Middleworth farmstead, 450m south east of Norsworthy Bridge

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 extensive south-west Peninsula sub-Province of the Northern and Western Province, an area climatically, culturally and physically distinct from the rest of England. It includes varying terrains, from the granite uplands, through rolling dissected plateaux to fertile clay lowlands in the east. While nucleated settlements are present, notably in the Devon Lowlands and throughout the South Hams, many originated as small towns, and a high proportion may be of later date. Excluding only the moorland masses, the sub-Province is characterised by medium and high densities of dispersed settlements; indeed, some of the former industrial areas had densities as high as any in the country. The Dartmoor local region is a high, undulating moorland scenically and climatically distinct. The inner core, now treeless, is the ancient `Forest of Dartmoor', while an outer ring of commons provides grazing for a number of communities outside the Forest. Almost devoid of nucleated settlement, the region has extremely low densities of dispersed settlement. Scattered farmsteads and hamlets with irregular enclosed fields appear in peripheral valleys, while above the present head-dyke are numerous traces of abandoned settlements and fields.

Middleworth farmstead, 450m south east of Norsworthy Bridge survives well and will contain archaeological, architectural and environmental information relating to the occupation of this settlement throughout much of the historic period. This farmstead forms part of a discrete group of historic settlements in this area which were all abandoned in the early part of the 20th century.

Details

The monument includes a farmstead situated on a south facing terrace at Middleworth overlooking the Narrator Brook. The farmstead survives as a series of drystone walls denoting the position of the farmhouse and a range of outbuildings and paddocks. At the eastern end of the complex a barn remains standing to its original height, but all the other buildings have lost their upper levels. The farmhouse survives as a rectangular building with drystone walls standing up to 1.7m high in which at least two window openings are visible. The interior of this structure measures 8.6m long by 7.5m wide and a bank protruding south from the building may represent the site of a porch. An outshut attached to the eastern wall stands up to 1.5m high. East of the farmhouse is the barn, which is subdivided into at least five separate rooms. South of the farmhouse is a small structure subdivided into four rooms, one of which represents a lavatory. In the south western part of the farmstead are a further three barns and a paddock. The settlement at Middleworth is first documented in 1281 and it would appear to have remained in constant occupation until it was abandoned in the 1920s.

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:

22394

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Haynes, R.G., Ruined Sites on Dartmoor - Middleworth, 1966, Unpublished Manuscript

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