Monument record MLI86774 - Settlement of Scopwick

Summary

The settlement of Scopwick probably has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon period, and survives to the present.

Type and Period (9)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

63378 The name 'Scopwick' is derived from Old English meaning 'sheep farm', with Scandinavianised pronunciation of 'sh' as 'sk'. This Scandinavianisation of the pronunciation suggests early settlement at Scopwick, and possibly the earliest in the area south of Lincoln along the slope. It is also thought that the territory of Kirkby Green was carved out of the territory of Scopwick by the Vikings. {1}{2}{3} Scopwick is first documented in the Domesday Book. Kirkby Green and Scopwick were returned together for the purposes of the Domesday Survey. A church and a priest are mentioned, which may have been at Kirkby Green, as the existence of an early church is suggested by the place-name evidence. Three manors and two holdings of sokeland are mentioned, and the population was comparatively high at that time (minimum population of about 65). One entry records a sokeman with an entire team and four acres of meadow which is unusually high. The men of Navenby were in dispute at the time of the Domesday Survey, and before, about money to be paid, possibly for use of land at Scopwick and Kirkby Green. {4} 32 households were recorded in the Diocesan Returns of 1563, and between 30 and 50 families were recorded in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. {12}{13} Enclosure occurred in around 1797. {14} The population statistics from the nineteenth century censuses probably include Kirkby Green. The population was 183 in 1801, rising dramatically to 413 by 1851, and falling in the second half of the century to 320 in 1901. {15} An account of Scopwick in the mid-nineteenth century describes how the labourers in the village lived close to the beck in one-roomed thatched cottages. {14} Medieval pottery, including Toynton and Lincoln wares, was recovered from the area of a housing development during 1976 (TF 0696 5813 - PRN 63378a). At TF 06811 58138 a fourteenth-fifteenth century chafing dish or brazier, with evidence of burning on the inside, was found in the cellar of the vicarage in 1958 (PRN 63378b). It was donated to the museum in October 1958. {5}{17}{18} Archaeological remains have been recorded during works in Scopwick, which, although largely undated, are probably evidence of settlement dating to the early medieval to post medieval periods. During a watching brief, a north-east/south-west ditch and a possible pond were recorded (TF 0689 5811 - PRN 63378c). {6}{7} During a watching brief at circa TF0694 5811, a north-east/south-west aligned limestone wall was recorded, possibly part of a structure extending to the east. A possible medieval date is suggested by the early Enclosure of the land and the lack of evidence of any structures on the site from relevant 19th century maps (PRN 63378d). {8}{9} A watching brief at TF 0690 5810 revealed several more undated features consisting of pits, a gully and a possible post hole, no dateable evidence was recovered (PRN 63378e). {10}{11} At TF 0732 5808 the beck has shallow sloping banks like a ford, so there could have been a track across at this point (PRN 63378f). {16} A watching brief was undertaken during groundworks on Plots 2, 5 & 7, Glebe Court, Vicarage Lane, Scopwick prior to development. Two sherds of medieval pottery were recovered from the site (TF0689 5811 - PRN 63378g). {19}{20}{21}

Sources/Archives (21)

  •  Bibliographic Reference: Kenneth Cameron. 1998. A Dictionary of Lincolnshire Place-Names. page 107.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Ekwall, E.. 1960. Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names - Fourth Edition. page 408.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Gillian Fellows Jensen. 1978. Scandinavian Settlement Remains in the East Midlands. page 313.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: C.W. Foster and T. Longley. 1924. Lincolnshire Domesday and Lindsey Survey. 31/14,15;32/24;61/6,8;72/15.
  •  Index: SMR FILE. SCOPWICK. TF 05 NE:AH, Z.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. 2001. Plot 3, Glebe Court, Vicarage Lane, Scopwick.. SVL01.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 2001. Plot 3 Glebe Court, Vicarage Lane, Scopwick.. LCNCC:2001.404.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. Aug 1999. Land at Vicarage Lane, Scopwick. SVL99.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. Aug 1999. Land at Vicarage Lane, Scopwick. LCNCC 166.99.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 2002. Land south of Vicarage Lane, Scopwick. VSL 00.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 2002. Land south of Vicarage Lane, Scopwick. LCNCC:2000.226.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Gerald A.J. Hodgett. 1975. Tudor Lincolnshire. page 190.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: R.E.G. Cole. 1913. Speculum Dioeceseos Lincolniensis sub Episcopis Gul: Wake et Edm: Gibson A.D.1705-1723. Part 1: Archdeaconries of Lincoln and Stow. page 105.
  •  Article in Serial: Oliver, G.Rev.. 1960. Lincolnshire Historian. Vol 2, No 7, page 32.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: William Page (ed). 1906. The Victoria County History: Lincolnshire - Volume 2. -.
  •  Index: NORTH KESTEVEN RECORDS. SCOPWICK. NK 53.26.
  •  Correspondence: Petch, D.F. and Stephens, John. 1958. Correspondence about medieval chafing dish, from Scopwick. -.
  •  Article in Serial: D.F. Petch. 1959-60. 'Archaeological Notes for 1958' in Lincolnshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Reports and Papers. Vol 8, page 23.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. Nov 2004. watching brief at Plots 2, 5 & 7, Glebe Court, Vicarage Lane, Scopwick. SVL02.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. Nov 2004. watching brief at Plots 2, 5 & 7, Glebe Court, Vicarage Lane, Scopwick. LCNCC 2002.314.
  •  Aerial Photograph: 1945-84. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. AAA65.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 0694 5798 (1009m by 473m)
Civil Parish SCOPWICK, NORTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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