On this page are reports, in reverse chronological order, on talks that were given at SWAAG monthly meetings in 2026. To jump to any one report, click the relevant link:
May – ‘Romans in Swaledale (?)’ by Alan Mills.
Apr – ‘Blanchland Abbey’, by Dr Rob Young.
Mar – ‘At the edges of prehistoric domains: the evolution of ‘thin’ and ‘niggardly’ Domesday Fremington and bountiful Domesday Marrick’, by Perry Gardner.
Feb – Battle of Towton, 1461, by Alex Walsh, Chairman of the Towton Battlefield Trust
Jan – Highlights of Peruvian Archaeology, by Jane Harrison
May – ‘Romans in Swaledale (?)’ by Alan Mills.
Whilst the Romans had a presence in northern England, is there any evidence of their occupation in Swaledale? Our speaker Alan Mills, a founder member and trustee of SWAAG, considered this question in his presentation. He emphasised that he was looking for evidence of the occupying Roman forces rather than the native Romano-British people.
He began by looking at settlement and agriculture. Whilst there are Romano-British settlements dating from the period of Roman occupation, there are no forts or prestigious residences in Swaledale. The nearest known estate villa was at Aiskew, near Bedale. It was discovered during the construction of the bypass in 2013. The nearest Roman forts were at Bainbridge, Greta Bridge, Bowes and Catterick, although Fieldhouse and Jennings have suggested there may have been a small fort in Reeth, now covered by housing. Test pits dug by SWAAG during the Big Dig (2014-2015) provided little evidence to support this idea.
Although excavations at Healaugh and The Hagg have provided evidence of Romano-British economic activity, there is limited evidence that the Romans exploited any of the dale’s resources. Given the Roman demand for lead, it seems surprising. Two “pigs” or ingots of lead have been found in Swaledale. One was found in Hurst, in 1847, and allegedly sent to the British Museum. However, there is no record in the accessions book, so its whereabouts is unknown. Perhaps it suffered the same fate as a pig discovered at Crackpot Gill c.1870, which was apparently melted down to repair a gatepost! If the ingots did exist, where did they come from? Any Roman mines at Hurst could have been destroyed by later mining activity. This might also be the case at Crackpot, where there are later lead mines and bale sites.
Most lead pigs in Britain have been found near Roman roads suggesting they were lost in transit. Perhaps that could apply to the Swaledale pigs too? Other British Roman lead mines, as well as gold and silver mines, are located close to Roman forts as soldiers were needed to oversee the workforce of skilled artisans and convicts. Mines at Crackpot could possibly have been supervised by soldiers based in Bainbridge, 6 miles away, but Hurst is over 12 miles from the nearest fort at Catterick. Andrew Fleming believes that there were Roman lead mines at Hurst and that a Roman road ran from there to Ulshaw Bridge, on the River Ure, in Wensleydale. The silver content of lead ore was important to the Romans. They referred to it as “British Silver”. Perhaps the lower silver content of Swaledale lead ore made it less attractive to mine than elsewhere in Britain.
Finds from Swaledale point to local Roman presence. A hoard of Roman cavalry horse fittings was found in Fremington in the early 19th century and a hoard of 62 Roman denarii was found at Scarr House, in Swale House Lane, in 1988. A silver denarius depicting Marcus Aurelius Antonius, known as Caracalla, was found during SWAAG’s dig on The Hagg.
Other finds from The Hagg suggest a close Roman presence, in particular a silver and partly gilded copper alloy brooch which would have belonged to a relatively high-status individual. Large numbers of Trapain-Law type querns were also found, which elsewhere in northern England have a strong link with the Roman military and the Roman road network. A crossbow brooch, a cosmetic tablet and small amounts of Samian ware and mortaria were also recovered from the site. None of these finds are conclusive of Roman rather than Romano-British presence. Possibly retired Roman soldiers were living in the area.
The Romans were definitely moving through Swaledale. They built at least two roads. A Roman road running from Bainbridge to Barnard Castle was depicted on maps from the 18th century onwards but its route was only confirmed in 2012 when Hugh Toller used LiDAR evidence. After a light dusting of snow in 2015, Alan, Judith Mills and Peter Denison-Edson, also identified part of the aggar running across The Stang.
The purpose of the road, which probably ran to Bowes rather than Barnard Castle, is unknown. It links the forts at Bainbridge and Bowes, although at a distance of about 16 miles it would have been a long day’s march. Was its purpose to take goods such as lead, wool, livestock and grain from Swaledale? More recently, a further section of Roman road was discovered at Thwaite, during the laying of the West Stonesdale water pipeline. The purpose of that section of road is even less obvious. More investigation is clearly needed.
The existence of a Roman signal station at Grinton has also been suggested, although perhaps some what tongue in cheek. Perhaps the forthcoming SWAAG excavation on Grinton East Mound will provide supporting evidence!
Alan concluded that whilst the Romans built roads in Swaledale, it was unlikely there were any Roman settlements, forts or fortlets in Swaledale and that so far there is no evidence of Roman lead mining or other economic activity. However, as Alan pointed out “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”. There may well be more to discover.
J. H.
April – ‘Blanchland Abbey’, by Dr Rob Young.
Following retirement from his role as English Heritage Inspector of Ancient Monuments for the North-East of England, Dr Rob Young has worked with organisations such as Altogether Archaeology and the Blanchland Community Project. Rob became involved with the latter when Blanchland Abbey sought to install underfloor heating and expand facilities. As the church is a Grade 1 listed building, and the churchyard is a scheduled monument, an archaeological evaluation was required in advance of any improvement.
Blanchland Abbey has a history that goes back to the 12th century. What remains at surface level today is only a tiny part of the monastery established for Premonstratensian canons in 1165. The present church is a fraction of the original building which was the size of a cathedral with a cloister and outbuildings. It became part of the Lord Crewe estate in 1704.
Geophysical resistivity surveys were carried out and revealed linear features running north- south across the site. Four small trenches were excavated – three in the church and one in the churchyard. The excavations in 2023 revealed a system of culverts covered by large stone slabs. Their exact purpose is unknown. Did they drain the site or maybe even serve as acoustic chambers, as has been suggested for linear features found at Whalley Abbey?
Dating these underfloor features has proved problematic. Various artefacts have been recovered, ranging from late 15th/early 16th century Cistercian pottery to 19th century creamware. There was a jumble of broken tiles, pieces of medieval glass and pieces of sheep bone which were possibly roof pegs. None was found in a dateable context.
Further excavations took place in 2024, when accessible access to the church was being considered. Seven test pits, on the path leading to the church, revealed further archaeology just below the surface. The excavation also looked at a soak-way/drain running along the outside wall of the church. This revealed another culvert with massive capstones which might be medieval in date.
It is impossible to cover everything in Rob’s fascinating talk. More information about the history of the site and the excavations is available on the Blanchland Community website.
J. H.
March – ‘At the edges of prehistoric domains: the evolution of ‘thin’ and ‘niggardly’ Domesday Fremington and bountiful Domesday Marrick’, by Perry Gardner.
At the time of the Domesday Book (1086AD) Fremington’s value was one of the very lowest in the North Pennine area, while Marrick’s was one of the highest of all. Using a wide range of analytic techniques and sources, Perry will consider the evolution of the two settlements, identifying the roots of Marrick’s decline into a ‘remote’, ‘marginal’ upland village.
The speaker has used a number of analytical techniques to follow the evolution of the two settlements. He also linked a previous talk on Boundaries in Swaledale to the analysis for this report.
Fremington – exhibited the preservation of prehistoric land use and appears impoverished.
Marrick – post Roman innovation indigenous people / or incomers, and was bountiful in 1096.
Suggestions from the author’s other research:
Fremington – a hybrid space on the edge of an early Bronze Age territory. In C6 coalesced into a version of the current township.
Marrick – a fractured space, a trading zone, that evolved into a version of a modern township under incoming Germanic influences and flourished.
The techniques and research have looked at long term patterns of land use across the settlements:
Groups of field names – indicating use / examples linked to stock rearing / features that indicate under lying geographical features.
Groups of place names
Spatial Syntax analysis – how do spaces connect, what are the spaces used for, how are resources shared.
Limitations of these systems are the maps (1800’s) vs medieval layout – are we looking at the relics of a previous settlement and land use.
Fremington may have been better organised for moving cattle and having access to quarries. It has a lowland connection to Richmond, therefore could provide stone and lead for building – eg Count Alan building of Richmond.
Marrick (Mange in Domesday book) – could indicate the trading of salves (Mango – slave trader) Romans employed slaves in the lead mining. When given to Gospatric (Earl of Northumberland) was described as “very valuable”. Suggesting this may have been a trading zone, simply moving goods across / through, not an organised settlement.
Marrick may have also been derived from Meark / Mare / horse – may be from the supply of pack or draft horses, again could be a link to trading.
The name change from Mange to Marrick was rapid, possibly linked to the conflict between the Priory and the Aske family, causing fragmentation of the settlement. There may also be a connection to coppiced woodland – providing a key crop for many industries, coppice is connected to many local names.
NOTE: raised by a member of the audience – there is a suggestion that Mange arose as a transcription error, conflating the ri of Marige into n!
February – The Battle of Towton, 1461, by Alex Walsh, Chairman of the Towton Battlefield Trust
The battle took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire. Yorkist forces decisively defeated Lancastrian supporters of Henry VI, securing the English throne for Edward IV.
Alex endeavoured to answer the question: Was this really the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil?
Alex covered some of the differing views on the nature and scale of the battle as well as its significance within Medieval English history.
Until recent history the Wars of the Roses were considered a “Civil War” between the supporters of the Lancastrian House of Tudor (Henry VI) and supporters of the House of York (The Duke of York). During this period (1453 to 1487) the throne saw six changes of monarch.
Alex outlined the history of Henry VI and the Duke of York up to March 1461. At this point there were two monarchs claiming the throne, although at this point Edward, son of the Duke of York was not crowned.
Yorkist Troops moving north in March 1461, had their first encounter with the Lancastrian army at Ferrybridge, there was a short battle for the crossing point of the River Aire. The Yorkist troops won and continued their march north towards the Lancastrian troops now massing at Towton.
The Yorkist army continued to move North and were at Dintingdale / Saxton around midday.
The Lancastrian forces were encamped on the top of the plateau, the Yorkist forces having to move uphill. Initial engagement was from the archers, followed by hand to hand combat. The Lancastrian forces collapsed on the arrival of the Duke of Norfolk, and were forced back to York.
Documentary evidence is limited and is dependant on who has written the account. These records include:
The Rose of Rouen – a contemporary account of the battle as viewed by the Yorkist supporters. This records the battle as lasting just 1 hour.
Parliament Roll – written on the 4 Nov 1461
Paston Letters
Casualties from these records can range from 20,000 to 38,000, (The Rose of Rouen – estimate 27,000). Modern estimates are 2800 to 10,000.
Grave pits have been uncovered under Towton Hall. 37 bodies recovered from beneath the floor of the dining room were studied by Bradford University. The victims were aged between 16 and 50. They had a total of 113 wounds over 27 skulls, averaging 4 heads / skull. In particular the individual known as Towton 16, had suffered a previous serious facial injury.
Thus, there seems to be little evidence of mass burials; however It was claimed in later years that Richard III had the bodies on the Yorkist soldiers moved to the churchyard at Saxton.
The battle of Towton is now considered the turning point of the Wars of the Roses but was it really the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil, maybe not. Despite a significan tnumber of high standing Lancastrian leaders being killed the conflict did not end until 1485/7, following the defeat of Richard III by Henry Tudor at Bosworth.
AJ
January – Highlights of Peruvian Archaeology, by Jane Harrison
Following her visit to Peru, SWAAG member Jane Harrison gave a Zoom presentation on pre-Hispanic societies. She used her photographs to talk about selected highlights of the archaeological record.
The Americas were first populated by nomadic hunter-gathers, who crossed a land bridge that existed between present day Siberia and Alaska during the Last Glacial Maximum. People first reached Peru over 15,000 years ago. The societies and civilisations that emerged there developed independently from those in the ‘Old World’ until the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 1530s.
Geographically Peru has a diversity of landscapes and climates. Prehistoric settlers faced the challenges of oceans, deserts, mountains and jungles as well as natural hazards, such as droughts, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. They adapted to live in those harsh environments by using astronomy to predict seasonal changes and by developing sophisticated systems of irrigation and terracing to increase their food supply. Their views about life and death were strongly linked to the natural world.
As well as outlining the development of Peruvian societies and cultures, Jane looked at some of the beautiful pottery, textiles, jewellery and metalwork which she saw in museums in Lima and Nazca and more recently, London. She finished by looking at some of the achievements of the Inca Empire, focussing on the 40,000 km “Royal Road” system and the massive building programmes at sites such as Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo, which were constructed using stone and copper tools.
J. H.
