Ancroft Church of St Ann,

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Ancroft Vicars Pele; St Anne Church; Ancrofte

In the civil parish of Ancroft.
In the historic county of Durham; North (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

Built as a chapel of ease in the Norman period. A fortified tower was added to the west end of the nave in the late C13. This tower has a tunnel-vaulted ground floor and a spiral stair giving access to the two upper floors. Originally, entry was only possible via the church but a doorway giving onto the churchyard was later inserted. The church was restored in 1836 and again in 1870, when the nave was extended to the east and the chancel rebuilt. The tower was restored in 1886. Often called a pele tower although clearly a fortified church tower.

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Ecclesiastical site.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NU00224518

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 6477

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N3967

• Web site links
  • http://www.norham.deanery.btinternet.co.uk/churches/ancroft.htm
    http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N3967
    http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=16
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/75/ancroftpele.htm
• Books
  • Harrison, Peter, 2004, Castles of God (Woodbridge; Boydell Press) p67, 68 n1
    Brooke, C.J., 2000, Safe Sanctuaries (Edinburgh; John Donald) p58-60
    Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p47-48
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p16
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p172
    Pevsner, N., 1992 (revised by Grundy, John et al), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p146
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p23
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p325
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p178
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p36
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p55
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p27-8
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p53
    Wilson, F.R., 1870, Survey of Churches in the Archdeaconry of Lindisfarne (Newcastle-upon-Tyne; M. and M.W. Lambert)
    Raine, J., 1852, History and Antiquities of North Durham (London) p215-8
    Hodgson, J., 1828, A History of Northumberland pt3 Vol2 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne; John Hodgson) p190
• Journal Articles
  • 1904, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle [ser3] Vol1 p186-8
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 1561 Survey book of Norham and Islandshire [Click here]
    1541 Survey of the East and Middle Marches [Click here]
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Kelland, C.H., 1982, Ecclesiae Incastellatae: A Documentary and Architectural Study of the Concept of 'Fortified Churches' in England and Wales (M.Phil. Thesis, 2 vols, University College, University of London)