Poltross Burn (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
The King's Stables

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

OS Map Grid Reference: NY634661
Latitude 54.98899° Longitude -2.57351°

Poltross Burn has been described as a Bastle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are no visible remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Poltross Burn Milecastle (also known as Milecastle 48) on Hadrian's Wall. It is situated on the crest of the west bank of a steep gorge through, which the Poltross Burn, tributary of the River Irving, flows. The milecastle survives as consolidated masonry remains and measures internally 21.5 metres north-south by 18.7 metres across. The walls were built to the broad gauge, initially envisaged for the whole of Hadrian's Wall before a change of plan and narrowing of the width, and the wing walls extend 4 metres either side of the milecastle. The milecastle was excavated in 1886 by R. S. Ferguson and between 1909 and 1911 by F. G. Simpson and J. P. Gibson. These excavations uncovered a range of features including the gateways of the milecastle. The lower courses of a flight of steps were found in the north east corner, suggesting that the rampart walk stood 3.7 metres above ground with the battlements adding further height. An oven was located in the north west angle. Flanking the central space of the milecastle stood long barrack blocks, which are believed to have had more than one phase of construction. Further excavations were undertaken at the milecastle by D. Charlesworth between 1965 and 1966. (PastScape)

There is no evidence that the Wall was reused {in the C16}, but perhaps the Milecastles were. Although there is no direct evidence the Milecastles would have made convenient barmkins.
No medieval finds reported. (Perriam and Robinson 1998)

Comments

Listed as a possible stonehouse site by Perriam and Robinson. No mention of possible bastle in PastScape record. Scheduled but possible stonehouse not mentioned in scheduling report. Perriam and Robinson term 'stonehouse' is used for small but thick-walled houses but not of a strict pele-house form, usually because the ground floor was residential rather than a byre house.
A well excavated site (The Gibson and Simpson 1911 excavation report is notable good) but the excavations were done in the early C20 by people interested in the Roman remains and it may well be they totally ignored anything not Roman.
The name 'King's Stables' possibly comes from the superficial resemblance of the Roman barracks to a stable. This argues against early modern buildings overlying (and making invisible) these remains.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1015923, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 26072
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 13969.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 325 (Roman milecastle).

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- English Heritage
  TouTube Video
  Old Cumbria Gazetteer
Books
- Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 133
  Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 13) p. 422 (general suggestion of reuse of Roman milecastle sites in C16)
Periodical Articles
- Charlesworth, D., 1967, 'Notes' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 67 p. 234-5 (Roman) online copy
  Gibson, J.P. and Simpson, F.G., 1911, 'The Milecastle on the Wall of Hadrian at the Poltross Burn' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 11 p. 390-461 online copy

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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.

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