Scheduled Monument record MDR2620 - Shrunken medieval village, Thurvaston
Type and Period (2)
- SHRUNKEN VILLAGE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- DITCH (Medieval - 1200 AD to 1400 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
[SK 2430 3780] Shrunken village of Thurvaston identified from aerial photographs taken in 1948. (1)
An extant village, the adjacent fields show evidence of shrinkage. A minor homestead moat at SK 24293767 has been surveyed at 1/2500 [see SMR 23905]. (2)
Domesday Book gives the name as 'Turverdestune', a manor with six villagers and three smallholders. It was held by Robert under Henry de Ferrars. (3)
The earthworks at Thurvaston are scheduled and include a moated site [see SMR 23905] and other remains of the shrunken medieval village. The village remains extend to the south and north of the moated site and also existed to the west, where they have been disturbed by the road and other modern development. East of the area of the scheduling, there originally lay the crofts or home-fields of the houses on the eastern side of the medieval village. These survive as part of the modern field system of Thurvaston Farm but are not included in the scheduling. The area south of the moat contains numerous building platforms divided by narrow sunken trackways, with a wider sunken track winding south through the centre of the area to a level green. West of the moat is a banked enclosure interpreted as the stockyard of the moated hall while, extending northwards and parallel with the modern road, is the main street through the centre of the medieval village. This is flanked by further platforms and enclosures. However, on the west side these only partially survive due to the modern road. On the east side they are well preserved and represent the sites of tofts; that is, the yards of individual homesteads containing the buried remains of a house and outbuildings. Roughly 100m north of the moat, the main street forks around another group of building platforms which lie to the south of a level area interpreted as another green. The east fork of the road can be seen to level out near this green, but it is not clear where the west fork led as it now ends behind modern housing. Further building platforms are arranged around the north green and may previously have extended into the area now occupied by Thurvaston Farm.
Excluded from the scheduling are all modern boundary fencing and walls, all farm gates, the animal shelter at the north end of the monument and five telegraph poles, together with their stays, but the ground beneath these features is included. (5)
Following the granting of Scheduled Monument Consent, an archaeological evaluation was carried out at the northernmost end of the scheduled area in September 2011. A single ditch was revealed which bisected the evaluation trench and was broadly aligned on a north-west / south-east access. Hand excavation of the ditch revealed that it had been re-cut at least once, and two fills were identified. Both contained frequent heat-affected stones, principally of quartzite, which had probably been collected and used for domestic cooking purposes. Both ditch fills produced green glazed pottery from sealed contexts. This was dated to the 13th/14th centuries. The ditch appears to be on a different alignment to the postmedieval field system and may represent either a medieval field boundary or a property boundary within the village. (6)
Sources/Archives (6)
- <1> SDR772 Aerial Photograph: 1948. A.P's 541/215/3107-8, 15.12.48.
- <2> SDR6282 Personal Observation: F1 FDC 28-NOV-66.
- <3> SDR18516 Bibliographic reference: Wood, S (translator). 1978. Domesday Book: Derbyshire (Phillimore edition). 6.64.
- <4> SDR15713 Index: TPAT. 2615. 2615.
- <5> SDR18489 Scheduling record: English Heritage. 1994. Shrunken medieval village and moated site at Thurvaston. Scheduling Notification 23299. Cat. No. 326.
- <6> SDR21223 Unpublished document: Scurfield, C (CS Archaeology). 2011. Thurvaston House Farm, Thurvaston, Derbyshire: An Archaeological Evaluation.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 242 377 (113m by 348m) Centred on |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | OSLESTON AND THURVASTON, SOUTH DERBYSHIRE, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (4)
- EDR1568
- EDR2917
- EDR1567
- EDR1465
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External Links (0)
Record last edited
Feb 5 2024 11:23AM