Marten deserted medieval village and moated site.

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. Although the sites of many Medieval 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 wide-spread 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. Around 6,000 moated sites are known in England many being contemporary with, and occurring within or adjacent to, Medieval village sites. They consist of wide ditches, often or seasonally water-filled, partly or completely enclosing one or more islands of dry ground on which stood domestic or religious buildings or, in some cases, which were used for horticulture. Where they occur in association with villages they are likely to be sites of manorial rank. Villages and moated sites were important elements of the Medieval landscape. Both types of site were occupied throughout the Medieval period and are widely scattered across England. As such they illustrate the diversity of Medieval settlement between the regions with moated sites being particularly valuable in the understanding of the distribution of wealth and status in the countryside, and village sites providing important information on settlement patterns and the farming economy through time.

Details

The monument includes a moated site, the site of a chapel and deserted medieval village earthworks 150m north-west of Manor Farm, Marten. The moat survives as a rectangular earthwork orientated SW-NE and with dimensions of 80m x 50m respectively. To the north-east the southern arm of the outer earthwork extends beyond the limit of the moat to provide an additional earthwork. Beyond this are traces of a third earthwork, probably a narrow bank. The interior of the site is c.40m square surrounded by ditches 3-4m deep and 20m wide. The central mound is flat and stands about 0.7m above the surrounding ground level. The sides are still very steep. Surrounding the moated site are a complex series of earthworks. To the south-east of the moated site these comprise the surviving portion of a deserted village. Earthworks clearly visible on the ground include building platforms, a hollow way and pond.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

12045

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Dennison, E and Darvill, T, HBMC Monument Class Description - Moats, 1988,
Schofield, AJ, HBMC Monument Class Description - Deserted villages, (1988)

End of official list entry

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