Monument record MLI54221 - West Firsby deserted medieval settlement

Summary

The remains of the deserted medieval village of West Firsby

Type and Period (4)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

West Firsby is mentioned together with East Firsby in 1377, when 25 inhabitants paid tax. The site of the village was described in 1849 by Edwin Jarvis: the foundations covered 60 acres; of St James's Church mentioned in 1086, nothing remained. One part of the site seemed to be enclosed by a square agger. Aerial photographs give some indication of the extent of this site, which was published on the 1st edition 1 inch Ordnance Survey map of 1824. In 1964 Mr Colquhoun reported that the whole of the extensive earthworks were under pasture and the site was an excellent example of medieval desertion. The disused manor house was described as modern, but incorporated parts of an earlier building. {1}{3} The Jarvis Manuscript and the 1849 report in the archaeological journal reports '...The remains of extensive foundations which extend over nearly 60 acres. Fragments of pottery some resembling Roman wares, others of green-glazed ware, are found over the whole tract of land. Of the church, mentioned in Domesday, not one stone remains on another; part of the font, or possibly the foot of a cross may be seen, and here and there fragments of tombstones; on one were noticed the letters 'EW' or 'CW'. A certain part of the site to the north of the foundations of the church seems to be enclosed by a square agger'. The Jarvis Manuscript also mentions that a penny of Henry III struck by Walter of Lincoln, was found in the wall of the granary at West Firsby. Other finds included a bass [perhaps a mistake for brass] cross 3 feet in length. {4}{9} West Firsby, one of the largest and most complex deserted settlement sites in the area, is made up of at least three separate units of different periods, all but one of which appear to be the result of conscious planning and all laid out on pre-existing arable land. It is probable that the regular manorial complex and the once separate rectangular arrangement of properties to its east, itself perhaps of two phases, relates to a 12th century or earlier reorganization of the village. A second regular block of settlement to the south however may belong to the later 13th century and 14th century when the demesne arable was being leased to bondsmen. Decline, already evident in the earlier 14th century and exacerbated by the Black Death, continued through the 15th century probably with conversion to sheep-grazing, and was apparently complete by the 16th century. The remains of the village are extremely well preserved, although its extremities have been partly destroyed by modern cultivation. They include a large number of virtually complete house sites whose limestone rubble walls still stand up to 1m high. {7}{8} See source 7, (1991) for a detailed description and history.

Sources/Archives (11)

  •  Index: OS CARD INDEX. WEST FIRSBY. SK 98 NE:8,1964, COLQUHOUN F.
  •  Scheduling Record: HBMC. AM 7. SAM 290.
  •  Index: SMR FILE. WEST FIRSBY. SK 98 NE:AI,1979, TMA.
  •  Article in Serial: JARVIS, E.G.. 1849. ARCHAEOLOGICAL JOURNAL. VOL 6, P400.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: BERESFORD, M.W.. 1954. The Lost Villages of England. P362.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: William White. 1872. History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire - Third Edition. P157.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: P.L. Everson, C.C. Taylor and C.J. Dunn. 1991. Change and Continuity: Rural Settlement in North-West Lincolnshire. pp13,22,25,28,29,36,211-3.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: P.L. Everson, C.C. Taylor and C.J. Dunn. 1991. Change and Continuity: Rural Settlement in North-West Lincolnshire. Fig 22,25,32,148.
  •  Unpublished Document: JARVIS, E.G.. 1849. NOTES ON THE JARVIS MANUSCRIPT. JARVIS MSS pp433-7.
  •  Aerial Photograph: 1945-84. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. AFP35.
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. SK9985:LI.38.4.1-10,1994, .

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Grid reference Centred SK 9913 8523 (888m by 520m)
Civil Parish WEST FIRSBY, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (2)

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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