Over the past two weeks we’ve been back at Cresswell Pele Tower monitoring groundworks which are being carried out as part of the restoration of the 14th-15th century tower and its grounds. During the excavation of a trench for an electrical cable we found the western wall of the 18th century Mansion House. The Mansion had been constructed against the tower’s northern elevation, possibly around 1760, but was subsequently demolished about 100 years later when the inhabitants moved into the newly-constructed Cresswell Hall. During excavations on the site in 2017 and 2018 we found the foundations of the Mansion’s frontage on its eastern side, so we’re very pleased with this most recent find as it helps us to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge about the Mansion House and its extent.
Also progressing well is the restoration of the bothy in the site’s north-west corner. The bothy was in a very bad state, lacking a roof and a lot of its original stonework, but look at it now! The new stonework is intended to contrast starkly with the original masonry so as to highlight which areas are part of the restoration and which are the earliest.
Please check back here for regular updates on how the tower’s restoration is progressing. Currently the builders are working on the new roof and it will be a momentous occasion when the tower once again becomes weather-proof.
You can find out more about the Cresswell Pele Tower Community Archaeology Project here.