Details

The monument includes an oval late prehistoric enclosed settlement known as
Castle Stead Ring. It is situated on Cullingworth Moor, west of the Halifax
Road, bisected by an access road to Bleak House.
The earthwork enclosure measures about 105m wide and 108m long overall. On the
north side of the access road the enclosure is bounded by a ditch with an
inner and an outer bank. The inner bank is the more substantial, being up to
5m wide and 0.5m high. The ditch is 3.5m wide and up to 0.5m deep, and the
outer bank is approximately 2.5m wide and up to 0.3m high. The banks and ditch
are less substantial towards the eastern end of this part. A shallow ditch
running north-south bisects the northern half of the enclosure.
South of the road, the banks have been ploughed over and the enclosure is
visible as a slight ditch about 4m wide and 0.2m deep.

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

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The Pennine uplands of northern England contain a wide variety of prehistoric
remains, including cairns, enclosures, carved rocks, settlements and field
systems. These are evidence of the widespread exploitation of these uplands
throughout later prehistory. During the last millennium BC a variety of
different types of enclosed settlements developed. These include hillforts,
which have substantial earthworks and are usually located on hilltops. Other
types of enclosed settlement of this period are less obviously defensive, as
they have less substantial earthworks and are usually in less prominent
positions. In the Pennines a number of late prehistoric enclosed settlements
survive as upstanding monuments. Where upstanding earthworks survive, the
settlements are between 0.4ha and 10ha in area, and are usually located on
ridges or hillside terraces. The enclosing earthworks are usually slight, most
consisting of a ditch with an internal bank, or with an internal and external
bank, but examples with an internal ditch and with no ditch are known. They
are sub-circular, sub-rectangular, or oval in shape. Few of these enclosed
settlements have been subject to systematic excavation, but they are thought
to date from between the Late Bronze Age to the Romano-British period (c.1000
BC-AD 400). Examples which have been excavated have presented evidence of
settlement. Some appear to have developed from earlier palisaded enclosures.
Unexcavated examples occasionally have levelled areas which may have contained
buildings, but a proportion may have functioned primarily as stock enclosures.
Enclosed settlements are a distinctive feature of the late prehistory of the
Pennine uplands, and are important in illustrating the variety of enclosed
settlement types which developed in many areas of Britain at this time.
Examples where a substantial proportion of the enclosed settlement survives
are considered to be nationally important.

The northern part of the late prehistoric enclosed settlement known as Castle
Stead Ring survives well. The southern part has been disturbed by ploughing,
but it is still visible and will preserve important archaeological
information. This settlement contributes to the understanding of late
prehistoric settlement and land use in northern England.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Villy, F, 'The Bradford Scientific Journal' in The Bradford Scientific Journal, , Vol. III 4, (1911), 104-110

Source: Historic England