Reasons for Designation
Farmsteads, normally occupied by only one or two families and comprising small
groups of buildings with attached yards, gardens and enclosures, were a
characteristic feature of the medieval rural landscape. They occur throughout
the country, the intensity of their distribution determined by local
topography and the nature of the agricultural system prevalent within the
region. In some areas of dispersed settlement they were the predominant
settlement form; elsewhere they existed alongside, or were components of, more
nucleated settlement patterns. The sites of many farmsteads have been
occupied down to the present day but others were abandoned as a result of, for
example, declining economic viability, enclosure or emparkment, or epidemics
like the Black Death. In the northern border areas, recurring cross-border
raids and military activities also disrupted agricultural life and led to
abandonments. Farmsteads are a common and long-lived monument type; the
archaeological deposits on those which were abandoned are often well-preserved
and provide important information on regional and national settlement patterns
and farming economies, and on changes in these through time.
Details
The monument includes the remains of farmstead of medieval and post-medieval
date situated on gently sloping land overlooking the valley of the Titlington
Burn to the south. The farm consists of the foundations of three related
enclosures. The monument is divided into three seperate areas. The most
westerly enclosure, polygonal in shape, is 20m by 14m within a bank of stone
and earth 2m wide and 0.5m high. It contains a sub-rectangular building 10m
long by 8m wide enclosed by stony banks 2m wide and 0.7m high. This is
interpreted as the living area of the farm. At the south-west end of this
large enclosure a dividing wall forms a small compartment which contains two
small huts. The entrance to the enclosure is in the south-west corner. A
second enclosure, which is circular, lies to the north-east; it is 14m in
diameter within an earth and stone bank 3m wide and 0.3m high. A third
enclosure, truncated by a forestry plantation to the north, is situated 40m
north-east of the second; it is sub-rectangular in shape and measures 12.5m by
11m within a stone and earth bank which stands to 0.8m high. The latter two
enclosures are interpreted as small farm buildings or stock enclosures.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
21019
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
