Medieval settlement at Brockington, immediately north east of Brockington 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 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.

The medieval settlement at Brockington is comparatively well-preserved as a series of earthwork remains and associated buried deposits which will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. Brockington represents one of two settlement sites which survive within the area (the other being Knowlton) and, together, these will provide insights into local society and the economy of the area throughout the medieval period.

Details

The monument includes the site of the medieval settlement remains at Brockington, situated on gently sloping ground to the west of the River Allen, on Cranborne Chase. The settlement now survives as a series of earthworks which extend over an area of about 2ha and was surveyed by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England in 1975. The settlement includes two well-defined hollow ways which are likely to represent roads or droveways. The first lies to the north, is aligned north east by south west, extends for about 200m and is visible as an earthwork 4m wide and up to 1m deep. This is bounded on either side by a series of enclosures or `closes' which are likely to represent individual properties. Within these, there are several artificial platforms which might represent the sites of buildings. A second hollow way to the east is aligned north west by south east and runs for a length of 150m. This hollow way is 4m wide and about 0.7m deep and joins the first example at a junction situated within the north eastern area of the settlement. Four closes adjoin the eastern hollow way on the western side (others may have been situated to the east, but have since been levelled by ploughing). The date of the settlement and size of the population is obscure, although figures quoted for the parish in the 14th century Subsidy Rolls and 17th century Hearth Tax returns are likely to have included the Brockington totals. Brockington lies on the opposite side of the river from the broadly contemporary settlement site at Knowlton, the subject of a separate scheduling. The two settlements lie within different parishes and were always distinct from one another. Brockington Farm, which lies to the south west, dates from the 17th century, but might have earlier origins. All gates and fenceposts which relate to the modern field boundaries and the boundary wall running along the north western side are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them 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:

35213

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 20

End of official list entry

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