Medieval monastic sheep farm (bercaria), 550m north-east of Whittondean Farm

Reasons for Designation

A monastic grange was a farm owned and run by a monastic community and independent of the secular manorial system of communal agriculture and servile labour. The function of granges was to provide food and raw materials for consumption within the parent monastic house itself, and also to provide surpluses for sale for profit. The first monastic granges appeared in the 12th century but they continued to be constructed and used until the Dissolution. This system of agriculture was pioneered by the Cistercian order but was soon imitated by other orders. Some granges were worked by resident lay-brothers (secular workers) of the order but others were staffed by non-resident labourers. The majority of granges practised a mixed economy but some were specialist in their function. Five types of grange are known: agrarian farms, bercaries (sheep farms), vaccaries (cattle ranches), horse studs and industrial complexes. A monastery might have more than one grange and the wealthiest houses had many. Frequently a grange was established on lands immediately adjacent to the monastery, this being known as the home grange. Other granges, however, could be found wherever the monastic site held lands. On occasion these could be located at some considerable distance from the parent monastery. Granges are broadly comparable with contemporary secular farms although the wealth of the parent house was frequently reflected in the size of the grange and the layout and architectural embellishment of the buildings. Additionally, because of their monastic connection, granges tend to be much better documented than their secular counterparts. No region was without monastic granges. The exact number of sites which originally existed is not precisely known but can be estimated, on the basis of numbers of monastic sites, at several thousand. Of these, however, only a small percentage can be accurately located on the ground today. Of this group of identifiable sites, continued intensive use of many has destroyed much of the evidence of archaeological remains. In view of the importance of granges to medieval rural and monastic life, all sites exhibiting good archaeological survival are identified as nationally important.

The bercaria at Whittondean is of exceptional importance as it survives in a very good state of preservation and represents a type of monument which was never common in the border counties and rarely survives well enough to be recognized. Documentary and archaeological evidence confirm that it is a bercaria or monastic sheep farm, probably associated with the Augustinian priory at Brinkburn. As such it is a rare survival and will add to our knowledge of the day-to-day working of monastic granges.

Details

The monument includes a bercaria (medieval monastic sheep farm), situated on a north-west facing slope immediately above the Whitton Burn. It consists of a series of very well preserved interconnected enclosures scooped into the hillside. The whole is set within a perimeter bank formed of large stones set on edge, surviving in places to a height of 1.3m and measuring up to 3m across. The interior is divided into several enclosures by banks of stone and earth surviving to 0.5m high and 3m wide. The enclosures vary in size and shape but are roughly rectangular with bowed sides and on average they measure 30m by 20m across. The most easterly enclosure has been partly overlain by a later enclosure of different character and construction. There is a clear entrance on the north side of the farm with traces of a hollow way giving access to the stream below. Other breaks in the banks on the east, south and west sides represent other minor entrances. An enclosure located in the northern corner of the monument, and 10m by 5m across, is the site of a rectangular building, and a possible building platform can be seen at the south-western end of the farm. The enclosures were apparently constructed for the purpose of segregating stock; a document dating from AD1275 refers to the site as a monastic sheep farm; the nearest monastic complex is Brinkburn Priory 5km to the south-east.

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:

20884

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Dixon, D D, Upper Coquetdale, (1903), 489

Other
SMR entry, NU 00 SE 3,

End of official list entry

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