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 the presence of a modern drystone wall along the monument's north
side, Gawklands Romano-British farmstead 200m east of Yewtree survives in
excellent condition and remains a superb example of this class of
monument.
Details
The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of Gawklands
Romano-British farmstead located on sloping ground 200m east of Yewtree. It
includes a large sub-circular stone-walled enclosure scooped into the
hillside with an additional smaller enclosure and a series of terraces on its
west side which are interpreted as originally being for agricultural use. The
large sub-circular enclosure measures approximately 70m north-south by 42m
east-west and has a main entrance on its west side. It is sub-divided
internally; the northern half contains three smaller enclosures while the
southern half contains a sunken enclosure interpreted as a stock pen and the
remains of two hut circles of differing sizes, the larger measuring about 9m
in diameter the smaller 4m in diameter. On the south side of the sub-circular
enclosure, and adjacent to the smaller hut circle, there is a second smaller
entrance through the enclosure's boundary wall. A trackway leads from the
large sub-circular enclosure's main entrance downhill for a short distance.
On the north side of this trackway, and attached to the north west corner of
the sub-circular enclosure, there is a smaller sub-circular enclosure
measuring about 21m in diameter. Immediately west of this smaller enclosure
the trackway leads onto a relatively flat hillside terrace and below this
there is a second, more sloping terrace. On the south side of the trackway
there are two more terraces, the one adjacent to the large sub-circular
enclosure being relatively flat, the lower being more sloping.
All modern field boundaries are excluded from the scheduling, although the
ground beneath them is included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
