Hartburn Old Vicarage

In the civil parish of Hartburn.
In the historic county of Northumberland (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

Dodds writes 'A C12 tower built to protect the monks of the Priory of Tynemouth, to which the church was later joined. Parts of the tower were excavated in 1966 to reveal two skeletons. A later vicarage nearby also contained a fortified tower of C13.' SMR report reads 'The old vicarage is now split into two houses and has a complex history. The earliest part of the building may be a medieval hall house, dating back to C13. If so, it could be one of the earliest non-religious buildings in the county, not including the castles. The main block of the vicarage was built later and is probably C16. It has walls nearly 1m thick and has often been called a tower. This part was altered in C18 and C19. PastScape report reads 'Medieval structure connected to the north western corner of the former vicarage. The main block is thought to be C16 in date while the south east wing was added in the mid C18. The building was remodelled in the early C19 and considerably altered during C20. The earliest wing may have been a pele tower or a hall house of C13 or C14 date. Stone-built with slate roofs. Now two dwellings.'.

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

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ08928609

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; 20960

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N10452

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N10452
• Books
  • Harrison, Peter, 2004, Castles of God (Woodbridge; Boydell Press) p67
    Brooke, C.J., 2000, Safe Sanctuaries (Edinburgh; John Donald) p145
    Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p254-5
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p71
    Donnelly, A.F., 1967, The Parishes of Hartburn, Meldon and Netherwitton p29
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Ryder, P.F., 1995. Towers and Bastles in Northumberland, Part 3 Castle Morpeth District p29