Reasons for Designation
Tower houses are a type of defensible house particularly characteristic of the
borderlands of England and Scotland. Virtually every parish had at least one
of these buildings. At many sites the tower comprised only one element of a
larger house, with at least one wing being attached to it. These wings
provided further domestic accommodation, frequently including a large hall.
If it was incorporated within a larger domestic residence, the tower itself
could retain its defensible qualities and could be shut off from the rest of
the house in times of trouble. Tower houses were being constructed and used
from at least the 13th century to the end of the 16th century. They provided
prestigious defended houses permanently occupied by the wealthier or
aristocratic members of society. As such they were important centres of
medieval life. The need for such secure buildings relates to the unsettled
and frequently war-like conditions which prevailed in the Borders throughout
much of the medieval period. Around 200 examples of tower houses have been
identified of which over half were elements of larger houses. All surviving
tower houses retaining significant medieval remains will normally be
identified as nationally important.
Details
The monument includes the remains of Burradon Tower, which are situated
immediately east of the main farmhouse of Burradon Farm.
Burradon Tower, which is Listed Grade II, is a three storey tower house,
approximately 7.5m high and 7.7m by 6.9m wide, with a single chamber on each
floor reached by a newel stair in the south east corner. It is constructed of
sandstone blocks with walls generally surviving to a course of corbels at a
height of 7m, which supported the built out battlements. The walls are of a
greater height in the south east corner, where they survive to a height of
7.5m. Sections of the east, south and west walls have been lost and only
survive to the first floor level. To the exterior, the north elevation
contains a crude doorway, which has been fashioned from a slit window,
approximately 2m high. This north elevation also has a complete row of corbels
at its top. The east elevation contains an entrance at the ground floor, a
slit window in the north end at first floor level, a cut-in roof line for an
attached building also at first floor level. The roof line marks where 19th
century farm buildings (depicted on the first edition Ordnance Survey 1:2500
map) were attached. The south elevation contains a doorway (believed to date
from the 19th century) at ground level, three windows on the east side
lighting the newel stair, and cut-in sockets for roof timbers of attached
buildings. The central portion of the west elevation survives to first floor
level only.
Internal features include a complete, slightly pointed, vault to the ground
floor and a south east newel stair leading to the upper floors. Plaster is
preserved on the walls of the ground floor and on the walls of the newel
stair. In the first floor chamber a fireplace is sited against the east wall.
Five metres to the north east of the tower is a circular depression identified
as the site of a well. A large amount of the building stone is apparent in the
enclosed area around the tower.
The tower is believed to have been built in the 16th century and continued in
occupation into the 17th century, but is depicted as ruins on Armstrong's
tithe map of 1769. By the 19th century the tower had become part of an
adjoining farm and the lower two chambers had been made habitable by the
construction of an internal tiled roof. This adjoining farm is shown on the
first edition Ordnance Survey 1:2500 map of 1858, with the tower forming the
north west corner of the farm with buildings attached to its east and south
sides. By the second edition Ordnance Survey 1:2500 map of the early 20th
century the tower stood alone in the present farm complex. The tower was
conserved in 1977.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
32054
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
