Monument record 45 - Walton

Deserted medieval village (site)

{2} Records of the former chapel being ruined by the C16th. Its ruins were seen in 1744.

{3} First recorded in Domesday but may be earlier. 17 people paid the Lay Subsidy in 1301. In 1487 5 houses were destroyed to enclose 200 acres of land. In 1506 10 houses were still in existence but further enclosure took place in 1537. The remains of the village survived until 1960 when they were almost completely destroyed and the area ploughed up.
From aerial photos it seems that the earthworks were never well preserved and that few house sites were visible. Nevertheless the village was of considerable interest in that it appears to have lain largely on one side of its main street.
The principal feature of the site was the street, a broad hollow-way which ran parallel to and S. of the stream. At its N.E. end it met at right angles another track which crossed the stream from N.W. to S.E. The adjacent ridge-and-furrow extended up to the S. side of the main hollow-way so that with the exception of one small ditched enclosure all the visible earthworks of former occupation lay between the N. edge of the hollow-way and the stream. The earthworks, though much damaged by later activity and the existence of two farms, appear to have consisted of small rectangular embanked closes and long roughly parallel scarps. To the E., beyond the 'crossroads' and close to the stream, there was a large pond 50 m. long and 15 m. wide cut down into the hillside except at its W. end where there was a large dam. On the N. side of the stream there seem to have been few remains except for parts of two hollowways or terrace-ways. A considerable amount of medieval pottery, mainly of the 13th and 14th centuries, together with a few sherds of Roman wares, has been discovered in the area of the former earthworks.

{4} By the early 18th century there were only 2 houses, both of which still remain.

{5} Mentioned as an independent vill.

{6} Its name may derive from Weala-Tun ie the farm of the serfs, Welsh or Britons.

{7} Listed in 1086 as three small manors with a population of 10.

{10} Walton village, (SP506348) was recorded in 1086, and abandoned in the period 1450 to 1700, due to enclosure. Leland saw ruins of the chapel. The site, now occupied by two farms, was visible in 1959. The site of the Chapel is marked by the fieldname Chapel Field in the early C18th.

{11} NCCAP: SP5034/001-20.

{12} Clearly visible on AP's.

{13} The site has been completely ploughed and no surveyable remains of desertion were seen. The farm foreman indicated at SP 50633473 where the chapel was uncovered by ploughing in 1967 this site is left as rough pasture.

{14} No change to report of 9 2 70.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP53SW1 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<2> Hearne T., 1744, Collectanea (Leland J.), (unchecked) (Series). SNN7216.

<3> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.93-4 site 10 (checked) (Series). SNN77382.

<4> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.180 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77325.

<5> 1316, Nomina Villarum, (unchecked) (Document). SNN8783.

<6> Gover J.E.B.; Mawer A.; Stenton F.M. (Eds.), 1933, The Place-names of Northamptonshire, p.58 (unchecked) (Series). SNN5881.

<7> Ryland, W, Adkins, D, and Serjeantson, R M, 1902, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.308+324+326 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100368.

<8> Brown F.M.; Taylor C.C., 1978, Settlement and Land Use in Northamptonshire: A Comparison Between the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, pp.77-89 (unchecked) (Article). SNN102466.

<9> PRO series E179, PRO E179/155/31 (Document). SNN115882.

<10> Allison K.J.; Beresford M.W.; Hurst J.G. et al, 1966, The Deserted Villages of Northamptonshire, p.47 (unchecked) (Report). SNN39628.

<11> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, (unchecked) (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<12> Aerial Photograph, RAF (CPE/UK/1929 Jan 47 3167, 8 9, (Photographs). SNN112974.

<13> Baird, J., 1970, Field investigators comments, F1 JB 09-FEB-70 (Notes). SNN110341.

<14> Colquhoun, FD, 1977, Field Investigators Comments, F2 FDC 11-JAN-77 (Notes). SNN114135.

<15> Aerial Photograph, A/P (CUAP LN50, SA12, AGV33, ANT74) (Photographs). SNN112974.

Record last edited

Feb 3 2025 8:11PM