Monument record MDR2634 - Shrunken medieval village, Flagshaw Lane, Meynell Langley, Kirk Langley

The manor of Meynell Langley was in the possession of the Meynells from Henry I's time, 1108. (1) The earliest documentary evidence for Meynell Langley is in 1273, when it is written as 'Longeleg' Meynill'. (2) During fieldwalking in the parish of Kirk Langley, medieval pottery spanning the late 12th to 17th centuries, was found in the ploughed fields to the north and south of Flagshaw Lane [see SMR 22105] This pottery represents the shrunken area of the medieval village of Meynell Langley. In 1086 the village in the parish is referred to as Langley and it is not until 1269 that the village with the church is first distinguished as Kirk Langley, probably representing the village mentioned in Domesday. Meynell Langley, named after the Meynell family, is first recorded in 1273, suggesting that this village was a later, probably 12th century creation, when the population of the older village had outgrown its resources. The village of Meynell Langley was located on the boulder clay capping of a sandstone ridge. In 1327 there were six taxpayers compared with seven in Kirk Langley, although the taxable amount was only half that of the latter. By 1640, an estate map (4) shows that the village north of Flagshaw Lane had disappeared except for one house near the site of the present Hall Farm. From at least 1555 the area to the north of the lane was known as Meynell Langley Park. The park may have accounted for this shrinkage, but equally a 14th century decrease in the population may have encouraged the formation of a park. To the south of Flagshaw Lane, the only buildings shown by the 1640 map are at the site of Langley Hall, suggesting that the shrinkage was virtually complete by the mid-17th century. (3)