Hole Bastle, Bellingham

In the civil parish of Bellingham.
In the historic county of Northumberland (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

This bastle is C16 in date and is built partly over a Bronze Age round cairn. The bastle overlooks the valley of the River Rede and is well preserved. The building measures 10.5m by 6.6m in plan and stands two storeys high, measuring 14m tall to the tops of the gables. The original entrance into the ground floor lies through the west wall, but there is now another later entrance through the east side. On the outside of the bastle is a stone staircase which leads up to the first floor. Some of the windows were inserted in C19, but original C16 ones are visible in the east and north walls. Inside the bastle, the ground floor is covered by a barrel vault and there is a ladder hole for access to the first floor. Here there are wall cupboards, a fireplace and a stair to the attic.

This site has been described as a;
Bastle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 239410)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY86708466

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 17062

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N8064

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N8064
    http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=150
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p320
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p117 [slight]
    Pevsner, N., 1992 (revised by Grundy, John et al), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p335
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p41
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p359
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p205-6
    Ramm, H.G., McDowall, R.W., and Mercer, E., 1970. Shielings and Bastles (London) p83-4
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p122
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p135-6
• Journal Articles
  • Hadcock, R.N., 1939, 'Map of Mediaeval Northum and Durham' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol16 p184