Scheduled Monument: ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT AND FIELD SYSTEM, 600M SOUTH OF ROYSTONE GRANGE (1018087)

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 hill slope. 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. The Romano-British settlement 600m south of Roystone Grange is a good example of this class of monument, few of which survive on the less cultivated ground of the limestone Peak District. This example is important because of the survival of a diversity of features relating to settlement of the period and the incorporation of the foundations of an enclosure wall related to a medieval grange, located about 350m to the north, which is the subject of a separate scheduling. DETAILS The monument includes the remains of a building, interpreted as a farmhouse of the Romano-British period, together with associated terraces and fragments of enclosure walls. The farmstead is located at the edge of near-level ground, overlooking a dry limestone valley. The farmhouse building is now visible as a platform in unimproved ground. Partial excavation of the site during the 1980s revealed the post holes of a building on the platform. The building is also associated with orthostat (upright boulder) walls, indicating a domestic enclosure. To the north and east of the building platform are small stone-cleared and enhanced natural terraces together with earthen lynchets, indicating agricultural cultivation of the immediate area. Excavation and archaeological sampling during the 1980s revealed artefacts dating the settlement to the Romano-British period. In addition, quantities of prehistoric flints were found below the Romano-British levels. The construction of many walls in the immediate area includes constructional elements of both the Romano-British and medieval periods. To the south west of the settlement site is a semi-ruinous drystone wall of rugged construction. At least the foundation levels of the wall are interpreted to be of medieval date, which may also apply to some of the higher level courses of its construction. The area of protection includes the foundation levels of this wall where it adjoins the Romano-British period settlement. All fences, gates and posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath is included. The drystone wall to the south west of the settlement is also excluded from the scheduling, except for its foundation courses and the ground beneath them which are included together with a 2m margin. The wall foundations are included because of their origins in the Romano-British period. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Author: Hodges, R. - Title: Wall-to-wall History: the story of Roystone Grange - Date: 1991 - Type: DESC TEXT Book Reference - Author: Hodges, R. - Title: Wall-to-wall History: the story of Roystone Grange - Date: 1991 - Type: DESC TEXT