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C O N T E X T 1 7 9 : M A R C H 2 0 2 4 25 HADRIAN’S WALL The Guildhall, the three-storey, jettied, tim- ber-framed building, was constructed shortly after this fire (tree-ring dating of between 1396–1407). It consists of two wings, one facing on to the Greenmarket and the other to Fisher Street (on the left in the photograph). Although of one build, each wing had a different function. The three bays on the left, facing Greenmarket, formed three separate commercial units, shops on the ground floor with two-storey tenements above. The roof over these units has queen struts and clasped purlins. The Fisher Street wing was far more prestigious, with a crown-post roof (the most northerly example in England) and two small windows with wooden tracery, suggesting that it was intended for someone of significance. When the building came into the possession of the city, its upper floors were let out to the guilds. It is now a museum. The Romans built another outpost fort to the north of the city, beyond the lowland peatmoss- es, at Netherby. Stones from this fort were used in the construction of a 15th-century tower house, which later developed into Netherby Hall. It still survives behind later work. The tower house was the border stronghold of the Graham clan, who also held other towers, one of which survives nearby, on the other side of the River Esk. Kirkandrews Tower lay within the Debateable Land where the border ceased to exist. This was the home of the reivers who, in the 16th century, were both outlaws and farmers. They perfected the protection racket which required a payment or your house would be burnt down, and gave the word ‘blackmail’ to the language. Loyalty was based on kinship and family. The Graham clan was pre-eminent and several attempts were made to remove them from Cumberland. Eventually, dozens of Graham families were transported to central Ireland where they were given very poor land on which to settle. Kirkandrews Tower, one of the best surviving towers, was built in the 16th century to replace an earlier tower. It has had later alterations. The original entrance was at first-floor level, accessi- ble only by a removable flight of wooden steps or ladder, and the ground floor was a vaulted base- ment that could be reached only by trap door from the first floor. External steps were added in the 19th century. Also visible is a decorative wall which encloses a farmhouse and barn. This is reminiscent of a barmkin, which was a defensive wall aimed at protecting goods and stock, and was much taller and thicker than this. Small farmsteads had no such protection. Smallholdings, such as this cruck-framed cot- tage built of stone and dating from the 17th century, had a vulnerable thatch and turf roof. This example near the border was built next to a ford and later became an inn serving the miners who worked the drift in the hillside behind it. Bank barns are a common feature of Cumbria’s farming vernacular. One limited roadside survey alone identified over 700 exam- ples. Seen almost as a farm contained within a single building, they were economic to build and versatile in use. Being built into a bank, the gradient allows access from either side, with the barn and storage above and accommodation for cattle, horses and equipment below. The bank barn at Anthorn Hall is not men- tioned in its listing, however it is a significant late-18th-century example, built almost at sea level, yards from the shore of Morecambe Bay. Anthorn lies within the buffer zone of the world heritage site which wraps around the Cardurnock Peninsula. Not far away on the other side of the bay is an example of 1884, near Abbeytown. It was part of a remodelling, creating a ‘model farm’. Like many of the small farms in this region it was built by the Carlisle Guildhall Horse and Farrier Inn: the cruck- framed cottage, formerly with a thatch and turf roof, later became an inn serving the miners who worked the drift in the hillside behind it.