Monument record 649 - Drayton

{2}The parish of Daventry had two townships and settlements, Daventry and Drayton, each with a separate field system. Identical field systems had been laid out before the Conquest, each containing 40 virgates and thus making two great fields each of 1,200 acres. Brown suggests that the main components of Daventry’s tenurial layout could have been in place in the Late Saxon period. The original demesne core is represented by Inland Close.

The fact that this demesne land never formed part of the medieval open fields probably represents early manorial status. Demesne land extended from the eastern edge of Drayton. The Townhill Close furlong name in the north field probably preserves the location of the lands shared and farmed by the earliest inhabitants of the vill. Reveland furlong in the east field probably represents the lands farmed by the steward who controlled the farming operations of the manor .The open fields of Drayton were enclosed in 1753. After enclosure, just over one third of its 1,500 acres were owned by the Earl of Winchilsea, 225 acres by Christ Church, Oxford, 140 acres by John Watters, 115 acres by John Clarke of Welton, and the rest was held by 14 small proprietors. In 1802-4 the 1,660 acres in Daventry’s open fields were enclosed, with some 670 acres allotted to Christ Church, Oxford, and 303 acres allotted to John Clarke esquire, lord of the manor. The remaining acres were shared among 60 people, two thirds of whom received parcels of less than ten acres.

<1> BROWN A.E., 1991, Early Daventry (An Essay In Early Landscape Planning), (unchecked) (Book). SNN57948.

<2> Ballinger J.; Foard G., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Daventry (Medieval/Post Medieval/ Industrial), Section 3.8.2 Open Fields and Inclosure (Digital archive). SNN100501.

<3> Ballinger J.; Foard G., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Daventry (Medieval/Post Medieval/ Industrial), (unchecked) (Report). SNN106656.

Record last edited

Aug 16 2022 2:25PM