Howgill Fold Romano-British farmstead

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.

Despite some impact damage caused by artillery during military training exercises, Howgill Fold Romano-British farmstead survives reasonably well and is a good example of this class of monument. It is one of a number of similar monuments located on the hillslopes of east Cumbria and will facilitate further study of Romano-British settlement patterns in the area.

Details

The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of Howgill Fold Romano-British farmstead. It is located on the southern slopes of Roman Fell a short distance west of Dobbyhole Gill, and includes a sub-rectangular stone-walled enclosure measuring approximately 67m north east - south west by 60m north west - south east within which are the remains of four stone hut circles and a small stock enclosure. There is an entrance on the monument's western side close to the south west corner. Within the northern half of the enclosure there are the remains of three hut circles in which the occupants lived. These measure 6m-12m in diameter externally; two are located adjacent to the enclosure wall while the third lies above a slight natural scarp running north west - south east across the enclosure. At the centre of the southern half of the enclosure there is a stone-walled sub-rectangular stock enclosure measuring approximately 17m by 14m externally with an entrance on its north western side. A short distance to the east, and attached to this stock enclosure by a bank or wall, is a hut circle. Metal marker posts at the four corners of the monument are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these is included.

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:

27836

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
In Cumbria SMR No. 2763, Ordnance Survey, IA/RB Homestead at Howgill Fold, (1978)
RCHME Unique ID No. 14835, RCHME, Howgill Fold, (1997)
RCHME, Westmorland, (1936)

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.