Marmion Tower HG4 5JQ
Free for Everyone
Open: Seasonal - See website
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About:
West Tanfield lies on the banks of the river Ure, where the main route from Ripon once crossed the river via a ferry and later a bridge. This 15th-century gatehouse was the entrance to the former Tanfield Castle, the defended riverside manor house of the knight John Marmion. The three-storey gatehouse is itself a mini-castle, with a guardroom on the ground floor and grander chambers on the first and second floors. Yet some elegant features suggest that it was as much about display as defence.

Domesday Book records that the manor at West Tanfield was held in 1086 by Count Alan, the founder of Richmond Castle. The Marmion family owned the manor for much of the 13th and 14th centuries, and John Marmion (d. 1322) received a royal licence to crenellate, or fortify, his house in 1314.

However, features like the four-centred archway with hoodmould (the moulded projection above it, to throw off rainwater) on the east side of the tower suggest that the surviving gatehouse was probably built a century later.
By this time the manor house was in the hands of the FitzHugh family, so the gatehouse builder was probably either Henry FitzHugh, 3rd Baron FitzHugh (who died in 1425), or William FitzHugh, 4th Baron FitzHugh (d. 1452).

After the death of a later FitzHugh, the manor passed to the Parr family. William Parr was Marquess of Northampton and brother to Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII. In 1571 the manor was granted to William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Elizabeth I’s chief adviser. Perhaps some of the later alterations are his work? Following later changes of ownership, the tower was placed in state guardianship in 1976.

Dog Friendly:
Dogs are allowed on leads.

Entry Charge:
Free for everyone (see website)

Parking:
Parking is available at the village hall in West Tanfield. Please put 50p in the honesty box.

Facilities:
There are no public toilets in West Tanfield. Two pubs, the Bull Inn and Bruce Arms, both serve food, and there is a small shop and post office in the village.

Notes:
None known

Contact:
Website: www.english-heritage.org.uk
Tel: 0370 3331181