Monument record 9052 - Open Field System, Chacombe

{1} The exact date of the enclosure of the open fields of the parish is not known but Bridges, writing in about 1720, said that the whole lordship was then enclosed and had been so 'for near a 100 years'. Ridge and furrow of these fields exists or can be traced on air photos over much of the parish arranged in end-on or interlocked furlongs. Much of it is still well preserved and good examples of hollow ways and headlands are visible in a number of places running between end-on furlongs (eg SP474428 and 487435). Elsewhere end-on furlongs have been joined together; the point of junction is indicated by a sudden change in direction of the ridges and in some places by the merging of two or more ridges into a single one (eg SP482431 and 477429). On the low lying ground in the extreme west of the parish where a number of small streams meet the River Cherwell large areas of permanent grassland have no trace of ridge and furrow on them and appear always to have been meadowland. One area (SP472433) was known as Burston Meadow in 1840. To the north are two small 'islands' of ridge and furrow, on areas slighly raised above the low-lying flood-plain (at SP468434 and 472435). These suggest that every suitable piece of land was taken into cultivation at some time in the medieval period.

{2} Many ridges and furrows can be seen on the golf course; some, older than others, on the higher ground. One lot rises on the golf course and continues on Chacombe House ground (under trees planted c.1870) finishing in a high baulk.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.27 site 6 (checked) (Series). SNN77382.

<2> Bowes J.P., 1997, Archaeology Survey Of Chacombe and Environs, (checked) (Report). SNN101068.

<3> 1840, Chacombe Tithe Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN10747.

Record last edited

Aug 2 2024 11:14AM