Monument record MLI43632 - Medieval settlement of Mareham le Fen

Summary

Medieval settlement of Mareham le Fen

Type and Period (11)

  • (Medieval to Modern - 1066 AD to 2050 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1200 AD to 1600 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1200 AD to 1600 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1100 AD to 1900 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1100 AD to 1900 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1100 AD to 1539 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1100 AD to 1299 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • (Unknown date)
  • (Unknown date)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Full Description

PRN 43632 The King owned three carucates of land in Mareham le Fen, known at Domesday as Marun. There were 21 sokemen, 11 bordars had 4 teams, and there were 60 acres of meadow and 300 acres of underwood. There was also a church and a priest. A market and a fair were held in Mareham le Fen. {1}{4} In the early twentieth century Mareham le Fen was well known for a daffodil farm of 30 acres. The cultivation of daffodil bulbs gave employment to many of the villagers. {23} An evaluation carried out in advance of development at TF 2772 6114 (PRN 43632a) identified a number of medieval domestic refuse pits but no associated buildings. A number of linear features were also present, probably representing field boundaries. The evidence suggests that the medieval buildings were on the street frontages. The date of the pottery from the trenches indicates that this part of the village developed in the early medieval period. {2}{3} An evaluation carried out on Church Lane at TF 2776 6119 (PRN 43632b) produced further evidence of medieval occupation in the form of five intercutting pits. The pits were believed to be refuse pits and contained pottery dating to the 13th to 14th century. There were no structural remains found on the street frontage, which was expected, and it appears that settlement was further to the east. The number of pits found during the evaluation suggests a sizeable nucleus of settlement in close proximity to and, possibly, beneath existing buildings. {4}{5} During a watching brief on Church Lane, several possible floor layers or occupation deposits were recorded, dated to the 13th to 15th centuries and to the late 15th to 16th centuries from pottery finds (PRN 43632c). {6}{7} During a watching brief, several ditches and pits were recorded, two of which may have defined two phases of an unmetalled trackway (PRN 43632d). However, all the features recorded appear to be peripheral and do not further the understanding of the settlement. {8}{9} Geophysical survey centred on TF2805 6120 was carried out in 1998. The results of the survey suggested that a double-ditched trackway ran approximately east to west across the southern third of the site and was flanked by small ditched enclosures or yards (PRN 43632e). A possible small rectangular ditched enclosure (PRN 43632f) was thought to lie close to the centre of the study area and ridge and furrow was thought to lie on a north to south alignment in the northern two thirds of the site. {10} Trial trenching carried out after the geophysical survey in 1998 found no evidence for ridge and furrow on the site. A small assemblage of medieval potsherds suggested that the northern part of the site had served as an open space in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, remaining structurally undeveloped. Two north to south aligned fourteenth to sixteenth century ditches were thought to have been field boundaries extending south from Field Side. As the village expanded in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, Field Side became almost a back lane while the present day Main Street became the more important route. Several chalk surfaces of late medieval date in the southern part of the site may have represented yards or floors (PRN 43632g). Pottery and tile finds included wasters and new fabrics; the pottery assemblage suggests that local production continued into the post medieval period. {11}{12} Excavation to the south of previous archaeological investigations, and towards the present Main Street, revealed pits, post holes, ditches and finds which suggest occupation of the site between the eleventh and nineteenth century (PRN 43632h - TF 2808 6116). This activity appears to have peaked in the mid thirteenth to mid fourteenth and fifteenth century. A lack of pottery dating to the sixteenth and seventeenth century suggests a hiatus in activity on the site at that time. The site appears to have been divided into at least three plots and demarcated by boundary ditches (some of which may have also been used for drainage). There is evidence for fencing, a possible timber workshop, and a metalled surface, and it is thought that the relatively low levels of domestic material and structural evidence suggest that the area excavated was at the ends of gardens. It is probable that these plots would have continued through to the Main Street to the south, onto which the houses would have fronted. Large amounts of tile, including roof and floor tile were recovered during the excavation, which provides more evidence for local tile production (see also PRN 40749). Brick was also recovered from the site, which was also probably locally produced (see also PRN 46343). {13}{14} A single piece of medieval roof tile was found during a watching brief at land off Main Road/School Lane (TF 2822 6118, PRN 43632i). {15}{16} Geophysical survey at Glebe Field (TF 27880 61180) revealed ridge and furrow cultivation (PRN 43632j). A number of undated features (PRN 43632k) were also recorded including possible ditches, possible wall footings, a double trackway or ditches leading to a pond and areas of ferrous litter possibly relating to slag or burning. {17}{18} A single fragment of late 13th to 15th century pottery, together with tile (three pieces) fragments of a similar date (PRN43632m), was found during a watching brief at The Birches, Church Lane (TF27694 61174). The material was interpreted as having occurred residually in a later layer. {19}{20} A pit or ditch terminus was found during the excavation of a trial trench at Glebe Field, Horncastle Road, Mareham le Fen {PRN43632n). It contained cattle bone, tooth and other animal bones. An L-shaped linear, or beam slot was also revealed along with evidence of ridge and furrow (PRN43632o). During a watching brief of the pond at Glebe Field, early 20th century glass and 19th century or later ceramics were found (PRN43632p). {21}{22}

Sources/Archives (23)

  •  Bibliographic Reference: C.W. Foster and T. Longley. 1924. Lincolnshire Domesday and Lindsey Survey. VOL 19 P 24.
  •  Report: Lindsey Archaeological Services. Dec 1997. Archaeological Evaluation on land off Watery Lane, Mareham Le Fen. MFW97 REPORT 270.
  •  Archive: Lindsey Archaeological Services. Dec 1997. Archaeological Evaluation on land off Watery Lane, Mareham Le Fen. LCNCC 258.97.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Jun 1998. Archaeological Field Evaluation Report, Church Lane, Mareham Le Fen. MLF98.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Jun 1998. Archaeological Field Evaluation Report, Church Lane, Mareham Le Fen. LCNCC 115.98.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. Sep 2000. Development at Church Lane, Mareham le Fen. MCL99.
  •  Archive: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. Sep 2000. Development at Church Lane, Mareham le Fen. LCNCC 143.99.
  •  Report: Lindsey Archaeological Services. Nov 2000. Land off Watery Lane, Mareham le Fen. MFW99.
  •  Archive: Lindsey Archaeological Services. Nov 2000. Land off Watery lane, Mareham le Fen. LCNCC 131.99.
  •  Report: GeoQuest Associates. May 1998. Land off Field Side, Mareham le Fen.
  •  Report: Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit. 1998. Land off Field Side, Mareham le Fen. FSM98.
  •  Archive: Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit. 1998. Land off Field Side, Mareham le Fen. LCNCC 103.98.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. 2005. Archaeological Investigations on land at Fieldside, Mareham le Fen. MFS01/02.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 2005. Archaeological Investigations on land at Fieldside, Mareham le Fen. LCNCC 2001.387.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. 2006. Watching Brief on land at Main Road/School Lane, Mareham-le-Fen. MFMR 05.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 2006. Watching Brief on land at Main Road/School Lane, Mareham-le-Fen. LCNCC 2005.127.
  •  Report: Witham Archaeology. 2005. Proposed Community Centre, Glebe Field, Mareham le Fen: Geophysical Survey. GFM05.
  •  Archive: Witham Archaeology. Proposed Community Centre, Glebe Field, Mareham le Fen: Geophysical Survey Archive. LCNCC 2005.236.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. Nov 2008. Archaeological Watching Brief on Land at the Birches, Church Lane, Mareham Le Fen, Lincolnshire. MFCL08.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. Nov 2008. Archaeological Watching Brief on Land at the Birches, Church Lane, Mareham Le Fen, Lincolnshire. LCNCC 2008.160.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 2011. Watching brief and Evaluation Report, Glebe Field, Horncastle Road, Mareham le Fen. GFEV10.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 2011. Watching brief and Evaluation Report, Glebe Field, Horncastle Road, Mareham le Fen. LCNCC: 2010.142.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Cox, J. Charles. 1916. Little Guide: Lincolnshire (first edition). p.225.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 279 611 (790m by 435m) Centre
Civil Parish MAREHAM LE FEN, EAST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

May 25 2021 1:28PM

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