Barwick medieval village, 50m north east of Barwick 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 past 1500 years or more. The Tees Valley local region is a rich agricultural lowland, with varied soils on glacial and alluvial deposits once supporting dense concentrations of market towns and villages. Depopulation has thinned the numbers of villages, while enclosure in the 17th and 18th centuries has brought scatters of isolated farmsteads to landscapes once dominated by great expanses of open, communally organised townfields.

Medieval villages were organised agricultural communities, sited at the centre of a parish or township, that shared resources such as arable land, meadow or woodland. Village plans varied enormously, but when they survive as earthworks their most distinguishing features include roads and minor tracks, platforms on which houses stood and other buildings such as barns, enclosed crofts and small enclosed paddocks. In the central province of England, villages were the most distinctive aspect of rural 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. The medieval village at Barwick Farm retains significant archaeological deposits and will add greatly to our knowledge of settlement in this area during the medieval period.

Details

The monument includes the deserted remains of the medieval village of Barwick, situated on the left bank of the River Tees. The earliest reference to a settlement at Barwick, or its earlier form `Berewick', is contained in a document of 1086 when it formed part of the manor of Acklam. By 1519 it was known as the manor of Barwick-upon-Tees and was held by the Crown. The settlement survives as a series of earthworks in three small fields immediately north east of Barwick Farm. They are visible as a line of up to five rectangular enclosures or tofts, orientated roughly north to south, bounded by low earthen banks standing to a maximum height of 0.3m. The most easterly two tofts measure 12m by 10m and the remaining three are smaller. The row of tofts is bounded on the north by a more substantial bank which measures 4m wide and stands to a height of 0.5m; this bank is thought to be the original northern perimeter bank of the settlement. To the east of the tofts there are a series of slight earthworks thought to represent further remains of the medieval settlement. A hollow 4m wide and 0.3m deep is associated with these earthworks.

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:

28569

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
0454,

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