Carrycoats Hall

Description

House. C16/C17, early C18 and 1830's. Oldest parts are random rubble, the rest ashlar. Welsh slate roofs. 2 storeys. 3-bay front of 1830's with rusticated quoins. Gabled and recessed centre bay has 6-panelled door with overlight in possibly re-used C18 architrave. Moulded continuous cornice above and panel with crest of Shafto family. Narrow flanking windows in architraves. Outer bays have shallow square bay windows with 2-light windows in architraves. 12-pane sash to each light. First floor has 12-pane sashes with cornice and architrave. 2-light window above door. Similar decoration on returns but rear bay has C18 masonry and the remains of ground and 1st floor sill bands.
Older building incorporated in house to rear, possibly a bastle house, has walls c3ft. to 3ft.6 inches. Also further C17 and C18 masonry. Various windows C18 and early C19.
Gabled roof with ridged coping, kneelers, ball finials and stone corniced ridge stacks.
Interior has early C18 staircase with broad handrail and turned balusters. 2-panelled and 6-panelled doors and several early C19 fireplaces. (Listed Building Report)

A survey of 1522 refers to a 'store house' {sic - stone house meant} at Carrycoats, and a list of Border holds in 1541 refers to the bastle there as being in good repair (Hodgson 1899 - This reference to Vol. 5 of the Northumberland County History is incorrect - Vol. 4 (1897) is meant).
No further siting evidence, but Carrycoats Hall (NY 92427996), as the only substantial feature retaining the name, possibly occupies the site. The present house is largely 19th century, and no identifiable remains of a bastle are incorporated (F1 RWE 22-NOV-1966).
Carrycoats Bastle. Part of suppressed monastery of Newminster, it may have stood on or near the site of the present hall (Long 1967).
Carrycoats Hall stands in a remote situation on the south side of the small valley of the Carry Burn. The house has a twin-gabled 'Tudor' front characteristic of the 1840s or 1850s, but the gables are those of wings added on to an earlier east-west range that is probably a century earlier. Behind this, and overlapping its west end, is a shorter parallel block with masonry - rough rubble walling and large roughly shaped quoins - of bastle character. It measures 7.7m by 6m externally with walls around 0.9m thick; most of its features appear to be later insertions. To the west of this block is a 19th century extension, and to the east a late 18th or 19th century outshut, possibly replacing a further section of the earlier building, as the rear wall of the main east-west range remains relatively thick throughout its full length (Ryder 1994-5). (Northumberland HER)

Comments

In the 1541 survey 'Bastle' tends to be used for the larger higher status buildings rather than the modest 'pele house' type bastles and the early date, high status 'hall' name and gentry status of the Shafto's and Widdrington's all add to the probability this was a larger building (c.f. Doddington Bastle). However Ryder's measurement are those of a much more modest 'pele house' type building, although he does suggest this may be a relic of a larger building. This was a secondary residence of the sitting tenant's, the Shafto's of Bavington Hall, and the site for summer grazing so could have been fairly modest.