Nine Dargues Bastle house in Allendale - Northumberland

Located on the Acton to Allenddale road this building is named after the 9 days of work required to till the land around it.

Julia grint in her book on Northumberland Bastle houses notes the following:

1. The name is derived from a northern dialect word "darg" which means a task or day's work.Nine Dargs would then mean the amount of land to till in a 9 day period. She suggests that the Bastle was built in the late 16th or early 17th centuries.

2. It is rectangular and 3 walls are a little less than 1 metre thick. The east wall is just over 1.1 metres thick.

3. It was inhabited into the 20th century.

It's main features include

1. A semi-circular, carved, megalithic lintel ( pictured below) over the byre doorway and set centrally in the east gable end.

2.Within the doorway are no fewer than 3 lintels, 2 of stone and 1 of timber.

3. The timber lintel has a barr hole and a corresponding hole at ground level.

4. There are 2 drawbar tunnels in the door ( picture below).

5. A mound of stones can be seen on the south side, probably from an external stair added at a later date.

6. There are slit vents in three of the walls,

This picture shows the approach and the bastle house to the left of the small road.

and this picture shows the massive carved lintel over the byre door

Holes in the byre door to take massive cross beams

This picture shows the tranquil view back up the hillside...with Ted in the bottom left corner!

The small window on the upper floor

Side view

and the view back to Allendale from the Acton road

 See also listed building details

and Housty Bastle house