Monument record 3619/0/1 - Medieval/ post medieval settlement earthworks

Embanked closes. Interpreted as house plots, but more likely to be cultivation terraces.

{1} South of the mill ('b' on Fig. 95) and south of the north-east end of Middle Street is a series of embanked and scarped closes. Slight depressions at the north west end of the these closes may be former house sites fronting Middle Street and it is possible that other buildings also once existed at the other end of the closes. One of the closes has slight traces of ridge and furrow on it.

{2} Very fine house platforms descending hill towards river, lowest two platforms to be levelled for playing field.

{3} There are not house platforms at the location indicated in {2}. Extensive cultivation terraces are probably the features referred to.

{6} Results of a geophysical survey correlated well with the known earthworks associated with the shrunken medieval village. These comprise a series of rectilinear enclosures, houseplots, a hollow-way and the margins of the open field system to the south-east.

{7} The earthworks are poorly defined and quite ephemeral. There are three parallel earthworks which have been interpreted as possible terraces. Possible banks and a ditch between the terraces may be sub-divisions of the land. The current survey found no evidence for house platforms as interpreted by the RCHME survey.

{8} Geophysical survey on land south-east of Mill Lane led to the discovery of extensive remains associated with the shrunken medieval village of Isham. Possible trackways, field and property boundaries and other linear and curvilinear features were identified in the geophysical data. Extant earthworks on the site correlated well with the survey results.
An earthwork survey identified features likely to be on the periphery of the medieval village, including landscaping and terracing separated from the ridge and furrow of the open-field system by a possible hollow-way or field boundary. The evaluation trenches revealed at least one prehistoric or Roman ditch, medieval to post-medieval ditches, pits, cobbled surfaces and a possible structure and traces of ridge and furrow. The later medieval pits may indicate backyard activity from a plot fronting Mill Lane

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.101/Site 5 (checked) (Series). SNN77380.

<2> Brown, A.E. (Ed.), 1969, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1967/68 (Medieval), 3/24 (checked) (Article). SNN57956.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP87SE10 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<4> Ryland, W, Adkins, D, and Serjeantson, R M, 1902, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.343+349 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100368.

<5> SHAW M.; STEADMAN S., 1992, A509 Isham Bypass Archaeological Evaluation, Stage 1: Supplementary Report, p. 3 (checked) (Report). SNN71612.

<6> Chinnock, C., 2015, Archaeological geophysical survey of land south-east of Mill Lane Isham, Northamptonshire May 2015 (Report). SNN110264.

<7> Finn, C., Ladocha, J. and Muldowney, M., 2015, Archaeological trial trench evaluation and earthwork survey on land at Mill Lane, Isham, Northamptonshire July 2015 (Report). SNN110265.

<8> Horne, B (editor), 2016, South Midlands Archaeology (46), p. 42 (Journal). SNN111326.

Record last edited

Jun 25 2024 4:11PM