Romano-British farmstead at Haweswater

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1011158
Date first listed:: 15-Oct-1993

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1011158
Date first listed:: 15-Oct-1993

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Westmorland and Furness (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Bampton
National Park:: LAKE DISTRICT
National Grid Reference:: NY 49981 16043

Reasons for Designation

In Cumbria and Northumberland several distinctive types of native settlements dating to the Roman period have been identified. The majority were small, non- defensive, enclosed homesteads or farms. In many areas they were of stone construction, although in the coastal lowlands timber-built variants were also common. In much of Northumberland, especially in the Cheviots, the enclosures were curvilinear in form. Further south a rectangular form was more common. Elsewhere, especially near the Scottish border, another type occurs where the settlement enclosure was `scooped' into the hillslope. Frequently the enclosures reveal a regularity and similarity of internal layout. The standard layout included one or more stone round-houses situated towards the rear of the enclosure, facing the single entranceway. In front of the houses were pathways and small enclosed yards. Homesteads normally had only one or two houses, but larger enclosures could contain as many as six. At some sites the settlement appears to have grown, often with houses spilling out of the main enclosure and clustered around it. At these sites up to 30 houses may be found. In the Cumbrian uplands the settlements were of less regimented form and unenclosed clusters of houses of broadly contemporary date are also known. These homesteads were being constructed and used by non-Roman natives throughout the period of the Roman occupation. Their origins lie in settlement forms developed before the arrival of the Romans. These homesteads are common throughout the uplands where they frequently survive as well-preserved earthworks. In lowland coastal areas they were also originally common, although there they can frequently only be located through aerial photography. All homestead sites which survive substantially intact will normally be identified as nationally important.

The monument is a typical example of a Romano-British farmstead. It survives reasonably well and will retain significant information regarding its original form and use. The site will also facilitate further study of Romano-British settlement patterns in the area.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a small Romano-British farmstead located on a narrow plateau on the hillside a short distance above Haweswater. It includes two stone and rubble walled hut circles; the larger being slightly oval and having external measurements of 17m by 15.3m with a wall up to 1m high; the smaller being circular and having an external diameter of 10.2m with a wall up to 0.3m high. On the upslope side of the hut circles is a stone and rubble enclosure wall 29m long by 4m wide and 0.4m high.

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.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: 22598
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Hay, T, 'Trans Cumb & West Antiq & Arch Soc. New Ser.' in Lynchets And A Settlement, , Vol. XL, (1940), 135

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.