Harlsey Castle
Gatehouse Classification - Tower House
Has been described as a Certain
There are masonry ruins/remnants remains
| Name | Harlsey Castle |
| Alternative Names | Hatlesey; Hartesey vel Harlesey; Harsley; Harlesey |
| Medieval County | Northumberland |
| Historic Country | Yorkshire |
| Modern Authority | North Yorkshire |
| 1974 Authority | North Yorkshire |
| Civil Parish | West Harlsey |
Farmhouse, part of C15 castle. Early C15 and C19. Stone, rendered, pantile roof. 2 storeys, 4 bays. Right-hand bay has a lower roof. To bay 2 a 4-panel door with overlight set in plain doorcase with pilasters, frieze and cornice . All windows are 4-pane sashes with stone sills, those to ground floor have flat stuccoed arches. Stone coping to each end and to left of right-hand bay. End stacks and one to ridge. Rear: a small 4-centred arched window, now blocked. Interior has 3 very large beams. Thick original walls up to eaves level. History: built by Sir James Strangwayes, a judge of Common Pleas; he purchased the manor in 1423. His son James was High Sherriff of Yorkshire 1445-6, 1452 and 1468 and Speaker of the House of Commons 1461. It probably fell into disuse after the manor was forfeited to the Crown in the C16. (Listed Building Report)
An almost rectangular enclosure of 4 1/2 acres, with a 30ft wide ditch on three sides and terraces for defence on the west. Slight remains exist of an inner enclosure, including three cellars with rubble-vaulted pointed roofs which may be the basement of a later keep (Pevsner). Castle taken over by Sir James Strangeways in 1423 and probably fell into disuse after the manor was forfeited to the Crown in the 16th century. (VCH) The moat, now dry, was obviously originally a continuous feature, but its NW angle has been obliterated by the present farmstead. The terraces outside the ditch on the west side have been much mutilated by tree-planting, but were probably intended for cultivation rather than defence, as this is the least vulnerable side. The cellars of the castle are in use as farm buildings (Field Investigators Comment–F1 DS 30-NOV-72) The earthworks are divided into two areas, a more ornamental element to the east containing the ponds and orchards, and the inner court containing the principle buildings (Dennison and Richardson, 2007). (PastScape)
This site is a scheduled monument protected by law
Not Listed
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | SE41539803 |
| Latitude | 54.37637 |
| Longitude | -1.36274 |
| Eastings | 441530 |
| Northings | 498030 |
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