Summary

Settlement enclosures, 225m south west of West End Farm.

Source: Historic England

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 02 March 2016. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes the remains of two settlement enclosures of Iron Age/Romano-British date, situated on a gentle south east facing slope on generally flat, low lying ground. The main enclosure, which is preserved as a cropmark, is rectangular in plan measuring 62m in width and is surrounded by a single ditch. The enclosure has three clear straight sides, one broadly curved corner and an internal partition which runs parallel to the north east side and lies 54m distant from it. To the north west of the rectangular enclosure is a section of curved ditch which is understood to represent the remains of a second sub-oval enclosure with an entrance on its west side.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

In Cumbria and Northumberland several distinctive types of native settlements dating to the Roman period have been identified. The majority were small, non- defensive, enclosed homesteads or farms. In many areas they were of stone construction, although in the coastal lowlands timber-built variants were also common. In much of Northumberland, especially in the Cheviots, the enclosures were curvilinear in form. Further south a rectangular form was more common. Elsewhere, especially near the Scottish border, another type occurs where the settlement enclosure was `scooped' into the hillslope. Frequently the enclosures reveal a regularity and similarity of internal layout. The standard layout included one or more stone round-houses situated towards the rear of the enclosure, facing the single entranceway. In front of the houses were pathways and small enclosed yards. Homesteads normally had only one or two houses, but larger enclosures could contain as many as six. At some sites the settlement appears to have grown, often with houses spilling out of the main enclosure and clustered around it. At these sites up to 30 houses may be found. In the Cumbrian uplands the settlements were of less regimented form and unenclosed clusters of houses of broadly contemporary date are also known. These homesteads were being constructed and used by non-Roman natives throughout the period of the Roman occupation. Their origins lie in settlement forms developed before the arrival of the Romans. These homesteads are common throughout the uplands where they frequently survive as well-preserved earthworks. In lowland coastal areas they were also originally common, although there they can frequently only be located through aerial photography.

The settlement enclosures 225m south west of West End Farm are preserved as cropmarks and will contain archaeological deposits relating to their construction, use and abandonment contained within below ground features such as ditches. The significance of the monument is increased by its proximity to other similar cropmark sites located to the north west and south east. The monument also lies within a wider landscape littered with Iron Age/Romano-British monuments including the network of Roman coastal defensive sites which stretch along the Cumbrian coastline to the west. Taken together the monuments provide an important resource for understanding continuity and change during the crucial transition from the Iron Age to the Romano-British period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:- 9114

Source: Historic England