Land at Long Green Head Farm, Troutbeck, Windermere: Archaeological Survey

The agricultural tenants at Long Green Head Farm, Troutbeck, have expressed their interest to explore entry into Countryside Stewardship and have worked with the National Trust and Natural England on a draft options plan. Greenlane Archaeology was commissioned to carry out an archaeological survey to identify and assess the condition of heritage assets on the stretches of land within the agricultural tenancy of Long Green Head Farm. This initially comprised a desk-based assessment element, which principally comprised an examination of early maps of the area, but also a consultation of the relevant HER/HBSMR data, and then a walkover survey of the whole area in order to identify any previously unknown sites of archaeological interest and examine those that were already known. The survey area is spread over c4.35km2. Early maps show that it had taken on much of its current form by the middle of the 19th century, and only eight sites of archaeological interest were already recorded within the area, ranging from slate quarries to agricultural structures such as sheepfolds, and reflecting the typical economies of the local area. The wider area is known to have been occupied from early in the prehistoric period, although direct evidence for more permanent settlement in the central Lake District tends not to be apparent until the Bronze Age, when upland areas seem to have been improved and enclosed. The immediate area contains settlements of probable late prehistoric to Romano-British date, with the only known site of Roman date being the line of the High Street roman road, which connected the fort at Ambleside to that at Brougham near Penrith, crossing the high fells to the north of the survey area. Evidence for early medieval activity in the area is limited, although the north-east edge of the site is close to the location of a settlement at Bryant's Gill, which was excavated and revealed occupation in the early medieval period, preceding and then leading into the era of Norse occupation of the region. Place-name evidence for the wider area shows a range of influences in the period, with the earliest references to settlement in the Troutbeck area being found in the medieval period. The valley was dominated by the presence of a substantial hunting park, situated immediately to the north-west of the survey area, during this period, which existed until the 16th century. After this the area, although predominately agricultural in character, was dominated by two important local industries: charcoal burning and slate quarrying. The former probably largely developed in the early 18th century to supply the nearby blast furnaces that were producing iron, although this occurred earlier, while the quarries were certainly in existence from the later part of the 18th century and continued into the 19th. The walkover survey identified 39 sites within the area, including the eight that were already known. These ranged from a possible burnt mound, of probable Bronze Age date, to further sheep folds and quarries, as well as cairns of various dates. None of the sites identified are statutorily protected as Listed Buildings or Scheduled Monuments and all are considered to be of relatively low to medium significance. Their condition was generally relatively good, although a few cases were worse, with the general threat to them either erosion caused by sheep, or general degradation of fabric. In many cases further investigation, either through more detailed survey or other work such as excavation or even geophysical survey, would be necessary in order to better understand them.