Falstone : Potential for Further Research
Relatively little is known of earlier Prehistoric (Palaeolithic-Bronze Age) settlement towards the upper end of North Tynedale. The presence of substantial Neolithic and Bronze Age burial cairns near the head of the valley implies that communities of some kind (clans or tribes?) were present in the area during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age. For the Bronze Age, a settlement pattern of unenclosed settlements comprising round houses and irregular field systems is suspected, by analogy with other parts of upland Northumberland, but has not so far been identified within or adjacent to the study area.
In contrast the settlement pattern in Upper North Tynedale during the Iron Age and Romano-British period is very apparent in the surviving archaeological record. It was characterised by dispersed enclosed farmsteads, initially built of timber and later largely of stone, the remains of which survive in considerable numbers. The enclosures were predominantly rectilinear in plan and contained a number of round houses.
The distribution and form of early medieval settlement in upper North Tynedale is unclear. No historical or documentary sources explicitly refer to the valley before the 12th century and diagnostic settlement forms associated with this period have as yet proved archaeologically elusive. Falstone, with its finds of an early-medieval cross shaft fragments from St Peter's churchyard and Hroethberht's memorial stone (8th - 9th century) uncovered just north west of the village, is clearly a crucial site from which to begin to resolve these interpretive problems, as known point in a sea of uncertainty.
Occasional documentary references (1318, 1541) suggest Falstone remained the site of a chapel throughout the medieval period. There is documentary evidence for the existence of an adjacent settlement by the later 14th century, if not earlier but there is nothing to indicate that this was ever more than a hamlet, perhaps only one or two farmsteads, which formed part of the vast upland manor of Tarset.
In the later medieval period feudal overlordship in the valley weakened as the liberty of Tynedale passed through the hands of a rapid succession of absentee lords and we see the emergence of kinship-based social groups in the valley, the North Tynedale 'surnames'. These provided some measure of self protection in the disordered conditions which followed the onset of prolonged conflict between England and Scotland. Documentary evidence shows the Robsons, later the predominant surname in this part of the valley, were already established at Falstone the late 14th century.
Moreover historical sources suggest the Robsons of Falstone were the senior 'grayne' or lineage of that surname, perhaps from the 14th century right through to the final dissolution of the kinship structure in the 17th or 18th centuries, making the settlement the seat of the heidsman as well as the religious focus of the upper valley.
Falstone's importance as a religious centre for the upper end of North Tynedale was strongly reinforced in the 18th century, following the rise of non-conformist worship, when it became a stronghold of Presbyterianism. The Presbyterian chapel enjoyed a greater following than any other denomination by some measure during the 18th and 19th centuries, but the efforts of the Church of England to counter the growth of non-conformism in the valley was also to lead to a modest revival in the Anglican worship and the infrastructure to accommodate it during the same period.
The townships documented in the Northumberland County History (e.g. 'Plashetts and Tynehead') were relatively late creations, established in 1729 to improve the administration of poor relief. Their introduction clearly constituted a significant territorial reorganisation. No medieval administrative vills, or townships, are documented above Thorneyburn, Tarset and Chirdon, but permanent medieval settlements were present and must have organised territorial space and regulated access to communal resources such as common grazing. The names of the commons which were enclosed and divided up at the beginning of the 19th century may provide the best clue to pattern of the pre 1729 township structure.
Potential for Future Research
The earlier prehistoric period in upper North Tynedale is poorly understood and requires further investigation to resolve questions regarding the overall pattern and development of settlement, for example.
In contrast, this stretch of upper North Tynedale contains a fairly dense surviving distribution of late Iron Age/Romano-British settlements, characterised by their rectilinear enclosed form. These have proved informative when previously investigated by George Jobey and would merit further investigation.
The early medieval period has also proved archaeologically elusive thus far and is a major gap in our knowledge of the valley's history. Falstone with its known early medieval presence (probably ecclesiastical in nature), would represent the logical centre of any future investigation.
Little is known of the medieval chapel at Falstone. Still less is known regarding the nearby stronghold of Philip de Moubray, recorded in 1318. 'Ruins' are marked on Armstrong's map to the west of Falstone, at the confluence of the Hawkhope Burn and the North Tyne, suggesting the presence of substantial medieval structure there, but nothing else is known regarding this site. This site clearly merits further investigation to locate it and determine whether any traces survive, perhaps initially by geophysical survey.
Upper North Tynedale represents a prime candidate for a wider investigation of so-called 'reiver society'. In particular, relatively little is known regarding the origins of these dispersed settlements distinguished by fortified bastles and the distinctive kinship-based society with which they are associated - the Tynedale 'surnames'. There is fairly abundant documentation for the 16th - 17th centuries and a reasonable settlement distribution can be reconstructed for that period. In contrast, there is much less available for the late medieval period (late14th-15th centuries), but what there is suggests that many of these hamlets and farmsteads originated, or became permanently inhabited at that time..
Falstone Farmhouse is a surviving continuously occupied bastle and has been described by Grundy (1988, 146) as 'one of the most interesting vernacular buildings within the Park' and is worthy of a detailed architectural survey. It also has associated farm buildings of considerable interest. It was occupied by the senior lineage or 'grayne' of the Robson surname from the early 17th to 19th century and thus was the seat of the clan heidsman. Indeed the site itself was probably home to that same lineage since the late medieval period (documentary reference 1371). The possible existence of archaeological deposits associated with pre-bastle settlements associated with the origins of reiver society in the late medieval period make it an especially promising candidate for study.