Monument Number 15886 |
| Hob Uid: 15886 | |
Location :
Northumberland
Tarset
|
| Grid Ref : NY7738090010 |
| Summary : The remains of a bastle at Black Middings. Most of the walls now stand only to a few courses, but define the usual rectangular structure of a bastle, measuring 9.5 metres by 7.5 metres, with a small walled enclosure to the north east. It is identified as a former bastle because of the thickness of its surviving walls which, in places, are over 1 metre wide. The east wall survives up to 2 metres high. It is probable that the bastle was constructed in the 16th century, the same time as the neighbouring bastle (NY 78 NE 2). |
More information : NY 77389001. The remains of a probable bastle discovered during field investigation. It measures 10.2 metres x 7.5 metres with walls 1.4 metre thick and stands to a maximum height of 1.8 metres. See photographs. (1)
Agreed. The remains are incorporated in a modern stone wall and measure externally 18.5m NE-SW by 7.5m transversely. The best preserved fragment is the SE wall which reaches a maximum height of 1.8m and width of 1.4m. There are no internal features nor are there any traces of window slits or doorways. The plan and general dimensions, however, are comparable to the bastle at NY77318999 (NY 78 NE 2).
Surveyed at 1:10 000. (2)
The ruins of this probable bastle were surveyed at 1:100 by RCHME in 1987. The south-east and south-west walls are now incorporated in a fieldwall. Some original facing is exposed in the exterior of the south-east wall; it is similar in style to the masonry of the better preserved bastle to the south-west (NY 78 NE 2). The north east wall, which is reduced to a height of 0.3m, is only 0.8m thick and is therefore unlikely to be an original external wall. The north west wall is covered by a substantial mound of tumbled stone, though the stump of the wall is visible; a secondary wall, only 0.5m thick seems to have been built on top of this wall stump, reflecting a secondary period of use involving rebuilding on a slighter scale. There are no visible signs of openings for windows or doors.
To the north-east of this building a heap of rubble partly overlies
the foundations of another substantial stone building whose internal measurements were about 7m by 4m. Whether this was yet another bastle is uncertain.
Like Black Middens bastle (NY 78 NE 2), these buildings are
associated with elements of a field system (NY 79 SE 8) incorporating ridge and furrow cultivation and stack stands (NY 79 SE 9). (3)
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