Low Roses Bower Bastle, Wark (The Gatehouse Record)

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NY80097695
Latitude 55.08671° Longitude -2.31335°

Low Roses Bower Bastle, Wark has been described as a probable Bastle.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

Description

Rose's Bower, a bastle-house, is mentioned in 1559 (Brown 1983).
The former pele has been converted into a farmhouse (Tomlinson 1902).
NY 80097695. Low Roses Bower is a range of stone-built farm buildings used for stock and storage by High Roses Bower farm. None of the present structures show any features typical of a pele-tower or defended house although the easternmost building incorporates in its lower courses foundations 0.6 metres thick which may belong to a much earlier building (F1 ASP 15-OCT-1956)
generally correct, but the walls of the easternmost building are only 0.6 metre thick and do not appear to be of any great age. The foundations of another structure attached to the north-east side of this building are, likewise, of no great age. A lintel stone over a doorway on the north side of the buildings, bears the date 1753 (F2 EGC 16-JAN-1962).
Ruined house incorporating fragment of presumed bastle, on brink of crag dropping to Warks Burn on south. The only obvious bastle remnant is the lower part of the south east quoin (massive roughly-squared blocks) and perhaps the lower part of the east wall (?thinned internally). Adjacent range of farmbuildings 18th and 19th centuries (F4 PFR 20-JUN-1990).
Privy reputed to have the longest drop in England. A sadly decayed group which must formerly have been of considerable interest. The situation is dramatic, on the steep side of the Warks Burn. The main house group has few recognizable features, but the lowest courses of stonework on the south side seem to be of bastle type, while the building above has kneelers of 18th century type (Grundy 1987).
The 18th century 'netty' was restored by the National Park Authority in 1994. Reroofing and repointing were carried out (Weir 194-5). (Northumberland HER)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 16620.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N7707.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Roses Bower Farm
Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 358
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 352
  Tomlinson, W.W., 1902, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle) p. 206
Periodical Articles
- Christopherson, R., 2011, 'Northumberland bastles: origin and distribution' Medieval Settlement Research Vol. 26 p. 21-33 (listed in appendix)
  Weir, A. 1994-95, Archaeology in Northumberland Vol. 5 (London) p. 21
  Hadcock, R.N., 1939, 'A map of mediaeval Northumberland and Durham' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser4) Vol. 16 p. 148-218 esp 184
  Paul Brown, 15-7-1938, Newcastle Journal p. 3

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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.

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