Newton Mulgrave medieval settlement

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 Yorkshire sub-Province of the Central Province, an area characterised by marked local terrain variations: from the North York Moors, to the Tabular Hills and Howardian Hills, to the Vale of Pickering and the chalk Wolds, to the Hull Valley and the silt lands of the Humber and Holderness. The sub-Province has the relatively low density of dispersed settlements which marks the Central Province, but this uniformity masks strong settlement contrasts. Some regions were typified by low density dispersed settlement in the Middle Ages, whereas others have achieved a similar pattern through extensive depopulation of medieval villages. The North East Coast local region is for the greater part a sparsely settled rural area, but it has higher concentrations of settlement around creeks and havens, linked to fishing and to the extraction and processing of alum and jet.

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 included the parish church within their boundaries, and as part of the manorial system most villages included 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. Despite disturbance from recent improvements to the pasture, the remains of the medieval village surrounding the present hamlet of Newton Mulgrave survive as visible earthworks. Important information about the form and activities of the settlement will have been preserved in deposits beneath the present ground surface. Due to the waterlogged nature of the soil in this area, below ground preservation will be good.

Details

The monument includes part of the earthwork and buried remains of Newton Mulgrave medieval village. The surviving earthworks are situated around the present hamlet of Newton Mulgrave and are split into two separate areas, one to the west of Village Farm and the other to the east of the hamlet. The western area includes earthworks up to 0.5m high, which preserve the division of land units within this area. The area also includes the building platform of Newton Hall, which is an irregular rectangle of 40m long by 25m wide, defined by a 0.5m high bank. The eastern area includes a large building platform 80m long by 40m wide, which is 0.5m higher than the immediately surrounding field. On a tithe map of 1833 this platform has a large building along its southern edge 25m long by 10m wide. Its western edge is defined by a ditch, which survives as a 0.1m deep depression. To the north of the platform is a trackway 4m wide and 0.1m deep. Newton Mulgrave was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as containing three carucates of land (approximately 150ha), which belonged to Borrowby. A chapel is believed to have existed here since the 12th century; although no evidence of it exists above ground, it will be preserved beneath the present surface. The silage clamp, the surface of the farmyard and of the metalled road and fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them 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:

32071

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
NMR centre, OS/70152 Frame number 026, (1970)

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