Mossband

Has been described as a Questionable Pele Tower, and also as a Questionable Bastle

There are no visible remains

NameMossband
Alternative NamesMosband; Mosse bawne
Historic CountryCumberland
Modern AuthorityCumbria
1974 AuthorityCumbria
Civil ParishKirkandrews

A stonehouse or bastle is depicted as a tower at Moss bawne on the 1590 map of Cumbria, and as houses on the plot of 1607. The term bawn may indicate a defensible walled enclosure. The map evidence suggests that the site may lie beneath the A74M road. (PastScape ref. Perriam and Robinson)

Gatehouse Comments

Shown on Aglionby's "Platt" of 1590 as tower marked 'Mosband' and on 1607 platt as houses marked 'Mosse bawne'. It is difficult to really known what the symbols on the 1590 map actually meant. They mainly refer to sites that are now lost and which were never gentry status sites. This suggests these were not pele towers. It is more likely they were some form of bastle or stonehouse. The lack of survival of such houses in this area, as opposed to their fairly frequent survival in the higher Pennine lands, may reflect the good agricultural quality of this land producing wealth (once the area was politically and criminally stabilised) which allowed for the building of brand new farmhouses and farmbuildings in the C18/C19. For this site the place name element 'bawne' may add a further insight into the nature of this site (and perhaps the others) and comparison with Ireland (where the 'bawne' placename element is more common) and contemporary Irish fortified farmsteads may be of value (Was the 'bawne' synonymous with a late medieval Scots barmkin or more of a cattle enclosure?).

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceNY350654
Latitude54.9789505004883
Longitude-3.0171000957489
Eastings335000
Northings565400
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 99 (slight)
  • Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 236
  • Jeffrey, A., 1864, History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire Vol. 4 p. 232 (facsimile of map) online copy

Journals

  • Graham, T.H.B., 1914, 'The Debatable Land Part II' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 14 facing p. 148 online copy [online copy of 1607 platt > http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelakes/html/maps/m067.htm] [online copy of 1552 map > http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelakes/html/maps/m068.htm]
  • Ellis, H., 1829, 'Copy of a manuscript tract addressed to Lord Burghley, illustrative of the Border topography of Scotland, AD 1590, with a platt or map of the Borders taken in the same year' Archaeologia Vol. 22 p. 161-71 online copy

Primary Sources

  • 1590, A Platt of the opposete Borders of Scotland to ye west marches of England (The Aglionby Platt) British Library online Gallery and [Old Cumbria Gazetteer > http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelakes/html/maps/m048.htm] (see also [Gatehouse Essay 'The Aglionby Platt' > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/APHome.html])
  • 1607, Platt of the Forrest of Nicholl and the Mannor of Liddale, Arthurett and Randelinton with the Debatable groundes online copy (Mosse bawne)

Other

  • Cole, J.R., 1982, A survey of the Debatable Land and Glen Tarras c. 1449-1620 (Thesis for Manchester University) p. 77-8