Healey Hall (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Healy Hall; Hely

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NZ00475787
Latitude 54.91553° Longitude -1.99405°

Healey Hall has been described as a probable Bastle, and also as a probable Pele Tower.

There are no visible remains.

This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Robert Ormston (1789-1882) took down the old peel house and, partly on the old foundations, erected the present farmhouse. Illustration of Healey House about 1819 shows an L-shaped building. One wing is of two stories and the other part apparently of two stories and an attic. The drawing is too small for architectural features to be recognised but in one place the wall of the larger wing appears to incorporate a stepped buttress. On the exposed gable of this larger wing is a small battlemented turret, carried either on corbels, or forming a small machicolated projection (Hodgson 1902).
The present hall is modern with no visible traces of the !peel!. Local enquiries revealed no traditions of a tower or the existence of any significant field names. There is no mention of a tower in the Border Surveys of 1415 and 1542. Possibly the 'peel' was the type of fortified house known as a bastle, of which there are many in Northumberland. They probably date from the latter part of the 16th century (F1 EG 31-MAY-1956). (Northumberland HER)

House, 1834 for Robert Ormston, extended in late C19. Ashlar, except for squared stone to rear; slate roofs. Irregular plan. Tudor Gothic style. Entrance (east) front 2 storeys, 3 bays. Plinth, moulded 1st floor string. Central bay has part-glazed door under 4-centred moulded arch in square frame, with hoodmoulded stepped over foiled panel above, and flanking narrow sashes; 12-pane sash window over. Gabled flanking bays set slightly forward have bay windows with paired 12-pane sashes and single 12-pane sashes above. Narrow lancets in gables, which are coped, with finials and elaborate kneelers. All windows in hollow-chamfered surrounds, those on 1st floor with hoodmoulds. Moulded eaves cornice in centre bay. 2 stepped and corniced ridge stacks, with triple conjoined shafts.
Left return shows similar fenestration; central gabled bay, with projecting gabled wing on left. Right return: projecting late C19 gabled wing on right, with 2-storey bay window.
Interior. Re-used C16 or C17 segmental-arched fireplace in former kitchen. (Listed Building Report)

Comments

The form of defensible house is unclear but the status of the site and the illustration and history given in Hodgson suggest a large and significant house (perhaps the one rated for 9 chimneys for the hearth tax of 1675). If this was a bastle it was one of the larger grander type (c.f. Doddington Bastle). However it may well have been a solar tower attached to hall block. The omission of the site from the 1415 and 1541 surveys can not be taken as evidence of the absence of such a tower particularly as it may be this was a holding of a knightly status tenant of Knights Hospitallers.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1252746
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 20298.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N9796.

Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 435
  Pevsner, N. et al, 1992, Buildings of England: Northumberland (London) p. 309
  Hodgson, John Crawford (ed), 1902, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol. 6 p. 174-5 online copy

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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.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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