Reasons for Designation
Shielings are small seasonally occupied huts which were built to provide
shelter for herdsmen who tended animals grazing summer pasture on upland or
marshland. These huts reflect a system called transhumance, whereby stock was
moved in spring from lowland pasture around the permanently occupied farms to
communal upland grazing during the warmer summer months. Settlement patterns
reflecting transhumance are known from the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC)
onwards. However, the construction of herdsmen's huts in a form distinctive
from the normal dwelling houses of farms, only appears from the early medieval
period onwards (from AD 450), when the practice of transhumance is also known
from documentary sources and, notably, place-name studies. Their construction
appears to cease at the end of the 16th century. Shielings vary in size but
are commonly small and may occur singly or in groups. They have a simple sub-
rectangular or ovoid plan normally defined by drystone walling, although
occasional turf-built structures are known, and the huts are sometimes
surrounded by a ditch. Most examples have a single undivided interior but two
roomed examples are known. Some examples have adjacent ancillary structures,
such as pens, and may be associated with a midden. Some are also contained
within a small ovoid enclosure. Shielings are reasonably common in the uplands
but frequently represent the only evidence for medieval settlement and farming
practice here. Those examples which survive well and which help illustrate
medieval land use in an area are considered to be nationally important.
Details
The monument includes the remains of a shieling of medieval or post-medieval
date situated on the floor of the Hazel Gill valley. The shieling, orientated
east to west, is visible as the footings of a rectangular stone built
structure with maximum dimensions of 8m by 5m. When this shieling was visited
in the 1960s more detail could be distinguished than is possible today; it is
known to be divided into two rooms of equal size and its walls are on average
1.3m wide. This shieling was once part of a much larger grouping in this area
which formed part of the medieval barony of Gilsland. A document of 13th
century date indicates that the area was used for sheep pasture, and further
documents of the late 16th century describe a shielding system on the moor of
which this shieling formed a part.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
25169
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
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
