Barry Mead
Tue, Oct 18th 2022 at 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm
MORPETH ROTARY AND THE STORY OF CRESSWELL TOWER
Barry Mead leads a restoration project. He told the story to Morpeth Rotary Club. Although not a local, he has been living in the area for 30 years and even has his own greyhound. His lifelong interests are local history and archaeology. Over the years he has raised millions of pounds to publicise and preserve Northumbrian heritage. He lives at Cresswell. Parkdean Resorts became owners of ‘at risk’ listed historic Cresswell Tower. They asked Cresswell Parish Council in 2014 if they would like to lease the tower and offered the derelict walled garden as a community resource. They agreed and approached Barry to help organise a restoration. It took five years to raise enough money and seven years to complete.
First mention of the Cresswell family was in 1191. The tower was built in the late 1300s. Over the years it had lost its roof and had been vandalised. There were needles, bottles and cans scattered around with bushes and trees growing inside.
A condition of the funding was large scale community involvement. Hundreds of volunteers took part in excavations, field-walking and clearing. In October 2019 a contract was awarded to a North Shields company with a plan to complete in one year but then came Covid. Thankfully the Heritage Lottery Fund covered the additional cost of £60,000 on top of the original grant of £735,000. Timber for the roof came from Germany. Three new new doors were hand made in oak at £1000 each. Old mortar had to be cut out by hand and lime mortar used to repoint. Everything was inspected by Historic England. A new beacon on the tower was lit to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee. The tower has an apparition called the white lady. Pottery found under the pele tower dated from 1200.The first visitors were welcomed to the restored tower in July 2021.
Complete restoration of the walled garden will cost another £200,000. Barry has written a book called ‘Cresswell Curiosities’ about the tower and the history of the surrounding area, with all profits going to the project.
