Coxhoe medieval settlement, 170m south west of East House 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 East Durham Plateau local region is a limestone upland partly covered by glacial clays. The upper part of the plateau was almost devoid of settlement until the creation of the late 19th century mining communities, but ancient villages occupy the varied soils of the western sub-Provincial boundary, and can be found along the north-south routes just inland from the coast. Towards the southern edge and the Tees Valley, there has been significant settlement depopulation.

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 distinguising features include roads and minor trackways, platforms on which houses stood and other buildings such as barns, enclosed crofts and small 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 distinct 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. Coxhoe medieval settlement, 170m south west of East House Farm, is well- preserved and retains significant archaeological deposits. The village is a good example of its type and will add greatly to our knowledge and understanding of medieval rural settlement in the region.

Details

The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of Coxhoe medieval village. This lies on the magnesian limestone plateau of East Durham, on a south facing slope. The plan of the medieval settlement of Coxhoe is of a type familiar to this part of County Durham in which parallel lines of tofts or houses with crofts or garden areas to the rear face on to a village green. Beyond the tofts and crofts would lie the communal open fields where the crops were grown. The tofts and crofts at Coxhoe survive as visible earthworks up to 0.5m high, forming rectangular and subrectangular enclosures of between 6m and 10m wide arranged around a narrow green. A number of building platforms are visible within these enclosures, some of which have visibly surviving building stone within them. The village of Coxhoe first appears in land grants of the 14th century. By the end of the 14th century the village was in the hands of the Blakiston family. In 1418, the manor house and mill were described as ruinous. In 1484, the inquisition following the death of Thomas Blakiston stated, that the toft at the north west end of the village and the water-mill were the property of the Prior of Finchale. Coxhoe remained in the hands of the Blakiston family until Mary, the daughter and heiress of Christopher Blakiston, married William Kennett, before 1621. All fencing is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it 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:

34585

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Surtees, R, History of the County of Durham, (1816), 66-67

Other
unreferenced photos in Durham Uni., Coxhoe,

End of official list entry

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