Monument record 4354/0/3 - Possible Post Medieval Shepherds Hut

Undated abandoned sheep fold

{1} Abandoned sheep-fold (SP 715796) lies in the extreme W of the parish on Upper Lias Clay at 160 m. above OD. An area of former ridge-and- furrow appears to have been partly destroyed and overlaid by two sub-rectangular enclosures, bounded by low banks and scarps. At the E end of the S enclosure, and also overlying ridge-and-furrow, is a small embanked feature, perhaps the site of a stone building. The remains are probably the site of a sheep-fold and shepherd's hut of unknown date but presumably constructed after the enclosure of the common fields, and are a rare survival of a once common feature.


{2} There is also another sheep fold or cote that still survives. It is not mapped in 1739, nor does it appear on any later maps. It is thus likely to have been out of use by 1739. It lies in the west of the parish close to the Clipston boundary (SP715796). There, an area of ridge-and-furrow is overlaid by two rectangular enclosures now bounded by low banks. These are presumably the sheep folds. At the east end of the southern enclosure are the stone foundations of what must have been a small shepherd’s hut. This is a rare survival. Another small square enclosure, bounded by low banks, lies in the adjacent field immediately to the north. It may either be contemporary with or later than the hut.

{3} Aerial photo NCCAP: SP7179/001.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.113 Site 17 (checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<2> Taylor C.C., 2000, Kelmarsh Estate Report, p.28 (unchecked) (Report). SNN101314.

<3> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, (unchecked) (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<4> RCHME, Undated, RCHME Inventory: Northamptonshire II (Central), 890728 (Archive). SNN112900.

Record last edited

Mar 5 2024 11:53AM