Scheduled MonumentsEnglandBewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle

Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle

England
List entry 1015728
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1015728
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
3.91 hectares
Grid reference
NY 56537 74599
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Bewcastle Roman fort is a fortified installation of the Roman occupation of Britain, situated in the parish of Bewcastle in Cumberland. The fort was established during the second century AD as part of the defensive network along the frontiers of Roman-controlled territory in northern England. The site contains structural remains and archaeological deposits indicative of its long period of use and abandonment. The High Cross shaft in the adjoining churchyard of St Cuthbert is an Anglo-Saxon carved stone monument, likely dating to the seventh or eighth century, which represents an important survival of early medieval Christian monumental art in northern England. Bew Castle itself is a medieval fortified structure comprising a shell keep, a defensive form characteristic of Norman and medieval castle architecture, which would have been constructed to command the local landscape and provide protection for the surrounding settlement. The castle's stone construction and defensive design reflect the importance of the site in controlling access through the Border country during the medieval period.

Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1015728. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle?

Bewcastle Roman fort is a fortified installation of the Roman occupation of Britain, situated in the parish of Bewcastle in Cumberland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1015728.

Who is responsible for protecting Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle?

Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1015728.

What other scheduled monuments are near Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Medieval dispersed settlement at Askerton Park 170m WSW of Parkgate Bridge (4.2 km), RAF Spadeadam: British Oxygen Corporation Air Separation Plant (6.4 km), Romano-British farmstead and post-medieval farmstead at Watch Hill (7.7 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle

Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle stands on Inverclyde Group, bedrock that formed in the Osagean. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

The wider landscape

Around Bewcastle Roman fort, high cross shaft in St Cuthbert's churchyard, and Bew Castle medieval shell keep castle

Hadrian's WallArchaeological site · ~17.1 milesBattle of Solway Moss 1542Battle (1542) · ~12.2 milesBattle of SarkBattle (1448) · ~16.3 miles