fcambridgeshirearchaeology Late Saxon to Post-medieval Manorial ...

Kirton has Saxon origins, being recorded as 'Chirchetune' in the
Domesday Book (1086). It was also a wapentake and there are
therefore many other entries describing places in the vicinity.
A brief search has not located any Anglo-Saxon charters which
mention Kirton (Ruarigh Dale pers. comm.), although there are records
left by the 18th century historian William Stukely. He suggested that
the soke of Kirton (or Drayton) was the original estate and seat of the
first Saxon kings and Earls of Mercia, and the origin of the potent
kingdom of that name (Green c.1910). The place-name evidence
(Cherchetune=Church Town) may suggest that a church existed at
Kirton in the pre-Viking era (Stocker 1993, 114).
Kirton is recorded as a reasonably wealthy settlement in the
Domesday Book (1086), worth about £3 a year under Edward the
Confessor and £2/4 in 1086 (see below). The Domesday survey
reports that Kirton was owned by two landowners: Count Alan Rufus
and Guy de Craon. Count Alan received generous land tracts from
William I in return for services at the Battle of Hastings. Domesday
Book records that 'In Kirton [is] sokeland [of] Drayton, 10 carucates of
land and 1 bovate' (Williams and Martin 1992, 906). Also 'Kirton
Wapentake In Kirton, Eadric had 10 bovates of land to the geld. [There
is] land for 1 plough and 5 oxen. Toli, the count's man, has 1 plough
there and 4 villeins have 1 plough and [there are] 8 acres of meadow.
TRE worth 40s; now 20s' (Williams and Martin 1992, 907).
In addition, 'In Kirton, /Elfric had 14 bovates of land and 2 parts of a
bovate to the geld. [There is] land for 17 oxen. Guy has 1 plough there
in demesne; and 2 sokemen on 1 bovate of this land having 3 oxen in
a plough, and [there are] 16 acres of meadow. TRE worth 20s; now
30s' (Williams and Martin 1992, 950).
Of possible significance, or perhaps a coincidence, is the fact that two
major land-holding elements of Kirton were also recorded in later
medieval records. Bozon Hall is linked to the present development site
(see below) and Littlebury Hall c.300m to the north of Bozon Hall was
the seat of the Littlebury's between the 14th and 16th centuries
(Palmer-Brown 1996a).
Although resembling a village today, in the medieval period Kirton was
a successful market town - the third largest settlement in the county
(Palmer Brown 1996a, 5). The prosperity of medieval Kirton is
apparent in the size and grandeur of the church St Peter and St Paul,
about 0.5km to the north-west of the proposed development, which has
been described as a town church in a village (Pevsner and Harris
1988, 419). This church is early in date with Norman architecture
visible. Kirton declined in size in the post-medieval period. The parish
was enclosed in the late 18th century with Holland Fen enclosed in
1769 (Palmer-Brown 1996a).
5
ccc AFU Report No. 895