More information : [NY 4854 4627] Castle Hewen [G.T.] (Site of) (1)
The foundations of Castle Hewin in 1794 were in places 8 ft. thick, and one building was 233 ft. x 147 ft. It was situated on the top of
a ridge adjoining Aiketgate, and there were outer defences and long extended trenches.
Leyland (circ. 1533) refers to the ruined Castle Hewen, which was probably a Mediaeval stronghold. The site has been ploughed out and the only trace is a depression near the summit. (2)
Listed by Cathcart King. (3)
Excavated in 1978-9 by Tom Clare, the only finds were Romano-British. An interim report in typescript is in Carlisle Library. (4)
At the given location (NY4854 4627) the air photos and lidar imagery shows an area of indistinct earthworks. This spot is on a narrow north-west to south-east aligned ridge of Basaltic-andesite associated with the Armathwaite-Cleveland Dyke. The earthworks are very low and well-rounded and no indication of a standing structure was observed however the area is traversed by a north-west to south-east hollow. This is possibly the ‘slack’ mentioned T B H Graham in 1909 “but when the crop is removed a depression in the surface of the ground near the summit is distinctly visible, and out of it leads a shallow ‘slack’ or hollow which, …, runs down the skirt of the hill towards the road†(see source 2). The HER record gives more detail regarding Clare's excavation than the brief statement in Source 4, noting the presence of an earlier native settlement in the form of two circular huts, Roman rectangular buildings, within a defended hill top enclosure. Based on this evidence and that of the air photos and lidar imagery the hollow is likely to be part of a more extensive Iron Age or Roman period trackway and is recorded in UID1601481. (5-6)
Photographs taken in 1978 show these excavations in progress, through unfortunately there is insufficient information to postion them accurately. (7)
|