GATEHOUSE
The comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales, the Islands.
 
 
Home
The listings
Other Info
Books
Links
Downloads
Contact
 
Print Page 
 
Next Record 
Previous Record 
Back to list 

Great Orton Dyke

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Barrass Gate; Ringfence

In the civil parish of Orton.
In the historic county of Cumberland.
Modern Authority of Cumbria.
1974 county of Cumbria.
Medieval County of Cumberland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY32745473
Latitude 54.88278° Longitude -3.04990°

Great Orton Dyke has been described as a Urban Defence although is doubtful that it was such.

There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains.

Description

"At the extermity of a lane that extends 300yds northward of the village is a large foss or double ditch, where an iron chain went across the road and was locked every night, called Barass Gate, made as a defence against the frequent incursions of the Scots or Moss Troopers. The entrance from the east had a similar defence and the whole parish was surrounded with a ditch and an embankment, called the Ringfence." (Whellan)

The whole parish (?village) of Great Orton was at one time enclosed by a ditch and rampart, called the Ring Fence, agains the Scots or Moss Troopers.
North of the village is a large fosse or double ditch (at) Barrass
Gate where an iron chain was stretched across the road every night. The entrance to the village from the east had a similar defence (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Object Name Book).
Collingwood mentions "remains of rampart" here (For other Gates see NY 35 SE 8 & 9).
There are no visible remains of a ditch or rampart at Barrass Gate, or anywhere else in the vicinity of Great Orton (F1 BHP 17-NOV-69). (PastScape)
Comments

Some reports that it still survives in places, although PastScape writes no traces. The line of ditch is not obvious in the modern field pattern, although the medieval field layout can be traced with almost textbook clarity. Even if the ditch just surrounded the village (and the suggestion is it surrounded the parish) it could not have garrisoned - even in an emergency - with sufficient personnel to defend against a significant raid and the mention of it as a defence against the Scots is romantic fantasy. The possibility of a ditched hedge for stock control is not unreasonable.
Links to archaeological and architectural databases, mapping and other online resources

Data >
PastScape   County HER            
Maps >
Streetmap   NLS maps   Where's the path   Old-Maps      
Data/Maps > 
Magic   V. O. B.   Geology   LiDAR   Open Domesday  
Air Photos > 
Bing Maps   Google Maps   Getmapping   ZoomEarth      
Photos >
CastleFacts   Geograph   Flickr   Panoramio      

Sources of information, references and further reading
Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.
It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.
The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.
The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.
Please help to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting Gatehouse if you see errors, can add information or have suggestions for improvements in functality and design.
Help is acknowledged.
This record last updated 26/07/2017 09:21:52

Home | Books | Links | Fortifications and Castles | Other Information | Help | Downloads | Author Information | Contact
¤¤¤¤¤