Scheduled Monument: Mallows Cotton deserted medieval village (1010393)

DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT Mallows Cotton deserted medieval village lies 1.5km to the west of Raunds and just to the north-west of the A605 Raunds bypass. The village extends over an area of approximately 500m from north-south and 200m east-west. A distinctive hollow-way 2m deep and 4.5m wide runs from north to south along the east side of the monument. A series of raised rectangular enclosures identifying house platforms and small garden plots are visible on the western side of the hollow-way. Exposed stonework also marks the position of some of the houses. A larger rectangular platform in the north western area is considered to include the buried remains of the manor house. In the south western area of the village, ditches and banks indicate the location of further horticultural plots and fields. Elsewhere trackways run from east to west across the site. The village lies 1km to the north of the partially excavated deserted village of West Cotton, where substantial archaeological evidence of the settlement was preserved. A small excavation was carried out on Mallows Cotton in 1909 when remains of buildings were uncovered. The manorial history of the site is complex as the village was documented jointly with the adjacent villages. However, it is known that the village originated in the 12th century and was well established by 1274. By 1798, when an enclosure map of the area was produced, the village was completely abandonned. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE The village, comprising a small group of houses, gardens, yards, streets, paddocks, often with a green, a manor and a church, and with a community devoted primarily to agriculture, was a significant component of the rural landscape in most areas of medieval England, much as it is today. Villages provided some services to the local community and acted as the main focal point of ecclesiastical, and often of manorial, administration within each parish. Although the sites of many of these villages have been occupied continuously down to the present day, many others declined in size or were abandoned throughout the medieval and post-medieval periods, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. As a result over 2000 deserted medieval villages are recorded nationally. The reasons for desertion were varied but often reflected declining economic viability, changes in land use such as enclosure or emparkment, or population fluctuations as a result of widespread epidemics such as the Black Death. As a consequence of their abandonment these villages are frequently undisturbed by later occupation and contain well-preserved archaeological deposits. Because they are a common and long-lived monument type in most parts of England, they provide important information on the diversity of medieval settlement patterns and farming economy between the regions and through time. The earthworks of Mallows Cotton deserted medieval village are extensive and include well preserved remains of buildings as identified by small scale excavation work in the past.

Record last edited

Jun 2 2023 11:03AM