Monument record MLI83589 - Medieval manorial complex, south of Church Street, Baston

Summary

Medieval manorial complex, south of Church Street, Baston

Type and Period (9)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Full Description

PRN 35868 After abandonment of this site in the first half of the twelfth century (see PRN 35064), the area was ploughed and a subsoil formed. This subsoil was cut by numerous ditches upon reoccupation of the site in the early 1200s, many of which were parallel, close to or recutting Saxo-Norman boundaries on east/west and north/south alignments. After the early thirteenth century this pattern of boundaries was made redundant and new combined ditch and fence lines were established on a north-west/south-east alignment. The reasons for this are not known.{4} Several stone buildings were constructed on reoccupation, one of which may have had an upper storey. One of the stone walls recorded during investigations was built directly over a line of postholes, indicating probable replacement of a timber wall in an existing structure with a stone one. Quantities of masonry were recovered during investigations - the use of columns in the buildings is suggested by massive stone column supports and a probable late twelfth century fluted capital. Moulded door and window jambs and a piece of decorated fire surround dated to the thirteenth to fourteenth century were also recovered. This evidence indicates that the buildings were clearly high status and probably part of the manorial complex. A small stake-built enclosure near to these buildings was probably a compound for small livestock.{4} A quarry pit close to the buildings was probably used for sand and gravel extraction for building work and was later backfilled; the backfill contained early thirteenth to mid-fourteenth century pottery and a large quantity of red deer bones. The pit was cut by a stone-lined well containing waterlogged plant and animal remains and possible wattle rods. The wattle rods may indicate that the well was lined with hurdling. The well was backfilled with early thirteenth to mid-fourteenth century pottery, animal bone and shell. A pond, recut into recent times, may also initially have been dug as a quarry pit. Fencing around the edge of the pond may have been to delimit its extent or to act as a safety measure. A large hollow just south of the pond may have had a similar function but was not maintained. Two stone-lined pits were recorded which dated to the mid-twelfth to mid-fourteenth century, thought to be cess pits. One was encircled by stakeholes and contained mineralised wood, amphibian, bird and fish bones, snail shells, nails and pottery.{4} In the south-west of the site, the Saxo-Norman ironworking zone was reused. Two stone-lined hearths or ovens were probably used for the baking of bread. Close by were ashy spreads and pits containing charred cereal grain, ash and charcoal. A nearby circular structure 4m in diameter was defined by two encircling curvilinear gullies enclosing a gravel spread and with a possible entrance to the west. Its function was not clear, though it may be a shelter or store. Crop processing in this area was indicated by quern and mortar fragments. Animal and plant remains found during the investigations are indicative of the wealth and high status of the inhabitants. The presence of red, fallow and roe deer bones in large quantity indicates high status, as the use and consumption of deer was largely a seigneurial privilege in the Middle Ages.{4} Medieval occupation on this site appears to have ceased in the mid-fourteenth century when the site was abandoned, corresponding with documentary evidence that the buildings were ruinous in the mid-fourteenth century.{4} See also PRN 35877.

Sources/Archives (5)

  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. 1997. Archaeological Excavation on Land Adjacent to Hall Farm, Baston. BHF93.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 1997. Archaeological Excavation on Land Adjacent to Hall Farm, Baston. LCNCC 1994.22.
  •  Report: Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire. 1992. Archaeological Evaluation at Baston Hall Farm.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. Hall Farm, Baston, Lincolnshire: Investigation of a Late Saxon Village and Medieval Manorial Complex.
  •  Article in Serial: Taylor, G.. 2003. Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. Vol 38, pp.5-33.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 1140 1388 (437m by 325m) Centre
Civil Parish BASTON, SOUTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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