Deserted Medieval Villages in Northamptonshire Designated as Ancient Monuments
19 Jun 2014 10:49 AM
A series of deserted and
shrunken medieval villages in Northamptonshire have been designated as
scheduled monuments by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, on the
advice of English Heritage.
They are amongst the
best-preserved lost villages in the county and have been chosen for special
protection because of the exceptional survival of their earthworks and buried
remains, revealing the layout of the settlements as well as the ways in which
their shape and size changed over the centuries. The sites include: Little
Oxendon, Walgrave, Steane, Clipston, Horton, Ashby St Ledgers and
Kirby.
Aerial photography of the
earthworks and buried features in the villages, along with archaeological
surveys and documented discoveries of artefacts tell us much about life in
medieval Northamptonshire. The earthworks have lain largely undisturbed by
later occupation, since the villages were deserted and then often used for
grazing. Their archaeological remains have the potential to reveal many more
details about the social and economic development of these communities, and the
physical earthworks themselves allow us to experience the spaces in which
medieval people farmed and made their homes in the English
landscape.
Most of the villages were first
settled in the 9th or 10th centuries, possibly earlier, and are mentioned in
the Domesday Book.
Heritage Minister Ed Vaizey
said:
"Preserving these medieval
villages for the future will help us understand our past, and I am pleased that
these ancient monuments are being added to the schedule of protected sites.
They are wonderful examples of the hidden heritage that exists across the UK,
and will allow us to uncover the secrets of medieval society going back
centuries."
Sarah Gibson, English Heritage
designation team leader for the east said:
"Northampton's abandoned villages are repositories of information
about the past and archaeologists will be able to use the remains of the
villages to tell us more about the social life and economy of Northamptonshire
many hundreds of years ago."
Many of these villages have been
occupied continuously to the present day, though some have declined in size or
were deserted during the medieval or post-medieval periods. The most rapid rate
of decline was in the 14th and 15th centuries. The reasons were varied:
declining economic viability, the enclosure of common land, and a shift from
arable farming to sheep rearing which needed more land for grazing and a
smaller labour force. Contrary to popular opinion, the Black Death of 1348 was
rarely responsible for the complete abandonment of a village.
The deserted medieval villages
were assessed as a defined area survey which drew on surveys and research
carried out since the 1980's and recent aerial photographic reconnaissance
and site inspections.