North Raunds Saxon and Medieval Settlement

Reasons for Designation

Inhabited villages are an important class of monument which tell us much about the economy and society of rural England in the Early Medieval and medieval periods. North Raunds is a particularly fine example of its class. As a result of extensive excavations it is the best understood example in Britain of a developing village from its origins in the Early Saxon period to its decline in the Post-Medieval period. Those areas of Saxon and Medieval remains which are still preserved are enhanced in importance as a result. There is a wide diversity of remains from the different periods of the village's development, as revealed by major archaeological excavations to the West and North. It is rare for continuously occupied villages to have the remains of their evolution preserved. The settlement is further enhanced by its association with nearby Medieval villages which include Ringstead and West Cotton as well as earlier sites which are also subject to analysis as part of the Raunds Area Project.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a Medieval manor first mentioned in the 13th century. It is also likely to include the remains of part of an earlier Early and Late Saxon settlement (6th-10th century) as well as another Medieval manor belonging to the Duchy of Lancaster. Other parts of the settlement have been excavated on a large scale to the West and to the North of the scheduled area and have produced evidence of a wide range of buildings and features. In the late Saxon and Medieval periods the settlement formed a village with two separate foci consisting of two churches, three manors and associated enclosures, tenements, work areas and quarries.

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:

11507

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Parker Pearson, Mike, The Raunds Area Project: A Reassessment of the Research Design, 1989,

End of official list entry

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