Medieval settlement on the north western slopes of Cales Dale, 490m north west of Cales 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 Pennine Slope sub-Province of the Central Province, which embraces the varied scarp and vale topography flanking the higher portions of the southern Pennines, where narrow escarpments of limestone and sandstone and softer shale vales give a distinct north-south grain to the landscape. Dispersed settlement increases from extremely low to medium densities in the south east of the sub-Province to high densities at the north west. With the exception of Sherwood Forest, the region is well stocked with nucleated settlements, some old but others the result of 18th- and 19th- century industrial developments. Anglo-Saxon `wood' names are common among placenames, and the area was well wooded in 1086. The Millstone Grit Scarps local region is an undulating terrain of north to south sandstone ridges separated by vales. It is characterised by village settlements, with low densities of scattered dwellings and farmsteads between them. Many of the villages have, however, grown in recent centuries, and the medieval settlement pattern was of hamlets and farmsteads set in a woodland landscape.

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, distinguishing features include trackways, platforms on which stood houses and barns, enclosed crofts and small enclosed paddocks.

The medieval settlement on the north western slopes of Cales Dale is a rare survival of an upland medieval settlement in the Peak District. Although the site has been disturbed by lead mining and stone quarrying on a small scale during the last few centuries, much remains of the stone footings of at least four buildings, including a possible early medieval church. In addition, it is believed that the site can be linked with the known and well documented medieval monastic grange of One Ash and is probably the site of the village of One Ash.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork remains of a medieval settlement in pastureland on the north western slopes of Cales Dale, 490m north west of Cales Farm. The settlement is closely associated with the Cistercian grange at One Ash, an outlier of the manor of Bakewell, which appears in the Domesday survey of 1086. Bakewell was a royal manor at this date. One Ash Grange is now a farm, but in the late 12th century was a grange for the Cistercian house of Roche Abbey. Although no remains of the medieval grange survive at the site of the farm, it is believed that the remains of the settlement in Cales Dale are the site of a medieval village which was closely tied to the grange. Two fragments of a stone cross head, dating from the 10th or 11th century have been found in the rubble backfill of a lead mine shaft about 200m south west of the settlement. These are now held in the museum at Buxton.

The remains comprise the foundations of one substantial building, measuring 20m by 12m, three smaller buildings, and the collapsed remains of field walls and smaller enclosures. The larger building appears to have an apsidal west end, perhaps a porch, and may have been an early medieval church and the original location of the stone cross. The larger building lies in the south eastern corner of the enclosed part of the site. The remains of three smaller buildings are evident in the western half of this enclosure.

A further set of earthwork remains, whose purpose is uncertain, lie outside the enclosure to the north. These remains have been disturbed and partly destroyed by later lead mining activity and stone quarrying. In the north eastern corner of the field which now encloses the bulk of the remains there is a ruined stock pound measuring 5m by 5m which was contemporary with the enclosure walls.

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:

33887

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Morgan, P, Domesday Book Derbyshire, (1978), 272.d
Hart, CR, North Derbyshire Archaeological Survey to AD 1500, (1981), 155

End of official list entry

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