Monument record MLI50518 - The Settlement of Spridlington

Summary

The settlement of Spridlington was probably established in the late Anglo-Saxon period and survives to the present day.

Type and Period (2)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

The settlement remains of Spridlington lie on a low north-south ridge. Though the surviving remains are limited in extent, when supported by the evidence from the existing pattern of streets and properties and by the documentary record, they reveal a complex development from an early polyfocal settlement through late medieval decline to a 19th century estate village. Documentary evidence suggests that there were two distinct but contiguous early medieval settlements, which subsequently merged to form the present village. Two manors are listed in Domesday Book and both can be traced through the Middle Ages and later. This tenurial distinction was still clearly defined at the end of the 19th century, when Hutton wrote that 'there are, and apparently always have been, two estates in Spridlington, each conferring manorial rights. They are about equal in extent, and roughly may be said to lie respectively to the north and south side of the mill-road'. Spridlington declined from the mid 14th century onwards and perhaps earlier. In 1372 the southern manor was suffering from a lack of tenants and this may well explain large areas of abandoned settlement at the south end of the village. Spridlington did not see any substantial recovery in population until the end of the 19th century. Indeterminate earthworks occur in four main groups around the periphery of the village - south of Spridlington Hall, north and east of Church View Farm, south and south-east of Elms Farm, and south of Glebe House Farm. The road pattern which can be constructed from the enclosure map and the earthworks suggest that at some stage Spridlington may have had an east-west grid plan with the north-south ridge road as its spine. It is uncertain whether this could have been a consequence of gradual expansion or the result of deliberate planning either in early medieval times or when the two parishes were united in the early 15th century. {1}{2}{3}{4} During 1993 magnotometer and resistivity surveys were carried out by the Landscape Research Centre at grid reference TF009 845. A range of anomalies were identified, most of which correspond clearly with the extant earthworks. Some anomalies which did not correspond with visible features were also present. These earthworks comprise part of the medieval village of Spridlington. {5} During an evaluation at Glebe Farm (TF 0065 8454) deposits representing a medieval buried soil layer were recorded. This included finds of 14th to 15th century pottery and cattle bone. Smithing slag and clinker were also recorded and are probably the remains from the production of metal objects. {6}{7}

Sources/Archives (7)

  •  Bibliographic Reference: P.L. Everson, C.C. Taylor and C.J. Dunn. 1991. Change and Continuity: Rural Settlement in North-West Lincolnshire. pp. 25, 37-8, 40, 173-5, fig.123.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: P.L. Everson, C.C. Taylor and C.J. Dunn. 1991. Change and Continuity: Rural Settlement in North-West Lincolnshire. Archive notes.
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. TF0084: LI.528.1.1-2,1994,.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: RUSSELL, R.C. AND RUSSELL, E.. 1983. MAKING NEW LANDSCAPES IN LINCOLNSHIRE. pp.89-90.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1993. Land Adjacent to Church View Farm Cottage, Faldingworth Road, Spridlington: Archaeological Investigation. -.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. 1998. Archaeological Evaluation at The Old Glebe Farm, Spridlington. SGF98.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 1998. Archaeological Evaluation at The Old Glebe Farm, Spridlington. LCNCC 10.98.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 0097 8455 (1078m by 889m) Estimated from sources
Civil Parish SPRIDLINGTON, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (3)

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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