High Row Bastle is a typical 16th century rectangular stone two storey defensible farmhouse, with the rear of the house facing the road. Developed from a bastle into a linear farmstead, there are still the original quoins, in the north-east angle. The strong walls, with a removable stair up to the living quarters and a ground floor for stores and their livestock, provided a shelter from the cross-border reivers, until help arrived. Half a mile north is Low Row Bastle.