Reasons for Designation
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.
This monument lies in the Cumbria-Solway sub-Province of the Northern and
Western Province, an area characterised by dispersed hamlets and farmsteads,
but with some larger nucleated settlements in well-defined agriculturally
favoured areas, established after the Norman Conquest. Traces of seasonal
settlements, or shielings, dominate the high, wet and windy uplands, where
surrounding communities grazed their livestock during the summer months.
The Lake District local region is characterised by a series of mountain blocks
separated by deep valleys, providing great variation in local terrains.
Settlement is sparse, but villages and hamlets occasionally appear in the
valleys. Higher up, above the level of medieval fields enclosed by the stone
walls known as head-dykes, are traces of medieval and earlier settlements
in farmlands since abandoned.
In some areas of medieval England settlement was dispersed across the
landscape rather than nucleated into villages. Such dispersed settlement
in an area, usually a township or parish, is defined by a lack of a single
(or principal) nucleated settlement focus such as a village and the
presence instead of small settlement units (small hamlets or farmsteads)
spread across the area. These small settlements usually have a degree of
interconnection with their close neighbours, for example, in relation to
shared common land or road systems. Dispersed settlements varied
enormously from region to region, but where they survive as earthworks
their distinguishing features include roads and other minor tracks,
platforms on which stood houses and other buildings such as barns,
enclosed crofts and small enclosed paddocks. In areas where stone was used
for building, the outlines of building foundations may still be clearly
visible. Communal areas of the settlement frequently include features such
as bakehouses, pinfolds and ponds. Areas of dispersed medieval settlement
are found in both the South Eastern Province and the Northern and Western
Province of England. They are found in upland and also in some lowland
areas. Where found their archaeological remains are one of the most
inportant sources for understanding about rural life in the five or more
centuries following the Norman Conquest.
Long Intakes medieval dispersed settlement 370m south of Fell Foot
survives reasonably well and remains largely undisturbed by modern
development. It is a good example of this class of monument and contains
an associated kiln thought to have been used for drying corn.
Details
The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of Long Intakes
medieval dispersed settlement and an associated kiln located at the foot
of Hollin Crag on flat ground north of Greenburn Beck 370m south of Fell
Foot. It includes the remains of a building with enclosures to the north
and west and a roadway to the east.
The stone-built building measures about 21m north-south by 8m east-west
and appears to have been sub-divided into at least three or possibly four
rooms. There are two entrances, one from the south into the south room,
and the other from the east into the next room along. Leading from the
east side of the building is a boulder-lined roadway which runs as far as
the modern field wall on the monument's east side. This roadway appears to
partly overlie traces of a small enclosure boundary bank on the building's
east side. A more substantial enclosure boundary wall runs on the
building's north and west sides and has an entrance adjacent to its
junction with the modern field wall to the north east of the building.
This wall formed part of an irregular-shaped enclosure which used
Greenburn Beck as its southern boundary. To the west of this enclosure
there is another irregularly-shaped enclosure bounded on the west by a
sudden rise in the ground level at the foot of Hollin Crag. Built into
this rise is a circular stone-built kiln with an entrance flanked by stone
posts and a lintel. It is not known precisely what function the kiln
served but similar kilns found in association with medieval dispersed
settlements in north east Cumbria have been interpreted as corn drying
kilns and a similar use cannot be ruled out here. Traces of a shallow
channel of uncertain function runs from Greenburn Beck in a north east
direction towards the building but fades out as the building is
approached.
All modern field boundary walls and gateposts are excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
