Details

The monument includes a Romano-British enclosed hut circle settlement 375m ENE
of Collingholme. It is located on relatively flat ground about 1.5km south of
Leck Beck, a tributary of the River Lune. The settlement includes a
sub-rectangular enclosure containing hut circles together with a small
enclosure or stock pen. It is defended by a perimeter bank of turf covered
rubble measuring 4m-5m wide by 1m-1.5m high on the north and south sides. On
the north east side the enclosure has no delimiter in the form of a bank, but
has been formed by having been cut into a slight hillslope. Elsewhere on the
south east side the bank is not so distinct where the ground slopes downwards
towards a stream. The western bank of the enclosure has been partially
obscured by a farmtrack. There are faint traces of an entrance on the
enclosure's eastern side. Internally there is a centrally placed sub-circular
raised platform measuring c.20m in diameter which is interpreted as a building
platform or hut circle. There are two further hut circles, measuring
approximately 12m and 8m in diameter in the south western part of the
enclosure, and another hut circle measuring c.10m in diameter located towards
the north western part of the enclosure. At the north eastern corner there is
a scooped enclosure which is interpreted as a stock pen.
A drystone wall on the monument's western side is excluded from the scheduling
but the ground beneath it is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

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.
All homestead sites which survive substantially intact will normally be
identified as nationally important.

Despite erosion to the western part of the monument close to a modern field
gate, the Romano-British enclosed hut circle settlement 375m ENE of
Collingholme survives reasonably well. The monument is one of a number of
prehistoric and Romano-British settlements located in close proximity to the
Lune valley and will contribute to any further study of early settlement
patterns in the area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
SMR Ref No. 3332, Lancs SMR, Collingholme, (1984)

Source: Historic England