Barmkin
A barmkin was a defensive enclosure built around fortified tower houses and bastles. They were large thick walls used to protect cattle and other livestock from raiders. Access to the enclosure as a whole was through bolted gates. They were mainly built in the 16th and 17th centuries. No surviving examples have been found in Northumberland, though we know from written documents that they did exist. The thick walls of a barmkin could be used to build up against.
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