Monument record 1301/24 - Late Saxon Manorial Enclosure, Raunds Furnells

Part of the wider Raunds Furnells excavations. By the mid-10th century, the earlier farm (HER 1301/21) had been absorbed into a system of regular ditched plot boundaries. Although one building may have survived from an earlier phaseand possibly used as a gatehouse, a new long building range was constructed, the principal range measuring 37.4m long. The northern half comprised an open hall with a range of smaller, domestic quarters to the south.

{1} Structures believed to be contemporary with the period III church were still under excavation when this interim note was published. Three complete buildings were uncovered, with a further building awaiting excavation. All buildings were constructed with a continuous bedding trench and traces of postholes in the base. Entrances are represented by short lengths of deeper set slots associated with postholes. Internal features include single postholes. The largest structure Building F was 11.5m long x 6m wide.

{2} In the decades prior to the mid 10th century there was a major reorganisation of the site. A system of linear ditches was used to demarcate the outer boundaries of the settlement and define its internal layout. A major ditch to the west defined the boundary between the settlement and the open fields beyond. The existing enclosure from the previous phase (HER no 1301/21) was partially incorporated into this system. One of the earlier buildings was still in use (Building A). At the centre of the new arrangement was the long range, with a hall to the north and domestic apartments to the south, with detached ancillary buildings to the south, including a possible kitchen.

The church and churchyard (HER No 1301/2) appear to be a later addition to the manorial holding. The first church is the earliest use of building stone on the site, and provides the context for the appearance of several extensive but shallow stone quarries around the margins of the late Saxon ditched plots to the north, south and west.

{7} Trial trenching at SP99857325 in 2011 revealed a ditch aligned north-south with a broad, U-shaped profile, 2.4m wide and 0.36m deep. It contained early-middle Saxon and medieval pottery, and animal bone. The ditch cut two possible showwlow pits, both 0.5m wide and 0.28m deep which also constained pottery of similar date and animal bone.
This ditch represents a boundary ditch of Furnells manor and has also been identified in excavation to the north and south of this site. Its position here confirms the division of the manor into smaller plots, which are presumed to have served different functions.
[HER note 03/01/2014: feature continues to the south as Monument Pref ref. 1301/0/35]

<1> Cadman G., 1982, Raunds: Excavations 1981/2, an Interim Note, p.95 (checked) (Article). SNN104574.

<2> Audouy M.; Chapman A., 2009, Raunds, The Origin and Growth of A Midland Village, AD 450-1500 (Excavations in North Raunds 1997-87), p.74-84 (part checked) (Report). SNN106414.

<3> BODDINGTON A.; CADMAN G., 1981, Raunds: an interim report on excavations 1977-80 (Article). SNN75983.

<4> CADMAN G.E., 1983, RAUNDS 1977-1983: AN EXCAVATION SUMMARY (Typescript Report). SNN76558.

<5> Chapman P. (Editor), 2012, Archaeology in Northamptonshire, 2011, 37/212 (checked) (Chapter). SNN108375.

<6> Horne B. (Editor), 2012, South Midlands Archaeology (42), 42/34 (checked) (Journal). SNN108346.

<7> Jones C., 2011, Archaeological Evaluation on Land to The Rear of 22 Rotton Row, Raunds, Northamptonshire, p.4 (checked) (Report). SNN108177.

Record last edited

Dec 2 2021 11:35AM