Slade Hooton medieval settlement and moated site

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 Pennine Slope sub-Province of the Central Province, which embraces the varied scarp and vale topography flanking the higher portions of the southern Pennines, where narrow escarpments of limestone and sandstone and softer shale vales give a distinct north-south grain to the landscape. Dispersed settlement increases from extremely low to medium densities in the south east of the sub-Province to high densities at the north west. With the exception of Sherwood Forest, the region is well stocked with nucleated settlements, some old but others the result of 18th- and 19th- century industrial developments. Anglo-Saxon `wood' names are common among placenames, and the area was well wooded in 1086. The Permian Limestone Ridge local region is an area of great diversity. A long, narrow outcrop of limestone is cut by a succession of rivers and streams flowing eastwards. There are wide contrasts in the amounts of both nucleated and dispersed settlement. At the time of Domesday Book only the northern part of the region contained recorded settlements, while the place-names of the southern part indicate woodland in Anglo-Saxon times.

Medieval villages were organised agricultural communities, sited at the centre of a parish or township, that shared resources such as arable land, meadow and woodland. Village plans varied enormously, but when they survive as earthworks their most distinguishing features include roads and minor tracks, platforms on which stood houses and other buildings such as barns, enclosed crofts and small enclosed paddocks. They frequently include the parish church within their boundaries, and as part of the manorial system most villages include one or more manorial centres which may also survive as visible remains as well as below ground deposits. In the Central Province of England, villages were the most distinctive aspect of medieval life, and 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. Around 6,000 moated sites are known in England. They consist of wide ditches, often seasonally water filled, partly or completely enclosing one or more islands of dry ground on which stood domestic or religious buildings. In some cases the islands were used for horticulture. The peak period during which moated sites were built was between about 1250 and 1350 and by far the greatest concentration lies in central and eastern parts of England. However, moated sites were built were built throughout the medieval period, are widely scattered throughout England and exhibit a high level of diversity in their forms and sizes The earthwork and buried remains of the abandoned areas of the medieval settlement of Slade Hooton are well preserved and retain significant archaeological deposits. The earthworks and aerial photographs provide a clear picture of the village layout and how it fitted within the wider agricultural landscape. The silts at the base of the moat and the buried land surface beneath the external bank will retain important environmental and ecological deposits which can inform us of the environmental history of the area. Taken as a whole, the medieval settlement remains of Slade Hooton will add greatly to our knowledge and understanding of the development and decline of medieval settlement in the area.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of the abandoned areas of Slade Hooton medieval settlement and a moated site. The monument is situated on a south facing slope overlooking Hooton Dike, a tributary of the River Ryton, and is in two areas of protection. Hotone or Slade Hooton is first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it is documented as part of the manor of Laughton-en-le-Morthen and Troapham. The land was held by Roger de Busli, one of the largest landholders of the time. Sometime later in the medieval period two manors were established in Slade Hooton. Court Rolls indicate that a secular manor was almost certainly present by 1480. A monastic manor belonging to Roche Abbey is documented in records dated to 1538. In the late 18th century the secular manor was purchased by Richard Lumley Savile (later the sixth Earl of Scarbrough). The monastic manor, together with others, was acquired by Richard Turke but was sold in 1549 to Robert Saunderson. In 1723 this manor passed to Thomas Lumley (later the third Earl of Scarbrough). It remains part of the Scarbrough estate. The monument survives as a series of earthworks and buried remains to the east and west of Manor Farm. To the west of the farm the earthworks survive up to 1m in height and are evident as a row of six platforms which lie side by side on an east-west alignment. The platforms, which are defined by low banks, are roughly square in plan and measure between 16m and 20m across. Each platform is interpreted as the site of a medieval building or toft with the low banks representing the buried remains of walls. Extending north from each of the platforms and continuing almost to the edge of the field are rectangular enclosures or crofts. These are the width of the building platforms and probably served as gardens for the occupants. Three of the crofts contain small, sub-rectangular sunken areas which run the width of the enclosure and measure between 13m and 16m north to south. These are interpreted as crew yards in which cattle were penned in winter. Running east to west beyond the northern end of the crofts is a banked terrace which extends across the width of the area of protection. The terrace is approximately 10m wide, is defined by a gentle slope along its southern edge and is interpreted as a terraced track or back lane. The earthworks adjacent to the eastern boundary of this field have been degraded slightly by the sinking of a collection chamber approximately 30m south east from the north eastern corner of the field, and by the laying of hardcore just inside the field gate. However, the disturbance is minimal and the earthworks still clearly show the layout of the settlement remains. The row of house platforms extend in a straight line westwards from Abbey Lane, indicating that the existing road may originally have continued on this alignment. A bank running along the southern edge of the scheduling suggests that a sunken track provided access to the buildings. The southern edge of the track has been obscured or levelled during the construction of the relatively modern property to the south. In the field to the east of Manor Farm, north of Abbey Lane and adjacent to the western field boundary, is a moated site. This includes a small sub- rectangular island measuring approximately 8m by 11m which is enclosed by a `U' shaped ditch. The southern side of the island has suffered some disturbance, possibly in the form of post-medieval quarrying. This may explain why the northern arm of the moat is approximately 4m wide and the southern arm around 8m wide. Narrow channels measuring nearly 3m wide and 0.5m deep extend from the north west and north east corners of the ditch. These run downslope and would have acted as drainage channels feeding water to the moat. Although there is no visible running water close by, a well which is situated on the southern edge of monument does indicate the availability of ground water and it may be this which fed both the well and the moat. The moat is bounded on its east, south and west sides by an external bank which survives to a height of approximately 0.4m and 11m wide. To the east of the moat is a sub-rectangular enclosure measuring approximately 27m by 36m. The western edge of this enclosure is formed from the external bank of the moat and the southern edge by an extension to the moat's southern arm. The eastern boundary bank of the enclosure extends approximately 24m north. There is a second smaller sub-rectangular enclosure attached to the south east corner, measuring approximately 22m by 19m. It is also defined by low banks. The enclosures were possibly used to contain stock. All modern animal food and water troughs, the area of hardcore and the collection chamber are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all 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:

29948

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Page, W, The Victoria History of the County of Yorkshire, (1912), 253
Rodgers, A, Slade Hooton, (1998), 1

End of official list entry

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