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 West Wessex sub-Province of the Central Province, an
area characterised by large numbers of villages and hamlets within
countrysides of great local diversity, ranging from flat marshland to hill
ridges. Settlements range from large, sprawling villages to tiny hamlets, a
range extended by large numbers of scattered dwellings in the extreme east and
west of the sub-Province. Cultivation in open townfields was once present, but
early enclosure was commonplace. The physical diversity of the landscape was,
by the time of Domesday Book in 1086, linked with great variations in the
balance of cleared land and woodland.
Details
The monument includes the remains of a deserted medieval settlement at
Whitcombe, situated at the head of a dry valley on chalkland. The medieval
settlement may have originally extended over an area of about 8ha. The eastern
part is now occupied by a hamlet which includes a manor, cottages and a farm.
The structures include a variety of examples which date from the late 17th and
early 18th centuries, most are Listed and none are included in the scheduling.
An additional area of possible medieval settlement situated to the south now
lies within an arable area and has been reduced by ploughing.
The surviving area of medieval settlement was recorded by the Royal Commission
on the Historic Monuments of England in 1970 and surveyed by A Hunt in 1976.
It comprises a series of earthworks which extend over an area of about 1.5ha
(situated to the west of the hamlet at Whitcombe). This includes at least six
artificial terraces, which are likely to represent the sites of medieval
buildings, along with several roads or tracks which survive as hollow ways
about 0.5m deep. The settlement appears to have been defined from the
surrounding fields by an outer boundary which survives as a bank and ditch.
The settlement was situated to the north east of a road aligned north west by
south east. This linked the medieval towns of Dorchester and Wareham. The road
also formed the main street of the medieval village at Whitcombe; later it
became disused and now survives as a hollow way (or depression) between 20m-
30m wide and about 0.6m deep.
The parish church is situated near to the centre of the deserted area of the
settlement. The church, which is now redundant, is a Listed Building Grade I.
The associated churchyard is dominated by post-medieval graves, some of which
are Listed at Grade II.
The settlement is first mentioned in the Domesday Survey, when a population of
16 was recorded. The 1332 Lay Subsidy Assessment recorded 12 contributors, the
1664 Hearth Tax assessments recorded 15 dwellings and a late 18th century map
depicts 10 dwellings. It appears that the reduction in the size of the
settlement occurred gradually during the 17th and 19th centuries.
All fence posts and gates which relate to the modern property boundaries and
the wall surrounding the gardens of the cottages on the western side of the
hamlet are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is
included.
Totally excluded from the scheduling are the parish church and the associated
churchyard (which form part of a Conservation Area).
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
33197
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
