A Grand Day Out Ravensthorpe. A Medieval Village

A Grand Day Out

Part 2

Ravensthorpe. A Medieval Village

Because a lot of Yorkshire is not in the tourist honey pot league, to say nothing of the regions continual under funding, the preservation of historical sites seems never to have been high on the country's agenda. In the more affluent south this has been less of a problem but while Yorkshire is thought of by its residents as 'Gods Own Country' it is low on the list of most visitors to England who still go to London and think that is England. I remember when I lived in the US an American proudly told me he had been to the north of England --- Northampton! Thus many of our smaller pieces of history lay unvisited and disappearing. Of course we have the odd castle and stately home to visit but there are more attractions for local tourism than you think.

It was with this in mind the myself and Gill Webster (my good natured, and tolerant companion!) set off on Sunday morning (27/8/17) to explore one or two local places. The first of these (the Beverley Sanctuary Stones) was reported on Face Book (Old Hull page) as Part 1 of 'A Grand Day Out', on 30/8/17. This next posting is Part 2 covering another investigation that day. Part 3 will follow

The Medieval Period

This is usually taken as the 5th century to the 15th century and in Europe was characterised by feudalism where nobles held land from the Crown in exchange for military service provided by those who worked for the Lord. Manorialism underpinned the feudal system with the Lord of the Manor overseeing serfs, vassals and freemen for the cultivation of the land he held. The farming was done on an open field system where the land was divided into areas and farmed by a family. Continuous ploughing formed ridges (on which the crop was planted) and furrows in between. On older systems the end of the ridges and furrows formed a bend formed by turning the bullocks round at the end of the row. This eventually over the length of the plot formed an S .

What's happened to the ridges and furrows?

Over the years and with the powerful mechanisation of ploughing the ridges and furrows have been largely flattened and obliterated. Ridge and furrows on slopes also tended to be washed out by erosion. Seventy years ago many examples of this type of medieval farming could be found round Hull but alas most have now been ploughed out. A remaining example is Anlaby Common. The pattern can be easily seen especially when light snow has fallen or from an aerial photograph. Figs 1, 2 and 3. Fig also 2 shows the development of the curved end of the ridge.

Fig 1 Ridge and Furrow. Anlaby Common, Hull

Fig 2 The curved ends of some ridges caused by turning the bullocks and plough. Anlaby Common. Hull

Fig 3 Strip farming. Anlaby Common. Hull.

Medieval Villages.

Those working for the Lord lived in a village(s) close to the Lords' Manor or Castle. In some cases the 'Lord' had a hall in the village. Because many medieval Lords owned huge areas several manors and villages belonging to them were normal. The medieval village was a crowded place the inhabitants generally living in small thatched houses along a street or round an open space. If there was a stream then a mill would be present. The village may have had a smithy and a church was an important feature. The Lords wish for more privacy lead over the centuries to the Manor (or equivalent) becoming more separated from the village and this is obvious in Chatsworth where the 6th Duke of Devonshire had the village of Edensor (Fig 4) actually moved over a hill in 1838-42 so it was out of his sight!

Fig 4 Edensor. Derbyshire. The village was moved by the 6th Duke of Devonshire

There are about 3,000 deserted medieval villages in England and in our area we have one of the most important -- Wharram Percy, (Sat Nav Latitude: 54.068743. Longitude: -0.68958 or SE 8881164348) Figs 5 and 6. This is the most studied medieval village in Europe. There are many others that lie largely unexplored in the archaeological sense. The one we visited on this day was Ravensthorpe. Obviously 'attached' to the local Manor being about half a mile away. But more of the Manor in Part 3 of A Grand Day Out.

Fig 5 The track to Wharram Percy.

Fig 6 The medieval church at Wharram Percy.

Ravensthorpe

Grid Reference TA 004 425. Lat 53.869026 Long -0.4746007, the village lies between Cherry Burton and Leconfield just south west of Rose Cottage Farm (OS Map 293). It can be reached by road via Miles Lane and the road to the farm. This is a reasonably busy farm road and as there are no parking places so walking along it may be the right thing to do. There is longer walking route of nearly a mile from near the post office in Leconfield. This route will be covered in Part 3.

Ravensthorpe appears in the Doomsday Book which was completed 1086. The book was a record of the Great Survey ordered by William the Conqueror to find out who and what and of what value there was in 'his' England and part of Wales. Ravensthorpe does not seem to have been a large village as the Doomsday records show it had a minimum of 14 people. The Lay Subsidy was a tax on wealth and was levied when the need arose to meet the military needs of the Crown. At Ravensthorpe in 1377, 10 people were liable for this tax. The village may have disappeared in the 16th centaury but may have been depopulated several times during its history. Nothing much remains to see now except an uneven field. (Fig 7 & 8.) From aerial photographs about 15 houses have been identified along with enclosures either side of a central hollow way which runs south west to north east. (Fig 9)

Fig 7

Fig 8

Figs 7 and 8. Ravensthorpe medieval village as it is now

Fig 9. An aerial view of Ravensthorps Medieval Village. Various enclosures can be made out.

Why did these medieval villages disappear so abruptly?

The answers to this are various. An obvious one is the Black Death or Plaque. This occurred at various times in history, 1346-53, 1361,1374 and 1665. It has never really 'gone away' appearing in India in 1990s and Central Asia in 2013. In England as in Europe this disease weakened smaller populations so much that they either dies out or could not continue. Many medieval villages 'disappeared' by depopulation as a result of farming changes. During the middle ages wool became important and land owners started to keep sheep and move away from the arable farming of ridge and furrow. This meant fewer workers were needed and a large number found themselves without jobs and moved away from villages sounding the death knell for them. This could have been the fate of Ravesthorpe as certainly was the case of Wharram Percy.

Chris Coulson Sept 2017