Wingates Pele Cottage (The Gatehouse Record)

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NZ09879515
Latitude 55.25048° Longitude -1.84617°

Wingates Pele Cottage has been described as a probable Bastle, and also as a Pele Tower although is doubtful that it was such.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

Description

Pele Cottage, located on the north side of Wingates village, has been recorded to possess 1m thick walls. This may suggest that the building if of some antiquity and therefore be a bastle or pele. (Keys to the Past)

No tower or fortified dwelling – generally labelled pelehouses, stonehouses or bastles in contemporary sources – is listed at Wingates in any of the Border surveys of the 15th or 16th centuries. However Pele Cottage on the north side of the village has walls around 1m thick which would be characteristic of the type of fortified farmhouses known as pelehouses or bastles commonly found in the border districts of Northumberland, Cumbria and the Scottish Borders.
Pele Cottage would merit further study by a historic buildings specialist. It appears to be the oldest surviving building in the village, the thickness of its walls and its name suggesting that it may have originated as a defensible 'pele house'. Now more commonly labelled bastles, such pele houses represent the type of two-storey defensible farmhouse built in considerable numbers right across the border counties in the late 16th or early 17th centuries. (Carlton and Ruchworth)

Sources of information, references and further reading

County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N25137.

Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Carlton, R.J. and Rushworth, A., 2007, Wingates, Northumberland: An Archaeological and Historical Study of a Northumbrian Township and Estate (The Archaeological Practice Ltd for The Wingates Community History Group) p. 41, 72 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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