Bastle houses are found along the Anglo-Scottish border, in the areas formerly plagued by border Reivers. They are farmhouses, characterized by extremely tight measures taken against raids. Their name is said to derive from the French word "bastille." Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ... Border Reivers were raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border (Border country), for nearly three hundred years from the late 13th century to the middle of the 16th century. ... Raid or RAID has several meanings: Redundant array of independent disks Raid bug spray The French elite police unit, Recherche Assistance Intervention Dissuasion A sudden, forcible entry by police A military operation or attack, air raid e. ... The Bastille The Bastille was a prison in Paris, known formally as Bastille Saint-Antoine—Number 232, Rue Saint-Antoine. ...

The characteristics of the classic bastle house are extremely thick stone walls (1 meter or so), with the ground floor devoted to stable-space for the most valuable animals, and usually a stone vault between it and the first (American second) floor. The family's living quarters were on the floor above the ground, and during the times prior to the suppression of the reivers, were only reachable by a ladder which was pulled up from the inside at night. The only windows were narrow arrow slits. The roofs were usually made of stone slate to resist attempts at arson. Sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic, metamorphic rock types of North America. ... The defensive wall of Braşov, Romania. ... metre or meter, see meter (disambiguation) The metre is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units. ... Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ... In architecture, a vault is an arched structure of masonry, forming a ceiling or canopy. ... A ladder Missing image A portable ladder A ladder is a vertical set of steps. ... An arrow slit is a thin vertical window in a fortification through which an archer can shoot arrows while remaining largely free from personal danger. ... Alternate meanings in Slate (disambiguation) Slate Slate is a fine-grained homogeneous sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash which has been metamorphosed (foliated) in layers (bedded deposits). ... Arson is the crime of setting a fire with intent to cause damage. ...

Bastle houses have many characteristics in common with military blockhouses, the main difference being that a bastle house was intended primarily as a family dwelling, instead of a pure fortification. A 19th-century-era block house in Fort York, Toronto In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. ...

Many bastle houses survive today; their construction ensured that they would last a very long time. They may be seen on both sides of the old Anglo-Scottish Border.

See also

• Peel tower