Ting Mound

This monument is known as the 'Ting Mound' or Thing Moot'. It was used as an open air meeting pace by courts and bodies responsible for the administration and organisation of the countryside.

These monuments known as 'moots, appear to have been first established in Britain during the seventh to ninth centuries AD by Scandinavian settlers.

Moots were commonly located at convenient or conspicuous sites and were often centrally placed within their area of influence or jurisdiction. The Ting Mound, located in the centre of the Lake District fells, was situated to take advantage of the Roman road that passes nearby, making the site accessible from the south and east via Ambleside and from the west coast via Hardknott Pass.

Map and Gallery:

 Location Map

 Most moots were deliberately constructed, including this example that has clear evidence of terracing on all sides. Other moots took the form of natural features, such as hilltops, rocky outcrops ad trees.

Examples of moots are recorded in the Domesday Book, suggesting that they were still in use in the Medieval period. The construction and use of rural moots declined after the thirteenth century as administrative buildings and law courts began to be built in towns or close to monastic centres.