Faulkners medieval settlement at Runaway Fields, 600m south west of Tye 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 last 1500 years or more. This monument lies in the Eastern Weald sub-Province of the South-eastern Province, bounded by the North and South Downs and comprising an oval arrangement of inward facing escarpments of chalk and sandstone, separated by clay vales, all ringing a higher sandstone ridge. Apart from concentrations of nucleated settlements in the Vale of Holmsdale and around Canterbury, the sub- Province is dominated by high and very high densities of dispersed settlements, giving a countryside with farmsteads and associated enclosed fields, of medieval foundation, intermixed with cottages, medieval moated sites and hamlets bearing the names `green' or `dene'.

In some areas of medieval England settlement was dispersed across the landscape rather than nucleated into villages. Such dispersed settlement in an area, usually a township or parish, is defined by the lack of a single (or principal) nucleated settlement focus such as a village and the presence instead of small settlement units (small hamlets or farmsteads) spread across the area. These small settlements normally have a degree of interconnection with their close neighbours, for example, in relation to shared common land or road systems. Dispersed settlements varied enormously from region to region, but where they survive as earthworks their distinguishing features include other buildings such as barns, enclosed crofts and small enclosed paddocks. In areas where stone was used for building, the outline of building foundations may still be clearly visible. Communal areas of the settlements frequently include features such as bakehouses, pinfolds and ponds. Areas of dispersed medieval settlement are found in both the South Eastern Province and the Northern and Western Province of England. They are found in upland and also some lowland areas. Where found, their archaeological remains are one of the most important sources of understanding about rural life in the five or more centuries following the Norman Conquest. Faulkners medieval settlement represents the predominant, dispersed form of rural settlement within the Eastern Weald sub-Province. The settlement survives well, in association with its contemporary closes, exhibiting little subsequent disturbance. Part excavation and field investigation has confirmed that the monument retains archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its original use and abandonment.

Details

The monument includes an abandoned medieval hamlet and an area of associated small closes, or fields, situated in a small sandstone valley in the Sussex High Weald, around 8km east of East Grinstead. Historical evidence and investigations carried out in 1981 have confirmed that the settlement was in use from the late 12th to the mid-14th century. Field investigation identified around 19 small building platforms, visible as terraces cut into the upper slopes of the steep valley sides. The excavation of one of these revealed traces of the stone rubble sub-walls of a small, rectangular timber-framed building, interpreted as a dwelling, measuring around 8.3m by 4.4m. The recovery of iron-working slag from nearby fields and the presence of two disused quarries beyond the monument suggests that the settlement may have been associated with ore extraction and iron smelting. The associated closes cover the remainder of the monument, taking the form of four small, irregular fields divided by the four streams which meet in the valley bottom. The settlement was first recorded as Folkeneshest in 1199. The monument is recorded as Runaway Fields in the Hartfield Tithe Award of 1844. Analysis of the hedgerows which form the field boundaries has suggested that they date to the period during which the settlement was in use.

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:

31424

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Tebbutt, C, Sussex Archaeological Collections in A deserted medieval settlement at Faulkners Farm, Hartfield, Vol. 119, (1981), 107-116

Other
10/05/1965 print no 47, NMR Library No. 4101, (1965)

End of official list entry

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