Breamish Valley hillforts and history
- Mar 30
- 5 min read
The Breamish Valley is located Northumberland, along the Breamish River. It has been a site of human activity from the Mesolithic to the present day, and contains many interesting archaeological sites which illustrate the rich tapestry of life in Northumberland over the centuries. Many of these sites can be visited following the National Park's Hillfort Trail, which inspired the route that we walked recently.
Many of the Breamish Valley walks start in the village of Ingram (1), which comprises of several holiday cottages and farms, a visitors centre and a café. The church, dedicated to St Michael and All Angels, dates back to before the Norman conquest, however, not much of the first church is remaining. The oldest remaining part of the building is the base section of the tower, dating to the 12th century. In medieval times the church was larger, with two chantry chapels, wide north and south aisles and a much larger chancel. However, it was badly damaged several times during the Border Wars in the 14th-16th centuries, and in 1792 the impoverished community eventually decided to tear down part of it (the south aisle, the porch, and chantry chapel) to avoid costly repairs. The church underwent a restoration in 1879, funded by Rector James Allgood in memory of his wife and two of their sons who died in a tragic train accident in Huntingdonshire in 1876.
Ingram together with the neighbouring Fawdon, Hartside and Reaveley are recorded as separate localities (townships) in the feudal aid of 1242, published in ‘the Book of Fees’ (Liber Feodorum II, 1117-8). Selected Sources and Surveys no.1), and the archaeology in the valley gives us some idea about the medieval activity in the area. For example, if you look across the river from Ingram you can see a great example of the medieval cultivation terraces on Heddon Hill, and there are several settlements nearby and well preserved remains of a medieval village west of Dunmoor Hill that are worth a visit. However, human occupation of the area dates much further back, with recent discoveries of Mesolithic and Neolithic activity including flint tools and Neolithic and Early Bronze Age pottery in a timber-lined burial pit at Wether Hill, and the numerous Bronze Age round cairns. These funerary cairns are between 5m to 10m in diameter and several excavations uncovered cremated bodies, many of these infants, as well as a flint tool and part of a Bronze Age pot.
Several types of Bronze and Iron Age settlements and forts have been found in the area. The multivallate Iron Age hillforts that Northumberland is famous for were mostly constructed and occupied between the sixth century BC and the mid-first century AD, and are generally regarded as settlements of high status, occupied on a permanent basis. The unenclosed settlements of hut circles date to the Bronze Age and are often associated with nearby field systems and cairns, and there are also smaller palisaded Iron Age settlements, and several Romano-British enclosed settlements or farms in the valley.
The multivallate hillfort on top of Castle Knowe (2), south east of Ingram, is a classic example of its kind. The three roughly concentric ramparts were formed by scarping the natural slope and stand to a maximum height of 2.8m externally and 0.9m internally. There are three entrances, to the east, north and south, with the one to the east considered the original entrance. Remains of at least 7 huts, 3.8m to 8.4m in diameter, are visible inside the fort. Gibb's Hill fort (3) lies to the south of Castle Knowe and is describes as a settlement with potentially unfinished ramparts containing hut circles and a potential quarry.
The nearby Old Fawdon Hill (4) provides a great vantage point to observe the ramparts and structures on Castle Knowe and Gibb's Hill. It is also one of the hills in the Cheviot 99 challenge, one of Northumberland's trig points, and a site of an Iron Age defended settlement surrounded by a low earthwork with at least 61 hut circles 4-12m in diameter inside the enclosure. These are not easy to make out, however, outlines of 48 of these and some of the ramparts can still be seen. Below and south of the hill lies Chubden Camp (5), a defended Iron Age settlement with three ramparts partially destroyed by later farming and at least 3 hut circles 4.5-8.5m in diameter still visible. The original entrance was to the east, but there are modifications to the walls suggesting later occupation.
The defended settlement (a bivallate fort) on Wether Hill (6) was originally palisaded and is about 70m in diameter, with two ramparts built of stone and earth. It contains remains of at least 17 timber-built roundhouses and three stone-built houses. The bivallate fort of Middle Dean (7) nearby is another defended settlement in the area, built on a cliff edge to use the ravine to the south east side as natural protection. The ramparts are made of stone and earth, and up to 2m high and 6m wide. Five circular hut platforms 7-10m in diameter have been found in the interior.
The multivallate fort of Bough Law (8) rises over the Breamish Valley and is easily accessible from the Bulby's Wood car park. It measures 68m by 54m, enclosing 0.32ha. The defences are built of stone, with the outer defence largely robbed of stone and not easy to discern. Remains of three, possibly four, turf-covered stone-founded hut circles between 5-8m in diameter have been found inside the fort. These have been excavated in 1861 by Tate who recorded charred wood, fragments of pottery (later identified as possibly Votadinian (1-700 AD)), c. 2nd century Roman pottery and an iron knife, possibly Saxon. A later excavation by Jobey in 1970 carbon dated some of the finds in the huts to 245 BC +/- 90 BC, and carbon dating of finds from within the ramparts dates the fort construction to 335-155 BC.
From these stories and evidence of other hill forts and settlements in the area emerges a picture of a vibrant community inhabiting the Breamish Valley. However, the Iron Age hill forts in general remain a bit of an enigma. Most of the hillforts are relatively small, with 5-20 hut circle platforms found inside (and sometimes no huts found at all), however, large forts have also been found in the North East - for example Hownam Law in the Scottish Borders that contains 187 hut platforms and two man made water ponds. Many of the hillforts follow earlier Bronze Age or even Neolithic occupation as evidenced by nearby funerary cairn finds and sometimes the proximity of cup and ring stones, suggesting that the sites had cultural or religious importance. Were some of them continued ritual sites rather than dwellings? Or maybe they were symbols of status, or dwellings of priests and tribal administration? Whilst solid hut walls and platforms suggest extended occupation rather than temporary dwellings, very few hillforts have direct access to water, with springs and steams located in the valleys below or sometimes quite a walk away. It is possible that the inhabitants used artificial means of collecting rain water, or perhaps the hill forts played a more defensive role and were only used in times of war? Here's an interesting lecture based on an Iron Age hillfort in Eildon Hills in the Scottish Borders that explores these ideas:
There are more sites to explore in the Breamish Valley, including the mediaeval village east of the Cunyan Crags, the Roman camp of Greaves Ash, the Bronze Age cairn cemetery on Reaveley Hill, and the ancient settlements on Hartside Hill. We will cover them in another walk and a blog post soon.
Sources:
Our walk route:
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