Archaeological Survey of Two Deserted Medieval Settlements in Little Langdale Cumbria. Historic Landscape Survey

The two deserted settlement sites, Long Intakes (also known as Nook) and Seven Intakes
(also known as Viccars), are situated close to Fell Foot Farm, a Grade II-listed farmstead
adjacent to two other Scheduled Monuments: a probably early medieval moot or Thing
mound (SM 22557; NHLE 1011354); and Castle Howe hillfort (SM 22566; NHLE
1019747). Fell Foot stands at the junction of a series of mountain passes which formerly
served as the boundary between the three counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and
Lancashire North of the Sands.
Detailed topographic surveys were undertaken, in February and March 2017, of both
settlements by photogrammetry, using aerial photographs taken with a UAV. A desk-based
assessment was also undertaken, in April 2017, examining published sources, the Historic
Environment Records and primary documentary material.
The Nook (or Long Intakes) settlement (SM 35025; NHLE 1021187) comprised two clear
building phases, the first being a probable medieval longhouse and enclosure associated
with a probable potash kiln and a series of ponds and channels, seemingly used for the
preparation of flax for the linen industry. The second phase was a larger longhouse, again
associated with an enclosure and a walled lane. Elements of this later phase of the
farmstead complex appeared to overlie features associated with the putative retting ponds.
Nook first appears in documentary records in the 1660s, and in the early eighteenth century
was owned by the Viccars family, who also held the Viccars farmstead. In the 1750s, Nook
was sold to the Flemings of Fell Foot.
The Viccars (or Seven Intakes) settlement (SM 35024; NHLE 1021186) comprised two