Burneside Hall
Burneside Hall is a ruined pele tower in Burneside, Cumbria, England. The site has records dating back to 1290, when Gilbert Burneshead owned land there. Richard Bellingham, from a powerful Northumberland family, married Burneshead’s daughter and gained the site. The current building began in the late 14th century, built by the Bellingham family. The medieval core was two pele towers linked by a large open hall; today only one tower survives. The remaining tower is three storeys high, about 20 by 35 feet, and was once the buttery and pantry end of the hall.
A gatehouse was added in the late 16th or 17th century, surrounded by a thick barmkin wall. The original open hall was converted into smaller rooms in the 17th century, with more windows added. The second tower, similar in height but narrower, was rebuilt in the 18th century and largely destroyed in the process.
In 2019, timber dating showed 39 timbers from the hall, with most pieces dating to 1579–1604, plus earlier and later timbers (dates range from 1422 onward). The Bellinghams owned the hall until 1461, when it was seized by the king for treason; it was then held by the Parr family until 1480. In the 1530s it was sold to Sir Thomas Clifford, then passed to John Fitzwilliam, who in 1552 sold it to John Machell. His heirs gave it to the Braithwaite family, who kept it for seven generations. In the early 17th century the poet Richard Brathwaite lived there. The second tower was rebuilt in the 18th century and largely destroyed in the process. In the late 19th century, Stephen Brunskill bought the property and restored some of the medieval parts. Burneside Hall is a Grade II* listed building and a scheduled monument; in 2014 Historic England noted it was at risk of slow decay. Today it sits within a working tenanted farm.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:54 (CET).