Monument record 4287/6/1 - 12th-14th century houses (Crofts 6-9), Faxton

The excavation in 1967 aimed to investigate an entire street. A sequence of buildings in all the crofts ranged from c1150 to 1300. The east-west boundary ditches between the crofts showed minor variations in their alignments through time.

{1} The east - west ditches between the crofts showed minor changes over their life. An east west section through the house area was extended to the centre of the ditch separating the house from the street: in three houses this showed a dangerously abrupt dip from the house wall into the street ditch. This was the result of gradual cutting back of the ditch to drain both house and street area.

All four crofts showed similar sequences of occupation. The earlier houses were constructed of timber uprights sunk into the natural clay, presumably with mud walls. These were replaced by buildings with a timber framework resting on a sill beam. Later structures had low foundations of boulders, pebbles and ironstone and the last phase of building used substantial foundations of ironstone and limestone slabs. All the houses were rectangular with central fireplaces. The dates for the occupation of this area ranged from about 1150 to 1350. No coins were found; the metalwork was sparse but included iron keys, a buckle, knives, a harness-pendant and a pin-head. Most of the pottery was of Lyveden types. The excavator’s impression was that this area was occupied by poorer dwellings and had been abandoned at an earlier date.

{2} All the houses were rectangular with central fireplaces and occupied between 1150 and 1350.

{3} A similar sequence of events in each of the four house plots was revealed: a) A building with postholes for timber uprights sunk into the natural clay and walls presumably of mud; b) A building with timber framework resting on a horizontal sill beam for which the sleeper trench still remained; c) A building either timber-framed or mud-walled standing on a low foundation of boulders, pebbles and ironstone; d) A building similar to c) but standing on a more substantial foundation of well-chosen ironstone and limestone slabs. Although this sequence occurs in full or in part in all four houses, there is no certainty that stage c) in one house is contemporary with stage c) in others. The stages of construction also varied, and there was no uniformily in alignment of the crofts. One of the houses had stone lined drains serving the kitchen area.

{4} Further description of houses and finds.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.122 site 15 (checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<2> Wilson D.M.; Gillian Hurst D. (Editors), 1968, Medieval Britain in 1967 (12), 12/203 (checked) (Notes). SNN55155.

<3> Butler L., 1968, Faxton Medieval Village, 6/163-164 (checked) (Article). SNN26726.

<4> Brown A.E. (Ed.), 1967, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1966/67 (Medieval), 2/23-4 (checked) (Article). SNN26725.

Record last edited

Jun 3 2021 4:09PM