Monument record 8074 - Open Field System, Crick

The common fields of the parish were enclosed by an Act of Parliament of 1776.

{2} The common fields of Crick were enclosed by Act of Parliament of 1776. Ridge and furrow of these fields exists on the ground or can be traced from aerial photography over most of the parish so that the original pattern is almost wholly recoverable. The ridges are still exceptionally well preserved in many places, especially N. and S. of the village (e.g. at SP 590734 and 589715), and as a result a number of details which have been destroyed elsewhere are still visible. In a few places two end-on furlongs have been thrown together and ploughed as one. A particularly good example lies N.W. of the village (sp 584735) where two curving end-on furlongs have been joined up, thus producing a double bend in the ridges as they cross the original headland. Elsewhere hollow trackways through the fields still exist (e.g. SP 58271 ). Examples also occur of double headlands; the original headland has been abandoned, perhaps to provide extra pasture at some time, and the plough, turning 10m-15m short of this, has created a new headland. These occur S.W. and S.E. of the village (SP 582720 and 595715). Another feature of the ridge-and-furrow here is the existence of small shallow quarry pits, probably for gravel, which have been dug through the earlier ridge-and-furrow but have subsequently been reploughed in ridges (e.g. SP 584715).

{3} The parish has some very exceptional ridge and furrow surviving to a height of 3ft. Many furlongs have 'double-headed' headlands which were caused by leaving the headland to grass over and turning the plough a short distance away.

{5} The furlong pattern is normal for this region of northamptonshire: It is too much influenced by the undulating terrain and water courses to detect any directional reclamation of land from a particular centre. Many exceptionally fine unploughed fields remain.

{8} Crick had four fields from 1598 until enclosure in 1776 run on a three-year tilth. There were two types of yardland, called Hall Land and Hain Land. Hall Land was, or had been, the demesne.

<1> Cadman G., 2003, Crack Hill, Crick: Watching Brief Report, (unchecked) (Unpublished Report). SNN105402.

<2> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.62 Site 10 (checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<3> Hall D.N.; Harding R., 1976, The Northamptonshire Parish Surveys: Crick, 6/28 (checked) (Article). SNN14919.

<4> Brown A.E. (Editor), 1976, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1975, 11/196 (checked) (Journal). SNN169.

<5> Hall D.N.; Harding R., 1977, Crick Parish Survey, 7/29 (checked) (Article). SNN57905.

<6> Hollowell S., 1999, Northamptonshire Inclosure: The Commissioners and Other Officials, p.44-5 (unchecked) (Article). SNN102530.

<7> RPS Consultants, 2001, Daventry: DIRFT Phase 2, Environmental Statement, (unchecked) (Report). SNN102487.

<8> HALL D.N., 1995, The Open Fields of Northamptonshire, p. 243-5 (Series). SNN56219.

Record last edited

Jul 30 2024 9:58AM