Birdoswald first appears in the written record in 1211 when a certain Walter de Beivin was farming the property, then part of the Barony of Gilsland.
Inscriptions at Birdoswald and Netherby attest to his rule although little else is known of him.
It is believed that these names are from an itinerary of the Wall from west to east, listing the forts as Mais (Bowness), Aballava (Burgh-by-Sands), Uxelodunum (Stanwix), Camboglanna (Castlesteads) and Banna (Birdoswald).