Details

The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of an early
post-medieval dispersed settlement on Mount Hulie. It is located in rough
pasture on a west-facing slope and includes the turf-covered remains of a
rectangular and a square enclosure, one of which contains a house platform,
together with an oval-shaped stock enclosure.
The rectangular enclosure measures approximately 37m by 30m with earth and
rubble walls up to 2.5m wide and 1m high. There is a drainage ditch measuring
1m wide by 0.3m deep on its east and south sides and a small semi-circular
annexe or extension on its western side. Overlapping the enclosure's north
east corner is a low rectangular platform measuring 18m by 9m and up to 0.2m
high upon which stood a timber-framed house. A second enclosure interpreted as
a garden or stockpen lies immediately to the south east and measures c.20m
square with earth and rubble walls up to 2.5m wide and 0.8m high. It is
surrounded by a drainage ditch 1m wide and 0.3m deep. The oval stock enclosure
is situated approximately 30m to the SSW of the larger enclosure; it measures
c.40m by 32m and is of slighter construction than the other enclosures, having
earth and rubble walls up to 2m wide by 0.4m high. It has an entrance on the
south east side and internally there are traces of a drainage ditch 1m wide by
0.2m deep flanking the wall on the north and west sides. The date of this
settlement is unclear. It is not on 17th century maps of the area and has,
therefore, been identified as 18th century in origin. However, morphologically
the settlement is similar to earlier medieval dispersed settlement in this
area, and in the absence of documentary sources precise dating of such
monuments is often difficult. The settlement was abandoned in the 19th
century.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Medieval rural settlements in England were marked by great regional diversity
in form, size and type, and the protection of their archaeological remains
needs to take these differences into account. To do this, England has been
divided into three broad Provinces on the basis of each area's distinctive
mixture of nucleated and dispersed settlements. These can be further divided
into sub-Provinces and local regions, possessing characteristics which have
gradually evolved during the past 1500 years or more.
The Borders local region comprises the great slope of land between the high
Cheviots and the Solway, where hamlets and scattered farmsteads predominate,
and where bastles and tower houses recall the social conditions of the Anglo-
Scottish borders before the mid-7th century. The eastern part of the region,
containing the wastes of the Bewcastle Fells and Spadeadam, can be seen as a
separate subdivision; it was occupied by shieling grounds during the Middle
Ages and the Tudor period, and preserves the remains of associated settlement
sites.

The early post-medieval dispersed settlement on Mount Hulie survives well and
will retain significant archaeological deposits. It is a good example of this
class of monument in the Border Region and will add greatly to our
understanding of the wider border settlement and economy during the early
post-medieval period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Ramm, H G , Shielings and Bastles, (1970), 47, 49

Source: Historic England