LAND AT THORNEYTHWAITE FARM, BORROWDALE CUMBRIA Historic Landscape Survey Report Oxford Archaeology North May 2017 Issue No: 2016-17/1786 OA North Job No: L11028 NGR: NY 245 134 (centred) Document Title: THORNEYTHWAITE FARM, BORROWDALE, CUMBRIA Document Type: Historic Landscape Survey Report Client Name: The National Trust Issue Number: 2016/17-1786 OA Job Number: L11028 National Grid Reference: NY 245 134 (centred) Prepared by: Helen Evans Position: Project Officer Date: April 2017 Checked by: Jamie Quartermaine Signed……………………. Position: Senior Project Manager Date: April 2017 Approved by: Rachel Newman Signed……………………. Position: Senior Executive Officer: Research and Publication Date: May 2017 Oxford Archaeology North © Oxford Archaeology Ltd (2017) Mill 3, Moor Lane Mills Janus House Moor Lane Osney Mead Lancaster Oxford LA1 1QD OX2 0EA t: (0044) 01524 541000 t: (0044) 01865 263800 f: (0044) 01524 848606 f: (0044) 01865 793496 w: www.oxfordarch.co.uk e: [email protected] Oxford Archaeology Limited is a Registered Charity No: 285627 Disclaimer: This document has been prepared for the titled project or named part thereof and should not be relied upon or used for any other project without an independent check being carried out as to its suitability and prior written authority of Oxford Archaeology being obtained. Oxford Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability for the consequences of this document being used for a purpose other than the purposes for which it was commissioned. Any person/party using or relying on the document for such other purposes agrees, and will by such use or reliance be taken to confirm their agreement to indemnify Oxford Archaeology for all loss or damage resulting therefrom. Oxford Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability for this document to any party other than the person/party by whom it was commissioned. Land at Thorneythwaite Farm, Borrowdale, Cumbria: Historic Landscape Survey Report 1 CONTENTS SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... 5 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 6 1.1 Circumstances of the Project ..................................................................................... 6 1.2 The National Trust Landholdings .............................................................................. 6 1.3 Objectives .................................................................................................................. 6 2. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 8 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 8 2.2 Desk-Based Assessment ............................................................................................ 8 2.3 Field Survey Methodology ........................................................................................ 8 2.4 Detailed Survey ........................................................................................................ 10 2.5 Gazetteer of Sites ..................................................................................................... 10 2.6 Archive ..................................................................................................................... 10 3. LOCATION, GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY ..................................................................... 11 3.1 Location, Geology and Topography ........................................................................ 11 4. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ............................................................................................ 13 4.1 Prehistoric, Roman and Early Medieval Activity .................................................... 13 4.2 Medieval and Post-Medieval Historical Development of the Valley ...................... 15 5. HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THORNEYTHWAITE FARM ........................................ 21 5.1 Sources ..................................................................................................................... 21 5.2 Thorneythwaite Farm ............................................................................................... 23 6. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY ............................................................................................ 30 6.1 Summary of Results ................................................................................................. 30 7. SETTLEMENT ................................................................................................................... 32 7.1 Enclosed Settlement ................................................................................................. 32 7.2 Thorneythwaite Farm ............................................................................................... 34 7.3 Transhumant Settlement .......................................................................................... 35 7.4 Thorneythwaite Settlement Within the Wider Context ........................................... 36 8. DEVELOPMENT OF ENCLOSURE ...................................................................................... 37 8.1 The Primary Development of the Thorneythwaite Enclosure ................................. 37 9. AGRICULTURAL SITES .................................................................................................... 41 9.1 Farming Features ..................................................................................................... 41 10. COMMUNICATIONS ........................................................................................................ 45 10.1 Packhorse Tracks ..................................................................................................... 45 10.2 Woodland Trackways .............................................................................................. 46 11. INDUSTRY ...................................................................................................................... 48 11.1 Industrial Features .................................................................................................... 48 11.2 Axe Factories ........................................................................................................... 48 11.3 Quarrying ................................................................................................................. 48 For the use of The National Trust © OA North: May 2017 Land at Thorneythwaite Farm, Borrowdale, Cumbria: Historic Landscape Survey Report 2 12. WOODLANDS .................................................................................................................. 50 12.1 Woodland Industries ................................................................................................ 50 12.2 Coppicing ................................................................................................................. 50 12.3 Charcoal-burning Platforms ..................................................................................... 50 12.4 Plantations ................................................................................................................ 53 13. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LANDSCAPE ..................................................................... 55 13.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 55 13.2 Possible Early Origins.............................................................................................. 55 13.3 Medieval Evidence................................................................................................... 55 13.4 Post-medieval Thorneythwaite ................................................................................ 56 14. CONDITION SURVEY AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS ................................. 58 14.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 58 14.2 Condition Survey ..................................................................................................... 58 14.3 Management Recommendations .............................................................................. 58 15. BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 61 15.1 Primary Sources ....................................................................................................... 61 15.2 Published Cartographic Sources .............................................................................. 61 15.3 Published Sources .................................................................................................... 62 APPENDIX 1: PROJECT DESIGN ........................................................................................... 68 APPENDIX 2: SITE GAZETTEER ........................................................................................... 76 ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................................................. 118 Figures...............................................................................................................................