Medieval earthworks E and SE of St Mary's Church

Summary

Deserted medieval village, 160m ESE of St Mary’s Church.

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 information on the diversity of medieval settlement patterns and regional farming economy over a long period of time.

The deserted medieval village, 160m ESE of St Mary’s Church survives well. It has been largely undisturbed and as such has a high degree of potential for archaeological investigation. It will contain below-ground archaeological and environmental information relating to the construction, use and occupation of the site and its relationship to the surrounding landscape.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 3 November 2014. 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 in two separate areas of protection surviving as earthworks and below-ground remains. It is situated on the flood plain of the River Arun at Church Farm, west of Littlehampton.

The earthworks include rectangular house platforms, depressions and banks up to 1.2m high. An area of flint metalling is considered to be a trackway associated with the village. A trial cutting has revealed brick and stone walling of buildings as well as medieval pottery sherds on the site. It is in close proximity to the parish church of St Mary’s and is associated with the reduced village of Climping. In 1999, an archaeological watching brief nearby at Church Farm Cottage recorded pits of medieval and post-medieval date, medieval pottery and animal remains.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

WS 424

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
West Sussex HER 2201 - MWS3371, 6946 - MWS6993. NMR TQ00SW55. PastScape 392891

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