Workington Hall

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Wirkyngton

In the civil parish of Workington.
In the historic county of Cumberland (Modern Authority of Cumbria, 1974 county of Cumbria).

Fortified tower house with various additions, now in ruins. Mid C14 with C15 and C16 alterations and additions; late 1783-1789 additions by John Carr for the Curwen family. Mixed large blocks of red and calciferous sandstone with additions of similar rubble stone, all without roofs; oldest parts on chamfered plinth. Rectangular 3-storey tower with adjoining L-shaped medieval wing reduced to single-storey and rebuilt as 3 storeys by Carr; also adjoined by C15 hall range of 2 storeys, 5 bays, all enclosing courtyard on 2 sides, the quadrangle completed by a medieval gatehouse tower and wing by Carr. Tower was extensively renovated by Carr but retains some original loops, internal spiral staircase and mural chambers. Late C18 round and flat-headed windows, all unglazed. Wing has projecting 3-storey garderobe turret and ground-floor loops; large first-floor late C18 round-headed window openings, those above in ruins. Late C18 canted bay window to left. Further right-angled kitchen range of similar details, with angle turret. Hall range has blocked windows and doorways of various dates; 2 ground-floor early C16 2-light windows and upper-floor C15 window. Inner wall has C15 doorways and blocked early C16 multi-light windows. 3-storey gatehouse has flanking guardrooms with angle turret to right, showing a number of small original chamfered-surround windows; the round-headed through archway and windows are late C18 alterations. Adjoining late C18 wing has similar flat-headed window openings. Ancestral home of the Curwen family who obtained a licence to crenellate in 1380 (granted to Gilbert Curwen) (the foundation stone for the tower is said to have been laid 8 May 1362) and owned by them until sold to the local council mid C20. After vandalisation the council reduced the building to a controlled ruin.

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.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1380 March 4.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 72269)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY00772880

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; 8877

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 3690

• Web site links
  • http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/workhall.htm
    http://www.allerdale.gov.uk/main.asp?page=15
• Books
  • Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (CWAAS) p110
    Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern) p94
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p256, 263
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p47-8
    Cope, Jean, 1991, Castles in Cumbria (Cicerone Press) p122-4
    Jackson, M.J.,1990, Castles of Cumbria (Carel Press) p92-3 [plan]
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1
    Hugill, Robert, 1977, Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p185-7
    Pevsner, N., 1967, The Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland (Harmondsworth, Penguin) p209-10
    Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal) p190, 244-7
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p207-8, 418
• Journal Articles
  • Curwen, J.F., 1899-1900, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol16 p1-15
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1377-81) p447
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/cumbeng.html#cumb8]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p96
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Tom Clare, 1983, Report on the Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Cumbria County Council) appendix 3