Elsdon Tower : Description of The Caphouse

The caphouse, set within the parapet (there is a narrow walkway all round, although for some reason the west end of the northern walk is divided off from the north end of the western), has gabled ends with a flat coping of square-section slabs, and simple concave-section kneelers; stylistically these seem of late 18th or even early 19th-century date. The gable ends have projecting stacks, in each case with a brick extension.

At the west end an external brick stack steps in to link with that on the caphouse gable, leaving only a narrow gap behind for access to the northern section of the western walkway; there has been a similar arrangement at the east end, but the 'flying buttress' section linking the outer stack (which in this case is incorporated in the parapet wall, rather than housed in an external projection) has been removed.

The only access into the caphouse roof is by a small hatch at the west end, on the south of the stack; on the north of the stack, one or two large triangular-shaped stones set in the wall look as if they could be in situ survivals from the coping of an earlier lower gable, but it is difficult to be certain.

The side walls of the caphouse are heavily pointed, and show no features except for sections of timber lintels on the south, which probably relate to the high-level recesses, possibly former windows, in the main second-floor room. On the north the external face of the wall is very irregular, with large bulges, hinting at the survival of earlier masonry. The caphouse is roofed by stone slates.