Kirkharle deserted medieval village (Kirkwhelpington)
NZ 011825 Deserted medieval village at Kirkharle. (No available air cover). (1)
Kirkharle now consists of two farmsteads and a church (NZ 08 SW 4). There are no visible depopulation remains. (2)
Kirkharle vill was a member of the lordship of Bolbec. In 1296 there were 21 taxpayers recorded in the Lay Subsidy - large in comparison with other settlements in southern Northumberland - and 48 adults were listed in the Poll Tax of 1377. By the beginning of the 17th century the village had decreased in size. The Hearth Tax of 1666 recorded 14 houses, including the manor, in the township. It was described as a small village by Warburton in 1715.
The farming units in the township had been reorganised by the mid-18th century. In the later 18th century the village was removed from its original site to a new one farther away from the Hall. In the early 19th century the new settlement comprised estate workers' accommodation, school house and steward's house. This has declined to a small cluster of buildings south west of the Hall.
No earthwork evidence has been found. A plan of 1828 shows two linked fishponds south of the secondary settlement, which can still be seen. (3)
NZ 011825. Kirkharle deserted medieval village. (4)
The village was located in the field south west of Kirkharle Farm, between the farm and present settlement. An estate plan attributed to Capability Brown (c.1765) seems to show the plan of the village at that time, prior to its relocation. An interrupted row of 13 plots (cottages?) is shown immediately east of the present village.
The location of the cottages may be identified from an aerial photograph (ADAS 1979), but the remains are not clear on the ground. The short lengths of ridge and furrow either side of the stream north of the village may be the croft; this area is separated from the township fields by a well-defined stone-faced earth bank to the north.
All that remains of the manor house is the east end (see NZ08SW 9).
The cultivated areas associated with the village are covered with broad, curved ridge and furrow. The most striking areas are those surrounding the church and to the north of the village site. The fields around the church were part of the glebe lands which additionally consisted of one eleventh part of the all the lands of the township. In 1697 the glebe lands were consolidated and exchanged for 123 acres of 'new glebe'. The old glebe is defined west of the church by a curved, stone-faced earth bank with external ditch.
Kirkharle now consists of two farmsteads and a church (NZ 08 SW 4). There are no visible depopulation remains. (2)
Kirkharle vill was a member of the lordship of Bolbec. In 1296 there were 21 taxpayers recorded in the Lay Subsidy - large in comparison with other settlements in southern Northumberland - and 48 adults were listed in the Poll Tax of 1377. By the beginning of the 17th century the village had decreased in size. The Hearth Tax of 1666 recorded 14 houses, including the manor, in the township. It was described as a small village by Warburton in 1715.
The farming units in the township had been reorganised by the mid-18th century. In the later 18th century the village was removed from its original site to a new one farther away from the Hall. In the early 19th century the new settlement comprised estate workers' accommodation, school house and steward's house. This has declined to a small cluster of buildings south west of the Hall.
No earthwork evidence has been found. A plan of 1828 shows two linked fishponds south of the secondary settlement, which can still be seen. (3)
NZ 011825. Kirkharle deserted medieval village. (4)
The village was located in the field south west of Kirkharle Farm, between the farm and present settlement. An estate plan attributed to Capability Brown (c.1765) seems to show the plan of the village at that time, prior to its relocation. An interrupted row of 13 plots (cottages?) is shown immediately east of the present village.
The location of the cottages may be identified from an aerial photograph (ADAS 1979), but the remains are not clear on the ground. The short lengths of ridge and furrow either side of the stream north of the village may be the croft; this area is separated from the township fields by a well-defined stone-faced earth bank to the north.
All that remains of the manor house is the east end (see NZ08SW 9).
The cultivated areas associated with the village are covered with broad, curved ridge and furrow. The most striking areas are those surrounding the church and to the north of the village site. The fields around the church were part of the glebe lands which additionally consisted of one eleventh part of the all the lands of the township. In 1697 the glebe lands were consolidated and exchanged for 123 acres of 'new glebe'. The old glebe is defined west of the church by a curved, stone-faced earth bank with external ditch.
N10495
FIELD OBSERVATION, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigation 1968; B H Pritchard
WATCHING BRIEF, KIRKHARLE VISITOR CENTRE 2006; Pre-Construct Archaeology
WATCHING BRIEF, KIRKHARLE VISITOR CENTRE 2006; Pre-Construct Archaeology
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