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 Cheshire Plain sub-Province of the Northern and
Western Province, a gently rolling plain of red marl covered by ice-carried
clays, sands and gravels. It is diversified by occasional sandstone
escarpments, notably the Central Cheshire Ridge east of the Dee valley. It has
lower densities of nucleated settlements than surrounding areas, and high
concentrations of dispersed farmsteads and small hamlets. In the Wirral and
the lower Dee and Weaver valleys, the settlement mix is different, with low
and medium densities of dispersed farmsteads intermixed with more frequent
villages. Domesday Book records a thin scatter of settlement in the Wirral,
the Dee lowlands and the central and southern plain in 1086, with much
woodland.
The High Edge and Miller's Dale-Wyedale local region is a mixture of high
Millstone Grit ridges around low plateaux and dales cut deeply into shales and
mountain limestones. Besides having numerous scattered farmsteads related to
settlement of marginal lands, this is an exceptional landscape of upland
village settlements which, with their former communal townfields, occupied the
dales and more fertile limestone tops.
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 distinguishing features include roads and minor tracks,
platforms on which stood houses and other buildings such as barns, enclosed
crofts and small enclosed paddocks. They frequently include the parish church
within their boundaries, and as part of the manorial system most villages
include 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 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.
Medieval villages were supported by a communal system of agriculture based on
large, unenclosed open arable fields. These large fields were subdivided into
strips (known as lands) which were allocated to individual tenants. The
cultivation of these strips with heavy ploughs pulled by oxen-teams produced
long, wide ridges and the resultant `ridge and furrow' where it survives
is the most obvious physical indication of the open field system.
Individual strips or lands were laid out in groups known as furlongs
defined by terminal headlands at the plough turning-points and lateral
grass baulks. Furlongs were in turn grouped into large open fields. Well
preserved ridge and furrow, especially in its original context adjacent
to village earthworks, is both an important source of information about
medieval agrarian life and a distinctive contribution to the character of
the historic landscape. It is usually now covered by the hedges or walls
of subsequent field enclosure.
Approximately 10,000 lead industry sites are estimated to survive in England,
spanning nearly three millennia of mining history from the later Bronze Age
(around 1000 BC) to the present day, though before the Roman period it is
likely to have been on a small scale. Lead mining features often follow a
lead vein resulting in lines of shafts, waste heaps and other features.
These are known as rakes but shafts can also be found in isolation. Rakes
can be broadly divided between: rakes consisting of continuous rock-cut
clefts; rakes consisting of lines of interconnecting or closely-spaced
shafts with associated spoil tips and other features; and rakes whose
surface features were predominantly produced by reprocessing of earlier
waste tips. The majority of rake workings are believed to be of 16th-18th
century date, but earlier examples are likely to exist. Rakes are the
main field monuments produced by the earlier and technologically simpler
phases of lead mining. Single shafts may simply represent areas where the
vein was particularly close to the surface or possibly trials to test the
quality and/or accessibility of the deposit.
Earthworks defining the buildings of Romano-British farms and the fields
that surround them are uncommon in the Peak District, surviving at only
50 sites in the region. They mostly occur on the limestone plateau on
the fringes of traditional settlement zones. They survive in locations
where later farming activity has not obliterated the surface evidence. In
contrast, the majority of Romano-British farms that probably existed on
the most favourable parts of the limestone or in the valleys have now
been lost.
The earthwork and buried remains of the abandoned medieval settlement of
Nether Haddon and the associated open field system are particularly well
preserved and retain significant archaeological deposits. The quality of the
settlement remains and the extent of the surviving open field system is a rare
combination. This is complimented by the historical and archaeological
documentation and together provides an important insight into the development,
use and subsequent abandonment of the settlement. Taken as a whole, Nether
Haddon medieval settlement will add greatly to our understanding of the
village and its social and economic status in the wider rural landscape.
The Romano-British field system remains are an unusual and important
survival in the Peak District. The lead mining remains are also
well-preserved and will contribute to an understanding of this industry
in the area.
Details
The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of Nether Haddon
medieval settlement and part of the associated open field system. It also
includes post-medieval lead mining remains and part of a Romano-British
field system. The monument is situated on the east facing slopes of the
Wye Valley, rising to a plateau on the western edge of the monument. The
underlying geology is predominantly limestone containing mineral veins of
lead, calcite, galena and fluorspar.
The medieval settlement is first mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086
where it is recorded as being a berewick of Bakewell. A berewick was a
settlement which was physically separate from where the lord lived but still
governed as part of the manorial estate. Haddon was listed twice in the
survey, implying the existence of two settlements of that name, probably
Nether and Over Haddon, although these prefixes were not used at that time.
Documentary references to occupation at Haddon continue throughout the 12th
century until the mid-13th century when `Nether' is first recorded as a
prefix. It is unclear why the settlement was abandoned, but it appears from
documentary sources to have been so by the late 16th century. Many villages
in what is now the Peak National Park began to decline during the 14th
century when the climate deteriorated, population decreased due to famines
and the Black Death and cattle stocks were depleted by disease. It is
possible that the abandonment of Nether Haddon was associated with the
creation of the deer park in 1330.
The settlement lies on the lower slopes of the valley side, close to the
western bank of the River Wye. Here the village is above the valley flood
plain but also close to Haddon Hall, the lord of the manor's residence.
The settlement survives as a series of earthwork and buried remains
which, although clearly visible on the ground, are most easily defined
from aerial photographs. Central to the settlement is a deeply incised
gully which survives to a depth of approximately 1m. This is interpreted
as a hollow way and would have formed the main street of the village.
Just north of Haddon Barn the hollow way runs north west to south east
adjacent to, and parallel with, the modern A6 road. It continues on this
alignment for approximately 150m before dividing with one branch curving
to the north and the other to the west. At the junction of this divide
there appears to be a triangle of open ground which is interpreted as a
village green. The hollow way leading to the north meets with a third
hollow way which turns to the west to follow a modern field boundary. The
branch leading to the west continues on that alignment to the edge of the
monument. Another hollow way runs north east to south west along the
field boundary approximately 50m north of Haddon Barn. At its eastern end
this links with the hollow way which runs parallel to the A6 and would
have provided access to the open fields.
Adjoining the hollow ways are numerous boundary banks which form a series of
terraced, sub-rectangular enclosures or crofts. Within many of the crofts
there are small areas of raised ground which are again terraced and defined by
low banks. These are interpreted as the remains of medieval buildings, or
tofts with the low banks representing the buried remains of walls. The tofts
and crofts represent the house and garden plots within the village.
Surrounding the settlement and within the existing parish of Nether Haddon is
an area known as Haddon Fields which was probably farmed from the settlement
during the medieval period. The fields were first documented in the mid-12th
century as `Campo de Haddona', meaning open countryside or open field. The
extensive area covered by the open field includes a large part of the
monument, and a considerable amount beyond. This suggests that Nether Haddon
was a thriving small village. Only the well-preserved earthworks which
are physically associated with the settlement are included in the scheduling.
The open field system is visible on the ground as parallel ridges known as
ridge and furrow (cultivation strips). Numerous groups of ridge and furrow
(furlongs) are evident, marked by headlands (larger banks marking the
boundaries of the furlongs). The earthworks survive to a height of up to
0.75m. Extensive ridge and furrow is most clearly evident in the western
half of the monument. Strip lynchets are also visible within the open field.
A lynchet is an artificial bank which has been deliberately produced as the
downslope edge of a cultivation terrace. Lynchets are most clearly visible
at map grid reference SK23256580 where they lie approximately 15m apart
and 1m high.
Approximately 180m south of Haddon Barn are a series of low earthen banks
which form two partly enclosed, small, rectilinear areas. They form part of a
system of enclosures or small fields which pre-date the 18th century
enclosure of this area. Similar field systems have been identified elsewhere
in the Peak District and have been interpreted as being Romano-British in
date.
The monument also includes two areas of lead mining activity. These are
visible at map grid references SK22486613 and SK22886604. At the former site
a single shaft with the associated waste hillock survives. The shaft is
characteristic of lead mining remains in the region. These are typically found
in groups following lead veins known as rakes and this may be part of a rake
which continues outside the monument to the south east. The shaft post dates
both the medieval ridge and furrow and a hollow way and is probably associated
with the mining activity in the area between the 16th and 18th centuries. All
the mines in the area are recorded on 19th century maps as being `old',
implying their disuse by this time. The other area of mining activity is also
represented by a single mine shaft and waste hillock but this does not appear
to be aligned along a rake.
There are a number of small stone quarries distributed across the monument.
Two of these, adjacent to the A6, are small wall builders' quarries
associated with the construction of a wall along the side of the road. Another
close to the western corner of the monument is slightly larger and probably
provided stone for local field walls and buildings. Although the quarries have
caused some localised degradation of the earthworks, this does not detract
from the importance of the monument.
A number of features are excluded from the scheduling. These are: all
field walls, fences, gates, troughs, dew ponds, the barn situated
approximately 50m south west of the car park for Haddon Hall, and the
milestone, which is Listed Grade II, just north of Haddon Barn,
positioned alongside the 1759 turnpike road, now the A6. However, the
ground beneath all these features is included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
