Harsley Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Hatlesey; Hartesey vel Harlesey

In the civil parish of West Harlsey.
In the historic county of Yorkshire North Riding (Modern Authority of North Yorkshire, 1974 county of North Yorkshire).

The farmhouse incorporates part of C14 castle but is mainly of C19 date. The building is of two storeys and is of rendered stone with a pantile roof. The house is of four bays, the right hand bay has a lower roof. Bay two contains a four-panel door with overlight set in a plain doorcase with pilasters, frieze and cornice. Stables at Harsley Castle Farmhouse. Part of the early C15 castle keep, now stables. The single storey, three bay building is of coursed rubble stone and has two plain waggon openings to the centre and left, to the right is a smaller doorway. There are three chambers with stone barrel vaulted roofs, the chamber to the left has the remains of a large chimney. Castle was in existence by 1423 when Sir James Strangeways took it over. It later fell into disuse after the manor was forfeited to the crown in C16. A moat still survives as do the massive vaulted undercrofts which are used as cellars.

This site has been described as a;
Tower House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 332522)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SE41539803

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 55698, 55709, 1266470

Books

Jackson, M.J., 2001, Castles of North Yorkshire (Carlise) p25-7 [plan]
Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p42
Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p19
Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p413
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p290
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p528
Jennings, B. (ed), 1970, History of Harrogate and Knaresborough p345-7
Pevsner, N., 1966. The Buildings of England: Yorkshire, North Riding (London) p151
Page, Wm (ed), 1914, VCH York, North Riding Vol1 p434-8
Armitage and Montgomerie, 1912, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Yorkshire Vol2 p48-9
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p223
Whellan T, 1859, History and Topography of the City of York and the North Riding of Yorkshire Vol2 p329
Allen, T., 1831, History of Yorkshire Vol3 p537
Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol2 p327

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p553
Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p68

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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