Monument record MLI51003 - EARTHWORKS OF SETTLEMENT REMAINS AT HARPSWELL

Summary

EARTHWORKS OF SETTLEMENT REMAINS AT HARPSWELL

Type and Period (3)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

DESERTED VILLAGE EARTHWORKS APPARENTLY CREATED BY POST MEDIEVAL EMPARKING. EARTHWORKS OVERLAIN BY EXTENSIVE FORMAL GARDEN EARTHWORKS (PRN 51004). {1}~ VERY LITTLE OF THE FIELD REMAINS CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE MEDIEVAL SETTLEMENT OF HARPSWELL, APPARENTLY SO EFFECTIVELY REMOVED BY THE WHICHCOTES THROUGH EMPARKING BEFORE 1607. THE WOODED CLOSE EAST OF THE CHURCH, NAMED 'HALLOWED LANDS', CONTAINS A BROAD LINEAR HOLLOW CUT DEEPLY INTO THE SCARP. THE CONTINUATION OF ITS ALIGNMENT WESTWARDS IS PERHAPS MARKED BY THE IRREGULAR HOLLOW-WAY WHICH IS BLOCKED AT EITHER END BY THE EARTHWORKS OF THE LATER FORMAL GARDEN. SLIGHT SCARPS AT RIGHT ANGLES ON EITHER SIDE MAY INDICATE FORMER VILLAGE PROPERTY DIVISIONS. ON THE WEST EDGE OF THE EARTHWORKS, TWO FRAGMENTARY RECTANGULAR CLOSES, APPARENTLY NOT PART OF THE ADJACENT GARDEN, LIE ON THE SAME ALIGNMENT. WHERE THEY NOW LIE PARTLY IN ARABLE CULTIVATION A SCATTER OF MEDIEVAL POTTERY WAS RECOVERED DURING THE ROYAL COMMISSION'S SURVEY. THE MOAT (PRN 50294), THOUGH IN ITS PRESENT FORM AN ORNAMENTAL FEATURE, MAY POSSIBLY REUSE OR ADAPT AN EARLIER MANORIAL SITE. A BROAD DITCH OR HOLLOW-WAY WITH FRAGMENTARY REMAINS OF A BANK ON ITS SOUTH SIDE, PARALLEL TO THE MAIN ROAD IN THE NORTH, MIGHT BE AN ALTERNATIVE ROAD LINE DISTURBED BY TREE-PLANTING OR MARK THE BOUNDARY OF THE LATER PARK.{2}~ FOR A DETAILED HISTORY SEE EVERSON, TAYLOR AND DUNN, 1991. {2}~, HTM 40M In 1086, Harpswell was divided into two manors, which both came into the hands of the Whichcote family by the 16th c. The settlement which had become established here during the Middle Ages was partly removed by the Whichcotes in the late 16th or early 17th c., when the house and gardens were established. A hollow way lies to the east of the sunken garden, parallel to a post-medieval avenue. It is thought that the hollow way represents the remanis of an earlier thoroughfare associated with the former medieval settlement. Low banks at right angles to the hollow way are thought to indicate the position of former village property divisions. {9} The course of the now defunct serpentine to the east of the Hall is not included in the scheduling. All fences are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included. {9} See also PRNs 51002, 51004 and 50294, also included as part of the scheduling.

Sources/Archives (9)

  •  Index: SMR FILE. HARPSWELL. SK 98 NW:P,1977, TMA.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: P.L. Everson, C.C. Taylor and C.J. Dunn. 1991. Change and Continuity: Rural Settlement in North-West Lincolnshire. pp36-38;107;Fig78;ARCHIVE.
  •  Article in Serial: Paul Everson. 1978. MEDIEVAL VILLAGE RESEARCH GROUP. No.26 p10.
  •  Aerial Photograph: Paul Everson. 1975-90. RCHM. 2928/38,1976, .
  •  Aerial Photograph: Paul Everson. 1975-90. RCHM. 5164/14; 2931/35,1977, .
  •  Aerial Photograph: Paul Everson. 1975-90. RCHM. 2942/23-24.
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. SK9389:LI.611.2.1-7,1994, .
  •  Aerial Photograph: COLE, C.. 1993-2002. InnerVisions Business Presentations. 203/0997/9,1997, .
  •  Scheduling Record: English Heritage. 2000. Harpswell Hall: a post-medieval house and gardens overlying medieval settlement remains. SAM 33122.

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Location

Grid reference Centred SK 9325 8986 (720m by 558m) Centre
Civil Parish HARPSWELL, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (3)

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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