View of Whittingham Tower from the east. Photo by Peter Ryder.

(NU 06921188) Tower. (1)

It is doubtful whether any part of the existing tower was standing in 1317, when the 'pila' of Whittingham was held by Robert Purvays. More probably the present building is that referred to in a list of 1460 (2) (some authorities give this date as 1415) as belonging to William Heron, but was uninhabited, while in 1541 it belonged to Robert Collingwood and was in good repair. (3)

After the Union of the Crowns the tower had its flat roof and crenellated parapet replaced by twin roofs and a pair of gables and so remained until 1845 when Lady Ravensworth had it converted into almshouses, completely altering its appearance so that the only original external feature visible is the entrance door on the south side. The tower measures externally 42 feet east-west and 36 feet north-south and a present height of 40 feet. The ground floor is vaulted, measuring internally 25 feet x 19 feet. There are traces of a mural stair in the east wall, a passage to the stair having led from the vestibule inside the front entrance. (4)

Description correct. The walling of the lower two floors is original, but the upper floor and all architectural features except the south door are modern. There is a plinth course visible on the north and east wall. In good condition; the building is still in use as an almshouse. (5)

Conditions unchanged but now unoccupied. (6)

Whittingham Tower and attached cottage, Grade II*. Towerhouse, converted to almshouses. Late 13th/early 14th century, remodelled 1845 by Countess Ravensworth; cottage 18th/early 19th century. Three storeys, square. Medieval masonry of two periods - massive work in lower courses and ?16th century above. 19th century ashlar above. Medieval masonry to second floor sill level on south, west and north sides; to first floor on east side. Ground floor doorway on south has medieval jambs and 17th century top. Tudor-headed door on east 1845, with inscription. Windows all 1845. 19th century embattlemented parapet. Interior: walls 8ft 6ins thick. Tunnel-vaulted ground floor. Attached cottage on west, birthplace of Henry Ogle in 1745, inventor of the threshing machine. (7)

The tower measures 12.8m east-west by 11m north-south. The basement measures 7.6m by 5.8m internally, making the walls 2.6m thick at this level. The tower now rises to a height of 40ft [dimensions after Dixon].
The tower is three storeys in height, above a chamfered plinth (hacked back on the south). The medieval parts are of large squared stone. On the east this extends only to first floor level, above which there is smaller squared tooled stone (18th century?) extending to second floor level. The other elevations show medieval masonry up to second floor level, although at first floor level this is heavily patched with 18th century fabric (some of the patches probably indicating the positions of infilled medieval openings). From the level of the second floor windows upwards, the tower is of buff tooled and squared stone of 1845.
The original entrance is towards the east end of the south wall and has a hollow chamfered semicircular arch. Above and to the right is an infilled socket, of uncertain function, whilst to the west are traces of a low abutting building (perhaps a barn or byre) with a gabled roof line and sockets for various timbers.
At the south end of the east wall a few steps rise to a 19th century Tudor-arched doorway with two inscribed tablets above, one in Latin and one commemorating the 1845 remodelling. On the west, inside the cottage, is a deep plastered-over recess that appears to have been a doorway communicating with the tower, with what appears to be a blocked loop directly above it. The section of walling exposed within the cottage shows some interesting 19th century graffiti.
The upper floors of the tower are lit by one- and two-light square-headed windows of 1845, except for one medieval loop visible towards the east end of the north wall. There are remains of earlier (post-medieval) windows, now blocked, at each end of the south wall at first floor level.
Interior not seen. The basement is reported to retain its tunnel vault. Dixon reports evidence of a straight stair in the east wall and a surviving springer of an arched doorway between the entrance lobby and the basement. (8)

A recording exercise was carried out during renovation of the tower in 2006. A detailed desciption of the tower and its features was made in the form of a structural inventory.
The basement of the tower survives relatively complete. On the upper floors of the tower the walls have been thinned, with only fragmentary remains of pre-19th century features. All internal partitions and features, including floor and roof frames, are of 1845, as are the present windows, the embattled parapet and corner turret.
Whittingham is one of the large Northumberland towers and its external dimensions are almost identical to those of the original Callaly Castle nearby. There are almost no architectural features to allow stylistic dating even to within a century. However, with its massive basement walls and vault Whittingham is clearly 'medieval' but is unlikely to be as early as the peel recorded in 1317 and most likely to be of the 15th century. The form of the medieval stair remains uncertain, but one piece of evidence suggests it was a straight stair as the lower part opf the east wall of the basement seems undisturbed and shows no sign of the loop window which might otherwise have been expected. Little can be said about the medieval arrangements of the upper floors or about the relationship of the tower with other contemporary buildings. There is no evidence for any contemporary attached structure and Whittingham seems to have been an independent free-standing structure, possibly a true tower house. (9)

Listed by Cathcart King and Dodds. (10a-b)