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 Lower Barpham Farm represents the
predominant, nucleated form of medieval rural settlement within the East
Wessex sub-province and survives well in the form of substantial earthworks
and undisturbed buried remains. These will contain archaeological and
environmental evidence relating to the date of the monument and its subsequent
development and abandonment.
Details
The monument includes a deserted medieval settlement situated on the south
east facing slope of a chalk hill which forms part of the Sussex Downs. The
settlement, which survives in earthwork form, is grouped around an east-west
aligned sunken trackway which runs across the slope in the northern part of
the monument. This is flanked on either side by at least eight roughly square,
terraced enclosures bounded by banks up to c.0.5m high. These represent the
tofts, or the sites of the houses, outbuildings and yards of the settlement.
Towards the south west is a larger, rectangular terraced enclosure measuring
c.50m by c.30m, interpreted as the curtilage of a manor house, church or other
high-status building. The areas between and around these enclosures contain
associated cultivation terraces which survive as earthworks up to c.1m high.
A further settlement 500m to the south west, believed to have been separate
but broadly contemporary, is the subject of a separate scheduling.
The telegraph poles which run along the northern boundary of the monument are
excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
29275
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
