Monument record 387/2/5 - Probable Post Medieval Fishponds (Morphed Aerial Archaeology Interpretation)

Crop/soilmark+Earthwork: Non-destructive fieldwork. NB. Original Morph interpretation as medieval fishponds.

{1} The hollow way is cut by the most southwesterly of the fishponds, so this pond must post-date the abandonment of the village.

{2} Water was fed into a small rectangular pond and thence to two large parallel ponds separated by a massive embankment 2.5m high (marked 'e' on Fig.39 and 'c' on Fig.40). The south-east end of the lower of these two ponds has been destroyed, as has the presumed outflow channel which would have emptied back into the River Cherwell.
The main hollow way of the settlement is cut by a large fishpond, the most south-westerly of the set of ponds. This means that the pond probably post-dates abandonment of the village. The purpose of these ponds is unknown, though they are likely to have been for fish, and the largest is marked as such on the 1847 Tithe Map. They were presumably built following the desertion of the village, and are therefore not earlier than late C15th.

{4} NCCAP:SP5455/001-27.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.45 site 1 (checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<2> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.44-6 Site 2 (checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<3> Taylor P., 1992, Fishponds Report 1992, (checked) (Report). SNN1339.

<4> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Photographs). SNN104822.

<5> 1847, Charwelton Tithe Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN9559.

Record last edited

Mar 24 2014 3:36PM