Dalden Towers

Dalton Towers is a fourteenth century structure built as a defensive keep to ward off intruders, such as the marauding Scots. It was the home of Robert de Dalden and Lady Matilda. It was the prominent building in the area. Imagine the community of Dalton village, a feudal structure with nobility in the tower adding status and prestige to the rural scene. The daughter of Lady Matilda inherited the estate and married Sir William Bowes Of Streatlam, who fought with the Black Prince at Poitiers in France. The effigy of Lady Matilda and Sir William are preserved in St Andrews Church.

Through the ages, the tower fell into disrepair, its stones being probably used to build Dalton Hall and Stables. This survived until it became victim of coal subsidence when the main road collapsed in the 1960's Today stands the ruins of the tower with a boundary wall probably made from the original materials.