Scheduled MonumentsEnglandGreat Tosson tower house

Great Tosson tower house

England
List entry 1008096
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1008096
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.02 hectares
Grid reference
NU 02929 00518
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Great Tosson tower house is a defensive fortified structure located in Northumberland in the English north-east. The tower house dates to the medieval period and represents the type of fortified dwelling constructed during the turbulent centuries of Anglo-Scottish border warfare. The building exemplifies the architectural response of border gentry to the persistent threat of raid and incursion characteristic of the region during the later medieval era. As a scheduled ancient monument, Great Tosson tower house survives as material evidence of domestic and defensive priorities in the frontier zone between England and Scotland.

Great Tosson tower house is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1008096. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Great Tosson tower house?

Great Tosson tower house is a defensive fortified structure located in Northumberland in the English north-east. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1008096.

Who is responsible for protecting Great Tosson tower house?

Great Tosson tower house is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1008096.

What other scheduled monuments are near Great Tosson tower house?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Simonside Cairn 670m west-north-west of Old Stell Crag (1.9 km), Cairn 1km west-north-west of Old Stell Crag (1.9 km), Cairn 320m WNW of Old Stell Crag (2 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Great Tosson tower house

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Great Tosson tower house's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Great Tosson tower house

Great Tosson tower house stands on Inverclyde Group, bedrock that formed in the Osagean. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.