57 A detailed survey of the site confirmed the existence of the moat (1v156) and revealed an extensive system of smaller fishponds, some of which showed as darker marks in the parched grass during the hot summer of 1975. The Church is a Victorian repladement of a Norman structure which had a larger chUrchyard, the E. boundary of which remains some 30m E. . of the present church. To the N.W. of the fishpond complex M156 and M157 may represent house sites. The survey of the field to the N. is not complete,but the general picture is of house plat<strong>for</strong>ms on the E. side of the village street with long narrow crofts defined by ditches running E. to the river. Within these crofts are excavated areas representing gravel pits. The Fishponds This complex, situated between the church, moated site and the river, is considered to be the remains of a medieval fishery. This consists of two large ponds E. of the moat (M56), while N. of these several rectangular ponds are sub-divided internally suggesting breeding tanks. Other lesser ponds drain into the larger ones. In the field to the S. of the surveyed area traces of another large pond were des-. troyed by levelling and ploughing in July 1975. POST EXCAVATION WORK The last three years excavations have produced 289 boxes of finds. These include vast assemblages of pottery and over a thousand small finds of iron and copper alloy. Work has continued on the processing of these finds. It is anticipated that the final results, which will include the total excavation of the shrunken village earthworks at Great Lin<strong>for</strong>d, parts of the village sites at Walton and Woughton-on-the Green, and moated sites at Willen and Bradwell, will be combined to <strong>for</strong>m a monograph on medieval settlement in the area. DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH Work has also progressed on the documentary sources of history <strong>for</strong> the Development Area. During the ,pest year work concentrated on those which had already undergone excava- tion: Bradwell, Bradwell Abbey, Great Lin<strong>for</strong>d and Woughton-on-the-Green; and this selection demonstrates the differential survival of doc-. umentary evidence. Research has been restricted to the medieval and early modern periods, although a surveY of the C19th and,C2Oth Census Returns <strong>for</strong> all parishes is in hand. Bradwell (Bradwell Bury). Excavation revealed several possible early sites <strong>for</strong> one of the manor houses, now known as Moat House. No documentary evidence has been discovered so far which can be identified with these sites as opposed to the other manor house, now Manor Farm. The main early source found is a cartulary at Northampton which gives 79 charters dating from the mid-C13th to mid-C14th, relating to land in Bradwell and Stantonbury. From this it is possible to identify many of the major landholders and to compare the field names with more modern equivalents. Another cartulary lists extremely contracted charters of the mid-C13th to mid- C15th. No court rolls have yet been found. The descent of several farms has been traced from original deeds, including Manor Farm and Cooks Farm. A good selection of wills of the Cl6th and C17th indicate the status and lifestyle of .a cross-section of the community. Bradwell Abbey Much of the limited history of the Benedictine Priory and of the lay estate which followed the dissolution has been known <strong>for</strong> a long time. Additional in<strong>for</strong>mation about the first tenant of the lay estate implies that he was a member of the family of Wogan of Wiston, Pembrokeshire, and was a gentleman 'usher'under Henry VIII. A copy of another estate map of 1878 has.been made from the original in the possession of Mr. Punter, whose family were tenants of the Abbey Farm <strong>for</strong> 60 years during the second half of the C19th and early C2Oth. Great Lin<strong>for</strong>d The Abingdon Chronicle gives the teXt of a Saxon charter relating to Lin<strong>for</strong>d (Bucks). It is possible that up to three other Saxon charters can be claimed as well. From the Uthwatt collection at Aylesbury come indications that the earliest known site <strong>for</strong> the present manor house is beneath the
I' / / / / II / / II VILLAGE GREEN -- ---- ' - --- -- \ GRANGE g FARM ZZ, / ---.' \ ) GREAT LINFORD 74-5 \\ \\ \\ \ EXCAVATIONS IN HERNS CLOSES , ...- \\ . \ \\` , \\\' - - - -- , -- _____ 10 0 so 100 .-- -- \ :s - - metres ' -- -..,. .' ,-- N N , N ., N N Fig. 17 N . NN