Red Hill, Lowmoat

Description

A tower is shown at Red Hill, now Moat Farm, on the 1607 plot of Cumbria. (PastScape–ref. Perriam and Robinson)

Tower also shown on the 1607 Platt at Red Hill NY 409 735, which may have been on the site of Moat Farm. (Perriam and Robinson 1998)

Comments

It is difficult to really known what the symbols on the 1607 platt actually meant. They mainly refer to sites that are now lost and which were never gentry status sites. This suggests these were not pele towers. It is more likely they were some form of bastle or stonehouse. The lack of survival of such houses in this area, as opposed to their fairly frequent survival in the higher Pennine lands, may reflect the good agricultural quality of this land producing wealth (once the area was politically and criminally stabilised) which allowed for the building of brand new farmhouses and farmbuildings in the C18/C19.
Perriam and Robinson's given map reference is to Livingstone House (aka Livingstone's Lot). Gatehouse can not find a reference to this being called Moat Farm, although it is called Moatcommon on the six OS map of 1868. Indeed I can not find a Moat Farm or Red Hill placename anywhere in the area on OS maps from 1868 onwards! Livingstone House does not appear to the site of an early modern farmstead. Possibly alternatives are Low Moat at NY397732 (but not really on a hill) or the lost Birnieshill farmstead at NY403735 (on a hill and on the edge of Moat Common) although the crude 1607 plot may suggest a site some what further to the east of these.
'The area around Liddel Strength (often called The Mote of Liddel), became known as Kirkandrews Moat and numerous locations in the area have a 'moat' placename - this should not be taken as evidence of a moat or motte at any location other than at Liddel Strength.