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.
Details
The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of a Romano-British
farmstead within which is a small later medieval field system. It is located
on a flat shelf on a gently sloping hillside to the west of Hayber Beck 100m
south west of Bell Nook sheepfold, and includes a sub-oval enclosure
containing hut circles which has latterly been subdivided and reused as a
medieval field system. The farmstead enclosure is bounded by a ditch with
inner and outer earth and stone banks on the south and west sides; the inner
bank continues around much of the north side but has been heavily disturbed by
later activity at the north east corner. On the east side traces of a low bank
above the steep declivity to Hayber Beck survive. There is an entrance through
the inner bank just north of the mid-point on the western side and an entrance
through the outer bank at the south western corner. A circular scooped
depression against the inner side of the boundary bank on the enclosure's
northern side marks the site of the hut circle in which the occupants lived,
while two other hut circles 8m-10m diameter with walls surviving up to 0.3m
high, are located in the north western part of the enclosure. The medieval
field system, although partially damaged by later activity, is contained
within the earlier farmstead enclosure and survives as a line of three small
enclosures situated at the eastern and highest end of the farmstead enclosure.
A stone bank separates these three small enclosures from a short length of
trackway or hollow way running parallel to the east. In the south western part
of the farmstead enclosure there are remains of the turf-covered wall footings
of two small fields associated with the medieval field system. Both of these
fields utilised in part the earlier enclosure's banks within their own
boundary.
All modern field boundaries are excluded from the scheduling, although the
ground beneath these features is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
27830
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
