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.
Details
Mallows Cotton deserted medieval village lies 1.5km to the west of Raunds and
just to the north-west of the A605 Raunds by-pass.
The village extends over an area of approximately 500m from north-south and
200m east-west. A distinctive hollow-way 2m deep and 4.5m wide runs from
north to south along the east side of the monument. A series of raised
rectangular enclosures identifying house platforms and small garden plots are
visible on the western side of the hollow-way. Exposed stonework also marks
the position of some of the houses. A larger rectangular platform in the
north western area is considered to include the buried remains of the manor
house. In the south western area of the village, ditches and banks indicate
the location of further horticultural plots and fields. Elsewhere trackways
run from east to west across the site.
The village lies 1km to the north of the partially excavated deserted village
of West Cotton, where substantial archaeological evidence of the settlement
was preserved. A small excavation was carried out on Mallows Cotton in 1909
when remains of buildings were uncovered. The manorial history of the site is
complex as the village was documented jointly with the adjacent villages.
However, it is known that the village originated in the 12th century and
was well established by 1274. By 1798, when an enclosure map of the area was
produced, the village was completely abandoned.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
13694
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
