Survey Data
Reg No
30319015
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Archaeological, Architectural, Social
Original Use
Castle/fortified house
Historical Use
Prison/jail
In Use As
Restaurant
Date
1450 - 1490
Coordinates
129692, 224985
Date Recorded
27/08/2008
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Three-storey medieval tower house, built c.1470, having single-bay ground and first floors and two-bay second floor. Recent commercial buildings flanking to each side are recessed slightly from tower house elevation. Flat roof with crenellated parapet, with projecting machicolation on supporting corbels to top floor above entrance. Coursed roughly dressed limestone rubble walls. Square-headed window openings to upper floors, double-lights to top floor and single-light to first floor, having recent chamfered limestone block-and-start surrounds. East corner of first floor has cusped trefoil-headed windows to two sides, with tooled stone surrounds. Three-centred doorway to ground floor having limestone surround, some stones being replacement, dressed lintel stones, and replacement double-leaf timber door.
Appraisal
Blake's Castle is a typical medieval, urban tower house. It preserves a number of key features, including the interesting and unusual trefoil-headed windows to one corner, and the restored machicolation to the roof level, formerly defending the doorway. During its history this building has functioned as a county jail, a store, as housing for an electrical transformer, and since the 1990s, a restaurant.