Geograph - photograph every grid square

Most remotely sited of HCT's chapels, Biddlestone stands in wild country on the southern slopes of the Cheviot Hills within Northumberland National Park. Biddlestone was once a private chapel adjoining Biddlestone Hall, the demolished home of the Selby family. The Selbys established themselves at Biddlestone where eventually they maintained a Catholic chaplaincy at their own expense. Scars on the west wall of the chapel indicate the site of the Hall where the chapel was attached.

The chapel was built was over the remains of a mediaeval pele tower, that almost certainly dates from the late 14th century. Mediaeval rubblestone survives to eaves height on the north side and there is a thick-walled, barrel-vaulted undercroft below.

About 1820 when the Selbys were rebuilding Biddlestone Hall they repaired the remains of the tower and constructed the chapel over the undercroft. The chapel is furnished in mid-Victorian Gothic Revival manner, with a three-light east window containing stained glass which dates from 1862. In the gallery is stained glass displaying Selby heraldry.
Archive Link
his building began its life as a medieval tower house and is first mentioned in a survey of 1415. It belonged to the Selby family and was part of a more extensive fortified manor house. By the 17th century the tower had been incorporated into a larger manor house which itself became part of a large Georgian house in about 1800. In the 19th century a Roman Catholic Chapel was created within the upper floors of the tower and in World War II part of the basement was converted into an air raid shelter and an Anderson-type shelter built inside. The tower is built of stone and much medieval masonry is visible on the north and west sides right up to the eaves. Inside, the basement has a characteristic barrel vault and several other medieval features are visible including a doorway. The plan of the tower is unusual because it is elongated and the main entrance lies in a gable end, a feature more often seen in later bastle houses. This is a Scheduled Monument and a Grade II* Listed Building protected by law.
Link