Monument record 4341 - Kelmarsh

Earthwork remains of the medieval deserted settlement of Kelmarsh situated to the north and northwest of the present estate village and within and around the park of Kelmarsh Hall. Kelmarsh is first mentioned in the Domesday Book, but there is no clear indication of its depopulation. Rather it seems that the settlement was relocated and its inhabitants rehoused over time, the most recent evidence of this being seen in the present estate village which dates from the 19th century. The surviving remains of the settlement include several hollow ways bounded by tofts and crofts. Further remains include areas of enclosures or stock paddocks, a fishpond, a pond bay and an earthen dam. Evidence of the open field system that surrounded the settlement survives in the form of ridge and furrow cultivation remains. In addition to the medieval remains, there are the remains of a quarry which is believed to represent the site of clay digging for the production of local bricks used in and around the estate buildings during the 18th and 19th century, and the buried remains of a Georgian period farmhouse.

{1} Four manors at Domesday named Osbornes, Pultons, Tiffields and Pilkingtons. In the reign of Edward IV the Lordship rested with R.Osborne. The family history of the Osbornes and Hanburys is given; nearly all the parish now belongs to Captain Lancaster of Kelmarsh Hall.

{5} First mentioned Domesday but no population figures. AT this time it was divided into two holdings, one part of the royal manor of Rothwell. The other was a small manor held by William Pevrel, with a recorded population of 9. In 1377 84 people over the age of 14 paid the Poll Tax, indicating a sizeable community by this time. In 1674 26 householders paid the Hearth Tax, thus not suggesting a drop in population before then. Bridges records that c.1720 there were 23 families living in the village. In 1801 the population of the parish was 131. There is no clear documentary evidence for depopulation at any period and, though some clearance may have taken place in 1727-32 [for emparkment], it is likely that much of the abandonment had already taken place. The present village is largely made up of C19th estate houses.

{10} Present research indicates that abandonment took place in the late 16th to mid 17th centuries consequent upon enclosure of the open fields.

{13} (SP 735795). AP's suggest that part of the village was built over earlier ridge and furrow.

{14}

{16} The NGR for the site in the RCHM inventory (Auth 1) is inexact, locating a point 200 m. W of the earthworks. The NAR grid reference has been derived from the English Heritage SAM record.

{17} The buried and earthwork remains of the medieval settlement at Kelmarsh. The remains are located to the north and north west of the present estate village and within and around the park of Kelmarsh Hall. Kelmarsh is first mentioned in the Domesday Book, but there is no clear indication of its depopulation. Rather it seems that the settlement was relocated and its inhabitants rehoused over time, the most recent evidence of this being seen in the present estate village which dates from the 19th century. The surviving remains of the settlement include several hollow ways bounded by tofts and crofts. Further remains include areas of enclosures or stock paddocks, a fishpond, a pond bay and an earthen dam. Evidence of the open field system that surrounded the settlement survives in the form of ridge and furrow cultivation remains. In addition to the medieval remains, there are the remains of a quarry which is believed to represent the site of clay digging for the production of local bricks used in and around the estate buildings during the 18th and 19th century.

{19} Field drains had considerably disturbed the substantial foundation of crofts which had Collyweston stone and ceramic roofs. The houses seem to have been built on areas of considerable burning.

<1> WALL J.C., 1927, Kelmarsh, A Parochial History, (unchecked) (Book). SNN41737.

<2> Thorn F.; Thorn C., 1979, Domesday Book: A Survey of The Counties of England, (unchecked) (Series). SNN1170.

<3> PRO series E179, E179/155/28 (unchecked) (Document). SNN115882.

<4> PRO series E179, E179/155/28 (unchecked) (Document). SNN115882.

<5> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.111-2 (checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<6> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.39 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77326.

<7> Serjeantson R.M.; Ryland W. (Editors), 1906, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.306+338 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100369.

<9> Gover J.E.B.; Mawer A.; Stenton F.M. (Eds.), 1933, The Place-names of Northamptonshire, p. 116 (unchecked) (Series). SNN5881.

<10> Taylor C.C., 2000, Kelmarsh Estate Report, (unchecked) (Report). SNN101314.

<11> Bird H., 2005, Seaborne Re-Visited: Cob Cottages in Northamptonshire 2004, p.54-69 (unchecked) (Article). SNN109351.

<12> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2009, A Landscape Detective's Look at Kelmarsh Hall, (unchecked) (Leaflet). SNN106892.

<13> Rahtz P. (Editor), 1971, Medieval Village Research Group (Vol.19), p. 24 (Annual Report). SNN58317.

<14> Brown, G, 1971?, The Deserted Village of Kelmarsh (Notes). SNN112734.

<15> Harcourt, J, 1980-1, Kelmarsh Deserted Medieval Village, Northants (Report). SNN112733.

<16> LEE, E S., 1991, RCHME Recorder, Lee, ES 17-JUL-91 RCHME Recording (Note). SNN114837.

<17> Dyer C. (editor), 1974, Medieval Village Research Group (Vol.22), p. 9 (Annual Report). SNN62318.

<18> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, A/P (RAF VAP 106G/UK/636 3188-9) (Photographs). SNN104890.

<19> RCHME, Undated, RCHME Inventory: Northamptonshire II (Central), 890727 (Archive). SNN112900.

<20> Historic England, Kelmarsh Hall, Old Hall and Deserted Medieval Settlement, Northamptonshire (Archive). SNN115276.

Record last edited

Feb 7 2025 2:58PM