Earthworks near Stottesdon Village Centre

A description of earthworks and other features near Stottesdon Church and Manor Farm

Earthworks near Stottesdon village centre [+]
Earthworks recorded from aerial photographs near Stottesdon

To the north of Stottesdon village centre are a series of earthworks that probably stretch back to medieval times. This area, next to the church and manor house, would always have been close to the heart of the village. A series of deeply sunken tracks or hollow-ways are of considerable antiquity. Medieval agriculture is represented by the remains of ridge and furrow cultivation. Closer to the current Malt House Farm are the remains of platforms that were probably closes or paddocks for livestock. There are also a series of pools. P1, on a small stream, is almost certainly a fish pool. P2 may have started life as a fish pool, although it may have subsequently been extended, perhaps by digging for clay. P3 was probably created by a shallow quarry for clay or marl. Close to the farm, P4 may have been another fish pond, although it is also possible it may have been one arm of a moat that surrounded a predecessor to the current manor house.

The church now stands well back from the main road through the village, giving the appearance that it may have once faced out onto a village green. This may be the case, although as the church was an important centre in Saxon times, the “green” may have housed some long lost religious buildings. In the 13th Century there was an attempt to establish a market at Stottesdon; the funnel shaped arrangement of streets at the east end of the village have been suggested by archaeologists to be the remains of the market place