Haltwhistle Bastle 3; Fish and Chip Shop

Has been described as a Possible Bastle

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains

NameHaltwhistle Bastle 3; Fish and Chip Shop
Alternative NamesThe Sea Chef; Oceans
Historic CountryNorthumberland
Modern AuthorityNorthumberland
1974 AuthorityNorthumberland
Civil ParishHaltwhistle

House, now shop with flat above. Late C17-early C18 with C19 alterations and additions. Rendered masonry, Welsh slate roof and stone chimney stack. 2 storeys, 2 windows. Replaced 4-panel door at left in raised surround with alternating jambs. Horse-tethering ring on right jamb. Glazed C19 shop front at right with set-back door and 3 panes under elliptical-arched heads. 2- and 3-light windows with replaced casements set immediately below eaves. Roof has slightly-swept eaves. Right end stack with rendered top section. Late C19 2-storey, 2-bay wing on right rear. Interior: 2 pairs of upper crucks, with prominent elbows, halved and pegged into ceiling beams. Included for group value. (Listed Building Report 1987)

Solitary form bastle, 6m broad, 1m thick side walls. First floor beamed ceiling (Ryder 1990).

The Fish and Chip Shop is a building with thick walls above a later shop front. The upper cruck roof may be secondary, as the external proportions suggest that the second floor may be an addition. Interior not seen (Ryder 1994-5). (Northumberland HER)

Gatehouse Comments

Thick walled building in Haltwhistle town. Was this a bastle? Was the ground floor used as a animal byre? This seems unlikely and Ryder seems to be suggesting in his 1994-5 report the building started as a one storey building only, which seems to exclude it from being a bastle. Much altered and not really securely dated. If late C17, as suggested in the listing report, then again not a bastle. It may be this thick walled house did have some defensive quality but thick walls, of themselves, do not make this a bastle. Several authors, including Ryder, do call this a bastle although Gatehouse has great difficulty understanding the reasoning

- 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
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceNY707641
Latitude54.9707107543945
Longitude-2.45817995071411
Eastings370760
Northings564105
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink
Photo by Philip Davis. All Rights Reserved

() above

Latitude 54° 58' 14.5" Longitude -2° 27' 30.04"

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Books

  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 349
  • Hodgson, J., 1840, History of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Part 2 Vol. 3 p. 120 online copy

Journals

  • Christopherson, R., 2011, 'Northumberland bastles: origin and distribution' Medieval Settlement Research Vol. 26 p. 21-33 (listed in appendix - as Haltwistle Towers - probable identification)

Other

  • Ryder, P.F., 1994-5, Towers and Bastles in Northumberland Part 4 Tynedale District Vol. 2 p. 80
  • Ryder, P.F., 1990, Bastles and Towers in the Northumberland National Park (Report for Northumberland National Park Authority) p. 6