Reasons for Designation
Medieval linear boundaries comprise single or multiple bank and ditch systems
which stretch over distances varying between less than 1 kilometre to over 10
kilometres. The banks are constructed of earth or earth and stone, the earth
generally deriving from the ditch or ditches associated with the bank. These
linear boundaries were constructed during the Middle Ages and fulfilled a
variety of functions. Some run at high altitudes along contours and appear to
separate lower land used for cultivation from higher ground less intensively
used. Some are territorial, marking the land utilised by particular social
groups such as monastic landholdings. Others may serve to delineate land set
aside for certain functions such as deer parks; they are frequently associated
with other forms of contemporary field system. They provide important
information, occasionally confirmed by documentary sources, on social
organisation, land division and agricultural practice during medieval times.
The medieval dyke system west of Shap Abbey survives reasonably well despite
the disturbances which have obscured its original full extent. It forms an
extensive and complex system of medieval land division associated with the
abbey and will contribute to any study of the history of land use in the
marginal areas of this region. It will also contribute to an understanding of
the wider land holdings of the abbey.
Details
The monument is a medieval dyke system together with a medieval shieling which
lies adjacent to it. The dyke system covers an extensive area to the west,
north-west and south-west of Shap Abbey. It is fragmented and hence the
monument is divided into 4 separate areas. Where the boundary remains visible
it takes the form of an earthen bank up to a maximum of 4.5m wide and 1.5m
high that is flanked by a ditch up to 1.3m wide on at least one and frequently
both sides. A length of the dyke south of Stone Howe has a double bank. A
single-roomed medieval shieling is situated adjacent to a section of the dyke
east of Stone Howe.
The dyke system is extensive and indicates the former existence of an area of
landholding associated with Shap Abbey that originally enclosed an area of
fellside west of the River Lowther.
All modern field boundaries are excluded from the scheduling, although the
ground beneath them is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
22497
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
