Crewgarth

Description

A pentagonal enclosure consisting of a double bank with ditch between, astride the road from Langwathby to Ousby at Crewgarth. Probably the site of a moated manor house of 12th - 14th century date (i.e. before the Pele tower came into use) An urn, not described, and fragments of ruined walls were found before 1840; the upper half of a quern, a mortar and a possible stone axe were found when levelling the bank before 1884. The latter objects were seen in July 1884 when the society visited the site. Crawford considered the earthwork to be a recent enclosure round a copse.
Detail S.W. of the road destroyed during road improvement (SS 6" (DR Arthur Reviser 6.3.63)).
The feature has been partly destroyed by road re-alignment. Surviving features indicate a weak, ditched enclosure in marshy ground with an out-lying broad ditch, possibly a pond. There is no evidence of a building site but nearby indications of medieval fields and drainage; the whole does not seem of great antiquity or archaeological significance. (PastScape)

in the western extremity of the parish, appear vestiges of an ancient British fort, consisting of an outward and inner rampart, with a ditch between them, and enclosing a pentagonal area, in which an urn, and many fragments of ruined walls have been found. (Mannix & Whellan 1847)

Comments

There is a Castle Slack place-name at NY622352. Jackson writes of a 1236-9 mentioning of 'the dyke of Castelslack' which he writes is perhaps associated with Crewgarth.
Most likely a weakly fortified manor house, a precursor to the modern farm. The dismissal of the site by field investigator FRH 08-SEP-67 in the PastScape record seems to ignore well establish historical reports. Presumably the manor house of the manor of Ousby. A C13 knightly effigy is within the parish church.