Settlement

• A settlement is a place where people live

• Most people live in permanent settlements

• Some people are unfortunate to live in temporary settlements

Permanent or Temporary Settlement?

Types of settlementSite Characteristics

Defensive Difficult to attack e.g. hill-top or island

Hill-foot Sheltered, with flat land for building and farming

Gap Lower, more sheltered land between two hills

Wet point Close to water in a dry area

Dry point On higher, dry area close to wet land e.g. marshes or flooding rivers

Route centre Focus of routes (e.g. roads) from surrounding area

Bridging point Where bridges can be built over a river

Which type of settlement?

Bridging Point

Defensive

Hill-foot

Gap site

Route Centre

Wet Point

Dry Point

Which type of settlement?

• Settlement 1 is a Gap site because it is a lower and more sheltered site between two hills.

• Settlement 2 is a wet-point because it is close to water in a dry area.

• Settlement 3 is a dry-point because it is a higher, drier site above wetland.

• Settlement 4 is a Route Centre because it is a focus of routes (roads and river) in this area.

• Settlement 5 is a Hill-foot site because it is is sheltered and flat for building and farming.

Importance of Individual Sites

• The importance of individual sites changed over time.

• Which features do you think were more important in early times and which do you think were more important more recently?

Importance of Individual Sites Years

AgoFeature Reason

Good defence Hard to attack, e.g. Hill top, island

Close to water For water and fish supplies

Close to woodland For fuel, building materials and food

On useful farmland To provide food

Flat land Makes building easier

Good communications By road and river

Importance of Individual Sites Now

Feature Reason

Close to resources As materials for industry e.g. coal

Close to ports To transport materials or goods

Faster communication

As industry grew and developed e.g. canals, railways and more recently, motorways and airports.

Pleasant environment

For a) larger number of retired people and b) hi-tech industries which wish to be in attractive areas

Warkworth

River means enemies can

only attack from 1 side

Defence

Food and water supplies

Building houses

Trade

Communications

Castle defends the south side

River and roads can be used for

trade

River stops housing being

built to east and west

N

Trees are good for hunting

animals

Flat land is great for farming, as shown by the

pattern of fields

River and roads can be used for communication

Sea can be used for trade

Sea can be used for fishing for food

Flat land good for building housing

Wet land not ideal for building

houses

Settlement shapes

• The spacing of places is very different all across the country

• In the countryside houses can be scattered randomly with space between each house - this is called dispersed

• Some settlements have grown along a road – this is called linear

• Towns or villages may be compact, with shops, offices, and houses all very close together – this is called nucleated

Settlement ShapesThere are 3 basic shapes of rural settlements

Dispersed settlements have buildings scattered about with undeveloped land in-between

Linear settlements have buildings which are stretched out along a road, in a line

Nucleated settlements have a defined centre like a market square or crossroads

Dispersed Linear Nucleated

Settlement sizes

• An isolated settlement consisting of one house• A settlement of only a few houses and without a

church• A settlement with a few services, such as a church,

public house and a small shop• A larger settlement with several shops, churches, a

senior school, supermarkets, a doctor, dentist, banks and a small hospital

• A very large settlement with a large railway station, shopping complex, cathedral, large hospital, museum, university and office blocks

Hamlet VillageFarmCity

Town

Farm

Hamlet

Village

Town

City

What type of settlement is this?

Hamlet

CityVillageFarm

Town

Middlesbrough and Hartlepool Map

Pick 4 settlements (a town, village, hamlet and farm) on the map and fill out the table below for each one:

Settlement Name Whitby

Settlement Types Town

Grid Reference 8911

Description Nucleated settlement at the mouth of the River Esk

Advantages Some areas are on top of the hill, so it is good defensively. It is also next to a water supply and is a route centre for the north-south road and the road from the west.

Disadvantages It cannot grow to the east because of the sea. Some areas may flood.

Special features and functions

Abbey, hospital, bus and railway stations, 5 churches