Ludworth Tower
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ludworth Tower was a manor house and later a pele tower in the pit village of Ludworth, County Durham. Only ruins survive today.
| Ludworth Tower | |
|---|---|
| Ludworth, County Durham | |
The ruins of Ludworth Tower in 2021 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Manor house, pele tower |
Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Location | |
| Shown within County Durham | |
  Ludworth Tower Location within County Durham | |
| Coordinates | 54.76657°N 1.4377006°W |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1411 |
| Built by | de Ludworth family |
| Materials | Limestone and sandstone |
| Demolished | Before 1785 |
History
Ludworth Tower was built by the de Ludworth family and it passed into the hands of the Holden family, who added the tower in 1411.[1] Roger Holden gained a licence on 6 August 1422 to crenelate Ludworth Tower to Thomas Holden by Cardinal Thomas Langley and during the same year Thomas added a rectangular pele tower to the structure which was at least three storeys high.[1]
In 1785 W. Hutchinson noted that Ludworth Tower was a ruin.[2]
In 1890, most of the ruins collapsed, leaving only the ruins that survive today extant. In 1905 a ditch was apparently discovered near the tower[3] but no signs of the ditch survive today. The only surviving remains are the barrel-vaulted basement, the three storey west wall and fragments of a first floor spiral stair in the south wall.