Medieval Settlement, south-east of Upton Cressett Hall

Summary

The site of a medieval nucleated settlement at Upton Cressett which is situated on a gentle south-east facing slope and overlooks tributaries of the Borle Brook to the north-east and south-east.

Reasons for Designation

The medieval settlement at Upton Cressett is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Survival: the earthworks of the medieval settlement survive well and contain a good range of features such as building platforms, trackways, enclosures and field systems relating to the occupation of the site and farming practices during the medieval period;
* Potential: the site will retain further evidence, in the form of buried archaeological features, that will increase our understanding of its character and occupation;
* Group value: it forms a strong grouping with Upton Cressett Hall and the former Church of St Michael, both listed at Grade I; the historic interest of the settlement is considerably enhanced by its association with these medieval buildings.

History

Medieval rural settlements in England were marked by great diversity in form, size and type. They typically comprise a small group of houses, gardens, yards, streets, paddocks, often with a green, a manor and a church, and with a community devoted primarily to agriculture. Villages provided some services to the local community and acted as the main focal point of ecclesiastical, and often of manorial administration within each parish. Although the sites of many of these villages have been occupied continuously down to the present day, many others declined in size or were abandoned throughout the medieval and post-medieval periods, particularly during the C14 and C15. The reasons for desertion were varied but often reflected declining economic viability, changes in land use such as enclosure or emparkment, or population fluctuations as a result of widespread epidemics such as the Black Death.

The medieval settlement at Upton Cressett is situated in an area dominated by small hamlets and dispersed farmsteads set in intricate, anciently enclosed landscapes which still carry significant amounts of woodland. The Domesday Book reveals that the Wye-Teme area was already densely settled by the time of the Norman Conquest. The settlement at Upton Cressett probably dates back to the Saxon period, and the former Church of St Michael to the north-east may stand on the site of an earlier, Saxon, church. The place was known as Ultone in the Domesday Book; a name which comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 'Upton' meaning 'higher settlement'. In 1165, Upton formed part of the Barony of Fitz Alan, being held for some generations by the descendants of Alan de Upton. In the C13, the de Uptons were Verderers of the Royal Forest of Morfe. The Cressetts first appear as Lords of Upton towards the close of the C14, when the family succeeded to Upton through marriage and gave their name to the place. The life of the medieval settlement is largely undocumented and, although its date of desertion is unknown, this may have come shortly before, or have been a consequence of, emparkment. Upton Cressett Park is first mentioned in 1517 in Wolsey's Inquisition of Enclosures when it was alleged that Thomas Cressett had emparked 40 acres of arable land. It is most likely that the village was abandoned when the deer park was created since a map of Upton Cressett, dated 1647, indicates that the site of the settlement lay within the park by this date. The map does, however, depict a building within the field immediately to the south-west of the principal hollow way which runs through the village.

The site extends over an area of some 4.5ha close to Upton Cressett Hall which dates from the mid-C15 and probably occupies the site of an earlier house, attested by the close proximity of the C12 Church of St Michael to the north-east. Field notes on the medieval nucleated settlement at Upton Cressett were produced by the County Council's Historic Environment Service in 1978; it was also recorded by the Ordnance Survey in 1979. Aerial photography in 1989 also confirmed the survival of the earthworks and indicated that in some places they are overlain by narrow ridge and furrow, suggesting that the settlement may have contracted before its final abandonment. An archaeological excavation in the western part of the site in 2012 recovered evidence for C12/C13 occupation. These deposits were overlaid by later features including possible quarrying and brick-making activities associated with the encasing of Upton Cressett Hall in brick and the construction of the gatehouse in the late C16, as well as some later disturbance due to the clearance of an orchard.

Details

The site includes earthworks and buried remains representing plot or croft boundaries; building platforms; and trackways or hollow ways of a nucleated medieval settlement to the south-east of Upton Cressett Hall (Grade I) and the C12 former Church of St Michael (Grade I).

The settlement is located on a slight plateau that gently slopes to the north-east and south-east. Although the settlement appears to have once extended into the adjacent field to the south-west, this area has been cultivated and there is no evidence for earthworks surviving in this field. The site is bisected by a broad hollow way running in a south-easterly direction. It represents the course of the main street through village and is visible as a substantial feature up to 3m deep. A small-scale excavation in the western part of the site recovered evidence of stratified deposits including a gully and several pottery sherds of C12/C13 date. The greatest concentration of earthworks is situated to the south-west of the hollow way and includes a series of building platforms of various sizes, banks and other linear features, possibly defining small paddocks or enclosures. One group of at least three house platforms is arranged along the south-west side of the hollow way, while there is evidence for further building platforms parallel with the lane which defines the north-west boundary of the site. To the south-east, is another ,less distinct, hollow way running at right angles to the main street and several other building platforms align with this feature, including a large rectangular platform that measures approximately 25m north-east to south-west by 10m north-west to south-east. This may represent the position of a large building, possibly a barn or other agricultural structure. To the south-east is a circular feature, possibly a pond, which appears to cut into the medieval earthworks.

On the opposite side of the hollow way (north-east) are further building platforms and a series of linear earthworks, including a long curving bank, possibly the remains of a trackway, which, although less well defined, represent further features associated with the settlement.


All fence and gate posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground around and beneath them is included.

Sources

Websites
Nooks and Corners of Shropshire, 1899, accessed from http://www.melocki.org.uk/nooks/Nooks.html

Other
Title: Map of Upton Cressett Source Date: 1647 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Dr R. H. White, Results of excavation at Upton Cressett medieval settlement, 2012, per. comm,

End of official list entry

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