Sharperton Bastle, Harbottle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
The Bastile

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NT95800406
Latitude 55.33056° Longitude -2.06764°

Sharperton Bastle, Harbottle has been described as a certain Bastle.

There are masonry footings remains.

Description

Pele at Sharperton (Hadcock 1939).
Sharperton, in which is an old tower (Hodgson 1916).
NT 95800406 The only feature in the village of Sharperton that has any of the characteristics of a tower is at the northern and higher end of the village.
The remains are those of a derelict building, the northern part of which appears to be of considerable age. This older part measures 10.2m x 6.5m and has walls of clay bound rubble masonry 1m to 1.4m thick and rising to a maximum height of 3.5m. The quoins, some very large, are of roughly dressed blocks. At the base of the walls is a slightly projecting course forming a rough plinth. In the southern part of the building, which is evidently a later addition, there is a floor joist in situ at first floor level. The architectural features consist of two door openings, a splayed window, and a narrow slit opening.
The remains appear to be those of a defended house typical of others in Northumberland and dating from the late 16th/early 17th century. They are in poor condition with partly collapsed walls and mutilation caused by wind-sown saplings (F1 EG 27-MAY-1957).
The remains, apart from further slight decay, are as described. Lying among the fallen masonry is a fractured door lintel bearing the inscription 'G P E P 1615. Roger Potz' (F2 DS 18-JUN-1970).
NT 958040 Remains of bastle (Ramm, McDowell and Mercer 1970).
A bastle as described. The lintel referred to in report of 18/6/70 is situated 1.5m south-east of the doorway on the east side (F3 SA 09-DEC-1976).
Solitary form bastle, 10.2 x 6.9m, side walls 1.4m thick and end wall 1.1m thick. Byre entrance in long wall, first floor form - beamed ceiling. Present state - ruin (Ryder 1990).
In 1995 the bastle had been completely removed and the site lowered as foundations were being laid for an extension to Wayside Cottage. The ruined walls of the northern outbuilding still remained. The doorhead mentioned above is reset in the converted shelter shed which is part of Wayside Cottage. The main block of the cottage might conceivably have been a bastle or bastle-derivative house, although heavily remodelled (Ryder 1994-5)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 1777.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N1214.

Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 180
  Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 119 (slight)
  Rowland, T.H., 1987 (reprint1994), Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p. 41
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 360
  Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p. 313
  Ramm, H.G., McDowall, R.W. and Mercer, E., 1970, Shielings and Bastles (London: HMSO) p. 86 No. 42
  Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 155
  Dixon, D.D., 1903, Upper Coquetdale Northumberland: Its History, Traditions, Folk-lore and Scenery (Newcastle-upon Tyne: Robert Redpath) p. 260 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Christopherson, R., 2011, 'Northumberland bastles: origin and distribution' Medieval Settlement Research Vol. 26 p. 21-33 (listed in appendix)
  Hadcock, R.N., 1939, 'A map of mediaeval Northumberland and Durham' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser4) Vol. 16 p. 148-218 esp 173
  Hodgson, J.C., 1916, 'List of Ruined Towers, Chapels, etc., in Northumberland; compiled about 1715 by John Warburton, Somerset Herald, aided by John Horsley' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser3) Vol. 13 p. 4 abridged transcription
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Ryder, P.F., 1990, Bastles and Towers in the Northumberland National Park (Report for Northumberland National Park Authority) p. 6
  Ryder, P.F., 1994-5, Towers and Bastles in Northumberland Part 1 Alnwick District p. 28

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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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