Wall Bowers

Has been described as a Possible Bastle

There are no visible remains

NameWall Bowers
Alternative Names
Historic CountryCumberland
Modern AuthorityCumbria
1974 AuthorityCumbria
Civil ParishWaterhead

There is no evidence that the Wall was reused {in the C16}, but perhaps the Milecastles were. Although there is no direct evidence the Milecastles would have made convenient barmkins.

Marked on 1603 map. (Perriam and Robinson)

The site of milecastle 51 at Wall Bowers, part of the defences on Hadrian's Wall. The milecastle was excavated in 1927, 1934 and 1936. The remains are in poor condition having been mutilated by animal tread and the dumping of rubble in the interior. The courses of the east and west wall are discernible as trampled robber trenches, 3.0m wide and up to 0.15m deep; the south side is less clear, and the north is buried beneath the modern road. An outer ditch is visible on the east side curving round to the south before fading; at best it is 4.5m wide and 0.3m deep. (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

Listed as a possible stonehouse site by Perriam and Robinson. No mention of possible bastle in PastScape record. Scheduled but possible stonehouse not mentioned in scheduling report. Perriam and Robinson term 'stonehouse' is used for small but thick-walled houses but not of a strict pele-house form, usually because the ground floor was residential rather than a byre house. Despite the reports of several excavations the site has not been fully excavated and excavation on Hadrians Wall tend to ignore anything not Roman.

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceNY593654
Latitude54.982349395752
Longitude-2.637540102005
Eastings359300
Northings565490
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 133
  • Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 13) p. 422 (general suggestion of reuse of Roman milecastle sites in C16)