Abstract

The Great Plough: a hypothesis concerning village genesis and land reclatnation in Cutnberland and Westtnorland Brian K. Roberts These are built from compartments, i.e. approx­ The landscapes of Cumberland and Westmorland imately rectangular blocks of land, with depth to contain distinctive field layouts associated with the length ratios ranging between 1:2.5 to 1:12, but region's nucleations, for many village and hamlets generally being of the order of 1:5 or 6; three are closely associated with long, rather narrow hundred metres in length by fifty in width is an strip fields, 400, 600, 800 metres or even more in average approximation. Some senlements comprise length, i.e. twice, three times or even four times as long as 'normal' 200-metre arable strips. These a single compartment, defined by an enclosing long strips have lateral boundaries which form boundary, roads, paths or sometimes streams, always then divided ladderwise to create a series smooth, sweeping curves - indisputably aratral of rectangular house-plots or tofts. curves -showing that they were once ploughstrips. They are most clearly seen on maps at scales of Other settlements - in fact the majority - 1:25 000 and 1:10 560. While their aratral qualities possess two parallel compartments separated by