Monument record 3534 - Possible prehistoric/Roman settlement (Settlement 9), south of Cringle House

[Part of the Wollaston Quarry project] Settlement 9 was identified through cropmarks and geophysical survey in the central eastern part of the site, but was not excavated. It measured at least 195m by 150m and featured around ten enclosures aligned along a central boundary ditch or routeway. The layout suggests it may date to the late Iron Age or early Roman period, differing from the more structured Roman settlements nearby.

{1} Enclosures (SP 889626), 200m. S.S.W. of Cringle House, on clay at 52m. above OD. Air photographs (in NMR) show two adjacent, roughly rectangular enclosures and associated ditches. Further N.W. other photographs show a small sub-rectangular enclosure and a series of indeterminate ditches (SP 888628).

{3} Cropmarks; ditches and pits; (SP) 889626 - in Wollaston parish (Nothing visible on available Aps (RAF 1947)

{4} This site which is at present under crop has been perambulated by Hall just after ploughing but he said he found nothing

{6} A relatively large settlement was recorded as both cropmarks and in a geophysical survey within the central eastern part of the site, 100m to the south-east of Settlement 8 (3507/1/9) and c100m of Settlement 7 (3507/1/8). This settlement was not quarried and left in situ and therefore there was no archaeological work within this site. The settlement was recorded to be at leat 195m long and at least 150m wide, but may have continued beyond to the south-east. Settlement 9 may have been linked by a north-west to south-east aligned routeway on its south-eastern side to either a field system relating to this settlement or part of a further settlement. This routeway seems to lead to further cropmarks to the south-east.

The survey results that Settlement 9 was largely aligned roughly north-west to south-east. A significant part of the settlement comprised enclosures with around 10 identified, most of these were sub-rectangular in shape with only two being sub-rounded. The majority of these enclosures seemed to be linked to a linear boundary ditch in the northern part of the site, which became a possible routeway defined by two parallel ditches in the southern extent. The boundary ditch/routeway meandered through the centre of the settlement with enclosures either abutting or adjacent to it. The enclosures ranged from 22m by 18m up to 50m by 30m in size.

It is noticeable the results of the survey and cropmarks record the settlement as very different to the middle to late Iron Age large sub-rectangular settlements elsewhere at Wollaston and there was no evidence of the straight gridded/ compartmentalised layouts which were recorded elsewhere as founded in the middle and/or late Roman period. It is therefore more likely that settlement 8 started in the late Iron Age or even the early Roman period and if it had continued to the middle or end of the Roman period, it had not seemingly been replanned to any significant extent.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.178/Site 23 (Series). SNN77380.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP86SE13 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<3> Hall D.N., 1966, Sites on the North Bedfordshire and South Northamptonshire border, p.6 (Article). SNN37934.

<4> Seaman, B H, 1970, Field Investigator's Comments, 07-AU 07-AUG-70G-70 (Notes). SNN111541.

<5> Northamptonshire HER Collection of Aerial Photographs, CUAP BCJ 78 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<6> Atkins, R and Meadows, I, 2024, Neolithic pits, late Bronze Age/early Iron Age pit alignments and Iron Age to Roman settlements at Wollaston Quarry, Northamptonshire, p. 51-53 (Monograph). SNN116677.

Record last edited

Jan 27 2026 10:33AM