Description

LONGHORSLEY LONGHORSLEY
NZ 19 SW
5/86 Horsley Tower and
adjacent outbuilding
II*
GV
Towerhouse, probably early C16; north wing mid-C17, some restoration c.1930.
Coursed squared stone with dressings; slate roof, except for pantiles on
outbuilding; L-plan, South front 4 storeys, irregular fenestration. Original
square-headed chamfered doorway now blocked and C20 window inserted. C20 door
to left. 3-light window above and pair of 2-light windows on 2nd floor are C20
except for hoodmould of former. Other windows mostly old, some with hoodmoulds;
narrow loops to right for newel stair. Crenellated parapet above cut-back string
course, stair turret rising slightly higher; hipped roof. 1-storey outbuilding
to left has lean-to roof with crow-stepped coping.

West elevation of wing 3 storeys, 2 narrow bays; projecting right bay has
external stair to lst-floor door; left bay has boarded door in moulded flat-
pointed surround; paired 8-pane sashes in architrave above. Right return shows
varied fenestration including old barred 4-pane casement; at right windows in
architraves. Rear elevation:gable end of wing has irregular projecting stack
with 2nd-floor 2-light window in raised moulded surround, to right.

Interior: barrel-vaulted ground floor with separate vaulted chambers to east,
former entrance lobby on south to stone newel stair at south-east angle. 1st
floor has original fireplace with lintel on moulded corbels and segmental
relieving arch above; chamfered segmental rear arches to some windows. Early
C18 panelling on 2nd floor.

The tower, built by the Horsley family, passed c.1685 to the Widdringtons and
c.1763 to the Riddells, Roman Catholic families who converted the top floor into
a chapel, which remained in use until the present Catholic Church (q.v.) was
built in 1841.

Articles by R. Bibby in Northumbriana 16-19 (1979/80)

Listing NGR: NZ1462594646

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17546054

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)