Leafield Edge Deserted Village (Alnham)
NT 985135: Earthworks consistent with a deserted medieval or later village site were located during field walking in 1979 at Leafield Edge on the west margin of a unified block of broad ridge ploughing extending over some 115 acres. The settlement earthworks fall into three distinct groups and consist of foundations of rectangular buildings with associated paddocks or garths. The earthworks, however, give no indication as to their age. Surveyed at 1:1250. (1)
NT 985136 (sic). Aerial reconnaissance at Leafield Edge in 1980 has shown that the deserted village survives with its fields completely intact. (2)
Leafield Edge deserted medieval village and field system, scheduled ancient monument number 646.
The village earthworks, surveyed in 1981, are dispersed over an area measuring c.400m north-south by 150m east-west. They are located on the western perimeter of a well preserved block of plough riggs and sykes extending over c.47ha and representing the complete open field system associated with the village. Both the settlement earthworks and the field system can be resolved into several phases of occupation and use compatible with a long history of development possibly extending into the post-medieval period as suggested by documents.
This is one of only three deserted village sites remaining in the north-east Cheviots whose open fields have survived essentially intact. Documentary research by P Dixon indicates that the origins of the settlement go back at least as far as the 12th or 13th centuries, although final abandonment may not have taken place until the 17th century. (3)
Leafield Edge was scheduled as the sole representative example of a deserted medieval village with its field system intact in Northumberland. (4)
NT 985136 Leafield Edge. Cord rig field(s)/field system of unclear/unknown context. (5)
The well preserved remains of a Medieval village consisting of buildings, yards and fields of broad ridge-and-furrow lying within a head dyke are situated around the Leafield Burn between 260 m and 310 m OD. The settlement lies on the W edge of the cultivated area which occupies about 40 hectares.
There are about nine rectangular buildings surviving in the village, some of which [NT 9813/1, 2, 3, 5] are very well-preserved with complete outline plans and walls still standing up to 0.4 m high. Of these, [NT 9813/2] and [NT 9813/5] have no internal features and are perhaps barns rather than houses. These two also have narrower walls than the other buildings with a range of 0.75 - 0.9 m as opposed to
0.9 - 1.5 m.
[NT 9813/1] is possibly a longhouse with walls still standing to a maximum height of 0.7 m. It has 4 rooms and a central cross passage. At the N end the building is 3.5 m wide narrowing to 2.6 m at the S within walls c.1.0 m thick. The individual rooms vary in length from c.2.0 m to 6.2 m and the cross passage is 1.2 m wide.
House [NT 9813/3] is 11.0 m long within walls 0.9 m to 1.5 m thick standing 0.5 m high. It is divided by a partition wall 0.7 m thick into two rooms, 4.4 m and 5.8 m long respectively. The E end has a slightly rounded appearance and there are two entrances in the S wall, one into each room.
These well preserved buildings are all in the N part of the village with [NT 9813/4] which is less well preserved and is almost entirely obscured by thick reed growth, though part of its E wall still survives to a height of 0.3 m.
The group of buildings further S [NT 9813/6-9] are all very poorly preserved, perhaps due to changes in the alignment of the head dyke and other boundary banks which must have taken place at a relatively late stage in the life of the settlement. None of these buildings are sufficiently intact for their dimensions to be measured and they mostly stand no more them 0.1 m high.
The enclosures and yards [NT 9813/10, 11, 12] associated with these buildings are rectangular or sub-rectangular in shape and surrounded by stony banks up to 0.4 m high. [NT 9813/10] is a subdivided enclosure formed by a turf-covered stony bank with a small ditch on the W. The subdivision is a rectangular enclosure attached to the N side of house [NT 9813/1] and itself subdivided by a cross wall. The N side of this enclosure is formed by an earthen bank [NT 9813/18] now mutilated by forestry. The E wall of [NT 9813/11] is formed by the head dyke [NT 9813/16] which is noticeably stony at this point and has a `crested' appearance as if the wall of [NT 9813/11], 0.7 m wide, has been placed on top of it. Further irregular enclosures are formed to the N by stone walls.
The large enclosure [NT 9813/12] has had a complex history, the sequence of which is not clear from the earthworks. It would appear that the head dyke at one time formed the W boundary of this enclosure but it was subsequently extended to the line of a low bank [NT 9813/9], 1.5 m wide and up to 0.4 m high, largely obliterating the head dyke itself and the traces of buildings [NT 9813/6], [NT 9813/8] and [NT 9813/9] which had once stood here. The E boundary has also moved on at least one occasion but though the sequence of earthworks at the N end appear to show that the E-W width of the enclosure was reduced (ie [A]-[C]) and its N-S length expanded (ie [D]-[F]), the earthworks at the S end imply modification in the opposite direction ([C]-[A] and [F]-[D]): the latter sequence is preferred.
The N boundary of [NT 9813/12] is formed by a substantial bank [F] which is a secondary development of the head dyke. It is 2.2 m wide and 0.4 m high W of the point where it meets [C]. E of this it is only 0.2 m high. The E most boundary [A] is an earth bank up to 1.8 m wide and 0.3 m high with signs of rebuilding at its S end where there are a number of large boulders. A stone wall [B], 0.9 m wide and up to 0.3 m high, runs parallel to this. [C] is a low broad bank with a groove or furrow down the centre. Its overall width is 3.8 m, its maximum height 0.3 m and the depth of the central groove 0.1 m. The S boundary [E] is a collapsed stone wall 0.8 m wide spread to 1.7 m and standing to a maximum of 0.4 m. It is well turf-covered. A low E-facing scarp runs from the E in a smooth curve towards building [NT 9813/7].
A stony bank [NT 9813/13] overlying the head dyke is probably associated with enclosures [NT 9813/14 and 15]. It is about 1.6 m wide and 0.3 m high and mostly turf-covered.
Two sub-rectangular enclosures, [NT 9813/14 and 15], overlie the rig [NT 9813/17] associated with the village. The surrounding earth banks are up to 2.3 m wide and 0.5 m high. Though the banks are
continuous on the W side of both enclosures they are breached at the intersection of every furrow on the E, downslope, side. This is presumably to allow drainage and prevent water from ponding up within
the enclosures.
The head dyke [NT 9813/16 and NT 9913/10] is a massive stony bank, up to 3.1 m wide and 0.5 m high, though in many places it is considerably reduced. Facing stones are visible in some places on
the steep W, or outer, side.
The broad ridge-and-furrow [NT 9813/17 and NT 9913/9] lying within the head dyke on both sides of Leafield Burn, is regular, well developed and well preserved with furrows up to 0.4 m deep. (6a)
NT 985 135. Leafield Edge deserted medieval village and field system. Scheduled No ND/646. (6b)
NT 985136 (sic). Aerial reconnaissance at Leafield Edge in 1980 has shown that the deserted village survives with its fields completely intact. (2)
Leafield Edge deserted medieval village and field system, scheduled ancient monument number 646.
The village earthworks, surveyed in 1981, are dispersed over an area measuring c.400m north-south by 150m east-west. They are located on the western perimeter of a well preserved block of plough riggs and sykes extending over c.47ha and representing the complete open field system associated with the village. Both the settlement earthworks and the field system can be resolved into several phases of occupation and use compatible with a long history of development possibly extending into the post-medieval period as suggested by documents.
This is one of only three deserted village sites remaining in the north-east Cheviots whose open fields have survived essentially intact. Documentary research by P Dixon indicates that the origins of the settlement go back at least as far as the 12th or 13th centuries, although final abandonment may not have taken place until the 17th century. (3)
Leafield Edge was scheduled as the sole representative example of a deserted medieval village with its field system intact in Northumberland. (4)
NT 985136 Leafield Edge. Cord rig field(s)/field system of unclear/unknown context. (5)
The well preserved remains of a Medieval village consisting of buildings, yards and fields of broad ridge-and-furrow lying within a head dyke are situated around the Leafield Burn between 260 m and 310 m OD. The settlement lies on the W edge of the cultivated area which occupies about 40 hectares.
There are about nine rectangular buildings surviving in the village, some of which [NT 9813/1, 2, 3, 5] are very well-preserved with complete outline plans and walls still standing up to 0.4 m high. Of these, [NT 9813/2] and [NT 9813/5] have no internal features and are perhaps barns rather than houses. These two also have narrower walls than the other buildings with a range of 0.75 - 0.9 m as opposed to
0.9 - 1.5 m.
[NT 9813/1] is possibly a longhouse with walls still standing to a maximum height of 0.7 m. It has 4 rooms and a central cross passage. At the N end the building is 3.5 m wide narrowing to 2.6 m at the S within walls c.1.0 m thick. The individual rooms vary in length from c.2.0 m to 6.2 m and the cross passage is 1.2 m wide.
House [NT 9813/3] is 11.0 m long within walls 0.9 m to 1.5 m thick standing 0.5 m high. It is divided by a partition wall 0.7 m thick into two rooms, 4.4 m and 5.8 m long respectively. The E end has a slightly rounded appearance and there are two entrances in the S wall, one into each room.
These well preserved buildings are all in the N part of the village with [NT 9813/4] which is less well preserved and is almost entirely obscured by thick reed growth, though part of its E wall still survives to a height of 0.3 m.
The group of buildings further S [NT 9813/6-9] are all very poorly preserved, perhaps due to changes in the alignment of the head dyke and other boundary banks which must have taken place at a relatively late stage in the life of the settlement. None of these buildings are sufficiently intact for their dimensions to be measured and they mostly stand no more them 0.1 m high.
The enclosures and yards [NT 9813/10, 11, 12] associated with these buildings are rectangular or sub-rectangular in shape and surrounded by stony banks up to 0.4 m high. [NT 9813/10] is a subdivided enclosure formed by a turf-covered stony bank with a small ditch on the W. The subdivision is a rectangular enclosure attached to the N side of house [NT 9813/1] and itself subdivided by a cross wall. The N side of this enclosure is formed by an earthen bank [NT 9813/18] now mutilated by forestry. The E wall of [NT 9813/11] is formed by the head dyke [NT 9813/16] which is noticeably stony at this point and has a `crested' appearance as if the wall of [NT 9813/11], 0.7 m wide, has been placed on top of it. Further irregular enclosures are formed to the N by stone walls.
The large enclosure [NT 9813/12] has had a complex history, the sequence of which is not clear from the earthworks. It would appear that the head dyke at one time formed the W boundary of this enclosure but it was subsequently extended to the line of a low bank [NT 9813/9], 1.5 m wide and up to 0.4 m high, largely obliterating the head dyke itself and the traces of buildings [NT 9813/6], [NT 9813/8] and [NT 9813/9] which had once stood here. The E boundary has also moved on at least one occasion but though the sequence of earthworks at the N end appear to show that the E-W width of the enclosure was reduced (ie [A]-[C]) and its N-S length expanded (ie [D]-[F]), the earthworks at the S end imply modification in the opposite direction ([C]-[A] and [F]-[D]): the latter sequence is preferred.
The N boundary of [NT 9813/12] is formed by a substantial bank [F] which is a secondary development of the head dyke. It is 2.2 m wide and 0.4 m high W of the point where it meets [C]. E of this it is only 0.2 m high. The E most boundary [A] is an earth bank up to 1.8 m wide and 0.3 m high with signs of rebuilding at its S end where there are a number of large boulders. A stone wall [B], 0.9 m wide and up to 0.3 m high, runs parallel to this. [C] is a low broad bank with a groove or furrow down the centre. Its overall width is 3.8 m, its maximum height 0.3 m and the depth of the central groove 0.1 m. The S boundary [E] is a collapsed stone wall 0.8 m wide spread to 1.7 m and standing to a maximum of 0.4 m. It is well turf-covered. A low E-facing scarp runs from the E in a smooth curve towards building [NT 9813/7].
A stony bank [NT 9813/13] overlying the head dyke is probably associated with enclosures [NT 9813/14 and 15]. It is about 1.6 m wide and 0.3 m high and mostly turf-covered.
Two sub-rectangular enclosures, [NT 9813/14 and 15], overlie the rig [NT 9813/17] associated with the village. The surrounding earth banks are up to 2.3 m wide and 0.5 m high. Though the banks are
continuous on the W side of both enclosures they are breached at the intersection of every furrow on the E, downslope, side. This is presumably to allow drainage and prevent water from ponding up within
the enclosures.
The head dyke [NT 9813/16 and NT 9913/10] is a massive stony bank, up to 3.1 m wide and 0.5 m high, though in many places it is considerably reduced. Facing stones are visible in some places on
the steep W, or outer, side.
The broad ridge-and-furrow [NT 9813/17 and NT 9913/9] lying within the head dyke on both sides of Leafield Burn, is regular, well developed and well preserved with furrows up to 0.4 m deep. (6a)
NT 985 135. Leafield Edge deserted medieval village and field system. Scheduled No ND/646. (6b)
N1360
FIELD SURVEY, Field Survey in Northumberland 1981
MEASURED SURVEY, RCHME: SE Cheviots Project ; RCHME
HISTORIC AREA ASSESSMENT, Alnham Village Atlas ; The Archaeological Practice Ltd
MEASURED SURVEY, RCHME: SE Cheviots Project ; RCHME
HISTORIC AREA ASSESSMENT, Alnham Village Atlas ; The Archaeological Practice Ltd
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