Taddington medieval settlement

Summary

Deserted medieval village at Taddington, 170m east of Manor Farm.

Reasons for Designation

The village, comprising a small group of houses, gardens, yards, streets, paddocks, often with a green, a manor and a church, and with a community devoted primarily to agriculture, was a significant component of the rural landscape in most areas of medieval England, much as it is today. Villages provided some services to the local community and acted as the main focal point of ecclesiastical, and often of manorial, administration within each parish. Although the sites of many of these villages have been occupied continuously down to the present day, many others declined in size or were abandoned throughout the medieval and post-medieval periods, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. As a result over 2000 deserted medieval villages are recorded nationally. The reasons for desertion were varied but often reflected declining economic viability, changes in land use such as enclosure or emparkment, or population fluctuations as a result of widespread epidemics such as the Black Death. As a consequence of their abandonment these villages are frequently undisturbed by later occupation and contain well-preserved archaeological deposits. Because they are a common and long-lived monument type in most parts of England, they provide important information on the diversity of medieval settlement patterns and farming economy between the regions and through time.

The deserted medieval village at Taddington survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, development, longevity, social organisation, agricultural practices, industrial activity, domestic arrangements, economic and political significance, abandonment and overall landscape context.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 28 September 2015. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a deserted medieval village situated on the western bank and floodplain of the River Windrush to the north and east of the current settlement. The deserted medieval village of Taddington survives as an extensive series of earthworks including a farmstead of several buildings and enclosures and at least seven building platforms, a hollow way, possible mill leat, possible windmill mound, and significant amounts of ridge and furrow all surviving as scarps and banks up to 0.7m high and as partially buried ditches. There is some speculation that a nearby current barn was once the church which was recorded as still being in use in 1545. The village was recorded as a relatively large settlement at the time of Domesday. At some point following its abandonment a later rectangular stock enclosure was constructed over some of the village remains, which is also now disused.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

GC 472

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape 328170

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