The Gatehouse website record for Barons Dyke

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Bishops Dyke; Bar Dyke; White Moss

In the civil parish of Irthington. In the historic county of Cumberland (Modern Authority of Cumbria, 1974 county of Cumbria).

The Bishop's or Baron's Dyke is a Medieval boundary, separating the baronry of Gilsland from the Bishop's Manor of Crosby. It was called the Bishop's Dyke in (a perambulation) of 1603; locally it is known as the Bar Dyke. The dike appears to run from the Roman Road (presumably that along the Wall) near Highfield Moor House (NY459613) to Newby (NY475583), a distance of about 2 miles. The dike consisted of two parallel banks, 30 ft apart overall, which appear to have been formed by earth thrown out of two central ditches, with a strip of original surface between them. There are indications that earth may also have been thrown up from the outside. Near the wall the Dyke is not very noticeable, and for most of its course it has been destroyed, but about 1 - 1/2 miles south of the wall, for some three or four hundred yards, it is in a fairly good state of preservation. (PastScape)
Ferguson dismisses this as a park pale - being far more than nessecary for such a purpose. Hodgson points out the similarity between this work and the nearby Roman vallum near Hadrian's Wall, whilst clearly dating it as medieval. Hodgson was of the opinion this was a boundary marker (with Imperial pretensions) rather than a military work. I concur with Hodgson, with the suggestion that this was also a deer park pale.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY459613

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 11384
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 210; 482 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

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