Castle Steads, Rowley Farm, Esh Winning

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Castlesteads; Lanchester; Hamsteels

In the civil parish of Cornsay.
In the historic county of Durham; County Palatinate of (Modern Authority of Durham, 1974 county of County Durham).

Series of three ditched and banked enclosures running east-west. The most westerly contains no obvious features, the central enclosure appears to have been a chapel sitewhilst the most easterly contains notable earthworks most probably of a manorial residence. Adey, Harvey and Haselgrove, describe the site as being granted to one William de Howden, an important diocesan clerk, by Bishop Pudsey in the late C12. By 1350 the site appears to have belonged to one William de Raw, upon whose death the estate of Cornsay passed to the Neville family, Earls of Westmoreland. There may have been a number of subsequent tenants and owners following which the site appears to have been abandoned in the mid C17.

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

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ17924276

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 22412

Web site links

http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=D1840
http://www.teesarchaeology.com//projects/aerial_photography/gallery/index293.html

Books

Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles and Tower Houses of County Durham (Malvern) p63 [slight]
Jackson, M.J., 1996, Castles of Durham and Cleveland (Carlise) p74
Corfe, Tom (ed), 1992, 'The Visible Middle Ages' in An Historical Atlas of County Durhan p28-9
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p139 [possible]
Steer, K.A., 1938. Archaeology of Roman Durham p298
Gould, Chalkley, 1905, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Durham Vol1 (London) p351-2
Whellan, F., 1894 (2edn), History, Topography and Directory of the County of Durham p283-4
Boyle, J.R., 1892, Comprehensive Guide to the County of Durham (Newcastle) p480-1

Journal Articles

Emery, N., 1999, ‘The Earthworks at Rowley Farm, County Durham’ Durham Archaeological Journal
Hadcock, R.N., 1939, 'Map of Mediaeval Northum and Durham' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol16 p200

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