Monument record 1746 - Mallows Cotton

Excavated remains of deserted medieval village with round dwellings, a stone built house, church and building platforms with underlying alleged Roman occupation. It is thought that the church was eventually destroyed by a fire.

{1} Documentary evidence for Mallows Cotton DMV; also known as Middle Cotes in the C13th - 15th and Middle Cotes by Raunds (1303) and Mallard Cotes (1559).

{2} Likely to be the site of Cotes Parva quoted in 1330. The village was last heard of in 1428 when it passed to the Green family.

{3} The site was abandonned by 1798. 'Cotton Closes' on the enclosure map, was included in the taxation records with Raunds. The site has a complex manorial history.

{7} The hamlet of Mallows Cotton lies to the east of Cotton Lane which survives as a substantial hollow way. Two trackways which branch off from Cotton Lane; one is aligned eastward and connects the hamlet with Ringstead, the other extends down the valley to Hogs Dyke. Remains uncertain whether track crossed river or merely provided access to properties on the river edge.

{9} Two areas were investigated, Mallows Cotton DMV and the palaeochannels adjacent to the DMV. The survey successfully located the continuation of Iron Age and Romano-British features beneath the medieval village including a substantial droveway which was previously detected in Field 12of the Raunds area survey.

{10} Trenches were excavatd by a local school on top of several of the earthwork platforms in 1969, but only down as far as a stone layer immediately below the turf. A more extensive excavation on the edge of a sunken road located masonry of four intersecting walls, with six courses remaining. Another trench, four feet deep, on top of a mound to the south of the site, produced a sherd of Roman pottery, some Saxon pottery and small finds.

{11} This site was earlier published as "Cotton Camp" and because of alleged Roman finds Haverfield (VCH 1, 1902, 194) suggests it was a villa, but see 97 SE20 for the only Roman finds just North of this site.

{12} DMV in relatively good condition, see annotated 1:2500 survey. Cent to SP97657336.

{13, 14} AP's confirm the descriptions of Bridges and Charlton, even down to the round houses. A possible extension of it, at SP980729, is seen on AP's, if separate entity,? = Cotes Parva.

{15} The site was excavated by G V Charlton, when several round medieval dwellings resembling dovecotes were found, also a stone-built house with moulded door-jambs, and church evidently destroyed by fire. Sir C H Read, of the British Museum, described the pottery found as probably 15thc.

{16} The published site is that of the DMV of Mallows Cotton, also known as Middle Cotes (13th-15thc), Middle Cotes by Raunds (1303), and Mallard Cotes (1559), was last heard of in 1428, when it passed into the property of the Green family. There was a chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity at Middlecotes in 1292. This, not Mill Cotton as Auth suggests, is likely to be Cotes Parva - see the 1330 Quo Warranto, EPNS, Northants.

<1> GVC, CORRESPONDENCE, (unchecked) (Letter). SNN45346.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP97SE4 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<3> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.81 Site 19 (checked) (Series). SNN77379.

<4> 1798, Raunds Enclosure Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN5429.

<5> Gover J.E.B.; Mawer A.; Stenton F.M. (Eds.), 1933, The Place-names of Northamptonshire, p.194-95 (unchecked) (Series). SNN5881.

<6> SHAW R., 1989, The Quest For The Past: Archaeologists at Work: Archaeology in Education Resource Pack, (unchecked) (Educational Resource Pack). SNN69968.

<7> Parry S. et al, 2006, Raunds Area Survey: An Archaeological Study of The Landscape of Raunds, Northamptonshire 1985-94, p. 177-185 (Book). SNN105780.

<8> MALLOWS COTTON SOUTH SURVEY PLOT (Plan). SNN57481.

<9> Pike, A (ed), 1992, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter (22), p. 39 (Journal). SNN100613.

<10> Rahtz P. (Editor), 1969, Deserted Medieval Village Research Group (Vol.17), p. 25 (Annual Report). SNN62319.

<11> FA Hastings, 1967, Field investigators comments, RD FAH 27-NOV-67 (Notes). SNN115150.

<12> Baird, J, 1969, Field Investigators Comments, F1 JB 26-NOV-69 (Note). SNN111452.

<13> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, RAF CPE/UK/1925 1255-6 (Photographs). SNN104890.

<14> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, RAF 541/602 3166-7; 4165-6 (Photographs). SNN104890.

<15> Historic England, Unknown, Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments, Revision ONB p 13 (Oral Report). SNN111577.

<16> Salzman L.F.(ed), 1937, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p. 33-4, 1, 42 (Series). SNN100371.

Record last edited

Jan 31 2025 3:12PM