Lee Hall

Has been described as a Possible Bastle, and also as a Possible Pele Tower

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains

NameLee Hall
Alternative Names
Historic CountryNorthumberland
Modern AuthorityNorthumberland
1974 AuthorityNorthumberland
Civil ParishBellingham

A pleasant early eighteenth century house standing close to the River North Tyne betwwen its confluences with the River Rede and the Houxty Burn. It is the result of a radical transformation carried out in the seventeenth century on a strong house, bits of which are still evident at the back of the building. In 1620 this was termed a 'capital messuage'; the earlier structure had housed people since at least the thirteenth century. (Dodds 1999)

House. Early C18 with C17 core. Ashlar facade, random rubble behind and to lower one-bay wing on left. Welsh slate roof. 2½ storeys. 5 bays. Double-span roof with projecting former service wing to rear. Symmetrical. C20 double door in doorway with moulded round-arched head, with curved keystone, on moulded imposts. Above a floating cornice and pulvinated frieze. Round-headed window in similar frame above. All other ground and 1st floor windows are 12-pane sashes in lightly-moulded surrounds. Similar surrounds to 6-pane attic windows. Bands at ground, 1st and 2nd floor level. Alternating and rusticated quoins. Moulded cornice. Gabled roof with kneelers behind cornice, i.e. from earlier house. Stone-corniced gable stacks. Right return has massive truncated external gable stack; similar stack visible above one-bay left extension.

Interior has early C18 panelling and fireplace with bolection moulding in 1st floor front room; C17 stone fireplace with decorative lintel in 1st floor rear room. Many C18 doors, internal shutters and dado rails. Late C18 wood fireplace with Corinthian colonettes in ground floor front room. (Listed Building Report)

Gatehouse Comments

The social status of this building means if the C17 building was fortified it would have been a rather grander building than the pele-house type bastle probably something compareble to Doddington Bastle. However, as far as Gatehouse is aware, the only source suggesting this was fortified is from Dodds (1999), not a checkable source. In this area it would not be unreasonable to expect a C17 house to have some amount of defensive features and some 'military' architectural features. Any earlier medieval building may also have had some level of fortification, such as a solar tower, but there is no evidence for this.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceNY861797
Latitude55.1120414733887
Longitude-2.21838998794556
Eastings386161
Northings579761
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 354-6
  • Dodds, Madeleine Hope (ed), 1940, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol. 15 p. 242
  • Tomlinson, W.W., 1902, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 217