How Hill Tower And Outbuildings, Also Called The Chapel Of Saint Michael De Monte

This is a former chapel, now an outbuilding, with attached outbuildings, all disused. The core of the structure dates back to around 1200, with medieval remains and early 16th-century fabric, and further rebuilding in 1718 by John Aislabie of Studley Royal. Later 18th-century outbuildings were also added. The tower was originally built for John Aislabie. The building is constructed of coursed squared gritstone and limestone, with a Westmorland slate roof, while the outbuildings are of coursed rubble with gritstone quoins and have surviving stone slate roofs on the north side.

The ruined group comprises a substantial three-storey block with a lean-to addition to the east, and a two-storey and single-storey block which may have been a stable, located to the north. The tower is square and two stories high, with a projecting stair bay on the west side. The south face of the tower has a round-arched doorway with imposts and keystone, now blocked in the lower half, beneath a stone plaque with four quatrefoils containing shields in relief. A first-floor band returns, displaying relief carving: 'SOL DEO HONOR MH ET GLORIA'. Above the doorway is a round-arched window with tracery now missing. A modillioned eaves band runs around the tower. The stone pyramidal roof is clad in slates and topped with a three-dimensional cross. On the rear (north) side, a round-arched window sits within a stone architrave on the ground floor, and a round-arched window with two pointed lights is on the first floor. The west return has a rectangular window in the attached stair bay and kneelers with gable coping and arched bell-cote-like finial. The east return is obscured by remains of 18th-century buildings. The first floor of the west return has a blocked round-arched window with two pointed lights. Internally, the flooring has collapsed, but fireplaces survive in the tower on the ground-floor east side and in the north-east corner on the first floor, with a cast-iron basket grate in situ. A substantial stone staircase is built against the south, west, and north walls of the stair bay, providing access to the upper floor of the tower.

The site is a scheduled ancient monument. The hill, along with the deserted village of Erlesholt, was originally given to Fountains Abbey, and the chapel was erected around 1200. Repairs or rebuilding occurred between 1494 and 1526 by Abbot Marmaduke Huby, who also built the tower at Fountains. Following the Dissolution, the building was neglected until John Aislabie reconstructed the tower. It may have been used as a folly or gaming house, with repairs made to windows and furniture, including gaming tables, in 1737-38. The outbuildings are thought to have been added in the later 18th century and would have appeared as a nave attached to the tower. Their position on the downhill side of the tower, rather than on the hilltop, suggests they may have been part of John Aislabie’s scheme and later used as farm outbuildings. The site is documented by M Sykes, The Chapel of Saint Michael de Monte, c1984.