Castles · Scottish Lowlands
Cresswell Castle
Cresswell Castle — tower house in Northumberland, England, UK.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1.5 h–3 h
- Nearest railway station
- Lakeside Halt · 4.2 km
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
About
Cresswell Castle is a castle in the United Kingdom — fortified architecture from the medieval, Tudor, or Victorian-revival period. Heritage designation: scheduled monument. Wikidata describes it as: "tower house in Northumberland, England, UK". Coordinates: 55.2335°, -1.5398°.
Photo gallery
Heritage listing
Cresswell Pele Tower is in the village of Cresswell, situated overlooking the coast approximately 4 miles (6 km) to the north of Ashington, Northumberland, England. The tower is a Grade II* listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It was removed from Historic England's Heritage at Risk register after an extensive renovation completed in 2021, which included the addition of a brand-new wooden-framed roof.
From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: Northumberland Shore SSSI
- Ramsar wetland: Northumbria Coast
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
Cresswell Pele Tower is in the village of Cresswell, situated overlooking the coast approximately 4 miles (6 km) to the north of Ashington, Northumberland, England. The tower is a Grade II* listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It was removed from Historic England's Heritage at Risk register after an extensive renovation completed in 2021, which included the addition of a brand-new wooden-framed roof.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
Cresswell Pele Tower was constructed in the 14th century as a defence against the Border Reivers. Unlike many of the 80 Pele towers in Northumberland, the Cresswell Tower is in a relatively good state of preservation. Since its construction the three-storey Pele Tower has had an interesting journey through time. The engraving shown on the Pele Tower Project websites, for example, is dated 1829 and shows the Pele Tower connected to Cresswell Hall, since demolished. The only remaining evidence of this union surviving above ground today is the front entrance of Cresswell Hall, now bricked up. Cresswell Pele Tower was probably built in the 14th century. The doorway on the ground floor is not…
Description
A sad local legend associated with the tower tells how a beautiful daughter of the Cresswell's had fallen in love with a young Danish prince. The couple made plans for the prince to cross the sea from Denmark and carry off the young girl to his home country where they were to be married. One day he landed on the shore and with great excitement she prepared to meet him. Then, to her horror, she watched her brothers ambush the prince and kill him. The girl, stricken with grief, could not be comforted. She lost all will to live and soon afterwards died of a broken heart. It is said that her ghost – in the form of a white lady - can still occasionally be seen gazing out to sea from the tower…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 55.2335, -1.5398
- District
- Northumberland
- Parish
- Cresswell
- Postcode
- NE61 5JU
- Parliamentary constituency
- North Northumberland
- Nearest railway station
- Lakeside Halt — 4.2 km
Sources
- wikidata: Q5184519 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Cresswell Pele Tower (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Cresswell Tower.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Cresswell Castle?
- Cresswell Castle is in the Scottish Lowlands, United Kingdom (postcode NE61 5JU), in the parish of Cresswell.
- Is Cresswell Castle a listed building?
- Cresswell Castle is officially recognised as scheduled monument listed.
- Is Cresswell Castle a protected site?
- Yes — Cresswell Castle is part of the Northumberland Shore SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Northumbria Coast Ramsar wetland.
- Does Cresswell Castle charge admission?
- Cresswell Castle typically charges admission. Check the official site for current ticket prices and opening hours.
- How do I get to Cresswell Castle?
- The nearest railway station is Lakeside Halt, about 4.2 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode NE61 5JU.