Name: Longthorpe Tower
Rating: 5.0

Longthorpe Tower

Thorpe Road, Longthorpe, Peterborough PE3 6LU, UK

1-99 Years

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Description

Longthorpe Tower displays one of the most complete and important sets of 14th-century domestic wall paintings in northern Europe. This varied 'spiritual encyclopaedia' of worldly and religious subjects includes the Wheel of Life, the Nativity and King David.

Don’t miss the medieval wall paintings featuring kings, saints, musicians, and mythological beasts, an exhibition on the tower’s history, and nearby visits to Kirby Hall and Lyddington Bede House.

If you are looking for Best place for day out with kids and families then this is the perfect destination offering fun, adventure, and unforgettable memories for everyone.

Features

Free
Host birthday parties: No

Features

History of Longthorpe Tower: The stone tower at Longthorpe was built by Robert Thorpe, a lawyer, between about 1290 and 1300. Designed as much a status symbol as a refuge, the tower is in itself an unusual feature in southern England. But its great renown derives from the spectacular wall paintings in the main first-floor room. Added about 1330, they are among the most impressive examples of medieval domestic wall painting in northern Europe.
The Thorpe Family: Longthorpe Tower’s builder, Robert Thorpe, was a major tenant and employee of Peterborough Abbey, whose family had long been connected with the manor of Longthorpe and the abbey.
Robert Thorpe: Robert (Robert I), William III’s son, is recorded in 1293 as a lawyer,[7] the profession through which he and his family rose to prominence in the following century. By 1300 he was regularly acting for Peterborough Abbey.
Building the tower: Robert’s tower is remarkable but not unique. The association of massive towers with ordinary ‘low-rise’ houses had 12th-century precedents and outlasted the Middle Ages (see Significance of Longthorpe Tower). Most were intended to some extent for show as much as to provide security.
The painted room: The design of the first-floor room, including the off-centre arrangement of the windows, suggests that a comprehensive scheme of wall painting was intended from the start. The existing scheme, however, is datable on heraldic evidence to between 1321 and 1340,[17] and has been attributed on stylistic grounds to about 1330.
The Paintings’ Imagery: Much has been written about the intent and message of the scheme as a whole and its component parts. Roughly speaking it may have given an impression of ‘what the well-educated Prince or Nobleman should know’.[25] Although it may appear to be an unordered jumble of material, the patron’s intention to display his devotion, status, learning and links to the ruling elite is clear.
The later Thorpes and their successors: Robert I’s descendants held the ‘New Manor’ of Longthorpe until 1391, although from the 1350s their main residence was a more ambitious house at Maxey, 10 miles north-west.
Antiquarians and Discovery: Longthorpe attracted the attention of the topographer John Bridges and his illustrator, Peter Tillemans, in the early 18th century.[35] But the first (brief) description appears in Thomas Hudson Turner’s Some Account of Domestic Architecture of 1851.
Exhibition: A small hands-on exhibition illustrates the story of the Tower, the wall paintings and life in a medieval manor house.

Facilities

Parking: There is free parking for approximately 20 cars, located 100 metres east of the tower in Woburn Close. Please note that these spaces are shared with the local church. There is also some on-street parking available close to the tower, as well as elsewhere in Longthorpe. Please note: There is no coach or minibus parking available at the site.
Food And Drink: There are no food and drink facilities available at the site (the nearest off-site facilities can be found in the village, roughly 100 metres away).
Toilets: There is a single unisex toilet available at the site.

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Price

Price: Free

Birthday Parties

Offer Birthday Parties: No

The Tower is open for pre-booked 1 hour tours on most Saturdays and Sundays from 5 April until 2 November 2025, 10am – 4.30pm (last admission is 3.30pm).

Address: Thorpe Road, Longthorpe, Peterborough PE3 6LU, UK

Post Code: PE3 6LU

Council: Peterborough

County: Cambridgeshire

Road Access: Located 2 miles west of Peterborough on A47.
Bus Access: Location is a short walk from Peterborough Bus Station. Centrebus service 9 & R47; Stagecoach Citi 2, Citi 4, 23 & X4.
Train Access: Peterborough 1 1⁄2 miles.
Bicycle Access: http://www.sustrans.org.uk.
Parking: There is free parking for approximately 20 cars, located 100 metres east of the tower in Woburn Close. Please note that these spaces are shared with the local church. There is also some on-street parking available close to the tower, as well as elsewhere in Longthorpe. Please note: There is no coach or minibus parking available at the site.