GCSE Coursework: History Around Us - eRiding

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History Around Us – The deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy4.3.9 Questioning a Modern ReconstructionConsider whether the picture below is an accurate reconstruction of St Martin’s Church and graveyard.After studying the photographic evidence you could question the accuracy of this drawing. Among otherthings, you need to consider what period in the history of the church and the village this drawing isdesigned to represent.This is an apse – the domed orvaulted east end of the church.In Britain it was more usual tohave a square rather than arounded apse. Rounded apseswere more popular on thecontinent. What does thissuggest to you about the peoplewho designed and built StMartin’s Church?Questions or prompts for further discussion• Look carefully at the tower of the church, how does the tower in the reconstruction differ from theremains of the tower in the photographic evidence?• Do the differences mean that the artist’s drawing is an unreliable source of evidence aboutWharram Percy?• What questions would you have to ask to test the reliability/usefulness of the artist’sreconstruction?• An interesting point to consider is the church’s location in the village. The church is located awayfrom the peasants’ houses and is at the opposite end of the village from the manor houses. Wasthis typical of medieval villages or is this feature unique to Wharram Percy?16© eRiding 2004
History Around Us – The deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy4.4 Further Ideas for Interpreting EvidenceYour coursework may well focus on investigating the reasons why the village was deserted. This willrequire you to use evidence from the site and other sources of evidence to substantiate your theories.For example the changes made to the church during the 15 th century could be used to support the theorythat the village was not deserted as a result of the effects of the Black Death in 1349. This used to be apopular theory used to explain the desertion of many medieval villages.Why was Wharram Percy abandoned? Hypotheses and evidence trails.Follow the evidence trails to reach a substantiated conclusion about why the village was deserted.Remember you must use evidence from the site and from the historical records to support your theories.This guide contains examples of historical evidence that may support or challenge the hypotheses. Forthe first few there are several examples. For the later hypotheses, there are fewer. This does not meanthat there is no historical evidence, but you may have to look further for it.17© eRiding 2004
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GCSE Coursework: History Around Us - eRiding

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