The Parish of Alston Moor, Cumbria: Historic Area Assessment
Author(s): Lucy Jessop, Matthew Whitfield
This Historic Area Assessment of the parish of Alston Moor, Cumbria, forms part of English Heritage’s multi-disciplinary research into the Miner-Farmer Landscapes of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) project (see Appendix). The development of the settlements of Alston, Nenthead and Garrigill and the historic built environment of the surrounding upland landscape has been examined through the evidence of historic maps and a rapid assessment of the existing building stock. The purpose of the document is to provide an overview of the historical and architectural development of the parish and to inform a further stage of more detailed investigation of individual sites. No medieval buildings have yet been confirmed, but the area is particularly rich in structures dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries and is relatively untouched by 20th- and 21st-century development. Particularly important in the parish is the survival of the bastle tradition of heated living accommodation above a byre, the former accessible only by first-floor doorways. Although it is debatable how many true bastles, complete with strong defensibility, survive in the parish, there are many derivatives of the building type to be found in both urban and rural contexts.
- Report Number:
- 64/2010
- Series:
- Research Department Reports
- Pages:
- 164
- Keywords:
- Lead Medieval Modern Post Medieval
