Medieval farmstead, 450m north-east of Berry Hills (Bavington)
(NY 96908350 and NY 96908335 geographical co-ords) North Berry Hills, three rectangular earthworks each with single rampart. (1)
Listed under rectilinear sites type F (Steadings enclosed by mounds of stone walls, and sometimes a slight ditch. Internal buildings are few in number rectangular in shape, and sometimes 'but and ben' type. Most certainly post Roman or medieval). (2)
Three earthworks centred at NY 97008345 ('A', 'B', and 'C') 'B' and 'C' appear to be the remains of two subrectangular, walled enclosures, both bounded by strong ditches with scarp and counterscarp banks, and with an internal 'croft' in the north angle of 'B'.
'A' is irregular shaped, and, generally, poorly defined, but is formed by a slight bank (possibly the remains of a wall) with a ditch on the south and west sides, which merges into a modern drainage channel to the east.
The probability that all the enclosures were walled, and the rectangular nature of the only surviving internal feature supports Jobey's classification. The strength of the ditches in the cases of 'B' and 'C' is possibly explained by the need for draining the boggy ground. Surveyed at 1:2500. (3)
NY 9705 8347. Medieval farmstead 450m NE of Berry Hills. Scheduled RSM No 25057. The remains are situated on the end of a promontory formed by the confluence of the Ferneyrigg Burn and the River Wansbeck. The monument is divided into two separate areas; the farmstead is visible as two sub-rectangular contiguous enclosures and a third, irregularly shaped enclosure. All are very well preserved. The most easterly enclosure measures a maximum of 54m by 53m within a strong ditch 6m wide; outside the ditch there is a counterscarp bank 1.5m above the bottom of the ditch and best preserved on the N and W sides. The enclosure is divided internally by a wall 0.5m high running N-S towards the E end of the enclosure.
There is a circular hollow in the SE corner of the enclosure. This enclosure is contiguous with the second sub-rectangular enclosure which is 42m by 50m within a well preserved V-shaped ditch averaging 8m wide and 2m deep below the top of an internal and an external bank 6m and 9m wide respectively. The enclosure is divided internally by a wall, 4m wide and 1m high, running E-W. There is a 20m square platform in the NE corner of this enclosure; it is interpreted as the platform for a medieval dwelling. The third enclosure is situated 50m W of the second; it is irregularly shaped and measures 60m E-W by 55m N-S. It is bounded by a slight bank and a ditch 8m to 10m wide on the S, E and W sides. Within the enclosure there is a rectangular platform in the SW corner 10m by 12m which is thought to represent the remains of a building platform. (4)
NY 969834. Cord rig adjacent to rectilinear enclosure, possibly overlying ring groove house. (5)
Farmsteads visible on thermal imagery, two are partially overlain by a field system. (6)
Listed under rectilinear sites type F (Steadings enclosed by mounds of stone walls, and sometimes a slight ditch. Internal buildings are few in number rectangular in shape, and sometimes 'but and ben' type. Most certainly post Roman or medieval). (2)
Three earthworks centred at NY 97008345 ('A', 'B', and 'C') 'B' and 'C' appear to be the remains of two subrectangular, walled enclosures, both bounded by strong ditches with scarp and counterscarp banks, and with an internal 'croft' in the north angle of 'B'.
'A' is irregular shaped, and, generally, poorly defined, but is formed by a slight bank (possibly the remains of a wall) with a ditch on the south and west sides, which merges into a modern drainage channel to the east.
The probability that all the enclosures were walled, and the rectangular nature of the only surviving internal feature supports Jobey's classification. The strength of the ditches in the cases of 'B' and 'C' is possibly explained by the need for draining the boggy ground. Surveyed at 1:2500. (3)
NY 9705 8347. Medieval farmstead 450m NE of Berry Hills. Scheduled RSM No 25057. The remains are situated on the end of a promontory formed by the confluence of the Ferneyrigg Burn and the River Wansbeck. The monument is divided into two separate areas; the farmstead is visible as two sub-rectangular contiguous enclosures and a third, irregularly shaped enclosure. All are very well preserved. The most easterly enclosure measures a maximum of 54m by 53m within a strong ditch 6m wide; outside the ditch there is a counterscarp bank 1.5m above the bottom of the ditch and best preserved on the N and W sides. The enclosure is divided internally by a wall 0.5m high running N-S towards the E end of the enclosure.
There is a circular hollow in the SE corner of the enclosure. This enclosure is contiguous with the second sub-rectangular enclosure which is 42m by 50m within a well preserved V-shaped ditch averaging 8m wide and 2m deep below the top of an internal and an external bank 6m and 9m wide respectively. The enclosure is divided internally by a wall, 4m wide and 1m high, running E-W. There is a 20m square platform in the NE corner of this enclosure; it is interpreted as the platform for a medieval dwelling. The third enclosure is situated 50m W of the second; it is irregularly shaped and measures 60m E-W by 55m N-S. It is bounded by a slight bank and a ditch 8m to 10m wide on the S, E and W sides. Within the enclosure there is a rectangular platform in the SW corner 10m by 12m which is thought to represent the remains of a building platform. (4)
NY 969834. Cord rig adjacent to rectilinear enclosure, possibly overlying ring groove house. (5)
Farmsteads visible on thermal imagery, two are partially overlain by a field system. (6)
N9552
FIELD SURVEY, Rectilinear earthworks in Northumberland: some Medieval and Later settlements 1960
FIELD OBSERVATION, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigation 1968; D Smith
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT, Steadings windfarm 2007; Oxford Archaeological Associates
FIELD OBSERVATION, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigation 1968; D Smith
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT, Steadings windfarm 2007; Oxford Archaeological Associates
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