Monument record MDR1467 - Field System and house platforms, Banktop, Hartington Town Quarter
Type and Period (3)
- HOUSE PLATFORM (Roman to Medieval - 43 AD to 1539 AD)
- ENCLOSURE (Roman to Medieval - 43 AD to 1539 AD)
- FIELD SYSTEM (Roman to Medieval - 43 AD to 1539 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
SK 129 619 to SK 129 621. Two small rectangular enclosures ("houses") backed by limestone cliff.
SK 129 619 to SK 126 614. Farmstead complex and field banks. (Flat disc-quern of (erratic) Shap granite). (Listed under Roman). Fragments of stone walling survive, suggesting a medieval or even modern date for the system. (1)
Enclosures, small folds and probable farm buildings sites were observed. These indicate late medieval pastoral usage, which is not of archaeological interest in an area still devoted to small scale sheep and dairy farming. (2)
Aerial photographs show old field banks. (4)
This ancient field system is one of the best and most extensive examples on the Limestone Plateau of the Peak District. It occupies sloping and relatively rocky shelves on the upper valley-side and has survived destruction by subsequent clearance and cultivation because this land would be difficult to divide into larger fields that could then be improved. Several sites of timber buildings and of yards can be recognised and between two and four house sites are identifiable, each with sub-rectangular platforms. The majority of the ancient fields are narrow cultivation strips of c.15-25 cm width. No excavation has been undertaken at the field system to investigate its date and function and the only artefact recorded from this area is a granite disc quern found by Makepeace and now in Sheffield Museum. The latest period that these fields could date from is the medieval. However, it could be argued that this land is likely to have remained uncultivated at that time and that the dispersed farmstead platforms found here are not characteristic of the medieval period. Thus it may well be that the system is substantially earlier, probably with the main (if not only) period of use being in Romano-British times (with the possibility of earlier origins). (6)
An area of probable Romano-British settlement and fields was surveyed in 1999. Components that were visible included dispersed building platforms, lynchets, stone banks, double ortostatic walls, rectilinear enclosures and clearance cairns. (7)
Sources/Archives (7)
- <1> SDR8472 Article in serial: Makepeace, G & Butcher, L. 1962. East Midlands Archaeology Bulletin, 1962.
- <2> SDR6315 Personal Observation: 1966. F1 FRH.
- <3> SDR10519 Index: NDAT. 1141. 1141.
- <4> SDR20172 Aerial Photograph: 1951. APs 540/568/4036-7.
- <5> SDR18971 Photograph: Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA). Slide Collection. 7030.1.
- <6> SDR19188 Unpublished document: Barnatt, J (PDNPA). 1991. Bank Top Farm, Hartington Town Quarter, Derbyshire, archaeological survey 1991. SMR Doc. No. 57, Features 3 & 4.
- <7> SDR19428 Unpublished document: Bevan, B (PDNPA). 2000. Peak District Romano-British Rural Upland Settlement Survey, 1998-1000. 3 vols.. Site 74a and b.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 127 620 (652m by 1186m) (Centred on) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | HARTINGTON TOWN QUARTER, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
- EDR3728
- EDR1173
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Nov 28 2016 4:01PM