Kirtling Tower
Kirtling Tower is a medieval castle and a former country house from the Tudor period in English county of Cambridgeshire . The gatehouse is still preserved today.
history
Kirtling Tower was first mentioned in 1219 and documents from the 13th century describe a Kirtling Castle with a moat , moat and palisade . In 1424 Richard de Beauchamp , the Earl of Warwick , had the castle significantly rebuilt. About 100 oak trees were used to create a complex with a living room, solar and sleeping quarters.
Edward North , a successful lawyer, had the castle rebuilt in the 1540s and again between 1556 and 1558 according to plans by the architect Francis Adams and renamed it Kirtling Hall . The earthworks around the castle were significantly changed to create a raised platform for the new country house, in which Tudor-typical details, such as a gatehouse, a long gallery, accommodation, a banquet pavilion and a garden, complete with large water features and ponds, were included. The property continued to grow and by the 1660s it was the largest country house in Cambridgeshire. In the middle there was a symmetrical, south-facing central building with east and west wings, which offered additional accommodation and facilities.
After 1691 the mansion fell into disrepair and in 1735 Victoria County History describes the property as "in disarray". Most of the country house was demolished in 1748 to make the rest habitable for Lord Elibank . After his death in 1762 the property fell into disrepair. It was completely uninhabitable in the 1770s and most of the remaining buildings were demolished in 1801. In the 1830s, the gatehouse was converted into a normal residential building and renamed the "Kirtling Tower" again. In 1872 an extension was built and the house remained in use under various tenants.
today
The main part of today's castle is the three-story gatehouse from the Tudor period, which looks very similar to the gatehouse of Leez Priory built by North's friend, lawyer Richard Rich . It was built of bricks and has octagonal turrets and an Italian-style bay window. It is a Scheduled Monument and English Heritage has listed it as a Grade I Historic Building.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Kirtling: Manors and estate. A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 10: Cheveley, Flendish, Staine and Staploe Hundreds (north-eastern Cambridgeshire) . 2002. pp. 63-69. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
- ↑ Kirtling Tower , Gatehouse Gazetteer. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 11 ′ 20.8 ″ N , 0 ° 27 ′ 54 ″ E