In the rolling Cheviot hills located between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders is a farming history older than the ancient pyramids of Egypt
Since Wether Hill Iron Age hillfort was seen on Robson Green a lot of people have asked to come on our Safari here showcasing England’s Largest Scheduled Ancient Monument. We are compared by some guests to Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall and other famous monuments. With the help of Northumberland National Park Historic Environment Officer Chris Jones, we try and answer this.
The best answer is to point to Historic England’s website https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/what-is-designation/scheduled-monuments/ which sets out what scheduling is. The link gives details of what scheduling is and the 8 criteria all monuments have to meet and how they are cultural assets which tell the story of human history. Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall are physical evidence of a particular story, at Ingram we have 570ha of prehistoric to post medieval settlement, burial, agricultural and pastoral remains, which include 40 prehistoric settlements, more than 200 cairns, and 30 rectangular buildings of post medieval pastoral “shieling” settlements.
To have such a concentration of remains covering 4,000 years of human activity covering multiple periods in this world is rare.
