Description and History of Site:-
It is a rectangular stone-built structure, surviving as foundations only, 2.9m by 2.6m with the longer axis aligned NE-SW. At the southern end is a circular hearth formed of nine wedge-shaped millstone grit slabs forming a complete circle 1.2m in diameter. It was fully excavated, supervised by this contributor, for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, in 2010. The building had a narrow stone wall, all but the foundations long since stripped. Internally there is a paved area along both sides and the north gable end with massive gritstone slabs contained between the paved lengths. Underneath thee slabs are two stone flue passages connecting the circular oven base to the rear of the building, clearly designed to direct the heat through the interior of the building. Twenty-one samples of charcoal, in well-sealed contexts, were recovered from within the two flues. Some of the wedges in the oven base had cracked right through emphasising the great temperatures that had been reached within it.

Because of the huge temperatures achieved, and its position just outside the former manorial complex, it is interpreted as a communal bread oven under manorial control, with a possible secondary function for curing ham or bacon.
Two charcoal samples were sent for AMS radiocarbon dating and returned calibrated date ranges of:

cal AD 1480-1650 at the 95.4% confidence level, or 1520-1600 at 53.1%
cal AD 1430-1630 at 95/4%, or 1430-1530 at 79.8%

Thus, the structure's last firing fell probably within the 16th century.

Further Reading and References:-
Johnson, D. 2011. Hartlington Kiln 2010. Excavation of an oven structure at Hartlington, Burnsall, North Yorkshire. Project Code HK10. Unpublished report for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. Accessible via the YDNPA HER.

https://outofoblivion.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/SYD13472-hartlington-kiln-excavation.pdf

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Key Words :- early-post-medieval communal bread oven

Viewing the Site :- from the road or village green

Address :- Hartlington, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23
Grid Ref :- SE 0393 6100
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.044955 , Long -1.941474
Local Authority :- North Yorkshire Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Earthworks only
Contributor :- David Johnson - 23 February 2018

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © David Johnson