Medieval settlement 100m south east and 350m north east of East Ashey Manor Farm

Reasons for Designation

Medieval rural settlements in England were marked by great regional diversity in form, size and type, and the protection of their archaeological remains needs to take these differences into account. To do this, England has been divided into three broad Provinces on the basis of each area's distinctive mixture of nucleated and dispersed settlements. These can be further divided into sub-Provinces and local regions, possessing characteristics which have gradually evolved during the past 1500 years or more. This monument lies in the East Wessex sub-Province of the south-eastern Province, an area in which settlement characteristics are shaped by strong contrasts in terrain. This is seen in the division between the chalk Downs, where chains of nucleated settlements concentrate in the valleys, and the Hampshire Basin, still dominated by the woodlands and open commons of the ancient New Forest, where nucleated sites are largely absent. Along the coastal strip extending into Sussex are more nucleations, while in Hampshire some coastal areas and inland valleys are marked by high densities of dispersed settlement, much of it post-medieval. The Isle of Wight local region is divided into two parts by a narrow west to east ridge of downland. The low-lying area to the north is mainly clays, while to the south clays and sands form the wide vale of the Yar. The settlement pattern is unusually complex: areas with villages and hamlets intermingle with zones dominated by scatters of farmsteads and tracts of unsettled downland.

The medieval settlement 100m south east and 350m north east of East Ashey Manor Farm survives well and is one of the few examples of manorial settlements recorded on the Isle of Wight. There is documentary evidence for the site, and evidence of its economy is provided by the presence of fishponds associated with the settlement.

Details

The monument, which falls into two areas of protection, includes a complex of medieval settlement remains surviving as earthworks representing buildings, enclosures and fishponds situated in a valley on the east side of the Isle of Wight. A stream known as Monktonmead Brook separates the two parts of the monument.

On the east side of Monktonmead Brook are the rectangular platforms of at least two homesteads and the banks of small crofts and other enclosures. To the west of the Brook and about 120m to the south west of the homesteads and crofts are a series of fishponds. These include a main pond and a group of five smaller rectangular ponds nearby to the south west. The main pond is a straight sided excavated depression with a pond bay on its east side.

Approximately 20m to the south west of the main pond is a group of ponds which vary in size from about 4m wide and 24m long to about 12m wide and 26m long. This group is surrounded by a deep supply ditch, and their depth is increased by banks of excavated material. To the south west of the group are the banks of further enclosures.

Ashey was granted to the Abbey of Wherwell, near Andover, before 1228. In 1291 it was valued at the considerable sum of 41 pounds 6 shillings 2 pence. The estate extended to the coast, and the passage from Ryde to Portsmouth was one of its sources of income. Poll tax returns suggest that the medieval settlement of East Ashey was depopulated in the late 15th century. Ashey remained with Wherwell until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540.

All post and wire fences, telegraph poles and supports are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

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:

22066

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Doubleday, AH, The Victoria History of the County of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, (1912), 180
Beresford, M, Lost Villages of England, (1954), 354
Beresford, M, Lost Villages of England, (1954), 354
Beresford, M, Lost Villages of England, (1954), 354
Sherwin, G A, Proceedings of the I.O.W. Nat History and Archaeological Society in Proceedings of the I.O.W. Nat History and Archaeological Society, Vol. 2, (1936), 614

Other
OS Field Inspector, OS record card SZ 58 NE 22, (1955)
O S Field Inspector, O S record card SZ 58 NE 22, (1955)
OS Field Inspector, SZ 58 NE 22, (1955)

End of official list entry

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