2013

NT7808 : Remains of Kemylpethe Chapel, Roman Fortlet, Chew Green

taken 13 years ago, 3 km from Nether Hindhope, Scottish Borders, Scotland

Remains of Kemylpethe Chapel, Roman Fortlet, Chew Green
Remains of Kemylpethe Chapel, Roman Fortlet, Chew Green
Earthwork remains of enclosures, building platforms and a Medieval chapel lie among the Roman camps at Chew Green, covering a fairly extensive area. The remains are typical of other deserted settlements in Northumberland, with earthen banks forming enclosures and garths.

The stone-built chapel located in the middle of the Eastern Roman Fortlet was excavated in 1883. It measures 18m by 9m and its walls stand to a height of 1m. A small sandstone cross was found nearby in 1889. The settlement is known to have been used as a trysting place for settling cross-border disputes as early as 1249. In 1550 a survey named the medieval settlement as 'Kemylpeth', and an earlier document of 1456 refers to a 'Kemblepath'.
Chew Green Roman Camps

Chew Green (named from a former farm) was at one time thought to be the 'Ad Fines' of the Romans, being one of the stations beyond Hadrian's Wall, although the true Roman name is unknown.

The encampment was adjacent to Dere Street, situated on a narrow plateau 1450ft above sea level, now close to the border with Scotland. A five-phase complex of Roman military camps has been recognised, consisting of two temporary marching camps, a semi-permanent Roman fort, and two permanently-occupied fortlets. Dating of occupation phases is little understood despite partial excavation in 1936 by Richmond and Keeney.

Pastscape: LinkExternal link Archive LinkExternal link

Dere Street was built cAD79 on the orders of Agricola (shown wrongly as Watling Street on old maps) and ran between Eboracum (York) and Perthshire. It continued in use in medieval times and the Roman site at Chew Green is overlaid by a deserted village often shown as 'Kemylpethe' or 'Kemylpethe Walls', a name also associated with a section of the road, 'Gamelspath'. The village had an Inn for travellers on the road, and also a chapel, possibly established by monks from Kelso Abbey after 1227. The Makendon Cross was found nearby in 1889.

Historic England: LinkExternal link Archive LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Andrew Curtis and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Chew Green Roman Camps [13] · Roman Fortlet [7] · Remains [4] ·
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NT7808, 31 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Andrew Curtis   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 19 April, 2013   (more nearby)
Submitted
Saturday, 27 April, 2013
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NT 7895 0851 [10m precision]
WGS84: 55:22.2075N 2:20.0204W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NT 78945 08516
View Direction
East-southeast (about 112 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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