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Bastles at Chesterwood is a scheduled ancient monument comprising fortified farmsteads located in Northumberland, England. These structures date from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a period of significant border unrest between England and Scotland when such defended dwellings became essential to the pastoral communities of the Anglo-Scottish borderlands. Bastles were characteristically robust stone buildings designed to provide secure accommodation for families and livestock during raids, featuring thick walls and defensive features that distinguished them from conventional farmhouses. The Chesterwood examples represent important archaeological evidence of settlement patterns and domestic life in this militarised frontier region during the early modern period.
Bastles at Chesterwood is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1006432. View the official record →
Bastles at Chesterwood is a scheduled ancient monument comprising fortified farmsteads located in Northumberland, England.
Bastles at Chesterwood is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1006432.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Langley Barony Mines, Haydon Bridge (1.5 km), Bridge at Haydon Bridge (1.6 km), Roman camp, 290m north west of Seldom Seen (2.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Bastles at Chesterwood's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Bastles at Chesterwood stands on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.