Topics > Cumbria > Rivers in Cumbria > River Esk ('the Border Esk') > River Lyne (Cumbria) > White Lyne > Medieval Shielings by the White Lyne > Two medieval shielings on south bank of White Lyne 230m north east of confluence with little Hare Grain
Two medieval shielings on south bank of White Lyne 230m north east of confluence with little Hare Grain
Scheduled Monument (#1016393): Two medieval shielings on south bank of White Lyne 230m north east of confluence with little Hare Grain
Click the headings below to expand (selected extracts from the Historic England scheduling)
The two medieval shielings on the south bank of the White Lyne 230m north east of its confluence with Little Hare Grain survive reasonably well and are part of a larger group of shielings sited amongst the uplands and along the river valleys and tributaries of north east Cumbria which, taken together, will add to our knowledge and understanding of the wider border settlement and economy during the medieval period.
The monument includes the upstanding and buried remains of two stone built medieval shielings located on the south bank of the White Lyne 230m north east of its confluence with Little Hare Grain. These shielings form part of a larger group of 24 shielings strung out for approximately 800m along the valley floor of the White Lyne which were surveyed by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England in 1970 prior to afforestation of the area.
The most prominent and best preserved of the shielings is also the later of the two. It has been constructed on the site of the earlier shieling and is a rectangular single-roomed hut measuring 7.6m by 3.4m with its long axis aligned east-west and walls up to 1.5m high. There is an entrance in the south side with an in situ reused threshold stone. Also on the south side is a small stone built windbreak, while on the east side there is a small annexe approximately 3.5m square. The earlier shieling survives as boulder footings beneath the north and south walls of the later shieling. It was the larger of the two, measures 11m by 4.9m, and extends east and south of the later shieling as a debris platform.
Documentary sources indicate that the Bewcastle Fells were first used by the Lords of Burgh on Solway in the 13th century to summer their cattle and build `shields and cabins'. This custom continued into the 17th century.
from https://historicengland.org.u…
Two medieval shielings on south bank of White Lyne 230m north east of confluence with little Hare Grain
- ....The two medieval shielings on the south bank of the White Lyne 230m north east of its confluence with Little Hare Grain survive reasonably well and are part of a …
Added by
Simon Cotterill
from https://historicengland.org.u…
Two medieval shielings on south bank of White Lyne 230m north east of confluence with little Hare Grain
- ....The two medieval shielings on the south bank of the White Lyne 230m north east of its confluence with Little Hare Grain survive reasonably well and are part of a …
Added by
Simon Cotterill
