Birkrigg Common, Prehistoric Landscape to Quaker Burial Ground

Set to the East of Urswick village stretches Birkrigg Common, a vast amount of scrubland and limestone outcrops free for the public to explore. Well used by walkers and cyclists the Common has much to offer including an ancient past hidden amongst the bracken. Throughout Neolithic times and into the Bronze Age (roughly 4000BC to around 2500BC) the site of Birkrigg was used for ritual and funeral activity. The remains of some of this activity can still be seen today, some being much more obvious than others.

To help you locate the different features there is a handy aerial plan at the bottom of the page. Much more efficient than trying to list directions!

One of the most evident pieces of ritual activity at Birkrigg is the wonderful stone circle that lies to the far east of the common. The circle consists of a ring ditch with an outer and inner circle of stones. The inner circle is clear to see but the outer circle is a little more sparse, although you can still determine where it was. The stone circle dates back to the Bronze Age period in Britain and was used throughout that time. It was also modified through out its life; the interiors of these concentric circles were paved with cobbles at some point and there were several cremations deposited within its boundaries. Although this stone circle is plain to see there once was another on Birkrigg that is no longer visible, not as a circle of stones anyway.

A ridge runs along the highest point of the common with limestone outcrops lining either side and upon this ridge are the remains of a Bronze Age burial cairn. In Neolithic times a stone circle stood here. The circle was at some point in filled and became a location for the deposition of various items. Later, in the early Bronze Age, it was covered by the cairn that is visible today. Two bodies were buried in this cairn that now looks like nothing more than a small mound (see left).

There are three other burial cairns that can be found along the ridge as well. These cairns aren't quite as noticeable as the one above but they can still be found if you look hard enough. They are of a similar size and shape to the pictured but some are covered in bracken and longer grass.

Across the road you can see a Disc Barrow, another Neolithic Monument. This raised earth platform with an inner ditch would have been used for burials and forms quite an impressive structure. (see right)

Elsewhere on the common there is evidence of more Bronze Age activity. To the North East of Birkrigg there is an area known as Appleby Slacks. Here there is a large circular enclosure, it can just about be seen amongst the bracken with a raised earth perimeter and a sunken interior. During archeological excavations in the past three hut circles have been found with in the enclosure suggesting domestic settlement. Near to the enclosure there is also a Late Bronze Age bowl barrow. When excavated the barrow was found to contain three cremation urns along with several flint objects believed to date to the Late Bronze Age.

There are so many other prehistoric sites dotted around Birkrigg, many difficult to find, but several can easily be seen! If you visit the common you should definitely take the time to visit the stone circle. It may not be the scale of Stonehenge but it is certainly worth a look!

As well as all the prehistoric heritage that covers the common there is also some later history hidden off the beaten track. In a period between 1654 and 1767 a total of 227 people were buried in a plot of land adjacent to the farm on Birkrigg. Enclosed by four limestone walls the land today look like nothing more than a field but it is, in fact, the burial ground of many local Quakers. Amongst the people buried here there is a woman by the name of Margaret Fox. She was born in Dalton-in-Furness in 1614 and later married the Barrister Thomas Fell, this made her the Lady of Swarthmoor Hall. She went on to be a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers. Swarthmoor Hall became a center for Quaker activity and Margaret retained control of the Hall after her husband's death. She went on to marry George Fox, another founding member of the Quakers. Upon her death in 1702 she was buried among Friends at the burial ground on Birkrigg. If you wish to visit the burial ground it can be easily found just off the road before the farm yard on your way to Sea Wood.

 

Now, just for fun here's a little bit of local folk law. It is believed that sometime in the past a traveling circus came to town. An elephant was part of this circus and while here the elephant unfortunately passed away. It is rumored that one night the circus folk dragged the elephant's body up to Birkrigg and buried it somewhere on the common. If this is true then it means Birkrigg is not only the resting place for Neolithic, Bronze Age and Quaker people but also that of a circus elephant! If it's not true, what on earth did they do with it? If you've heard any other versions of this story please let us know! We would love to hear from you!

Next time you visit Birkrigg Common, be it for a leisurely stroll, a cycle on the open terrain or to play a game with the kids take a moment to think of all the history that the site holds and why not go for an explore to find some of the hidden heritage!

Check back for the next blog entry all about Market Place in Dalton on 29th October!

Aerial plan of sites -

Image courtesy of Google Maps

The Hidden Heritage of Abbots Wood, Barrow

Set above the beautiful ruins of Furness Abbey lies the extensive Abbots Wood!

Abbots wood is a popular destination for locals with several well-trodden paths but look a little closer and the woodland, which takes its name from a Victorian Manor house that once stood proud amongst the trees, gives away some of its secrets.

Abbots Wood house was built sometime in the 1850s-60s for a young Mr. James Ramsden. The grand total of £2000 was spent to build the house and Mr. Ramsden was then allowed to live there at a rent of £205 a year. James Ramsden was a key player in the Furness Railway, which lead to the rapid expansion of Barrow from a small fishing village to the town it is today. Ramsden himself was knighted in 1872 due to his work in the area.

After his death in October 1896 the property had a number of owners and was even used by the military during wartime. It was in the 1960s that the house was eventually demolished due to having fallen into a state of disrepair. But the area was not left dormant as a large concrete structure appeared at the site during the Cold War years to act as a control center incase of a Nuclear war!

Today three lines of sandstone blocks, taken from the demolition rubble, mark the site of Abbots Wood house. Oddly enough these wall structures show nothing of the positioning or scale of the original building! The building would have been further forward and stretched across most of the grassy area seen to the left. You can see the size of the building in the image above.

Apart from these slightly obscure remnants of the former house there are some other interesting features to be discovered around the dense woodland.

Dotted through out the trees to the East of the main path through the woods, just before the stonewalls, there are several iron gateways to be discovered (see right). Some of these gateways are in better condition than others but even when broken they stay as reminders of a more formal time in the woods. The gateways are the remains of the gardens that once sat next to the mansion; these specific arches are believed to be where an orchard once grew. It is certainly hard to imagine an orchard or any kind of formal garden here today as the trees and undergrowth have grown wild destroying any evidence of formal planting. But to wander through the vegetation and discover these fabulous metal structures seemingly growing out of the ground is a fantastic thing. Even now, knowing where they are, it is still something special to find them; it's like discovering a secret garden amongst the trees.

At the far end of the wood some other interesting features can be found that are linked to the manor house. Just before leaving the woods into a large field you walk over a small bridge. This bridge does not cross a river or a stream but instead crosses the old servants passage/trenches. Servants would once have used a large trench to move through the woodland to get to the manor house with out getting in the way of any visitors. The main drive for the manor would have gone over the bridge having come through the large field from a gatehouse at the top of Mill Brow in Dalton.

The trench runs from outside the woods, under the bridge then around the back of the trees to open out at the clearing where the mansion once stood. This created a quick and easy route for servants to get to the house without crossing the main drive. Along the trench there are some gates and steps where the servants could access other areas of the houses grounds. You can easily find a set of steps leaving the trench near to the bridge structure. Presumably this was for servants to get to the driveway to greet visitors.

If you explore the woods you can find so many little reminders of the Victorian past. Along the bottom path through the woods you can find the demolition rubble where the house was bulldozed into a small valley. Else where you can find garden features like a small set of steps with a curved wall, old shed foundations and more.

With all the Victorian history that litters the woods it may be easy to miss some of the earlier history that lies in the area. Not far into the woods on either side of the roadway stands the remains of part of Furness Abbey's precinct wall. The precinct wall was a large sandstone construction that ran around the land surrounding and owned by the Abbey. This cuts straight through Abbots Wood heading down towards the Abbey itself. You can see the wall stretching across a field next to the woods as well. It is interesting to try and imagine how the landscape may have looked when the precinct wall was intact, was the woodland there in Medieval times or was it land that was used by the Abbey? Either way it is great to see these reminders of the Medieval past.

There is so much hidden heritage to be discovered in Abbots Wood from the Medieval walls to the Victorian Servants trench so why not take a trip and have an explore?

Check out a selection of other pictures taken around the woods bellow and look out for the next blog all about Birkrigg Common on 15th October!