Boarstall Tower

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Borstall, juxta Brehull; Welstreme

In the civil parish of Boarstall.
In the historic county of Buckinghamshire (Modern Authority of Buckinghamshire, 1974 county of Buckinghamshire).

House, once the fortified gatehouse to a house that was demolished late C18. Early C14, for John de Handle who was given licence to crenellate in 1312. Altered late C16-C17. C20 repairs and internal modifications. Coursed rubble stone with ashlar dressings, the N. front with bands of ashlar. Lead roof. Rectangular building with hexagonal corner towers, the rear towers a little taller and containing stone spiral staircases. 3 storeys, the tall top storey with single large room, the lower storeys with one bay to either side of central archway. Towers have carved stone gargoyles, battlemented parapets with C17 copings, and C14 slit windows, those to N. towers cross-shaped, 2 in S.E. tower with trefoil heads. Other irregular C16-C17 windows as in centre block, S. towers have C16-C17 windows as in centre block. S. towers have C16-C17 doorways with chamfered depressed arches and Tudor hoodmoulds. Centre block, except on S. front, has C17 balustraded stone parapets, that to N. with carved frieze below, those to sides canted out over bay windows. Single octagonal stone chimney shafts flanking centre bay are also C17. C16-C17 moulded stone mullion windows, all with leaded lights. N. front has 2-light windows to ground floor and single lights to first floor, the small central light with the sill grooved, possibly by a portcullis chain; central C14 depressed archway of 2 chamfered orders with C17 doors, the doors reversed with moulded panels to inner face. This archway has flanking C17 stone buttresses which rise in a semi-circular arch to support a 2nd floor rectangular bay window of 3 lights. Rear also has C14 arch with flanking single lights, 2-light windows to first floor and 2 cross windows to upper storey. Canted bay windows to sides have moulded corbel bases and transomed upper windows. Single storey range attached to right, of rubble stone and brick, has been much altered C20 but incorporates older building with angled rear corners and chamfered ashlar jambs. Interior: central through passage has been incorporated into a room with the removal of the left side wall. Ground floor room to right has altered fireplace with shallow late C17 stone arch. Upper floors retain C14 2-centred chamfered arches to towers, that from large room to S.E. tower being of oak. First floor rooms still have old doors. Fine upper room has late C16 stone fireplace with moulded 4-centred arch and stopped jambs, and heraldic glass of 1692 in N. window. Some traces of medieval drawing on rear wall of ground floor. Consecration cross and C17 clock in S.W. tower. In front of the Tower, and attached to it is a bridge of 1736, with 2 brick arches over the moat. House is now owned by The National Trust. The original manor dates to before 1141.
Leland writes 'From Ickford Bridge it is three miles to Welstreme in Buckinghamshire. This is a pleasant, elongated village, and contains a fine old house belonging to the Rede family in a good moat, and with a square gatehouse at the entrance. ... The village of Arncote is three and a half miles further' The village of Welstreme is either Oakley or Brill but the Rede house must be Boarstall, although this is well outside either village. (The Brill manor house was not obtained by the Rede family until 1550, after Leland's time.)

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

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1312 Sept 12.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP62431424

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; 340977

• Web site links
  • http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/scripts/nthandbook.dll?ACTION=PROPERTY&PROPERTYID=376
    http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/housebucks_boar.htm
    http://www.boarstall.com/
• Books
  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p70-1
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern) p32-3
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p9
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p26
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p189-90
    Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1960, The buildings of England: Buckinghamshire (Harmondsworth) p68-9
    Page, Wm (ed), 1927, VCH Buckinghamshire Vol4 p10-11
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p50-1
    RCHME, 1912, An inventory of the historical monuments in Buckinghamshire Vol1 [south] p57-9
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p143-4
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol2 (London) p86-90
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p277, 407
• Journal Articles
  • Porter, S., 1984, 'The Civil War destruction of Boarstall' Records of Buckinghamshire Vol26 p86-91
• Guidebooks
  • Hall, Dr S., 1979, Boarstall Tower Guide (National Trust)
• 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 (1307-13) p493
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p368