vaulted chambers in its basement, the vaults both resting on a partition wall in the centre. The northern chamber is 16.5 feet (5 m) long from north to south, and 12.3 feet (3.7 m) wide. In the middle of the north wall is a fire-place 5.5 feet (1.7 m) wide. On the left of it is an aumbry 2 foot (0.6096 m) wide and deep, and 1.7 foot (0.51816 m) high; on the right is a smaller aumbry. Near the south-west corner of this vault are located two pointed doorways. These vaults, renovated with modern partitions, are approached by a door in the northern vault. The churchyard immediately to the north is much higher than the ground where the tower is located. There is a square-headed original opening at the north end of the east wall. A vaulted chamber on the ground floor was a receiving area for cattle.
Vicarage
The vicarage was a large house, built onto the fortified peel tower. Constructed of black basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
, it was covered with creeping plants.