Historic Settlement Patterns in Weardale

Wearhead Village

The evidence for prehistoric settlement at Wearhead is restricted to the discovery of prehistoric stray finds by local farmers. There is also evidence to the east at Westgate and Eastgate of Roman hunting activity, but no such similar evidence has been found near Wearhead. The Norman Conquest and the subsequent harrying of the north may have left a blank canvas upon which new settlement in Weardale might be planned. The grand design for medieval settlement here became the Bishops Forest. This forbade any settlement within the Forest, but after 1250 a smaller area of parkland was enclosed and settlement permitted outside its boundaries. It was to this time that the first farmstead at Wearhead was created. Scattered farmsteads remained the dominant settlement characteristic of the Wearhead area throughout the medieval and into the early post-medieval periods.
Changes to the tenurial system encouraged the creation of more farms and clusters, but Wearhead was late in taking advantage of this development. The increase in mining activity allowed the farmers at Wearhead to supplement their income by creating a partnership to mine lead and this may have led to some clustering of farm buildings around original farm sites in order to accommodate family members. The additional income would certainly have helped to make settlement permanent, rather than seasonal. By the 18th century, a programme of building followed which is still reflected in today’s buildings.

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