Untitled - Council for British Archaeology

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that there was some continuity of site into
the Saxon period until later nucleation onto
the present village sites. In addition
several small middle Saxon sites have been
discovered, but none large enough to justify
the title of 'village', excepting the Newton
Willows site discussed previously in Newsletter
4 (1974).
The iron slag and charcoal patches first
studied some years ago in the Easton Maudit
area, were the subject of much speculation as
to date. A carbon 14 test suggested C12th.
The more extensive surveys undertaker since
show that these slag and charcoal areas occur
only in the vicinity of the known area of
medieval woodland, i.e. near Rockingham,
Salcey, and Whittlewood forests.
Nearly all the parishes were completely
ploughed in medieval times except for
flooding meadows. Only Pilton has a small
area, Bearshank wood, representing part of
the Rockingham Forest. Almost all the
parishes show characteristic shrunken earth7
works.
Astwell and Falcutt A late Neolithic
domestic site was found on a pocket of grayel
at the NE of Astwell, and there are two R.B.
sites with the usual scatter Of domestic
rubbish. Both settlements are d.m.vs.
reduced to 'a mansion house and farmstead.
They appear to be late C15th sheep desertions.
Falcutt earthworks are well-preserved but
those of Astwell are unusual - perhaps
destroyed by C16th gardens of which there is
some evidence.
At the F side of Astwell parish are 13
black charcoal areas representing the
clearance of medieVal. woodland (Whittlewood
Forest). At Old Mountains is an extraordinary
moated site with linear ramparts
running for over -1- mile away from it. The.
main site is well-preserved and covered by .
trees but the ramparts are now mostly demar-.
cated by soil marks. The moat is marked as ,a
wooded copse on a late Cl6th map at Merton
College Oxford. This map also marks the pale
of the park created by the Lovett.family; the
boundary is still represented by modern hedge
lines without banks. Perhaps the Old
Mountains ramparts, b'elong to an earlier
medieval deer emparkment, although they do
not enclose an obvious park-like area.
Blisworth This parish is much mutilated by
quarrying and parts are suffering from deep.
plough damage. Two R.B. sites were noted,
one on a restored hand-dug quarry. Some good
examples of ridge and furrow survive at the N
and SW of the parish.
The village is noted for the course of a
very early horse drawn railway linking the
two ends of the Grand Union Canal which is
still clear from cuttings and embankments.
In 1812 the railway'was replaced by a tunnel,
the earth being disposed at intervals through
vertical shafts and left in great heaps which
remain on the fields above.
Church Brampton Like adjacent Chapel Brompton
the light soils of this parish abound in
prehistoric sites. Four complexes have been
identified, some with cropmarks yielding
Beaker period flints.
The S part of the parish was described as
heathland in the C16th, but nevertheless
contains ridge and furrow, surviving on a
golf course. To the W is a long tongue of
land, alongside a brook which was presumably
originally meadow, but now contains a series
of very short lands or butts.
Crick An early I.A. site was found on clay
and 2 R.B. sites on a ridge of gravel, one
partly destroyed,by the Ml. An A.S. burial
was uncovered during road works for an M1
feeder carriage way.
The parish is mostly grass with Some very
exceptional ridge. and furrow surviving to a
height of 3'. Many furlongs have 'double- -
headed' headlands which were caused by
leaving the headland to grass over and turning
the plough around d short distance away.
There are good village earthworks and sunken
roads E of the church; also well-preserved
are the fishponds and a windmill mound. Some
of the small quarries- (mostly for gravel) are
quite early because ridge and furrow originally
disturbed was reploughed into them. -
There is a canal tunnel (1812), which, like
Blisworth, is marked by a line of spoil heaps
on the fields above it. One of these heaps
appearS to have ridge and furrow crudely
.ploughed onto it, even though the parish was
inclosed in 1775.
Doddington There are 3 previously known R.B.
sites and an I.A. enclosure here. The latter
produced a limestone loom weight and also some
R.B. sherds. A new site was found to the NI
of.the village which yielded a few R.B. and
some hand-made Saxon sherds. The'red-land
contained a few worked flints of late date.
There are good village earthworks and