West Fleetham Farmhouse, Beadnell. Photo by Peter Ryder.

(NU 19492832) Peel (Remains of). (1)

There is an old Pele tower at Fleetham. (2)

The remains of an old pele of which only three walls are preserved, incorporated in part of a dwelling house. (3)

The portions of the farmhouse which are the supposed remains of the peel consist of stone walls similar in style and construction to the rest of the building; it does not contain any architectural features and there is no evidence that it has at one time formed part of a pele tower. The only known literary reference is Tomlinson. (4)

West Fleetham Farmhouse. Grade II listed building. Probably originally a bastle. 16th or early 17th century, 18th century extension, with alterations 1810-20, and 18th and early 19th century additions. Internal cross wall is c.54 inches (1.4m) thick, and two other walls are also over 1m thick. (5)

The farmhouse at West Fleetham is an L-shaped building. Its two storey, four bay south front, with regularly spaced early 19th century sash windows, disguises a much older fabric.
The overall length of the south front is c.15.5m. Some old quoining immediately above the western jamb of the front door (now within a later porch) indicates the south east corner of an earlier building and midway along its south wall, between the two western ground floor sashes, are some large blocks which appear to represent the sill and western jamb of a narrow loop (the eastern jamb has gone but the short weathered section of the sill roughly gives its width). The masonry is coursed rubble; the south western angle quoins have been renewed showing the same distinctive rough tooling as the surrounds of the sash windows.
On the west, early fabric seems to extend across the full width of the end of the main block and the west side of the short rear wing (a total length of c.9m); there are old quoins at the north west angle of the wing. The small ground floor window of the wing seems to be set within an earlier opening, with one upright stone surviving in its north jamb and a hint of an arched head. Above and to the right a clear straight joint aligns with the north face of a thick internal wall.
Internally, this thick internal wall forms the north side of the eastern ground floor room in the main block; the external face of this forms the south wall of the small ground floor room in the wing and has a splayed recess which appears to be the rear arch of a blocked doorway opening northward. The east wall of the room, dividing it from the stair hall, is c.1.2m thick; the external eastern face of this wall has a chamfered set-back c.1m above first floor level. What is probably the same set-back is visible externally on the east side of the north west wing, although somewhat disguised by the fact that it runs at exactly the same level as the eaves of an adjacent single storey building.
It is difficult to make any real interpretation of the remains of the early building, other than that the wall thicknesses show that it is a defensible building, probably of medieval date. It is said locally to be 'an old peel tower'. The fact that the blocked doorway in the thick north wall opens northward shows that it had at least two compartments at basement level. The apparent continuation of the chamfered set-back from what is now an internal cross wall to the external east wall of the wing also demonstrates this. Chamfered set-backs of this type are seen on several tower houses and are again an indicant of medieval date.
A more detailed survey and in particular a measured plan, might allow a more detailed interpretation of this interesting house. (6)

Listed by Dodds. (7a)