n 1345, Robert the Bruce marched from Scotland to England with an army of
30000 men, leaving death and destruction - farms and churches in the Lake District were
destroyed, abbeys plundered and burned, people and cattle slaughtered. Determined to
resist further invasion, the people of Cumberland and Westmorland built defensive
structures known as pele towers, quite unique to the north of England. About 90 were
built.
hey were small stone buildings with walls from 3 to 10 feet thick, square or
oblong in shape. Most were on the outskirts of the Lake District, but a few were within
its boundaries. Designed to withstand short sieges, they usually consisted of three
storeys - a tunnel-vaulted ground floor which had no windows which was used as a storage
area, and which could accommodate animals. The first floor contained a hall and kitchen,
and the top floor was space for living and sleeping. The battlemented roof was normally
flat for look-out purposes, and to allow arrows to be fired at raiders, and missiles
hurled down on unwanted visitors.
oday many of these towers have had additions or modifications. Some such as
Yanwath Hall are part of a working farm. Others such as Muncaster, Dacre and Sizergh are
now stately homes. Some have fallen and become ruins, others have been dismantled so the
stone could be used to build other buildings. Some towers were built onto churches to act
as both pele tower, and bell tower.
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