Prior to the potential development of an area of land at Rakesmoor Lane, Barrow-in-Furness, Greenlane Archaeology was commissioned to carry out an archaeological desk-based assessment of the site. The known and unknown archaeological potential of the area has been assessed using various sources, including the Cumbria Historic Environment Record and early maps, and a site visit was carried out to make a brief assessment of the site. The work was undertaken in December 2025 and January 2026. The potential development area comprises an area of open fields on the northern edge of the urban area of Barrow-in-Furness, adjoining a recent housing development to the south, open fields to the north and east and Rakesmoor Lane to the west. The HER records a total of 11 sites of archaeological interest nearby, including stray finds of possible Neolithic and Bronze Age date, and some military structures associated with WWII. The wider area is known to have been occupied from the end of the last Ice Age onwards, with place-name evidence indicating settlement nearby in the early medieval period, and a park belonging to Furness Abbey during the medieval period. Archaeological work to the south-east revealed a range of features and structures dating from the Neolithic to the medieval period. The site boundary includes the location of a known WWII-era structure, with another close to its northern edge, as well as possible former gravel pits of post-medieval date and an area of ridge and furrow. Although these are all considered of low or low to medium significance, the results of the desk-based assessment suggest that the site has some potential for previously unknown archaeological remains to be present from earlier periods. Further assessment of these would be best achieved through geophysical survey and/or archaeological evaluation.
Dan Elsworth (2026) studied this question.