Settlement

Site, Situation and Function

Aims

• By the end of this lesson you should:

• know what is meant by the site of a settlement.

• understand that early settlements were built in certain places for a variety of reasons.

• be able to list some of the things early settlers looked for when choosing a settlement site.

• Know what function means and name functions for places on an OS map.

Size Of Settlements

• A settlement is any place where people live & work.

• Settlements vary in size.• Some settlements are very small (e.g.

isolated buildings like a cottage or farmhouse housing just one family).

• Some settlements are very large (e.g. a conurbation which houses millions).

Settlement

How Were The Sites For Early Settlements Chosen ?

Which of the following sites (V - Z) would be best for a settlement ?

Settlement Site

• The place where a settlement was first built is called its site.

• The site had to be carefully chosen if the people were to survive and the settlement was to grow.

• Early settlers spent much time choosing a place with as many advantages as possible.

• Situation is where a settlement is relative to things like rivers, hills and other settlements.

Some Advantages For Siting A Settlement ?

Site of Methil

• Methil lies on gently sloping land which lies below 30 metres.

• In area it covers about 4 sq kms.

• Methil is on the coast and to the north is bounded by a river

• which separates it from the small town of Leven.

What Is Meant By A Settlements Function ?

• For a settlement to grow there had to be certain reasons why it should be built in the first place.

• This is called a function.• Large settlements often have many functions while

some settlements specialise in a particular function.Four major functions of settlements in Britain are:• Market Town.• Industrial Town• Port• Resort

Market Towns

• main function is buying & selling

• usually have a market square where a market held once or twice a week.

Glasgow changing functions

Industrial Towns

• main function is to make or manufacture things in factories.

• contain many factories often with tall chimneys.

Resorts• are places where

people go on holiday to relax & enjoy themselves.

• Some are coastal (e.g. Blackpool).

• Others are ski resorts (e.g. Aviemore).

• Have a lot of hotels & entertainments

Ports

• are places where goods are loaded or unloaded from ships.

• are located on coasts or major rivers or canals.

• have harbours surrounded by docks & warehouses.

Fishing villages

Defensive

Functions of Methil and Leven

• One of Methil’s main functions is as a port. The evidence for this is shown by the docks in GR 3799. There is some industry at 369990 – shown by a large building and the word works.

• Tourism is shown by the building in 3799 – museum. And there is a Long Distance Route which runs through Methil and then northwards to Leven. It is called (3901) the Fife Coastal Trail.

• Leven is more of a tourist town as it has a sandy beach with a caravan site and 2 golf courses in GR 3901. To the north of the town there is also a walk/trail in 3802.

Foundation 2009 Q1e

Site of Callander

On flat land next to a river – water supply

Flat land for building roads and houses

Bridging point of river – people would have come here to cross the river

Hills to north provide shelter

Hills to the north limit the growth and steep land is difficult to build on

Flat land next to river might flood

For full marks at least one similarity and one difference should be mentioned –if not mark out of 5.

Max 2 marks for evidence relating to any single function.Differences which are implied should be credited.

Max 1 for grid reference.

Similarities• Both are holiday resorts (1) because both have a tourist information centre and aleisure centre, a cycle route passing through and a caravan/camp site.

• Barmouth has a sandy beach which would attract holiday makers and tourist facilities such as a museum while the attractions of Dolgellau are the surrounding hills and forests for walking.

• Both have footpaths leading out of town onto the surrounding hills (2).

• Both towns are service centres (1) because both of them have hotels, leisure centres and churches (2).

Differences• Dolgellau is a route centre (1) with 5 main roads meeting there (1) Barmouth has

only the A496 passing through (1).• Barmouth is a port (1) with a harbour and a ferry (2).

6 ES

Summing Up

As a result of this lesson you should now:• know that the site of a settlement is the

place where it was first built.• Know that early settlers looked for sites

with as many advantages as possible.• Advantages included proximity to building

materials, water supply & good farmland, shelter from bad weather and a site that was easy to defend & safe from flooding.

Settlement - Lesson 2

Settlement Hierarchy

Aims

By the end of this lesson you should: • know that there are different sizes of

settlement.• know the names of different types of

settlement.• know the services which are found in

settlements of different sizes.• Know what a sphere of influence is

Rural & Urban Settlements

Settlements & Services

• Settlements also provide services for the people who live in them and in the surrounding area.

• Small settlements provide only a few low order services (e.g. general store which people use every day).

• Large services provide many services including high order services (e.g. dentist which people only use occasionally).