Land at Rakesmoor Lane, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria: Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment (Phase 1)

Prior to the potential development of an area of land at Rakesmoor Lane, Barrow-in-Furness, Greenlane Archaeology was commissioned to carry out an archaeological desk-based assessment of the site. The known and unknown archaeological potential of the area has been assessed using various sources, including the Cumbria Historic Environment Record and early maps, and a site visit was carried out to make a brief assessment of the site. The work was undertaken in December 2025 and January 2026. The potential development area comprises an area of open fields on the northern edge of the urban area of Barrow-in-Furness, adjoining a recent housing development to the south, open fields to the north and east and Rakesmoor Lane to the west. The HER records a total of 21 sites of archaeological interest nearby, including stray finds of possible Neolithic and Bronze Age date, and some military structures associated with WWII. The wider area is known to have been occupied from the end of the last Ice Age onwards, with place-name evidence indicating settlement nearby in the early medieval period, and a park belonging to Furness Abbey during the medieval period. Archaeological work nearby to the southeast revealed a range of features and structures dating from the Neolithic to the medieval period. While the site itself did not contain any known sites or remains of archaeological interest, with the exception of former gravel pits of post-medieval date, areas of ridge and furrow and former field boundaries, and the extant historic buildings forming part of Rakes Moor Farm, the results of the deskbased assessment suggest that the site has some potential for previously unknown archaeological remains to be present. Further assessment of these would be best achieved through geophysical survey and/or archaeological evaluation.