Prehistoric round cairn on Whitfell
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1017182
- Date first listed:
- 14-Dec-1999
Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2005-04-09
- Reference:
- IOE01/13566/21
- Rights:
- © Dr Neil Bentham. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1017182
- Date first listed:
- 14-Dec-1999
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Cumberland (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Ulpha
- District:
- Cumberland (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Waberthwaite
- National Park:
- Lake District
- National Grid Reference:
- SD 15885 92982
Reasons for Designation
Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.
Despite disturbance to the monument's summit by construction of a modern cairn and shelter, the prehistoric round cairn on Whitfell survives well. It will contain undisturbed archaeological deposits within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath.
Details
The monument includes a prehistoric round cairn located on the summit of Whitfell. It consists of a circular mound of stones 25m in diameter and up to 2m high which is kerbed along its western edge. On the cairn's highest point a modern cairn and shelter have been constructed by fellwalkers from the stones which originally formed part of the prehistoric cairn.
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:
- 32842
- Legacy System:
- RSM
Sources
Books and journals
Wainwright, A, The Outlying Fells of Lakeland, (1974), 156-61
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.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 08-Jun-2026 at 21:11:20.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.