Starsley Pele, Kielder Water (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Starslee

In the civil parish of Falstone.
In the historic county of Northumberland.
Modern Authority of Northumberland.
1974 county of Northumberland.
Medieval County of Northumberland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY70168824
Latitude 55.18743° Longitude -2.47006°

Starsley Pele, Kielder Water has been described as a Pele Tower but is rejected as such, and also as a Bastle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

The remains of a small farm with ruined stone buildings now lies submerged beneath Kielder Water reservoir. When it was first recorded it was suggested a ruined small square stone building might be a pele. Further work in the 1970s, before the site was demolished and flooded, showed that the building was larger with several enclosures nearby, and was most probably a small post-medieval farm. The building did not seem to have been built for defensive reasons, with walls only 0.8m to 1.1m thick. (Keys to the Past)

(NY 70168824) Starsley Pele (remains of) (Forestry Comm 6" and antiquity records).
The apparent remains of a small square stone building with associated garths set in dense afforestation. Apart from one angle, the whole is little more than a overgrown mass of rubble, and it is impossible to tell whether or not the building was of defensive type (F1 RWE 13-AUG-70).
NY 70178825 Starsley Remains of a four-roomed stone building with slight traces of enclosures to the north and south. Surveyed by Society of Antiquities, Newcastle Upon Tyne. No dating evidence (Harbottle and Newman 1973).
The dense afforestation surrounding this site has now been cleared revealing a steading, which appears to have been principally a two-roomed building measuring 13.2m by 6.0m with walls now 2.0m high maximum, with smaller, slighter annexes to the west and east. The wall thicknesses vary between 0.8m and 1.1m and although not of modern origin, the building does not appear to have been erected as a defensive structure. No traces of the enclosures to the north and south mentioned by F1 RWE.
This site now falls within the limits of the Kielder Reservoir Scheme (now under construction) due for completion early 1980's and is due for demolition in the near future (F2 SA 30-MAR-77). (PastScape)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 15786.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N6976.

Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 290
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. lxviii, Vol. 2 p. 361
  Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 160
Periodical Articles
- Christopherson, R., 2011, 'Northumberland bastles: origin and distribution' Medieval Settlement Research Vol. 26 p. 21-33 (listed in appendix)
  Harbottle, B. and Newman, T.G., 1973, 'Excavation and survey on the Starsley Burn, North Tynedale, 1972' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser5) Vol. 1 p. 137-75
  Dixon, P.W., 1972, 'Shielings and bastles: a reconsideration of some problems' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser4) Vol. 50 p. 249-58

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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