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.
The monument at Tinsley Green lies in the Western Weald region of the Weald
sub-province, which is characterised by high densities of dispersed
settlements giving a countryside of farmsteads and associated fields of
medieval foundation, intermixed with cottages, medieval moated sites and
hamlets bearing the names `green' and `dene'. Medieval dispersed settlements,
comprising hamlets of up to five dwellings or isolated farmsteads, were
scattered throughout the parish or township. Often occurring in more densely
wooded, less intensively farmed areas, or associated with a centre of medieval
industry, the form and status of dispersed settlements varied enormously. When
they survive as earthworks, the most easily distinguishable features of
dispersed settlements include roads and tracks, platforms on which stood
houses and other buildings such as barns, and the enclosed fields or irregular
field systems with which the dwellings were associated. These rural
settlements can also be represented by below ground deposits. Higher status
dwellings, such as moated residences or manorial complexes, may have well-
defined boundaries and planned gardens. In the western and south eastern
provinces of England, dispersed settlements 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.
The medieval settlement remains 100m south east and 150m south west of
Oldlands Farm at Tinsley Green represent the predominant, dispersed form of
medieval rural settlement within the Western Weald sub-province. However,
unusually, this settlement is partly deserted and it survives well in the form
of earthworks and buried remains. Deserted and partly deserted medieval
settlements with earthwork remains are very rare in this area.
The Tinsley Green settlement will contain archaeological and environmental
evidence relating to the nature and date of the settlement and its subsequent
development and abandonment. Part excavation has shown that the remains
illustrate the continuity between medieval and post-medieval settlement in
this area of Sussex and its relationship with the nearby iron working centre
at Forge Farm.
Details
The monument, which falls into two separate areas of protection, includes the
remains of part of a dispersed medieval settlement situated on the Upper
Tunbridge Wells Clay to the north east of Crawley. It represents the original
focus of Tinsley Green, known as Tyntesle in the medieval period, and survives
in the form of earthworks and associated buried remains.
Part excavation in 1998 showed that this part of the settlement was occupied
from the 12th century and continued in use into the 18th century. Finds
recovered during the excavation included pottery and iron slag. The earthworks
incorporate a roughly north east-south west aligned hollow way flanked by
associated building platforms. These represent at least three homesteads which
survive as roughly rectangular, north west-south east aligned earthworks, up
to around 0.5m high. Further buried remains are likely to survive in the areas
around the building platforms. To the south east are associated rectangular
plots, visible on aerial photographs taken in 1969, which are included in the
scheduling. Further buried remains of the dispersed medieval settlement may
survive beyond the area of the scheduling, in the areas of early post-medieval
building at Tinsley Green and to the north of Radford Road.
Modern development in the area of Forge Farm, and the construction of Little
Radfords and cottages to the east and west of the monument, will have caused
significant disturbance to any earlier buried remains, and these areas are
therefore not included in the scheduling.
The concrete block, identified as a drain head, in the south eastern part of
the monument, is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath is
included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
