an archaeology of the east midlands. class 5, beeston winter 2015

An Archaeology of the East Midlands

Class 5: The Medieval Countryside of the East Midlands.

Tutor: Keith Challis

east-midlands-archaeology.blogspot.co.uk Beeston 2015

Recap: Last Week

• Viking Origins

• Scandinavian Settlement in the East Midlands

• Discussion – Repton and the Vikings

Class Summary

• 850-1100 Shaping the Landscape

• Themes in the Medieval Landscape

• Laxton – a Village and its Landscape

Learning Outcomes

• Identify some of the key themes in the archaeology of medieval rural settlement in the Midlands

• Understand some of the factors affecting settlement form and agricultural landscapes

• Recognise some of the physical evidence for medieval (and other) past landscapes which survive to the present and how archaeologists deal with these

Section 1: 850 – 1100

850-1100 Shaping the Landscape

• By 870s almost total Danish control of East Midlands

• Administered and defenced from the Five Boroughs

• From late 10th Century Saxon Reconquest of Midlands

• 11th Century unified Anglo-Danish Kingdom

• Wholesale changes in landholding and landscape – but why?

east-midlands-archaeology.blogspot.co.uk

Middle Saxon

• Large “multiple” estates

• Dispersed settlement based on farmstead

• Infield/Outfield agriculture (?)

• Minster Churches

Late Saxon/Saxo-Norman

• Small estates based on the manor

• Nucleated settlement in villages

• Development of open fields

• Parochial system and churches

• Castles

• Feudal land holding

Beeston 2015

• What causes the changes…?

• Scandinavian settlement..?

• Norman influence..?

• Population growth (competition or resources..?

• Climate change..?

• Fashion..?

Catholme

South Leverton

Beeston 2015

Section 2: Themes in the Medieval Landscape

Themes in the Medieval Landscape

• What are The Key Themes?

• 850-1300

• The Manor

• Nucleation of settlement

• Open fields

• The Parish

• Feudal System

• Castles

• 1300-1485

• Population decline

• Climate deterioration

• Economic troubles

• Settlement desertion

• Feudal collapse

Beeston 2015

• Rural Settlement• In E Mids predominance of

nucleated settlement.• Excavation evidence for origins rare

and equivocal

• Eg. Barton Blount – tofts and crofts from 11th century

• Re-imaging of nucleated settlements in 13th century into regulated plan forms (eg Rockingham 1270s)

• But – areas of distinctive dispersed settlement, eg Charnwood, North Derbyshire, Sherwood, The Coal Measures

• Rural Settlement• The Manor (manorium) basic unit of

lordly landholding• Fundamental to feudal land holding,

but with pre-conquest origins

• Manors may include one or many settlement in any form – the manor and the village are not equal

• Excavations of manorial complexes show use of sites bridging conquest (eg at Goltho)

• Some manorial sites become sites for castles

• Abandoned manorial complexes may be confused with deserted villages

• Agriculture• Champion landscape of

communal open fields cropped under two or three year rotation

• Evidence suggests pre-Conquest origin but little archaeology

• Some documents (eg Southwell AD956) but most are post-Conquest

• Open fields and nucleated settlements appear to be part of a single system of rural landscape organisation

• Agriculture• Areas with no open

fields poorly understood

• Possibly infield/outfield systems in uplands

• Extensive Assarting in Sherwood and other forest areas

• Feudal Appurtenances

• Castles• Early post-Conquest castles at

Nottingham, Lincoln, Leicester, Duffield

• Networks of smaller earthwork castles – eg along Trent and associated with major estate centres

• Some short-lived castles associated with Anarchy (1135-54 eg Derby)

Duffield Reconstructed

Beeston 2015

• Feudal Appurtenances

• Deer Parks, Gardens, Mills, Warrens, Fish-Ponds

• All significant features with persistent impact on landscape and significant earthwork remains

Speed 1610.

Beeston 2015

Section 3: Laxton

Laxton

Open Field Farming Survives

Beeston 2015

Mark Pierce’s Map of 1625

Beeston 2015

Laxton

Beeston 2015

Laxton Top Lane

• Excavation of two tofts vacant since 1635

• Mid-Late Saxon pottery (York, Maxey, Stamford and Lincoln)

• Abundant 13th-14th Century pottery

• Nothing post c1500

• Pre conquest occupation

• 13th century regulated plan

• Later medieval abandonment

Beeston 2015

Laxton Old VicarageOld Infants’ School

Isolated pits/ditches with 13th/14th century pottery

Beeston 2015

Laxton

Two phase castle

Beeston 2015

Laxton

• Pre-conquest Anglo-Scandinavian settlement (?dispersed/nucleated)

• At conquest granted to Geoffrey Alselin, an absent landlord

• c1090s Alselin’s death and manor to Robert de Caux by marriage

• Caput of de Caux barony: first castle build near to former manorial site

• c1100 de Caux appointed “Keeper of Sherwood Forest”

• Second castle built to accommodate this role and regular royal visitors

• Original village form replaced by a regulated plan two row village in late 12th /early 13th century

• Development of Open Field at same time (Mill 1189/West 1232)

• Freed from forest law in 1227 – agriculture expansion and population growth

• 1230s manor to de Everinghams

Beeston 2015

Laxton

• Original village form replaced by a regulated plan two row village in late 12th /early 13th century

• Development of Open Field at same time (Mill 1189/West 1232)

• Freed from forest law in 1227 – agriculture expansion and population growth

• 1230s manor to de Everinghams• 1286 Robert imprisoned and loss of

office but further expansion and town like wealth

• 14th century IPM show decline in Demense – castle abandoned

• Pre and post Black Death decline and abandonment of tofts

Adam de Everingham (died 1336) and his wives

Beeston 2015

Further Study

Assignment 5: Medieval Nottingham

• Take a look at Maurice Barley’s seminal 1969 historical summary of Nottingham and the more recent taster paper by David Knight et al on excavations revealing the origins of the town. You might like to supplement this with your own reading – local studies libraries are bursting with Nottingham material.

• We will discuss Nottingham as an example of the development of a great Midland’s town in the Middle Ages – come prepared!

an archaeology of the east midlands. class 5, beeston winter 2015

Education

an archaeology of the east midlands, class 9. radcliffe...

an archaeology of the east midlands. class 4, beeston winter...

an archaeology of the east midlands: class 2. radcliffe...

3. production experiments (jordan beeston) (jordan beeston)

beeston female sale

6. production reflections (jordan beeston)

beeston park and ride plans

jordan-beeston - file types

an archaeology of the east midlands. class 6 radcliffe, ...

pavilion - microsoft...hunslet beeston hill royds holbeck...

acer wall-hung condensing premix gas fired boiler 60...

archaeology of the east midlands: class 3. radcliffe autumn...

november 2017 beeston castle auction

beeston library

beeston festival annual report 2018

paid search innovation - jonathan beeston

access to toton integrated transport map · 2020. 12....

archaeology of east midlands class 2 beeston winter 2015

7. evaluation (jordan beeston) (jordan beeston)

an archaeology of the east midlands. class 7 radcliffe...