Elsdon Tower : Description of The West End

The lower part of the northern half of the west end of the tower is concealed by later additions. Set centrally in the wall, but partly concealed by an added brick stack, is a blocked square-headed window with a chamfered surround; this would appear to have opened just beneath the basement vault.

A rectangular block of stone near the south end of the west wall, c 1 m above the plinth, is fitted with an iron handle; this had been thought to be a cleaning door to the flue of the inserted basement fireplace, but proved to open into the base of a chute serving the second-floor garderobe. The shaft , c 0.50 by 0.38 m, extended upwards and possibly downwards as well; it contained a dry deposit, possibly including human waste - Sara Rushden of the County Archaeology Service took samples.

The only other old features in the wall (apart from the string course) are a pair of second-floor windows, one towards each end of the wall. Both are 12-pane sashes, with timber lintels immediately below the parapet. Above the north jamb of the northern a boldly-projecting stone spout breaks the base course of the parapet. Once again the central section of the parapet has been raised.