Bastle or Bastle House
Cut-away reconstruction drawings of the layout of typical Bastle-Houses The word Bastle was derived from the French term “Bastille” and denoted a stronghouse. They are to be found throughout the length of the Border. Bastles…
Shittleheugh Pele, Redesdale, Northumberland
Shittleheugh Pele, Pele-House or Bastle, Redesdale, Northumberland The shattered remains of Shittleheugh stand high above the river Rede and are a conspicuous landmark in Redesdale. The side walls have fallen but the gable ends still…
Akeld Bastle House, Wooler, Northumberland
Akeld Bastle House Akeld Bastle stands two miles west of Wooler in Northumberland, on the edge of the Cheviots. It was described as a “Lytle fortelett castle-house without a barmekyn” by Sir Robert Bowes in…
Blacklaw Tower
Site of Blacklaw Tower near Moffat, Dumfriesshire Hidden away in a clearing in woodland, high above the valley of Evan Water on the slopes of Blacklaw Hill are the dilapidated ruins of Blacklaw Tower. The…
Auchenrivock Tower
Remains of Auchenrivock Tower, Eskdale, Dumfriesshire The shattered ruins of Auchenrivock Tower stand in Eskdale near the mouth of the Irvine burn, the northern limit of the Debateable land. Though the site is marked as…
Stonehaugh Tower or Stonehouse Tower, Liddesdale
Liddesdale, once called “The cockpit of the Border”, has few remains of the towers and strongholds of the infamous Reivers who made this dale their lair in the troubled 16th century. The rather scant remains…
Bastle at White House Farm, Glassonby, Cumbria
Reconstruction drawing of Bastle at White House Farm, Glassonby, Nr Penrith, Cumbria A bastle stands among farm buildings at White House Farm in the village of Glassonby. The basement is not stone vaulted; the floor…
