Haltwhistle

Border Warfare

Almost three hundred years of family feuding across the border of England and Scotland created a constant ordeal for the people who inhabited the area from about 1500AD.  The people of the border regions owed their allegiance to their family or clan, not the English or Scottish monarchs or the nobility.  Their wealth was in livestock which was likely to be stolen by members of other clan families from either side of the border during the long dark wintry nights.  Burning of farms and bloodshed was common as it was easier to exact revenge by raiding than by seeking justice.

Locally, the castles at Bellister, Blenkinsopp, Thirlwall, Featherstone, Langley and Naworth act as a reminder of the animosity of the landowners and peers alike, though some of their battlements and turrets may have been embellished as later additions for decoration in less hostile times!

These troubles continued throughout the 16th and 17th centuries when robbery, raiding, murder, kidnap and arson were everyday occurrences as families continued to retaliate against previous misdemeanours.
This constant feuding or `Reiving' between the border families also had little to do with nationalistic relations between the two countries who spent most of this time officially at peace with one another. Interestingly, a number of words of this period became adopted into the English language.  For example `Bereaved', as in having been `Reived' and `Black Money' which became `Black Mail', where one was likely to pay for `protection'.

Some of the worst and most sustained Reiving took place in what at the time was known as the Middle March region.  This stretched North into what Border warfare is now part of the Scottish Borders including Selkirk, Melrose, Kelso, Galashiels and Jedburgh, with Haltwhistle and South Tynedale playing a pivotal role.
One of the many border raids in the 16th century, was immortalised in a ballad: The Fray of Hawtwhistle, c1598.

The fortifications of this period reflected the need of the local land owners to defend themselves against these marauders.  At the top of the building there would be a beacon to summon help or give warning of an impending attack.  Some of the larger fortified homes had a `pele' or `peel', a small tower, and was likely to be occupied by an important and relatively wealthy person.  The Centre of Britain Hotel almost opposite the Market Place is full of original features including a pele tower.

Around the area are a number of Bastle (defensible) houses, which emerged during the 16th and 17th centuries.  These fortified farmhouses were intended more for the safety of small tenant farmers and their possessions.  Such small, thick-walled farmhouses characteristically had both ground floor and first floor doorways.  The lower level byre was where animals and supplies could be secured whilst the upper living quarters would be accessed by a ladder which could afterwards be pulled up making it impossible for raiders to reach the living quarters.

There are well over a hundred Bastle (originating from the French `bastille' meaning `stronghold') houses remaining in Northumberland but Haltwhistle has more surviving defensible buildings of this type than any other English town.  Today you need a good eye to spot the telltale signs.  There are a cluster of defensible buildings on the Main Street, surrounding the Pele Tower at the Centre of Britain.  A great way to view them is by following the Haltwhistle Rings Walk 01 through the town centre.  Additional information about the Reivers is displayed in The Old Gaol in Hexham which was built in 1332 and was possibly the first gaol built in England, and also at Tullie House in Carlisle.