(NT 96441591) Camp. (1)

A group of scooped homesteads of V (Votadini) type, only two of which seem to have had hut circles in them. But there are traces of a wall enclosing the hill top, which may have preceded the homesteads. (2)

Meggrim's Knowe. Village site. Approximately 1-1/2 acres. (3)

Type H1(4) Ancient village sites protected by walls, ramparts or ditches. (4)

This earthwork is situated on the summit of a ridge a little below the 900 foot contour. The steep slopes (approx 1:2) of the Breamish valley lie immediately to the north but elsewhere the land falls away gently. There is a good all round view although the site is not particularly good defensively except against attack from the north. The land in the vicinity is well grassed and would provide good pastureage.
The earthwork consists of several enclosures giving the impression of a settlement that has expanded from time to time to accommodate a growing community. The mainwork is at the west and consists of an oval enclosure bounded by a fragmentary bank of earth and stones. To the south this bank is near the base of the ridge indicating that it did not serve a defensive purpose. The bank is badly mutilated and only one entrance could be certainly identified. This is on the south side and is marked by a large stone on the east side of the gap. A fragmentary bank resembling an external clavicula covers the entrance. There are faint traces of a bank running off westwards from this entrance which may have demarcated a track to the lower ground.
Within the oval enclosure seven huts (5m to 8m diameter) could be positively identified, with possible traces of others. On the east side are the remains of a small enclosure while to the south a fragment of bank attached to the outside of the rampart is probably also the remains of a small enclosure.
To the east of the oval earthwork are a series of small enclosures, some 'scooped' below ground level. One of these enclosures is a typical 'homestead', sub rectangular in shape, and bounded by a strong bank of earth and stones with traces of external revetting. There is a well-defined entrance to the east and two hut circles forming 'blisters' on the west side. There is another possible hut on the north side. To the north of the homestead are four more enclosures, two 'scooped' and one with a hut circle at its north end. This latter enclosure, the easterly of the four, has an entrance to the south east. From the north side of this entrance a bank extends eastwards for a short distance and then continues as a scatter of stones where the land has at some time been cultivated. This bank and scatter of stone possibly demarcated a trackway running eastwards to the lower ground. On the level ground south east of the homestead is a large hut circle and another possible but smaller hut. A little further distant in the same direction is an isolated 'scooped' enclosure. From the west side of the latter a lynchet bank running westwards probably represents the southern boundary of the settlement. To the south west of the homestead and at the foot of a band of outcrop is another hut circle with another possible hut immediately by its north west. There are traces which indicate that the settlement extended further to the east but now obliterated by old ploughing.
This settlement was no doubt intended to accommodate a small community and their flocks. While there are certain features comparable with the settlement at Greaves Ash (NT 91 NE 1) these are considered insufficient for dating purposes. The River Breamish to the north is the nearest water supply. (5)

Listed as doubtful pre-Roman Iron Age univallate, (forts, settlements and enclosures) with an overlying settlement of round stone huts. (6)

The existing remains are those of an expanded Romano-British settlement, and contain no visible evidence of any earlier work, although the site is topographically suitable for one. This and the fact that most of the defensive Iron Age works in the area have overlying secondary occupation in varying degrees probably accounts for Jobey's assuming one here. Resurveyed at 6 inch scale. (7)

No change to report of 20.5.69. Surveyed at 1:10,000. (8)

NRHE UID 1033825 Meggrims Knowe I
NT 9637 1591 on the summit of a ridge at about 275 m OD, are the fragmentary remains of an enclosure [NT 9615/10] containing traces of a subsidiary enclosure [NT 9615/11] and several definite and possible hut circles [NT 9615/12-22]. The site is protected to the N by the steep, high escarpment of the Breamish Valley, but elsewhere the approach is relatively easy. There is a low outcrop to the SE which may have provided some barrier, but in the S the enclosure bank extends around the base of the ridge to form an upper and lower courtyard. Immediately to the E are a series of enclosed settlements, hut circles, etc which have been described by previous authorities, but which have been discussed separately by RCHME (see NT 9615/25-31). The site, retitled Meggrim's Knowe I, measures 70 m NE-SW by about 53 m (including both court-yards); the N bank is at best 3.2 m wide and 0.3 m high internally but much of it is reduced to a vague scatter of stones with numerous gaps. Some stone is exposed, but there is evidence of robbing or possibly minor excavation. This bank fades at each end and is not traceable around the W and E arcs for distances of 26 m and 48 m respectively. The bank reappears at a lower level to form the S side of the lower court where it is 4.0 m wide, 0.9 m high and overgrown with bracken; it is pierced by a well-preserved entrance, 2.1 m wide, with two portal slabs of up to 0.4 m high on the E side. The natural scarp demarcating the N side of the lower court contains exposure of bed rock and some stone debris, but no man-made bank or wall can be identified. Enclosure NT 9615/11 measures 19.0 m across within a low, turf-covered bank 1.5 m wide; its S arc is lost. At its S end is a possible hut circle [NT 9615/12] 2.8 m in diameter within a turf-covered stony bank, 1.2 m wide and 0.15 m high. The remains are very slight and no entrance is discernible. Within enclosure 11 is another structure [NT 9615/13] 4.4 m E-W by 3.8 m transversely within a stony bank 1.2 m wide and 0.15 m high, with a gap, possibly an entrance, in the E. Structurally it resembles hut circles nearby, but it lacks circularity. In this area there is much ground disturbance indicative of buried structures of indeterminate shape. The following hut circles are situated in the upper court: NT 9615/14, scooped into a N-facing slope, is 4.6 m in diameter, within a turf and bracken-covered wall spread to 1.3 m wide and 0.15 m high; the back-scarp is 0.6 m high. An entrance 1.4 m wide in the
NE leads into what resembles another hut or forecourt, 5.5 m in diameter, visible only as a platform and set into a slight slope with no stonework identified. No 15, set against the inner edge of the enclosure bank [NT 9615/10], measures 4.1 m in diameter within a bracken-covered wall spread to 1.3 m wide and 0.2 m high. The entrance, 1.2 m wide, is in the ENE. No 16, the best-preserved of the hut circles, is slightly scooped into a gentle N-facing slope and measures 6.5 m in diameter inside a turf-covered wall spread to 1.7 m in width and 0.4 m high. There is a gap in the E and another in the W, either of which could be entrances. No 17 is situated on a W-facing slope and measures 7.0 m in diameter
within a turf-covered wall 1.6 m wide and 0.2 m high around the N arc. A silted, enlarged gap, 3.5 m wide on the W (downhill) side is probably the entrance. Unusually the interior is not level, but this may be the result of soil movement. The hut is sited on the projection of the outer enclosure bank [NT 9615/10]; the enclosure may have been entered from the W in the vicinity of Hut 17 which would be the easiest means of approach. No 18 measures 3.6m - 4 m in diameter within a turf-covered wall, 1.4m wide and 0.2 m high. The entrance, 1.2 m wide, is in the E arc. A displaced boulder lies in the hut interior. In the lower courtyard are two contiguous hut circles [NT 9615/19 and 20] adjacent to the enclosure entrance. 19 measures 4.9 m WNW-ESE by 4.5 m transversely within a bracken-covered wall spread to 1.6 m wide and 0.2 m in average height. At least three boulders of the outer face and one or two of the inner are exposed suggesting a wall width of 1.4 m. The entrance in the ESE is 1.6 m wide with a portal stone on its N side. Hut 20, immediately N is 4.0 m - 4.5 m in diameter within a wall surviving as a turf-covered stony bank 2.0 m wide and 0.4 m in maximum height. The entrance, 1.6 m wide, is in the ESE. The hut is scooped into a S-facing slope with a high back-scarp. Contiguous hut circles NT 9615/21-22 occur on a S-facing slope on or outside of the projection of the S arc of the enclosure wall [NT 9615/10]. The former is 4.8 m in diameter with an entrance 1.2 m wide in the SE. It is demarcated by a back-scarp 0.4 m high around the N side and by a turf and bracken-covered bank elsewhere, at best 1.6 m wide and 0.3 m high. There is a well-developed front apron on the S side. Hut 22 is poorly- reserved, 3.2 m in diameter within a bank only visible on the S side where it is 1.2 m wide and 0.1 m in maximum height. There is a considerable back-scarp around the N and NW and material from it has collapsed into the interior. The entrance was probably in the SE. From the E side of the enclosure entrance in the S arc, a stony scarp [NT 9615/23] extends W developing into a bank, now bracken-covered, 1.5 m wide and 0.4 m high. It skirts the NW corner of a rectangular house [NT 9615/32] before turning SW and fading at the base of a steepening slope. This bank defines the N and W edges of an area of broad rig, but despite this, its appearance suggests it is more probably contemporary with prehistoric enclosure 10. Another curving bank [NT 9615/24] leads from the S side of enclosure 10 for 8 m; it connects with a stony lynchet extending from a further enclosed settlement [NT 9615/25], one of a group of settlements [NT 9615/25-31] which occupy the SE-facing slopes of the ridge E of enclosure 10 on the summit. Nos 25-31, dealt with separately, are generally better preserved than enclosure 10 and may represent a later phase of settlement. (9a)

NT 964 160 (sic). Enclosures on Meggrim's Knowe. Scheduled No ND/95A. (9b)

NRHE UID 1034073 Meggrims Knowe II
(Previously recorded by the OS under NT 91 NE 2)

This settlement complex (retitled Meggrim's Knowe II) comprises three enclosed settlements [NT 9615/25-27], a further probable example [NT 9615/28], a D-shaped enclosure [NT 9613/29] and two unenclosed hut circles [NT 9615/30 and 31]; it is situated at about 260 m OD on the upper S, E and SE slopes of the summit ridge of Meggrim's Knowe and forms what is probably a later extension to the extant settlement lying on that summit [NT 9615/10-24]. To the N is the steep escarpment of the Breamish valley and to the S and E lie gentle hill-slopes covered with broad rig cultivation. All of the
enclosures are overgrown with turf and bracken; their walls have tumbled leaving stony banks generally 2.0 m - 4.0 m wide. Settlement NT 9615/25 seems to overlie the S arc of 27 where there is a break in the wall and much displaced stone and general disturbance. It measures 14.5 m N-S by 10.8 m within a tumbled wall, 0.6 m high, in which some boulder facings are exposed, notably to the S of the entrance where a series of three, up to 0.45 m high, can be seen. The entrance in the E is clearly defined, 1.7 m wide. There are three, possibly four, hut circles associated with the settlement, two
of them (a and b) externally abut the enclosure wall on the W side, the others (c and d) are built onto what would have been the inner face of the enclosing wall. Huts a and b are well-preserved, 0.3 m - 4 m high, and both open out into the enclosure. Hut a is 5.3 m in diameter within a wall spread to 2.0 m wide and 0.4 m high; b is 4.0m in diameter with a wall 1.2 m wide and 0.3 m high. At its entrance, 1.2 m wide, lies a possible N portal stone, 0.5 m high. Huts c and d are barely visible; the former is 3.4 m E-W by 2.5 m transversely with a low "wall", 1.2 m wide and 0.1 m high around the S side, and d survives only as a crescentic insertion into the enclosure wall and must remain doubtful. Settlement 26, scooped into an E-facing hillside, is sub-oval, measuring 11.0 m by 7.5 m. It is bounded by a scarp around the W side and a bank of stones to the E. The well-defined entrance in the SE is 1.6 m wide and from its N side a field bank of rubble and boulders extends to the E parallel to the furrows of broad rig; this bank is more likely to be associated with the settlement rather than the rig. Contiguous with the N side of the settlement is an external hut circle opening into the enclosure. It measures 3.6 m N-S by 3.2 m E-W within a wall reduced to 0.5 m high and tumbled to a width of 1.6 m. On the W side of the enclosure at a higher level is a D-shaped bank enclosing an area of about 6.0 m N-S by 3.6 m E-W, but it is very vague, not more than 0.2 m high, and there has been much disturbance particularly at the interface between the bank and the enclosure. This may have been a hut circle but this cannot be determined from ground inspection. No 27 is a roughly circular enclosure, 28.0 m in diameter, within a
tumbled bracken-covered wall, 0.9 m high, in which a number of wall facing boulders, in situ and displaced, is visible. In the NE there is a slight lowering in the wall adjacent to an upright boulder, 0.6
m high, 0.5 m wide and 0.3 m thick, which may represent the entrance which has since been blocked. The interior of the enclosure is sub-divided by a stony scarp into a forecourt into which the entrance
leads, and some 1.1 m higher, a terrace which contains two hut circles. The NW hut survives as a circular platform scooped into a NE-facing slope, and measures 6.4 m by 5.8 m within a vague wall of
indeterminate width not more than 0.1 m high. No entrance can be identified. The SE hut is in a similar poor state and is 3.2 m in diameter. Its entrance was probably in the NE. Enclosure 28 is scooped into a S-facing slope and measures 18.0 m NW-SE by 14.0 m. It is surrounded on its N side by a stony back scarp, 1.4 m high, and elsewhere by a stony bank which is severely reduced in the S to an internal height of 0.15 m, and best-preserved on the E side where it is up to 2.2 m wide. The entrance was probably in the S, the lowest part of the enclosure, where the wall is much reduced, but it cannot be identified with certainty. The interior is bisected by a scarp containing rubble stones, 0.9 m high dividing it into a S forecourt and, at a higher level, an inner courtyard. There is no trace of hut circles or other structures inside the enclosure but a hook shaped bank on the N side may be the remains of an external hut circle, 4.6 m in diameter. A scarp or lynchet, 1.1 m high, strewn with rubble and some boulders extends W to join a spur from enclosure 10; it forms the boundary between the prehistoric
settlements and the broad rig and is probably contemporary with the former. Further banks and scarps extend from the enclosed settlement on the E and NE sides for a short distance before fading into the
ridge and furrow. Between settlements 26 and 27 is a slightly scooped, D-shaped enclosure [NT 9615/29] 17.5 m N-S by 9.7 m E-W within a heavy wall 2.0 m thick and 0.4 m in average height in which intermittent boulders both in situ and displaced, are exposed. No entrance can be identified. At the SW side at a higher level is a stony platform about 3.8 m in diameter which may have been an external hut circle, but it is too vague to permit positive classification.The relationship of 29 to the adjoining settlements is unclear. It may be an earlier settlement itself or it could be an extension to either 26 or 27. Apart from the enclosed settlements there are two unenclosed hut circles [NT 9615/30 and 31] between 25 and 28. No 30 (the SW example) is 5.0 m E-W by 4.6 m transversely within a wall surviving as a bank of rubble 2.0 m wide and 0.3 m-0.4 m high; it has been slightly scooped into a S-facing slope. The entrance is in the E. Hut 31 is 3.0 m in diameter within a wall spread to 1.2 m wide and 0.2 m high; the inner face of intermittent boulders can be seen. A gap in the ESE represents the entrance. This settlement complex is generally better-preserved than the complex on the ridge summit [NT 9615/10-24] and may indicate a movement from an exposed site to a more sheltered location. (9c)