Kirkcarrion is a copse of pine trees, surrounded by a stone wall, on a hilltop near

Middleton-in-Teesdale Middleton-in-Teesdale is a market town in County Durham (district), County Durham, in England. It is situated on the north side of Teesdale between Eggleston and Newbiggin, Teesdale, Newbiggin, a few miles to the north-west of Barnard Castle. The ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The trees, which were planted in Victorian times, cover a

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

which is reputed to be the burial place of a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

chieftain, Prince Caryn, who ruled before the days of the Romans. The site is a Bronze Age

round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

on the top of Lunedale Ridge, where it looms over the small town of Middleton-in-Teesdale some 400 feet below. The name Kirkcarrion is conjectured to derive from ''Carreg Caryn'', or "burial mound of Caryn". Kirkcarrion is also sometimes referred to as "Caryn's Castle", a name for which ''Caer Caryn'' might be a potential rendering in Brythonic. It has been suggested that Caryn was a Brigantean chief, although this seems unlikely, as the

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...

were a tribe of the later

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. Excavations in the 19th century are said to have yielded a

cist A cist ( or ; also kist ; from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East ...

burial and a funerary urn with charred bones inside. The artifacts, the current whereabouts of which is uncertain, are thought to have ended up in the possession of Lord Strathmore, who subsequently built walls around the site and planted the trees within. One legend states that within the circle of trees is a spot where no wind blows, no matter how inclement the weather.

External links

Pennine Way walk section covering Kirkcarrion
Mountains and hills of County Durham {{durham-geo-stub