Cockle Park Tower. Photo by Peter Ryder.

[Name NZ 20159115] The Tower. (1)

Tower at Cockle Park. (2)

Cockley Park - an old pile belonging to the Duchess of Newcastle. (3)

To judge from the heraldic panels in the walls, the splendid tower of Cockle Park was not built before 1461. (4)

The outside dimensions of the south front are about 54ft, of the east 78ft. The oldest part of the farm house is the tower which projects about 9ft from the other apartments, and has round corbelled turrets at the north corners. The corbels are also contained between the turrets, where they have supported a machicolated parapet. The south-east corner of the tower contains a stone circular staircase, and on its east front is a large tablet bearing the arms of Ogle, which show that no part of the building is older than 1461.
Prior to the erection of the present building there may have been a manor house of some description on the spot.
'William of Cookperce' is mentioned in 1241, and 'Cockelpke' was made one of the manors of the Bothal barony in Henry III's reign.
There is legend that the southern part of the building had some 500 years ago been destroyed by fire. Traces of arches of windows are observable above the entrance where some considerable repairs or enlargements have been made. Strong underground foundations have been found showing that the building had formerly extended further to the south, but a stone said to have been found here proves the building in which it was placed not older than Sir Robert Ogle's and Helen Bertram's marriage.
The windows one above another for three stories on the east side were square-headed, four light, with mullions and transoms, in the same way that the windows of six lights, now walled up, are on the west front. They are of the style of the 16th century. The present windows of the south and east sides were put in some 40 years ago.
A projection on the west side of the tower, which had small windows in it, fell in 1828. The opening so made was filled up in line with the rest of the wall. (5)

The tower of Cockle Park stands on high ground. The whole of the southern portion of the building has been so altered first in the Jacobean style, when a stair turret was added on the west side, and afterwards in pseudo-gothic, that the only original part left is the north tower. The entrance is in the east wall. The remains of the vault in the north end of the basement that was probably continued through the whole building, are now partitioned off to form a dairy. To the right of the entrance, the wheel stair ascends to the battlements. There is a square-headed doorway to the first floor, now blocked up. The second floor doorway led into a chamber running along the east wall, 4ft 3ins wide. The far end has been bricked up, and an opening made into what must have been the principal chamber, through the thin internal wall. Further up the stairs is a small roughly vaulted chamber, and the stair terminates under a small gable with
doors leading onto the east and north walks. (6)

The tower is used as a farmhouse in connection with the experimental farm carried on by the Agricultural Department of King's College, Newcastle. (7)

NZ 210912. Descriptions in authorities (5) and (6) are generally correct except for:-
(i) The old part of the tower projects about 6ft, not 9ft, from the other part of the building (authority (5) para 1)
(ii) No visible traces remain of any window arches above any of the entrances (authority (5) para 3)
(iii) No trace remains of any mullioned four-light windows on the east side (authority (5) para 4).
The northern part of the tower with its two corbelled turrets, machicolations and small slit windows is obviously of earlier date than the remainder of the building. A building line representing the junction of the two stages of building is distinctly visible on the west side. This older part has similar features to Chipchase Castle and probably dates from the late 15th/early 16th century.
The southern part of the building, with its large mullioned and transomed windows on the west side, would appear to be of the 17th century which is in accordance with the Jacobean date given by authority (6).
The building is in good condition and at present in use as a students' hostel. The tower is worthy of protection as an ancient monument. (8)

Condition unchanged. (9)

Grade II* Cockle Park Tower. Oblong stone tower c.1520, with machicolated parapet and corner round turrets, finely moulded. Two-light stone-mullioned windows and 'cross' windows. Steeply pitched stone roof. Inserted sash windows in three storeys, added c.1790. Disused. (10)

Cockle Park Tower, Grade I.
Thought to have been built c.1520 for Sir William, 4th Lord Ogle, passing to the Bothal Estates whose later owners became Dukes of Portland. In the 19th century it became the centre of the Dukes' experimental farm. Under restoration at time of survey. (11)

Cockle Park Tower, mid-15th century. Arms of one of the Ogles (c.1461) seen on east front. (12)

L-plan tower of early 16th century. South part altered in 17th century. Windows on south and east enlarged c.1790. North chamber at first floor level oriel window fell in 1828. At similar time a two-light window and a fireplace were removed to Bothal Castle [NZ 28 NW 7]. (13)

The three-storeyed tower measures c.17.6m by 8.7m externally, with a projection 5.45m long and 1.8m deep at the north end of the east side and a smaller stair projection 3.05m wide and 2m deep in the centre of the west side; it is built of squared sandstone, of near ashlar quality in the north end of the building and the north eastern turret.
The north east turret, the north wall and the west wall north of the western stair projection have a chamfered set-back at first floor level. There are corbelled-out circular bartizans capping the northern angles. The main north-south block has a gabled roof with a parapet walk on either side and at the north end. The north east turret has a separate east-west gabled roof and the western projection, which rises only to the second floor, a pent roof.
The main body of the building has a basement doorway on the east side, close to the turret. Although probably in the original position, it is now a four-centred arch and may be of the same date (c.1800?) as the sash windows in the same wall, which are of a similar form with hoodmoulds. Traces of the jambs of earlier openings can be seen on either side. Directly over the doorway is a projecting piece of masonry (possibly a remnant of some earlier defensive arrangement) and, at first and second floor levels, small chamfered windows, each with traces of the arch of a still earlier opening above. The north eastern turret has various small chamfered loops (and a larger window, a late insertion, at first floor level on the east) and beside it a large panel, now much worn, with the arms of Bertram quartering Ogle; there are three other carved stones, all much worn, higher up the wall.
The north end of the building has two small chamfered loops to both basement and first floors; at second floor level an irregular patch of infill marks the position of a fine two-light window removed to Bothal Castle in 1830-1. The attic gable, set back behind the parapet walk, has a two-light mullioned window.
On the west side of the building an area of walling north of the stair projection and above the chamfered set-back has been rebuilt since the collapse of an oriel in the early 19th century. This section of wall has a window and a first floor doorway, reached by an external stair. South of the projection each floor has been provided with a three-light mullioned and transomed window, all now blocked except for a small light in the uppermost. The projection has a recent door at ground level, two two-light mullioned windows (the lower blocked) and a small light just below the eaves.
The south end of the building has large sash windows with four-centred heads, like those on the east, to the three doors (again with the jambs of earlier windows visible on either side) and a blocked two-light mullioned window to the attic.
The interior of the tower is sub-divided by a transverse brick wall set immediately south of the present entrance. To the south of this, although the walls remain 1.5m thick, the interior of the building has been completely remodelled c.1800 and no older features remain visible; the newel stair in the western projection is of timber. North of the wall the entrance opens into a lobby with a chamfered doorway into a stone newel stair (in the north east turret). Beyond is a section of basement with a segmental barrel vault running north-south. In the centre of the north wall is a segmental-arched fireplace (partly bricked up) with a small vaulted chamber to either side, that on the east now occupied by a brick bread oven.
Access to the first floor rooms in the northern part of the tower is now only by the external door on the west (interior not seen).
At second floor level there is again a large room in the main body of the tower and a smaller room (this time only entered from the stair) in the turret. The large room retains the southern jamb of the arch under which the oriel opened. Further south is one jamb of a feature, perhaps a fireplace, blocked by the brick cross-wall. In the north wall is the rear arch of the window removed to Bothal; its east window has a window seat and its west a doorway into a mural garderobe. In the east wall is a ragged recess from which an ornate fireplace was also removed to Bothal in the early 19th century.
The newel stair continues to give access to the parapet walks. The main roof has principal rafter trusses with collars and two levels of purlins, carrying a stone slate roof.
The tower is in poor condition. A series of props and shores support the floors of the rooms in the southern part; the roof timbers are decayed, with some trusses failing.
The tower was probably built by or for Sir William Ogle c.1517. Although troops were stationed here in the Civil War (1648) the tower appears to have declined to the status of a farmhouse. In 1827 it was the Duke's Experimental Farm and in 1902 under the County Council's auspices. The Farm is now run by the University of Newcastle and was used for accommodation until the early 1970s. The discovery of a bulge in the east wall saw the building abandoned, a chimney stack on the east side demolished and internal propping inserted.
Whilst the features of the north end of the tower could well date to the early 16th century (or even a little earlier) the southern portion of the tower seems to have been remodelled in the later 17th century (with mullioned-and-transomed windows and the western stair turret). The same part of the building was remodelled again between 1774 and 1829 (based on drawings) with Gothick style fenestration. A lower wing of buildings was built on to the west face of the tower in the late 17th or early 18th century (linking the tower through the base of the western stair projection). These have been removed since the late 1970s.
Due to the extensive remodelling of the southern part of the tower, its original internal arrangements cannot be reconstructed in detail. It is not clear how much of the original fabric survives in this area. It is possible that there was a complete rebuilding (although the walls are still of considerable thickness) although an extensive remodelling with the cutting away of the basement vault seems more likely. (14)

Site noted in a desk-based assessment of the surrounding area. It is noted as a multi-phase extant building, here noted as built before 1461. (15)

A detailed archaeological and architectural assessment of the tower was undertaken in 2006. The tower is of a Late Medieval date; a mid-15th century date is proposed for the erection of the tower. The historical documentation regarding the tower, surroundings and experimental farm since the 19th century is summarised, including many pictorial records, as well as a detailed architectural recording, and a structural development of the tower put forward. The tower is suggested to be a park or hunting lodge rather than a tower proper, and is anything but complete or unmodified, particularly around the windows. The assessment identified the potential for structural features to be concealed by plasterwork and later partitions, particularly within the southern part of the building. It also identified the potential for sub-surface remains of archaeological importance around the tower, particularly at the south end where the original building extended further than at present. (16)

Further assessment work was carried out in 2008 in addition to the assessment carried out in 2006. This subsequent work included further notes on phasing and dating of the internal features amd newly-prepared, phased floor plans of the building. (17)

Timber samples were taken from the roof of the main range and from the roof of a short cross-wing of Cockle Park Tower in 2009 for tree-ring dating. Analysis of the samples resulted in the construction of a single site sequence, containing 15 samples and spanning the period AD1394 to 1602. One sample (CKL-P15) was dated to a first-ring date of AD1418 and a last ring date of AD1481. Two samples were from trees felled in AD1602, with some others have an estimated felling date range consitsent with them also having been felled at this time.
Dendrochronology has shown that the main roof range is constructed from timbers felled in AD1602 and likely to have been built soon after. The roof of the short cross-wing may also date to the early 17th century but this cannot be proven by dendrochonology. (18)

Oxygen isotope analysis was carried out on two timbers that had been dated by ring-width dendrochronology. (19)

Listed by Cathcart King and Dodds. (20a-b)