Monument record MLI43500 - Settlement of Manby

Summary

The settlement of Manby dates from the late Anglo-Saxon period and survives to the present day.

Type and Period (6)

  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Modern - 950 AD to 2050 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Medieval - 850 AD? to 1100 AD?)
  • (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Full Description

The settlement of Manby is likely to have been in existence by the mid 10th century as there are fragments of a 10th or 11th century grave cover in the church, suggesting the site was occupied at that date (see PRN 41682). The name comes from Old Norse and means Manni's farmstead or village. {1} The earliest mention of Manby is in Domesday Book where it is recorded as a soke of the King's manor at Gayton le Wold. It is recorded with a minimum population of twenty people, all listed as sokemen. The Domesday holding is present in the Lindsey Survey of 1115 when it is held by the Count of Brittany. {2} Manby is recorded in the Lay Subsidy returns of 1334 with a value of £3 9s.6d. This is about the same as the average for the wapentake (Loutheske). {3} The Poll Tax return of 1377 shows that there were 54 people aged over 14 in the settlement at that date. {4} The Diocesan census of 1563 returned 40 households in Manby, but by the early 18th century (1705 to 1723) similar censuses carried out by the Bishop of Lincoln recorded between 16 and 25 families as well as one to four Anabaptist families. This would suggest there had been a drop in population in the previous 150 years. {5}{6} From 1801 decennial census figures are available for Manby's population. In 1801 the population was 144, rising to a peak of 240 in 1851 before dropping to 139 in 1901. {7} Possible medieval linear boundaries have been identified on aerial photographs by the National Mapping Programme (PRN 43500a - TF 3995 8687 and PRN 43500b - TF 3975 8751). They have been interpreted as crofts, and form part of the remains of the medieval village of Manby. Further earthworks relating to medieval settlement were also seen (PRN 43500c - TF 4040 8669). These earthworks were interpreted as crofts and a fragment of ridge and furrow field system which extended to the south-east. {8} A ditch and ponds, and some features which could relate to building platforms and other settlement indicators, were identified in an earthwork survey, undertaken during an archaeological evaluation of a site north of Church Lane (PRN43500d - TF 3994 8677). {9}{11} During the second phase of evaluation of the site north of Church Lane, a pit containing late Anglo-Saxon (9th to 10th century) Torksey ware was identified and three sherds of a medieval jar were recovered. {10}{11} A large, broad ditch was revealed in September 2009, during a watching brief at 5 Venom Lane (PRN 43500e - TF 3988 8695). This lay at right angles to an earthwork hollow in the adjacent field and is, therefore, probably related to the medieval settlement in the vicinity. It was probably a drainage or boundary ditch, perhaps defining a paddock or croft, and the absence of any occupation features suggests that it was on the periphery of the settlement. Two sherds of 12th to 13th century Shelly Ware pottery and a single piece of cattle bone were recovered from the upper fill of the ditch. Earthworks were also observed in adjacent fields, and these are almost certainly related to the medieval settlement. {12}{13}

Sources/Archives (13)

  •  Bibliographic Reference: Kenneth Cameron. 1998. A Dictionary of Lincolnshire Place-Names. p.85.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: C.W. Foster and T. Longley. 1924. Lincolnshire Domesday and Lindsey Survey. 1/83; L18/1.
  •  Article in Serial: R.E. Glasscock. 1964. 'The Lay Subsidy of 1334 for Lincolnshire' in Lincolnshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Reports and Papers. vol.10.2, p.131.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Graham Platts. 1985. Land and People in Medieval Lincolnshire. Appendix 2, p.306.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Gerald A.J. Hodgett. 1975. Tudor Lincolnshire. p.196.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: R.E.G. Cole. 1913. Speculum Dioeceseos Lincolniensis sub Episcopis Gul: Wake et Edm: Gibson A.D.1705-1723. Part 1: Archdeaconries of Lincoln and Stow. pp.86-87.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: William Page (ed). 1906. The Victoria County History: Lincolnshire - Volume 2. p.371.
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. TF3987:LI.233.1; TF4086: LI.233.4.1-3.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 1996. Archaeological Field Evaluation Report (Part 1): Land north of Church Lane, Manby. CLM96.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 1997. Archaeological Field Evaluation Report (Part 2): Land north of Church Lane, Manby. CLM96.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 1997. Archaeological Field Evaluation: Land north of Church Lane, Manby. LCNCC 165.96.
  •  Report: Witham Archaeology. 2009. Land Adjacent to 5 Venom Road, Manby. WA site code: MAVR09.
  •  Archive: Witham Archaeology. 2009. Land Adjacent to 5 Venom Road, Manby. LCNCC 2009.123.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 3980 8703 (987m by 1318m) Estimated from sources
Civil Parish MANBY, EAST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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