Former bastle at Low Park

Former Bastle at Low Park

This is a former bastle, a fortified farmhouse built in the early 17th century and extended during the 18th century, with later alterations.

The building is constructed of sandstone rubble stone walls with quoins and dressed stone dressings. It has a rectangular plan, oriented roughly north to south, with a byre on the ground floor and a heated living space above.

The bastle measures approximately 6 metres by 10 metres and comprises two storeys plus an attic. All walls stand to their full height, though some of the upper stonework has deteriorated and the stone slate roof covering has been removed. The walls are built of large rubble laid in rough courses with prominent quoins and a plinth, typical of late 16th or early 17th century bastle construction. The south gable is just under 1 metre thick, while the side walls are approximately 0.75 metres thick.

The south gable wall features a central byre entrance with a massive curved and chamfered stone lintel and chamfered monolithic stone jambs. Above and to the left is the original first floor rectangular entrance, also with large slab jambs. Above this is a later rectangular entrance to the attic floor. At the apex of the gable stands a large, squat corniced stone-built chimney stack.

The east elevation has the remains of a blocked mullion window, cut by a later rectangular window, with a blocked small square fire window to its left. Further right are the remains of a second mullioned window with a chamfered lintel retaining bar holes and a mullion stump. A rectangular inserted first floor entrance, formerly reached by external stone steps, lies between these windows. A pair of attic windows, formed of chamfered slabs, sit immediately below the eaves. The north gable is blank, with a stone corniced chimney stack at the apex. The west elevation has a rectangular entrance and a blocked first floor opening, with a small blocked ventilation slit immediately to the right of the latter.

Inside, the former first floor, which consisted of stone slabs supported on timber joists, is marked by a clear stone scarcement running around all internal walls. The walls expose their stonework, and that on the first floor retains some plaster, particularly on the south gable. An original first floor fireplace on the south gable sits directly above the byre entrance, with stone corbels of a former fire hood terminating in a corbelled chimney stack on the wall above. A secondary fireplace on the north gable, with jambs and lintel supporting a tapering stone flue above, dates to the mid-18th century. Immediately to the left of this fireplace is thought to be the location of a narrow ladder or stair trap. An inserted loft floor above retains mostly joists with some fragmentary floorboard survival. The roof structure, considered to be reused from the original, comprises two collared trusses tenoned into a ridge piece with double purlins and rafters. It is unclear whether any original stone flooring remains beneath floor debris.

Attached to the south gable are the west and south elevations of a two-storey 18th century extension built of similar stonework to the bastle. The west elevation stands to eaves height and has an entrance with original lintel and left jamb, and a small window with simple projecting lintel and sill. The south gable stands to apex level and is blank.