Deserted medieval settlement at Upper Barpham Farm

Reasons for Designation

Medieval rural settlement in England is marked by considerable regional diversity in form, size and type, and the protection of archaeological remains of such settlements needs to take that diversity into account. In order to do this, England has been divided into three broad provinces on the basis of each area's distinctive combination of nucleated and dispersed settlements. The provinces have been further divided into sub-provinces and small local regions. This monument lies within the East Wessex sub-province of the eastern province which is characterised by nucleated settlements, both surviving and deserted, in an area of chalk downland with smoothly contoured valleys and winter streamflow. The settlements typically appear in chains along the valleys where water supply was assured. It is also an area in which moated sites and settlements with greens are uncommon, the latter contrasting markedly with sub-provinces to the east and north east.

The deserted medieval settlement at Upper Barpham Farm represents the predominant, nucleated form of medieval rural settlement within the East Wessex sub-province. The settlement survives well in the form of earthworks and buried remains, and part excavation has shown that it contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to its c.900 year history.

Details

The monument includes a deserted medieval settlement situated on the south western slope of a chalk hill which forms part of the Sussex Downs. The settlement, known as Bargham during the medieval period, lies within a field known as Chapel Croft. It survives in the form of low earthworks, representing a trackway flanked on each side by the levelled terraces and boundaries of the tofts, or houses, outbuildings and associated yards, of the settlement.

The north eastern corner of the monument underwent archaeological investigation between 1952-56, revealing the buried foundations of the parish church. The excavation established that the small church was constructed during the Anglo-Saxon period, when brick removed from an earlier, Roman building was incorporated within its foundations. During the following centuries the church underwent at least six phases of substantial alteration or redevelopment, including a complete rebuild after a serious fire in c.1300. Burials found within the associated graveyard were dated to the 14th and 15th centuries.

Historical records suggest that the church was demolished during the mid-16th century, after the village had become depopulated following the Black Death of 1348-49 and the social and economic changes of the 15th century. Masonry from the church was reused in the construction of the buildings of Upper Barpham Farm, situated immediately to the south east of the monument.

A further settlement, 500m to the north east, believed to have been separate but broadly contemporary, is the subject of a separate scheduling.

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:

29274

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Barr-Hamilton, A, Sussex Archaeological Collections in The Excavation of Barpham Church Site, Upper Barpham, Sussex, Vol. 99, (1961), 38-65

End of official list entry

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