This land mostly remained as a strip of common until the 18th century. It was then subject to substantial squatter occupation (Sykes 1993, 239). More dense occupation developed in the late 19th century and is shown on 1893 maps. The closely packed terraces were probably home to the mining population that replaced linen weaving as the dominant profession. Lots of these terraces have been knocked down. There are surviving older buildings amongst the terraces, particularly next to the school, these give fragmentary legibility of the earlier phase of building.