Elsdon Tower : Description of The East End

In the centre of the wall at basement level is a large segmental-headed window of four lights, with a transom just below the head, and a hoodmould with turned-back ends; its ashlar dressings look to be of mid- or late 19th century date. Directly above the window is a small rectangular window with a chamfered surround; prior to 1995 this was blocked by a slab bearing the five fusils of old Percy. The positioning of this opening at first seemed somewhat puzzling, as it appeared to be set too high to light the basement, and too low for the first floor. The 1995 RCHME report considered that this was evidence of the basement vault being an insertion.

The removal of the heraldic slab showed that this was not the case, and revealed that the internal splay of the window dropped like a steeply-inclined tunnel through the thickness of the wall; it was not blocked by the basement vault as the RCHME thought, but only sealed by the plaster rear arch of the 19th century east window of the basement.

The splay was topped by an series of large inclined slabs; a small hole in its side wall broke through the internal splay of the first-floor window above; it would appear that when the internal sill of this was lowered to form a full-height recess (in the 18th century?) it cut into the internal splay of the lower loop, and forced the north side of the splay to be rebuilt, or at least re-faced, somewhat inside the original line, in rough masonry. The later insertion of the large 19th century basement window has removed most of the sill/floor of the inclined tunnel/splay of its predecessor, and prompted a rather precarious structural situation.

Directly above the string course, and a little north of centre, is a square-headed window, with a chamfered surround; there is a second very similar window above, set a little further south (and more or less in line with the present chimney stack). This had been blocked but in 1995  was completely opened out; the external opening showed square sockets for iron bars, a vertical one set centrally, and two horizontal, set a little nearer the top than the bottom.

The parapet has not been heightened. Several accounts (including the list description of c 1985) refer to another heraldic panel, with the later Percy crest, built into the parapet here; either it has been removed, or the reference is to a slab with the Percy crescent in the parapet of the 19th century porch.