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
The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a deserted medieval
settlement south east of Partney Bridge, known as Old Spilsby. The remains are
believed to represent a settlement which was in existence before the late 11th
century and was subsequently depopulated after the present market town of
Spilsby was established in the mid 13th century. The settlement was
completely deserted by the late 18th century and some of the medieval
earthworks reused as post-medieval field boundaries. The remains of the
settlement are adjoined by those of the medieval open fields which surrounded
it and of associated hollow ways. The monument includes the full extent of
the remains of the settlement and the best surviving remains of ridge and
furrow cultivation which lie immediately adjacent to it.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
22715
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
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
