Late prehistoric enclosed settlement in Crosley Wood, Bingley, 185m north of Scourer Bridge

Reasons for Designation

The Pennine uplands of northern England contain a wide variety of prehistoric remains, including cairns, enclosures, carved rocks, settlements and field systems. These are evidence of the widespread exploitation of these uplands throughout later prehistory. During the last millennium BC a variety of different types of enclosed settlements developed. These include hillforts, which have substantial earthworks and are usually located on hilltops. Other types of enclosed settlement of this period are less obviously defensive, as they have less substantial earthworks and are usually in less prominent positions. In the Pennines a number of late prehistoric enclosed settlements survive as upstanding monuments. Where upstanding earthworks survive, the settlements are between 0.4ha and 10ha in area, and are usually located on ridges or hillside terraces. The enclosing earthworks are usually slight, most consisting of a ditch with an internal bank, or with an internal and external bank, but examples with an internal ditch and with no ditch are known. They are sub-circular, sub-rectangular, or oval in shape. Few of these enclosed settlements have been subject to systematic excavation, but they are thought to date from between the Late Bronze Age to the Romano-British period (c.1000 BC-AD 400). Examples which have been excavated have presented evidence of settlement. Some appear to have developed from earlier palisaded enclosures. Unexcavated examples occasionally have levelled areas which may have contained buildings, but a proportion may have functioned primarily as stock enclosures. Enclosed settlements are a distinctive feature of the late prehistory of the Pennine uplands, and are important in illustrating the variety of enclosed settlement types which developed in many areas of Britain at this time. Examples where a substantial proportion of the enclosed settlement survives are considered to be nationally important.

The late prehistoric enclosed settlement in Crosley Wood survives well. It differs from other late prehistoric enclosed settlements in West Yorkshire in having a perimeter wall rather than the more usual bank and ditch. It illustrates the diversity of late prehistoric enclosed settlement, and will contribute to the knowledge of late prehistoric land use and settlement in northern England.

Details

The monument includes a late prehistoric enclosed settlement, occupying a natural terrace overlooking the River Aire in a prominent position in Crosley Wood, Bingley. The enclosure is an approximate oval, 80m long and 65m wide. It has a rubble bank, of which some stretches are faced with orthostats. Other stretches may also have originally been so faced, but the orthostats have been removed in the past, leaving a low rubble bank. Excavation in 1964-65 showed that the enclosure wall consisted of two lines of orthostats with a sandstone rubble infill, forming a wall 3m wide. The wall survived to a height of 0.5m.

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:

31529

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Mayes, P, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal in Crosley Wood Enclosure, (1967), 19-23

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