Seven Intakes medieval dispersed settlement 210m south west of Fell Foot

Reasons for Designation

Medieval rural settlements in England were marked by great regional diversity in form, size and type, and the protection of their archaeological remains needs to take these differences into account. To do this, England has been divided into three broad Provinces on the basis of each area's distinctive mixture of nucleated and dispersed settlements. These can be further divided into sub-Provinces and local regions, possessing characteristics which have gradually evolved during the past 1500 years or more. This monument lies in the Cumbria-Solway sub-Province of the Northern and Western Province, an area characterised by dispersed hamlets and farmsteads, but with some larger nucleated settlements in well-defined agriculturally favoured areas, established after the Norman Conquest. Traces of seasonal settlements, or shielings, dominate the high, wet and windy uplands, where surrounding communities grazed their livestock during the summer months. The Lake District local region is characterised by a series of mountain blocks separated by deep valleys, providing great variation in local terrains. Settlement is sparse, but villages and hamlets occasionally appear in the valleys. Higher up, above the level of medieval fields enclosed by the stone walls known as head-dykes, are traces of medieval and earlier settlements in farmlands since abandoned.

In some areas of medieval England settlement was dispersed across the landscape rather than nucleated into villages. Such dispersed settlement in an area, usually a township or parish, is defined by a lack of a single (or principal) nucleated settlement focus such as a village and the presence instead of small settlement units (small hamlets or farmsteads) spread across the area. These small settlements usually have a degree of interconnection with their close neighbours, for example, in relation to shared common land or road systems. Dispersed settlements varied enormously from region to region, but where they survive as earthworks their distinguishing features include roads and other minor tracks, platforms on which stood houses and other buildings such as barns, enclosed crofts and small enclosed paddocks. In areas where stone was used for building, the outlines of building foundations may still be clearly visible. Communal areas of the settlement frequently include features such as bakehouses, pinfolds and ponds. Areas of dispersed medieval settlement are found in both the South Eastern Province and the Northern and Western Province of England. They are found in upland and also in some lowland areas. Where found their archaeological remains are one of the most inportant sources for understanding about rural life in the five or more centuries following the Norman Conquest.

Seven Intakes medieval dispersed settlement 210m south west of Fell Foot survives reasonably well and remains largely undisturbed by modern development. It is a good example of this class of monument.

Details

The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of Seven Intakes medieval dispersed settlement located on flat ground south of the River Brathay 210m south west of Fell Foot. The settlement, which is also known as Vicars, includes the remains of at least one and possibly two buildings situated within an irregularly-shaped enclosure. Traces of a smaller enclosure lie adjacent on rising ground to the south west.

Remains of a three-roomed stone-walled building measuring approximately 26m long by 9m wide survive. The building is thought to originally have been smaller and of two rooms only with the third, eastern room, added at a later date. There are traces of stone cobbled flooring in the building's western room. A short distance to the north there are the remains of a possible smaller rectangular building measuring approximately 14m long by 10m wide. A stone bank runs from the north western corner of this building a short distance to the south bank of the river. Attached to the southern side of this stone bank is a low sub-circular platform. To the north there is another short length of stone bank running parallel to the north wall of the possible smaller building. The irregularly-shaped enclosure is defined by a tumbled stone wall on all sides except the north, and it survives best on the monument's western side. Another smaller enclosure partly defined by a tumbled stone wall exists to the west of the irregularly-shaped enclosure.

A modern drystone wall on the monument's north east side is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

35024

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Burkett, M E, Trans Cumb and West Antiq and Arch Soc. New Ser. in Three Deserted Medieval Farmsteads In Little Langdale, Vol. LXX, (1970), 269-74

End of official list entry

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