Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society 19 (series 3)

This short paper presents the results of an archaeological investigation undertaken in2016 by Wardell Armstrong on land at Fitz Park, near Cockermouth, Cumbria. Thework revealed evidence of an Iron Age oval enclosure overlain by a Romano-Britishfield system. This paper takes into account and briefly summarises for the first timethe unpublished investigations in the wider area around Derventio Roman fort and theRomano-British civilian settlement revealed through excavation during 2010-2014.

Following two seasons of excavations on a building to the south of the known Roman fort platform at Low Borrowbridge, Lunesdale Archaeology Society undertook a programme of non-intrusive investigation through topographical and geophysical surveys of the interior and immediate environs of the fort. The objective was to discover the state of preservation of internal structures, and to reveal the extent of any possible vicus remains outside the fort. Internally the footings of the central range of buildings are clear and demonstrate a layout similar to other, excavated forts of the late first and second century in the north of England. The surveys in the fields surrounding the fort platform failed to find evidence of a structured vicus, but did reveal a series of large rectangular ditched enclosures, which were subsequently excavated and dated to the first to second century, contemporaneous with the occupation of the fort.

This paper presents the results of archaeological investigations undertaken by Wardell Armstrong LLP on land at Fairhill, Penrith, Cumbria. The investigation at the site has provided the opportunity to examine a section of the Roman road between Brougham and Old Penrith, which revealed details of the road construction and evidence for the continued use of the route into the 18th century. The work also revealed evidence for roadside activity, which comprised a number of cobbled surfaces and several cut features. Whilst the exact function of this has been difficult to interpret, such activity located alongside Roman roads is not well documented within the region, particularly away from forts and major settlements. The findings of the investigation at Fairhill have provided important details about the route and will add to the growing body of literature on the Roman road infrastructure within the county.

Faulds Brow, north-west of Caldbeck, is a ridge of carboniferous limestone, running broadly west/east, to the north of the valley of the Whelpo Beck, which separates it from the northern Lake District fells. The highest point of the Brow is 343m (1125ft) and the ridge has extensive views of the northern fells and northwards across the Solway Firth to Criffel and the hills of Dumfries and Galloway. Between March and December 2017, the Northern Group of the Lake District National Park Archaeology Volunteers Network undertook a walkover survey of this area.

In an earlier article, the results of an archaeological and historical survey of, inter alia, a group of pillow mounds at Cunswick Hall were described. That survey provided a reference point for further research at five other sites in the former county of Westmorland where pillow mounds are recorded. The purpose of the research was to establish whether the mounds were once rabbit warrens and, if so, to date them. The research sets pillow mounds in their wider socio-economic context and relates the findings to other research in England and Wales. Of the five sites, one turned out not to have been a rabbit warren. Documentary evidence and/or physical characteristics suggest that the other four were warrens dating from the early post-medieval period. All appear to have fallen out of use by the second half of the 18th century.

This research accompanied a programme of cleaning of Sizergh Castle's tapestries undertaken by the property's National Trust Conservation Team in 2016. With the reopening of the property the following spring, the Library was displayed to visitors for the first time, and thus the tapestries became accessible to the public. This combination of factors provided the opportunity for this long-overdue assessment of the significance of the tapestries at Sizergh, both in situ and lost, which reveals much about the history of the castle and the resident Strickland family. It offers new insights into the development of the castle over the centuries and the ways in which it was regarded by its occupants. The author would like to thank Henry Hornyold-Strickland for permitting access to the Sizergh Castle muniments.

This article re-examines the 19th-century history of bobbin manufacture in the former counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire north of the sands, roughly the area of the Lake District. Centred in Furness, the earliest reference to the industry was in 1788, and its expansion was driven by the rapid growth of the Lancashire textile industry. Over the course of the 19th century more than 100 bobbin mills went into production, peaking around 1860 when about 60 mills were active. The industry was opportunistic; water power was readily available, and transport routes for the export of iron already existed. Coppiced woodland was the characteristic feature of the local landscape, and coppice poles were the principal raw material throughout the industry's history.

Edward Short of Warcop is one of two politicians raised in the upper Eden Valley who became significant figures in national government. He is also one of two politicians to have written a published autobiography devoted to his childhood. This paper considers the extent to which his formative years in rural North Westmorland made the public man. It suggests that his varied experiences of family, church and school were less positive influences on him than a deep sense of community that became his political lodestar. Entering politics through conventional Labour Party pathways, Ted Short earned, by virtue of his integrity, industry, understanding of colleagues and insistence on loyalty above all, peer respect and the trust of the leadership. He was a crucial stabilising influence in the governments of Harold Wilson, rising to the elected rank of deputy leader; and despite his abrupt rejection by James Callaghan he continued to figure in public life. The paper concludes that throughout Short's long career there were discernible North Westmorland footprints going beyond the truism that the child is father to the man.

This note discusses a recently discovered 13th century coin hoard from Yealand Redmayne, Lancashire. It summarises the contents of the hoard and places the coins in their historical context. The coin hoard was discovered in spring 2017 by two metal detectorists near Yealand Redmayne and contained 32 silver coins. The hoard was reported to Dr Dot Boughton, former Finds Liason Offi cer (FLO) for Lancashire and Cumbria and logged with the Treasure Number 2017T511. It was subsequently declared Treasure at the coroner's inquest. Lancashire County Museum Service has expressed an interested in acquiring the hoard.

This note examines proposals to build frigates for the navy at Piel Island in 1667. Contemporary topographical descriptions refer to the Pile of Fotheray as a harbour for ships in the 16th and 17th centuries. Based on a sketch of Walney Island and two surviving letters, it highlights the detailed surveying of the Walney Channel as a precursor to shipbuilding and the motives of Sir Thomas Strickland (1621-1694) and Edward Tyldesley (1635-1685), leading Royalists and Catholics who put forward the proposals. Whilst the ships were not built, it nevertheless suggests the ready availability of timber and the suitability of Piel Island as a location for naval shipbuilding as early as the 17th century.

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