A view of the ruin of Arnside Tower , taken from the top of a hill named Arnside Knott near the village of Arnside in the county of Cumbria (now Westmorland and Furness), north western England. July 2025. This was a C15 tower house, also known as a Pele Tower. Its design allowed the occupants to take shelter from regular raids by thieves known as Border Reivers which came south from the Scottish border regions during the C15 and C16 period, by using the upper floors that could only be accessed via retractable ladders , so making it difficult for thieves to plunder property. Such tower houses were common in the then lawless border regions of both England and Scotland. Many similar towers survive intact to this day, although this one became a ruin in C20.
#peletower #towerhouse #ruin #cumbria #westmorland #arnside #england