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Seamer Dower House

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Semere; Semer

In the civil parish of Seamer.
In the historic county of Yorkshire North Riding.
Modern Authority of North Yorkshire.
1974 county of North Yorkshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: TA01328341
Latitude 54.23638° Longitude -0.44695°

Seamer Dower House has been described as a probable Tower House.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Remains of the medieval manor at Manor Garth, Seamer situated on the edge of the village on a low bluff overlooking low marshy land. The remains consist of a section of upstanding medieval masonry which was originally part of the manor house and further substantial earthwork remains of both the manor house and associated manorial complex which dates to the early 14th century. The upstanding ruins, which date to the 15th century, comprise a section of masonry wall 12m long and up to 4m wide with an arched doorway through the south west end. It is built of coursed limestone rubble, with some ashlar facing and some traces of architectural detail. Surrounding the ruins are substantial grass covered earthworks representing the buried remains of the manor house complex. The earthworks form terraces and banks, some of which are up to 1.5m high. Stonework from the manor is exposed at a number of places on the earthworks. A track crosses through the area of the scheduling north of the site of the manor house and at its east end is carried by a raised causeway 8m wide and 1m high. North of the track is a wide terrace and further earthworks which represent the remains of the wider manorial complex. The area to the south west of the monument is currently boggy land but in the medieval period was a more substantial lake or mere from which Seamer takes its name. The manor complex was thus situated on higher land overlooking the lake and as such occupied a prestigious position. A manor existed at Seamer before the Conquest and was granted to the Percy family by William I. The Percys were known to have had a house at Seamer in 1304. It seems to have been used as a dower house; a house provided for a widow, often on the estate of the deceased husband. In 1536 Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland made over the manor to the crown and by 1547 it was called a castle. The manor was granted to Sir Henry Gate in 1555, passed to his son in 1589 and passed through several lessees and owners. It is not known when the manor house was abandoned and demolished. The upstanding ruins are Listed Grade II. (Scheduling Report)

Manor House, ruinated. C15 and earlier. Coursed limestone rubble; dressed limestone. Arched doorway of two orders with 4-centred head to left of surviving wall. Shaped first floor band. Traces of extensive foundations around surviving wall. The manor was in the hands of the Percy family until 1555 when it passed to Sir Henry Gate. (Listed Building Report)

The house seems to have served as a dower house and was referred to as a castle in 1547.
Links to mapping and other online resources
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PastScape   County HER   Scheduling   Listing   I. O. E.
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Sources of information, references and further reading

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself. The information within this site is provided freely by me for educational purposes only.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.
The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.
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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.
This record last updated on Monday, June 17, 2013
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