Hutton John, Cumbria

Hutton John
Hutton nr Penruddock
Eden
Cumbria

Well….this was an annoying site to visit. Typically, the gardens that surround Hutton John are well tended and quite spectacular….however, from my point of view, and with a camera that lacks an x-ray lense (!) they are nothing but a barrier. The pele tower is situated at the bottom of a steep hill near to the small hamlet of Hutton, a hundred yards North of Dacre Beck, and south of Penruddock.

According to plans of the building, the tower, with its thick walls and crenelated roof, can be seen to the left of the above photo...behind the foreground building. The walls of this portion of Hutton John, are shown as about twice as thick as the rest of the buildings around it.

The pele tower (original structure) was built in the late 14th century, possibly around 1353, by the Hutton family. Through the mid 17th, and early 18th centuries, various alterations and additions were made, until, as with many towers in this area, the original structure was swallowed up in the grandness of the building. The later alterations were mostly carried out by the Huddleston family (of Millom castle fame) The hall came into the Huddleston family via the marriage of Marie Hutton in 1564 (god-daughter of Queen Mary) to Andrew Huddleston. The Huddlestons remained at the hall until the 1970’s.

The tower has thick walls made of the familiar local red sandstone. One side of the courtyard possibly still has part of a curtain wall still standing….possibly dating from the 16th century. The tower, that part that can still be seen, still has a few loops visible on the external walls, whilst there are reputedly some loops visible inside the tower.

As with some other local towers (Blencow and Catterlen) the original site of the Hutton’s fortification, was a moated site still said to be visible some 150 metres to the East of the current hall.