Monument record 5596/0/10 - Medieval/Post Medieval Ridge & Furrow

Medieval ridge and furrow cultivation abandoned following laying out of new crofts and tofts in the 13th or 14th century.

{1} At the north end of the site are more closes with house sites at their west ends. Here however, between the west ends of the closes and the back of the lane to the east, are three blocks of very short and degraded ridge and furrow. The southernmost ridges are too short ever to have been ploughed after the closes were created and their western ends are all cut through by the close boundaries. This indicates that the ridge and furrow originally extended further westwards and that the closes and house sites were laid out over it.

{2} At some point the village may have expanded over former open fields at the northern end of the site. This is suggested by the existence of crofts (marked 'g' on the earthwork plan), which apparently overlie very degraded ridge and furrow, no more than 0.2m high. This expansion is enclosed by a bank and ditch.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.35+Fig.34 Site 1 (checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<2> RCHME, 1992, Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire: An archaeological survey by the RCHME, December 1992, p.12+Sheet 1 (checked) (Report). SNN71599.

Record last edited

Jun 14 2013 11:28AM