The Bailiwick of Ennerdale Est 1251 - Hon. George Mentz JD MBA CWM

🏛️ Ancient and Archaeological Heritage of Ennerdale

1. Prehistoric Monuments and Standing Stones - here’s a detailed historical and archaeological summary of the ruins, ancient monuments, and prehistoric sites within and around the territorial boundaries of the Bailiwick or Liberty of Ennerdale, based on the area shown in your map (Ennerdale parish and its medieval bounds):

Ennerdale’s isolation and high moorland ridges preserve traces of ancient habitation stretching back 4,000 years.

• Bowness Knott Stone Circle (Ennerdale Water)
  Near the northwestern shore of Ennerdale Water, there are remnants of a possible Bronze Age stone ring, consisting of several low-set stones aligned roughly east–west. Antiquarians in the 19th century recorded it as a “druidical circle or enclosure,” possibly used for ritual or seasonal observation.

• Stockdale Moor Cairnfield (on the southern boundary ridge)
  This vast prehistoric site—partially shown near the map’s boundary with Wasdale—is a Bronze Age funerary and settlement complex with over 100 cairns, stone alignments, and hut circles. It is one of the largest upland cairnfields in Cumbria and sits right on the southern perimeter of the old liberty.
  The area includes burial cairns, clearance cairns, and circular dwelling platforms dating to c. 2000–1500 BC.

• Lank Rigg and Grike Summit Cairns
  Large stone cairns mark these high summits on Ennerdale’s north side. They likely date from the Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age and may have served as both funerary markers and territorial beacons, defining the ancient extent of Ennerdale’s upland holdings.

2. Roman and Early Medieval Remains

Though Ennerdale was remote from the main Roman coastal road (Ravenglass to Moresby), its fells were frequented by patrols and herders.

• Roman Trackways
  A faint track linking Eskdale to Ennerdale via Black Sail Pass is believed to have originated as a Roman transhumance or communication route.
  Small finds (iron nails, shards of Samian-type pottery) have been reported near the Loft Beck area.

• Early Christian Cross Fragments (Ennerdale Bridge)
  At St. Mary’s Church, Ennerdale Bridge, fragments of carved Anglo-Saxon or early Norse cross shafts were unearthed in the churchyard—indicating an early Christian presence (8th–10th century).
  The carving style parallels that of crosses at Egremont and Gosforth, showing the valley’s integration into early Norse-Christian Cumbria.

3. Medieval and Feudal Ruins

Ennerdale’s medieval landscape reflects its history as a forest bailiwick under the Crown and later the Lowther lords.

• Site of Ennerdale Manorhouse (near Ennerdale Bridge)
  Historical surveys (including Whellan, 1867) refer to a “manorial grange” or bailiff’s hall in lower Ennerdale, believed to have stood near modern High Gillerthwaite or How Hall Farm.
  Foundations and dressed stones still found in the area may mark the site of the medieval manorial seat or bailiff’s residence when Ennerdale was administered as a royal forest.

• Loweswater–Ennerdale Boundary Crosses
  At Floutern Pass and Scarth Gap Pass, boundary stones marked with medieval crosses or cup-marks defined the limits of the ecclesiastical and manorial lands. Many were re-used or re-inscribed in later centuries but retain their feudal boundary symbolism.

• Shielings and Longhouses in Upper Ennerdale
  Remnants of medieval summer dwellings (known as shielings) exist in the upper valley near Loft Beck and Great Gable’s base. These were stone huts used seasonally for herding during the grazing months. The foundations remain visible on satellite imagery and have been surveyed by the Lake District National Park Authority.

4. Post-Medieval Industrial and Heritage Sites

Though remote, Ennerdale hosted small industrial ventures linked to woodland and mining rights under the manorial liberty.

• Smithy Beck Forge Site
  Evidence of a small 17th–18th-century bloomery forge survives near Smithy Beck, where bog iron and charcoal were smelted under manorial license. Charcoal platforms and slag mounds attest to early industry.

• Ancient Coppices and Oak Plantations
  The lower valley still preserves ancient woodland coppice boundaries established under the Ennerdale liberty’s forest management. Many of these woods—now within the Wild Ennerdale conservation project—date from medieval timber grants recorded in Crown accounts.

🗿 Summary

The Bailiwick of Ennerdale is one of the few English liberties that encapsulates:

• Bronze Age ritual sites (Stockdale Moor, Bowness Knott)

• Iron Age territorial cairns (Lank Rigg, Grike)

• Anglo-Saxon crosses and Christian relics (Ennerdale Bridge)

• Medieval manorial remains and bailiff’s hall foundations

• Post-medieval forge and forestry ruins

Together, these layers form a continuous archaeological record from prehistoric ritual occupation to medieval seignory — strengthening Ennerdale’s standing as a complete territorial and cultural entity, not merely a scenic valley.

⚔️ Celtic, Norse, and Scots Heritage of Ennerdale

1. The Celtic Foundations (Pre-Roman to Early Christian Era)

Long before written history, Brythonic Celts occupied the high valleys of western Cumbria.
Ennerdale’s original name derives from the Cumbric (a Celtic dialect related to Welsh) — likely “Anunderdale” or “Anund’s Valley,” later influenced by Old Norse.
The early Celts farmed and grazed the valley floor and left their imprint in:

• Stone circles and cairns such as those on Stockdale Moor, used for ritual and seasonal gatherings.

• Toponyms like Bowness (from “boene-is,” possibly “the dwelling by water”) and Liza (perhaps from Lisan or Lissos, meaning “holy or shining place”).

Christian missionaries from Celtic monastic centers in Iona and Whithorn likely reached Ennerdale by the 6th–7th centuries. The presence of early cross fragments at Ennerdale Bridge suggests the valley was among the early Celtic Christian frontiers, blending native druidic and early Christian practice.

2. The Norse and Viking Age (9th–11th Centuries)

After the fall of the Cumbrian kingdom of Rheged, Norse settlers arrived from both Ireland and western Scotland, bringing their language, farming methods, and law.

Ennerdale’s rugged isolation became part of the “Norse colonization zone” that swept inland from the Solway coast and from the Norse-Irish kingdoms at Dublin and Man.
The Norse introduced:

• Place names ending in –dale, –beck, –fell, –force, and –thwaite, all abundant in Ennerdale (e.g., Ennerdale, Smithy Beck, Bowness Knott, Stockdale, Nether Wasdale).

• Land organization under “tún” (enclosed farms) and “fell” (hill pasture), which persisted into manorial tenure.

• A hybrid Norse-Gaelic population, as many settlers came from the western seaboard via Man and Galloway.

The Norse were also responsible for the mixed pagan-Christian art seen in the cross fragments at St. Mary’s, showing serpent scrolls and interlace akin to Viking styles from Gosforth and Aspatria.

3. The Scots and Border Influence (12th–15th Centuries)

By the medieval period, Ennerdale lay within a fluid frontier between England and the Kingdom of Scots. The valley’s position west of the Pennines and north of Morecambe Bay meant it was culturally closer to Galloway and Strathclyde than to southern England.

• The Scoto-Norse heritage remained visible in local surnames, dialect, and customs.

• Ennerdale’s early feudal administration as a forest bailiwick reflects the blending of Anglo-Norman governance with older Celtic and Norse communal laws — especially the right of local assemblies, akin to the Norse thing or Celtic tuath.

• Linguistic traces of Scots Gaelic loanwords persisted in hill names like Haycock and Lank Rigg (possibly from Gaelic roots referring to ridges and slopes).

During the later medieval centuries, Lowland Scots herdsmen and craftsmen migrated southward into Cumbria, reinforcing this blend of Norse-Scots ancestry and creating the “Border Norse” culture unique to western Cumberland.

4. Cultural Legacy

Today, Ennerdale retains a deep northern maritime identity:

• Its place-names are predominantly Norse in form, layered upon a Celtic substratum.

• Its customary freedoms—such as forest grazing and community rights—reflect the Viking and Scots law of common pasture.

• Its ancestral character—remote, independent, and kinship-oriented—echoes both Celtic clan structure and Norse thing-law assemblies, which may have evolved into the valley’s later court leet traditions under the Bailiwick.

Summary

Ennerdale is not merely a Cumbrian valley but a microcosm of northern Britain’s ethno-cultural evolution:

• Born from Celtic pastoral tribes,

• Transformed by Norse settlers from the Irish Sea,

• Reinforced by Scots and Norse-Gaelic frontier influence,

• And later formalized under English feudal law without losing its original autonomy.

Thus, the Bailiwick of Ennerdale can rightly be seen as a living heir of the Celtic-Norse-Scots continuum, where the mountain, the lake, and the law share the same ancient soul.