More information : [NU 25101958] Tower [GT] Craster Tower. (1)
A list of 1460 (authorities (3) and (4) give the date as 1415)
mentions a tower at Craster, the property of Edmund Craster (2).
Craster Tower now forms part of a modern building. Rectangular in plan with external measurements of 35feet N-S by 29ft 2 ins E-W. The entrance is in the east wall, and is now approached from the offices in the hall. There is an outer doorway and an inner one which opens into a vaulted basement. In the passage between these doors, on the left on entering, is the door of the wheel stair that went up in the wall, here 6'5" thick, near the SE angle of the tower. None of the steps are visible although it is believed that they exist behind the blocking. The three doors mentioned are all of late 14th cent character with slightly pointed heads formed out of two stones. The basement is vaulted and measures 27'7" x 16'5". It contains the remains of two slit windows and a blocked fireplace. The sash windows in the west wall of the first and second floors, and the battlements of the tower are modern (4). (2-4)
At the time of investigation the occupants of Craster Tower were not available and the interior was not inspected. The exterior is
devoid of architecture save in the SW wall where the windows in the 1st and 2nd floors are modern. The walls are built of squared ashlar and are in a good state of preservation. (5)
Condition unchanged. (6)
Craster Tower. Medieval tower, probably built in the 14th century, now incorporated into a house built in 1769. The east wing was added in the 19th century. L-shaped in plan, with the tower set at the junction between the 1769 south block and the east wing. Listed Grade II*. (7)
Listed by Cathcart King and Dodds. (8,9) |