Summary
A medieval longhouse located at Latterbarrow that is an outlier of the larger Smithy Beck settlement.
Reasons for Designation
The Latterbarrow longhouse 860m north-west of Low Gillerthwaite is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Survival: the medieval longhouse survives well and contains a range of features;
* Potential: despite being located within forestry the relatively undisturbed nature of this monument increases the survival of artefactual evidence. Additionally the longhouse has the potential for increasing our understanding of medieval settlement in the Ennerdale Valley;
* Group Value: the longhouse appears to be associated with other contemporary medieval monuments within the Ennerdale Valley;
* Documentation: our understanding of this longhouse and its contribution to settlement in Ennerdale is significantly enhanced by the archaeological surveys undertaken between 1995-97 and in 2003.
History
Medieval settlements are richly diverse in form, character and date and can range from peasant houses and single farms to hamlets and affluent large villages. This area of Cumbria is 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. Settlement is sparse, but villages and hamlets occasionally appear in the valleys. Higher up, above the medieval fields enclosed by stone walls known as head-dykes, are traces of medieval settlements in farmlands since abandoned. Dispersed settlements vary enormously but where they survive as earthworks their distinguishing features may include roads and 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 outline of building foundations may still be visible.
In 1925-6 the Forestry Commission began manual tree planting on almost 3640ha of land in Ennerdale.
Smithy Beck settlement: Latterbarrow longhouse 860m NW of Low Gillerthwaite forms part of a multi-period historic landscape which represents long-term management and exploitation of the Ennerdale Valley from the Bronze Age to the present day. It was recorded during archaeological surveys of the valley between 1995-7 and in 2003.
Details
The monument includes the upstanding and buried remains of Latterbarrow longhouse, a building forming a south eastern outlier to Smithy Beck settlement. It is located on the hillside south of Smithy Beck 860m north west of Low Gillerthwaite. The building is a partly double-walled rectangular hut with two entrances, one in each of the long sides. Around the southern side there is a large, very prominent, double-walled bank. The site is clearly terraced into the hillside and this bank defines the edge of the terracing. Adjacent to the east side of the hut there is a semi-terraced enclosure which is well-defined to the north by a substantial well-dressed well-edged wall which butts up to the building. Overall the feature stands up to 1.lm high and measures 22m long by 17m wide.
Extent of Scheduling
The scheduling includes the upstanding and buried remains of Latterbarrow longhouse, a south eastern outlier of the Smithy Beck settlement as surveyed by Lancaster University Archaeological Unit between 1995-1997. The boundary runs 10m beyond the outer edge of the monument thus forming a protected area measuring 42m by 37m.
Other features such as clearance cairns, a short length of stone wall and a poorly preserved possible structure, are located to the east. These features were recorded during the 1995-7 archaeological survey but many have been damaged during forestry work and are now largely covered by subsequent regrowth. This poor preservation coupled with the survival of much better preserved examples elsewhere in Ennerdale Valley means that they are not included in the scheduling.
