History in Structure

Pele Tower on East Return of Pockerley Farmhouse

A Grade II* Listed Building in Urpeth, County Durham

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Coordinates

Latitude: 54.8853 / 54°53'6"N

Longitude: -1.6548 / 1°39'17"W

OS Eastings: 422243

OS Northings: 554556

OS Grid: NZ222545

Mapcode National: GBR JCWY.JK

Mapcode Global: WHC43.KG6Q

Plus Code: 9C6WV8PW+43

Entry Name: Pele Tower on East Return of Pockerley Farmhouse

Listing Date: 23 February 1987

Grade: II*

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1159269

English Heritage Legacy ID: 109406

ID on this website: 101159269

Location: County Durham, DH9

County: County Durham

Civil Parish: Urpeth

Traditional County: Durham

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): County Durham

Church of England Parish: West Pelton

Church of England Diocese: Durham

Tagged with: Tower

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Description


NZ 25 SW,
3/62

URPETH,
HAMMER SQUARE BANK (North side, off),
Pele tower on east return of Pockerley Farmhouse

GV

II*

Pele tower. Probably C15 with later alterations and additions. Coursed rubble
with large stones inlower courses; Welsh slate roof. Rectangular plan: 10.3
metres long and 7.3 metres wide.

Two storeys. Raised east gable end has large, roughly-squared quoins, wide
segmental relieving arch below gable and two later battered buttresses with C20
casement between. South wall has fragment of plinth, similar masonry and a
late C19 first-floor sash. North wall, hidden by added narrow outshut, had a
blocked 2-light window, with arched heads and hoodmould, on first floor (window
may still be behind outshut). West gable end hidden by adjoining farmhouse
(q.v.). Steeply-pitched roof with coped east gable.

Interior entered via doorway in barn on south. Walls 1.6-metres thick on ground
floor and 1.2-metres thick above. Passage with 2 openings on north: roughly-
arched opening to mural stairway inside east gable; chamfered round-arched
doorway into stone barrel-vaulted chamber with blocked splayed loop at west.
Mural stairway to first-floor square-headed doorway. Subdivided upper chamber
has 3 cambered ceiling beams of heavy scantling. Main room has wide chamfered
fireplace and 2 blocked windows behind cupboards on north wall. Small chamber
beyond lath and plaster partition has blocked window with rough shouldered rear
arch.

Partly reconstructed roof retains many original timbers of heavy scantling with
wood pegged joints. 3 similar principal trusses: jowled king posts on tie
beams have arched braces to ridge piece; principal rafters halved into re-used
cambered collars which are halved into the king posts. 2 intermediate trusses
with principals bedded into wall.

A rare though altered example of a pele-tower in County Durham which appears to
retain a largely original roof structure.


Listing NGR: NZ2224354556

External Links

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