Fenham Tower and Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Fenham Mill

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

Benedictine grange or manor house of Lindisfarne Priory, built or added to in 1339 AD, with a moat or a ditch in 1385 AD. A tower was standing in 1560 AD. Now just a mound surrounded by the remains of a precinct wall and ditch and a series of enclosures thought to contain the remains of service and agricultural buildings, crofts and tofts, the remains of medieval agricultural systems and part of a mill race. Some sources suggests this as site of a small motte and bailey of late C11 date. Although this is a manorial centre there doesn't seem to be any evidence for this suggestion. The Tower is certain; the castle is questionable.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Pele Tower.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NU08674073

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; 6502

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N4100

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N4100
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/75/fenhamtower.htm
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing)
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p55
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p139
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p7, 23
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p333
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p164
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p105
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p53
    Raine, J., 1852, History and Antiquities of North Durham (London) p174-80
• Journal Articles
  • Hunter Blair, C.H., 1944, 'The Early Castles of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol22 p163 [where identified as a motte and bailey with plan adapted from OS map]
• 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]
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Dixon, P.J., 1984. The Deserted Medieval Villages of North Northumberland Vol2 (PhD Thesis, University of Wales) p253-6.