Hunting Bastle Houses

Living in the border lands we had always known about Bastle houses. They were those rather intimidating and strong barn conversions weren’t they? We had seen the Eagle of the Ninth, Braveheart, and Kevin Costner underneath the Robin Hood tree but one week end we decided that it would be good to track down one of these remnants from more troubled times. So how do you go about finding a Bastle house in the wild? Well, as with most things these days, we went to Amazon for our first clues and ordered Julia Grint’s book on “Bastles”. It arrived quickly and we settled down to try and understand the quarry.

The first thing which stood out is that they are more widespread than most people realise. Violence and the threat of reiving wasn’t confined to just the “Roman Wall” countryside. These were lawless times and a quote here is appropriate:

“The good old law, the simple plan –
That they should take that have the power
And they should keep who can”

The book splits the Bastles into three main areas for convenience, Tarset and Redesdale, Otterburn and finally Allendale. It was the latter which we chose to try first and so we made our plans. These houses are more 16th and 17th century which was a surprise as the main Reiver times were much earlier but maybe this just reflects how long it took for peace to come to the countryside.


For our first Bastle house we chose Nine Dargues. Apparently named after the surrounding land which would take 9 days to till this seemed an appropriate start. Suitably armed with refreshments, dog and camera we ventured forth. Now the valley of the river Allen is beautiful and quiet but where are the road signs? Where are the signposts to point out these National treasures?





Down a winding green lane we had our first sight of Nine Dargues. But why are there trees growing in the middle of the ruin? Access was reasonably easy but no one seems to care for these buildings. Apparently Nine Dargues was occupied as late as the 19th century but now you need to look closely to understand exactly what you are seeing. Look at this magnificent megalithic lintel over the Byre doorway which is set centrally in the east gable end. Do you see the harr hole in the timber lintel and the drawbar tunnels to secure the entrance?

These poignant reminders of its original purpose are to us precious and as we sat beside the crumbling walls and enjoyed the peace and quiet it seemed that our remembering of what had gone before was a small way to honour our ancestors and the people who had created this beautiful county.

Written by Colin Corlett who occasionally helps to promote tourism through working with Northumbria Byways.


You can see more of the Allendale and Tarset Bastles here

Housty Bastle house Allendale

http://www.northumberland-tales.com/Housty-bastle-house.html

More about Nine Dargues

http://www.northumberland-tales.com/Nine-Dargues.html

and the listed building details

http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-240131-nine-dargue-150-metres-south-east-of-net

Black Middens, Tarset

http://www.northumberland-tales.com/Black-Middens.html

Finally if you would like more images then you are welcome to download as follows

Images here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/colin1957/sets/72157629982565906/