Boghead Bastle

Also known as Barty's Peel, or Corbie Castle, Boghead Bastle comprises the ruined remains of a bastle, or defensible farmhouse, a building type unique to the borderlands of Scotland and Northumberland. Standing on the banks of the Tarset Burn near the ruined remains of a string of cottages or outbuildings, it dates from around the mid sixteenth century and the walls still survive to first floor level. Originally it had a stone vaulted ground floor for securing livestock, with the living quarters at first floor level approached by a removable ladder. A 'quenching hole' or duct discharging over the ground floor doorway enabled the occupiers to put out any fire that was lit to burn the door down. Bastles were not designed to withstand armies, but rather the marauding border 'rievers' or robbers that roamed the lawless 'disputable lands' between England and Scotland. One late sixteenth century owner, Barty Milburn, is said to have chased a riever band that had stolen his sheep, and after stealing back a Scottish flock, in the ensuing fight killed two of the pursuing Scots.

Robin Kent Architecture & Conservation took the professional lead in the conservation of the remains, and also those of nearby bastle houses, including Shilla Bastle and Branshaw Bastle. The works included consolidation of the rubble walls using a mixture of clay tamping and lime mortar repointing, and clay and turf capping to weather the wallheads. The quenching hole was recorded by archaeologists and carefully supported on stainless steel bars, while threaded rods were built in to tie cracks. The works have preserved tha bastle so that it can continue to be enjoyed by visitors as a reminder of times past.