Monument record MLI50506 - Settlement of Apley

Summary

The settlement of Apley has its origins in the medieval period and survives to this day.

Type and Period (4)

  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • (Unknown date)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

The settlement remains of Apley lie on a low plateau between two streams. The documentary history of the settlement is difficult to disentangle; after being separately recorded in Domesday Book and the Lindsey Survey, it became part of the core of the estates of Stainfield Priory. This suggests that it may once have been a relatively small hamlet which was subsequently converted to or run as a monastic grange. Such a status would explain its continuing small size. Evidence for former settlement exists both as earthworks and as surface pottery scatters. A main hollow way running east to west is flanked along its north side by rectangular closes. A different pattern of large rectangular ditched closes to the south side resembles earthworks identified as monastic granges, demesne manors or farms within villages elsewhere in the area. These closes are all full of ridge and furrow (except at their northern end which may overlie earlier occupation). The Tithe map of 1849 shows that in addition to the surviving north to south farm track, a further way ran up the east side of the churchyard. Since a spread of medieval and later pottery has been recorded around Apley High House, along the north side of the present street, this may suggest an overall layout of two parallel streets running east to west linked by cross-lanes. This rectangular form may be an early feature and represent the hamlet of Apley to which the grange was later added. The population of Apley rose notably from the early 18th century to the early 19th century. This rise may owe as much to the removal of Tyrwhitt control through the failure of the direct line, as to the general contemporary agricultural trends. Surviving closes along the road to the east and south look like late roadside encroachments, accommodating the 19th century rise in population. Quantities of post-medieval pottery largely dating to the 19th century were recovered during fieldwalking. For a detailed description and history see Everson, Taylor and Dunn (1991). {1}{2}{3}{4}{5}{6}{7}{8} The medieval settlement of Apley was a hamlet established by the late 11th century. After the foundation of Stainfield Priory in the mid 12th century the settlement was granted to the nunnery and managed as a monastic manor or grange. Documentary references to a priest at Apley occur from the early 13th century onwards. The population of the settlement, which remained low throughout the medieval period, declined after the Dissolution when 'Apley Grange' was granted, with the rest of the Stainfield Priory estate, to Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, who enclosed large areas of land for sheep pasture. The medieval church at Apley remained standing until the beginning of the 18th century; the present St Andrew's chapel, which stands on an adjacent site and is not included in the scheduling, was constructed in 1871. The remains of the medieval settlement of Apley and the surviving parts of its open fields are visible as earthworks with associated buried remains and lie in two separate areas of protection. {9}

Sources/Archives (9)

  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Card Index. TF 17 NW: 16.
  •  Index: Lincolnshire County Council. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. TF 17 NW: X.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: P.L. Everson, C.C. Taylor and C.J. Dunn. 1991. Change and Continuity: Rural Settlement in North-West Lincolnshire. pp.35-6, 63, fig.47, archive notes.
  •  Aerial Photograph: 1945-84. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. AHD35 (1963).
  •  Aerial Photograph: 1945-84. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. AKN129 (1964).
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. TF1074-5: LI.529.3.1-7.
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. TF1074: LI.534.13.1-3.
  •  Aerial Photograph: InnerVisions Aerial Photography. 1993->. InnerVisions Aerial Photographs. 203/0997/7 (1997).
  •  Scheduling Record: English Heritage. 1999. Scheduling document 22764. MPP 22.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 1082 7488 (597m by 635m) Centre
Civil Parish APLEY, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

May 5 2023 9:21AM

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