the story of the burgage green in southwell
TRANSCRIPT
The Story of the Burgage Green in Southwell
A Report on its History and Archaeology by the Southwell Community
Archaeology Group’s ‘Burgage Earthworks Project’ as part of the
Heritage Lottery Fund’s ‘All our Stories’ 2012-13 and in collaboration
with the University of Nottingham’s ‘ Connected Communities’
scheme.
(This is an interim report – a final report will be published once we have completed the
finds analysis from our last seven test pits)
Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword by John Lock, chairman of Southwell Community Archaeology Group
History of the Burgage Green by Ellis Morgan
Introduction to the Burgage Green
Methods and Sources
The Story of the Burgage Green
The Burgage Manor and Green
Activities on the Green
Around the Green – eight locations
Mapping the Burgage
Archaeology assessment from historical research
Archaeology of the Burgage Green by Matt Beresford (MBArchaeology)
Introduction
Surveying the Burgage Green
Test Pit Analysis
Discussion
Discussion and next steps
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible without the support of the Heritage Lottery
Fund (HLF) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
We have enjoyed working with the staff and students of the University of Nottingham
with especial thanks to Chris King, Paul Johnson, Judith Mills and Ian Wilson for their
guidance and expertise.
The staff at Nottinghamshire Archives Office and at the Central Library in Nottingham
were always patient and helpful. Picture the Past have generously allowed use of their
images of the Burgage and also the HMSO for use of local OS maps.
Gareth Davies of Trent & Peak Archaeology and Alan and Celia Morris all provided
geophysical survey training and support to the group and Dr. Chris Brooke and Dr.
Keith Challis kindly provided LIDAR imagery for the project.
We were fortunate in gaining the services of Jane and Katie Young in identifying and
analysing our Small Finds; their training sessions combined great knowledge with
infectious enthusiasm.
We have received tremendous support from many people and groups within Southwell.
The Town Council allowed us access to the Burgage Green and use of the Old
Courthouse. Southwell Handicentre generously assisted us with tools and equipment for
the project, and Southwell Methodist Church hosted the Final Celebration Event and
Exhibition. The staff at Southwell Library have been unfailingly helpful.
We have received generous support from members of Southwell Local History Society
and Southwell Civic Society in particular from Mike Kirton, Lance Wright, Roger
Dobson, Betty Arundel and Professor Stanley Chapman. Prof. Michael Jones kindly
allowed us access to his group’s work on the White Book of Southwell.
Dr. Geoffrey Bond, our honorary President, deserves an especial vote of thanks both for
sharing his expert knowledge of the Burgage and for his tremendous encouragement and
guidance to our group.
Our final thanks must be to the people of Southwell and especially the burgagees – for
their continuing interest and curiosity and for allowing us to dig and delve into this
lovely part of their town.
Foreword
As chairman of Southwell Archaeology the last two years have been a fascinating
journey of discovery. The group formed in 2008 had very little experience in practical
archaeology so with a ‘pump primer’ AHRC award through the University of
Nottingham we made our bid for an All Our Stories Award. The rest to use a well-worn
cliché ‘is history’.
The undoubted success of the project has its roots in a number of sources. Firstly the
extraordinary historically and archaeologically rich landscape that Southwell occupies.
Secondly it has not been lost on me that whilst this enthusiastic group of volunteers was
edging its way to the discovery of hitherto unknown humble cottages or tofts, dating
from the 13th
- 14th
centuries, our professional colleagues at the University of Leicester
were equally engaged in search for a King. It was fitting therefore that our Celebration
Event was unwittingly timed for the very day that a major talk about King Richard III
was held in Southwell!
Thirdly none of our success would have been possible without the support of a huge
range of people and organisations and these are acknowledged in this report.
For my part I want to particularly recognise and thank the members of the group for
their dedication and support. For many the experiences were new and often challenging.
Finally unbridled enthusiasm and energy without professional leadership and resource
would have put us in a very different place. For that support I am indebted to Ellis
Morgan and Matt Beresford who together with Jane Young have with professionalism,
good humour and fortitude led the group to the final pages of Chapter One of the book
of the story of the Burgage.
John Lock JP
Chairman Southwell Archaeology
November 2013
Introduction to the Burgage Green, Southwell
The Burgage Green in Southwell is an open space of grass and trees at the north end of
the town – a favourite place for strolls, picnics and informal games.
The Burgage Green, Southwell.
The green is surrounded by over twenty private homes, both large and small, most of
which date from the 18th
and 19th
centuries. Agriculture would have dominated the
working life of the mediaeval Burgage but in more recent times it has been home to
other industries such as a brick works, a maltings, a lace factory and a freight yard. A
House of Correction has stood by the green since1611, the first one became so ruinous
that in 1808 it was replaced by a new prison built on a site further down the Burgage.
There are many stories to tell – from romantic poets to truant clerics, from days of mass
celebrations to days of mass mourning, from the tragic to the comic. In addition to such
stories our work must also inform the archaeologists on what to expect and where – we
might find rubble from the brick works or clay pipes from Robert Young’s 17th
century
workshop.
Based on the work of previous historians of Southwell we hope our digging and delving
will add a few more details to our knowledge of the Burgage Green.
The History Project - Method and Sources
The Southwell Archaeology Group was funded by HLF ‘All Our Stories’ in 2012 for a
year-long project to research the history and archaeology of the Burgage Green. The
scheme was in collaboration with the University of Nottingham ‘Connected
Communities’ programme. Twenty members of our group volunteered for historical
research and met regularly through the winter months of 2012 in preparation for a
summer of archaeological work.
Training sessions provided by the University of Nottingham covered many aspects
including web site design, copyright issues, photography and image storage, oral history
and recording, mapping, use of library resources and how to share our projects with the
community.
Initially we divided our volunteers into five small groups each concentrating on one of
five sources – documents, images, newspapers, oral history and maps. The information
collected was stored on shared internet files.
The archives searched for this project included :- Local Studies, Southwell Library;
Local Studies, Nottingham Central Library; Minster Library, Southwell Minster;
Hallwood Library, University of Nottingham; East Midlands Collection, Kings Meadow
Campus, University of Nottingham; Newark Resource Centre, Newark and Sherwood
District Council; Nottinghamshire County Archives Office; National Archives, Kew;
Borthwick Institute for Archives, York; University of Reading, Stenton papers; CUCAP
– Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photography; English Heritage - Aerial
Photography Archives at Swindon; Picture The Past.
Several topics and sites of interest around the Burgage Green were then identified and
each allocated for further research. Members of our group with their area of research are
listed below :-
Newspaper reports - Shirley Flisher. Oral history - Peter Kent, Judy Phillips and Shirley
Flisher. Maps – Stewart Todd and Dave Johnson. Images – Peter and Christine Kent.
Documents – Ellis Morgan. Latin translations of mediaeval deeds and Public Houses of
the Burgage - Di Parrish. Houses of Correction - Rob Smith. Lace factory - Christine
Raithby. The Maltings and Toad Hall.- Elisabeth Struggles. Farming - Ruth Robinson..
Clay pipes – Phillip and Judith Parry-Jones. Elmfield House - Jo Williams, June Stevens
and Wendy Geffries. Chapel of St. Thomas - Pauline Thompson
Individual reports were collated and a final edited report written by Ellis Morgan.
Our story of the Burgage Green is presented below. It is the story ‘so far’ as there will
no doubt be alterations and additions to be made as new facts are uncovered.
The Story of the Burgage Green
The Burgage Green lies within the ancient Manor of Burgage (or Burridge). A century
before the Norman conquest, Southwell and its surrounding parishes formed a royal
estate of wooded hills and fertile river valleys. This was a rich agricultural landscape
which in 968AD was granted by King Edwy to the Archbishop of York. The Manor of
Burgage, sandwiched between Southwell to the south and Normanton to the north, was a
small part of this royal gift.
Burridge or Burgage?
We have no evidence which name, Burgage or Burridge, is the original version. Both
occur in early records but they suggest two very different possible derivations.
A burgage was a town plot available for rent or a district of a town in which such rental
properties were available. Some burgages in English towns were linked to the granting
of a royal charter which bestowed upon the townsfolk the right to administer their own
affairs. There is some evidence that James 1 attempted unsuccessfully to grant such a
charter to Southwell but the reality was that the Minster and its chapter dominated
Southwell life for most of the last millennium.
Burridge ( burgh - ridge ) may refer to the hill which overlooks the north-east of the
town and which makes up over half of the area of the manor. This hill is the putative site
of a Roman camp or an Iron Age hill fort and one can speculate on burgh – a fort and
ridge – a hill and draw parallels with the name, Burrough Hill, an iron age hill fort in
Leicestershire. The Potwell Dyke which forms the eastern boundary of the manor was
known as the Burbeck (burgh – stream).
The Burgage Green in the centre of the Burgage (Burridge) Manor
Burgage and Prebendage
Thoroton, writing in 1677, described Southwell as being ‘divided into the Burgage, ----
and the Prebendage’. The Prebendage comprised the heart of Southwell dominated by
the Minster and the surrounding prebendial properties. The Burgage (or Burridge)
Manor extended from Back Lane (now Burgage Lane) in the south-west to the River
Greet in the north-east and from the Potwell Dyke in the south-east to the Ropewalk in
the north-west
From the 11th
century successive Archbishops of York granted portions of their estates
around Southwell to the Minster to establish the prebendial system and chapter which
governed the collegiate church of St. Mary and the town.
The Burgage Manor however remained under the lordship of the Archbishop down to
the mid -19th
century. It was administered by the Archbishop’s steward who presided
over regular meetings of a Manorial Court separate from those of the neighbouring
Prebendage and parishes. Sadly most of the records of these mediaeval courts have been
lost and only survive from 1806 until the 1970s when the system was finally wound up.
Two volumes of the records of the Manor of Burgage held in Nottinghamshire Archives
The whole panoply of a manorial system is evident in these books and includes a 12 man
jury, manorial officers and the control of areas of common grazing such as the Burgage
Green.
Extract of the records of the Manor Court of Burgage for 1807 with jury list
The village of Laxton in north Nottinghamshire is one of few villages in England where
the mediaeval system of open plough fields controlled by a manor court still survives
and anyone interested should visit the website at -
http://www.laxtonvisitorcentre.org.uk/.
A similar system would have controlled farming in mediaeval Southwell and one
remnant of this in the landscape is the ridge and furrow pattern resulting from centuries
of ploughing in elongated strips. Within the old boundaries of the Burgage Manor, a
ridge and furrow pattern survives in the fields behind South Muskahm Prebend and as
seen in the 1940 aerial photograph of Southwell below in the fields alongside the
Ropewalk, now hidden under modern housing.
1940 aerial photographs showing ‘Ridge and Furrow’ pattern south-east of the
Ropewalk within the Manor of Burgage.
Alongside the arable fields were pasture and meadows for livestock and within the
Burgage Manor lay rich meadow land, especially alongside the Greet River. Areas of
common grazing, such as the Burgage Green, were shared by smallholders and wealthier
farmers, all strictly controlled by the manor court. This part of the old manorial court
survived up to 1973 - house holders surrounding the Green met annually in the kitchen
of the Burgage Manor House to manage the Green and to rent to local farmers the
‘rights of herbage’ – the grass and hay on the Green.
Haymaking on Burgage Green
William Calverton’s 16th
century farm on the Burgage.
Although the manorial records are missing we have some other clues to farming and
farmers on the Burgage, the most important being the probate inventory of William
Calverton, yeoman farmer of Southwell, who died in late 1566. Four trustworthy
neighbours were given the task of drawing up an inventory of all his moveable chattels
for the purposes of probate From this inventory we learn that he cultivated over 80 acres
of land where he grew barley, winter corn and peas and his livestock consisted of cattle,
oxen, sheep, pigs, horses, ducks, geese and hens.
The main farm buildings were on the Burgage and in Easthorpe; their exact location is
not recorded but a hall (farmhouse), kiln, beast houses, yard and orchard were in a plot
that extended down to the roadside in the Burgage – probably alongside the Green.
From the household contents we can roughly reconstruct the rooms in his house which
was probably similar to the plan below.
Ground floor plan of typical hall farmhouse
We can follow the progress of William’s neighbours from the passageway of his house
into a hall – this was the main room of the house which contained tables, chairs,
benches, cupboards, dining and serving dishes, pots and pans (some of pewter). The
parlour was usually a small room at the far end of the hall and provided a private and
more comfortable room for the family away from the bustle of servants and visitors in
the main hall. William Calverton could afford wall hangings for both hall and parlour,
silver spoons and a 40 piece pewter dining set – he was comfortably off.
The inventory goes on to record a feather bed and four additional bedsteads each with a
mattress, sheets, blankets, pillows and bolsters – the parlour often doubled as a
bedchamber but there may have been additional bedrooms upstairs.
The next rooms visited are not named but must be the working end of the house -
kitchen, pantry, buttery for they contained cheese, salt, butter, tallows and grease,
cooking utensils, fire spits and irons and a variety of tubs.
Heating was provided by an open fire in the hall burning wood and coal – in earlier
times this would have been by a central hearth but by the mid-16th
century someone of
William’s status probably had installed one or more fireplaces with flue and chimney
stack. A cooking fire and ovens would have been essential for kitchen use. Many early
kitchens were separate from the main farmhouse because of the risk of fire but it is not
clear how William’s kitchen was arranged.
Outside was a yard surrounded by barns, corn garners, beast houses, a kiln and an
orchard. The kiln would have been used for corn drying but may also have been
employed in the malting of barley for beer which was common practice at the time.
Extensive palings and fencing are noted including some that extended down to the
Burgage road side.
Yeomen, Husbandmen and Labourers
William Calverton was a typical yeoman farmer, but most who worked on the land did
so on a smaller scale – husbandmen working 10-15 acres and farm labourers who
worked for the larger farms and struggled to supplement their wages on plots of 1-3
acres. Many of the craftsmen and traders in the town also had access to small plots of
land for vegetables, pigs, hens and even a cow for milk.
One such was Robert Young, a clay pipe maker who lived on the Burgage in the 17th
century. He appears in the1674 Hearth Tax list for Southwell which records him living
in the Burgage in a house with one chimney. He died in 1680 and his probate inventory
records a modest cottage with a workshop for the manufacture of clay pipes with clay,
moulds, clamps and kiln. In his yard was one cow, one heifer and a calf.
The last two centuries of farming on the Burgage Green.
The 18th
and 19th
century saw several businessmen based in the Burgage also doubling
as farmers – Charles and John Walker both millers and maltsters and Thomas Elsam
landlord of the White Swan.
In the early 1900s a Mr Brown ran a small holding somewhere on the Burgage selling a
variety of livestock including Blue Andalusian chicks and eggs.
Advert 1932 Nottingham Guardian
Blue Andalusian Cockerel
The last farmer to rent the grazing rights on the Burgage Green was Mr Cecil Hall
whose dairy located on the Burgage Green supplied milk to Southwell. Mr Tom
Fairholme worked at the dairy and is pictured below on the Green in the 1970s just
before the business closed.
Mr Tom Fairholme with dairy cows on the Burgage Green 1970s
The Burgage Green is now administered by Southwell Town Council but several of the
householders around the Green keep a watchful eye. According to old manorial custom
some of them, called toftsteaders, retain the right to graze livestock on the Green – so
watch out for the occasional pig or cow when enjoying your picnic.
Sources
P.Lyth, (editor) Farms and Fields of Southwell, Southwell Local History Group, WEA
East Midland District (1991)
R.E.Hardstaff, The Southwell Domesday Survey: Food Fuel and Farming 1086 AD,
Southwell and District Local History Society, (2003)
http://www.laxtonnotts.org.uk/
Southwell: The Town and Its People, Vol. 1 Southwell and District Local History
Society (1995).
Southwell: The Town and its People, Vol. 11 Southwell and District Local History
Society (2006)
NAO DD/SP 4293 Boxes 1- 4 (unlisted Accession Boxes) Manor of Burgage Manorial
records 1806-1973.
NAO PR.SW. Probate Inventories of Robert Young 1680 and William Calverton 1566
Other Activities on the Burgage Green
Besides farming the Green has been used for many other activities over the centuries.
Burgage Green c 1900
Market The market place in Southwell was a very small space located at the centre of
the town. John Leland writing in the 16th
century reported that’ there is no market
publicke’ and Summers (1974) comments on the surprising lack of space for a central
market in what was an important minster town. He raises the possibility that the Burgage
Green area may have been developed as an additional market area – certainly the Green
was employed for livestock sales from the early 1800s but may have been used for this
purpose from much earlier times.
Livestock sale on the Burgage Green
Fairs Fairs have been held on the Burgage Green in April and September from
mediaeval times. Nowadays the funfairs have rides such as the Waltzers and Dodgems
but as seen in the photograph below traditional roundabout rides have always been
popular and may well have been enjoyed by the young Lord Byron.
Funfair c 1900
Races Informal pony races have been held on the Burgage possibly for centuries.
John Elsam landlord of the White
Swan Inn was a keen promoter as seen
in an advert of 1815 ‘ There will be a
pony race on Burgage Green ,
Southwell on Whit-Thursday, for a
Saddle and Bridle; the best of three
heats – ponies not to exceed twelve
hands. Also an Ass race for a tea kettle
(a free prize)’
In the 1880s a more formal race meet
involved a course along the Lower
Kirklington Road and finishing on the
Burgage Green outside the House of
Correction. In 1898 the race meeting
moved to the modern racetrack site
near Rolleston.
Hunts
The green has been a frequent meeting place for local hunts such as the Rufford and the
South Notts .
Hunt meet on the Burgage Green
Celebrations
George III’s Golden Jubilee 1810
Over 80 people attended a grand supper and ball at
the Assembly Rooms when many continued their
spirited dancing through till five in the morning. Mr
Falkner, owner of the Burgage Manor House,
paraded his pupils who fired three volleys in honour
of the day.
Over three hundred families were supplied with
bread and ale and the poor widows and single
women of the town with bread and coal. The
prisoners in the House of Correction were regaled
with beef and plum pie as were the poor in the
Workhouse.
Defeat of Bonaparte 25th
June 1814
Over 1000 persons gathered on
the Burgage Green to celebrate
this glorious event with a feast
of Roast Beef, Plum Pudding
and Good Ale.
Later an effigy of Bonaparte,
mounted on an ass, was
conducted round the Green
which after enduring the
execrations of the crowd was
thrown onto a large bonfire – a
suitable reward for tyranny.
Southwell Lights Up – inauguration of the Gas Company 3rd
June 1853
For the first time the town
was light up by a brilliant
light produced from coal-
gas. The streets were
crowded with people as the
shops were aglow in the
evening presenting a most
animated appearance up to
a late hour.
On the following day a bun
and penny was given to
every child who attended
upon the Burgage Green
after which to music
provided by the Southwell
Brass Band, the married
and single formed
themselves into dance parties which was kept up well into the evening.
1803 Loyal Southwell Volunteers
In 1803 Britain faced the threat of invasion from Napoleon’s forces. Throughout the
country volunteer militias were raised to defend the realm. The Loyal Southwell
Volunteer Infantry commanded by Major W. Wylde had nearly 250 men in its ranks
with officers drawn from the local gentry. At the beginning the men drilled in the
evenings in ordinary clothes but soon they wore full regimental uniforms of scarlet and
black. For the next five years the volunteers are recorded on manoeuvres around the
midlands but no invasion came. Most of the men eventually returned to normal life but
some units continued as part of the county regiments.
Button of the Southwell Loyal Volunteers
Photo kindly supplied by a member of Ashfield Metal Detecting Club who found the
button in 2008 - 200 years after the volunteers were disbanded
First World War Recruiting 28th
August 1915
On Friday last a large crowd of people welcomed the 14th
Battalion of the Sherwood
Foresters to Southwell. After lunch and a paddle in the Greet they assembled for a
recruiting meeting on the Burgage Green. During the course of the speeches it was
remarked that the 7th
and 8th
Battalions Sherwood Foresters had been highly
complimented by Sir John French, the Commander-in-Chief, and that the officer in
charge of the 8th
Battalion at the time had been Major J P Becher of Southwell (loud
applause). Recruiting speeches followed including one from a wounded Irish soldier
convalescing at the Burgage Manor Hospital.
Convalescent soldiers with nurses on the Burgage
Burial at the Crossroads.
On 8th February 1822, Henry Standley was arrested for the murder of travelling
salesman Henry Dale. Standley was examined at the House of Correction in Southwell
by the magistrates. He stood ‘ for the greater time with his hands in his pockets but when
the victim’s watch and shoes were produced he gave a convulsive start, the colour left
his cheeks and he dropped senseless to the floor. On his recovery he was committed for
trial at Nottingham. He was returned to his cell but the horror of his situation had such
an effect on his mind that he hanged himself during the night with a muslin scarf that
had once belonged to his victim’.
The following day his body was carried on a wheelbarrow to the cross roads at the
bottom of the Burgage Green where it was laid on a bench to public view. A crowd of
three to four thousand was kept under control by the police. After an hour the body was
placed into the hole and a stake, said to be the murder weapon, was driven through the
body. The grave was then filled with quicklime, straw, pebbles and soil. After the
ceremony many of the spectators having quenched their curiosity spent the remains of
the day in the public houses quenching their thirst.
Commemorations –war memorial.
In 1921, three years after the end of the Great War, a vast crowd led by Bishop Hoskyns
of Southwell, met on the Burgage Green to dedicate the War Memorial.
Dedication of War Memorial on the Burgage in 1921
The Burgage Green today
Today the Burgage Green is a popular place for walks, informal games and picnics. In
addition to the fair held twice a year the Town Council host annual Fun Days which
provides local clubs and organisations with an opportunity to advertise their activities
and recruit support.
Around the Burgage Green
Walking around the Burgage Green today one can see grand Georgian houses, small
cottages, old maltings and a freight yard which was once a prison. The map below
highlights eight locations each with its own history told in detail below.
Location 1 The White Swan
Southwell was remarkably well served with nearly thirty licensed houses, a large
number for a mere 3,000 townsfolk but this number was regularly swollen with visitors
to the town’s markets and fairs and by numerous pilgrims – all in need of refreshment,
accommodation and entertainment.
In his book, Southwell Inns and Alehouses, Roger Dobson describes the hierarchy of
inns and alehouses which existed in Southwell from the grand county inn such as The
Saracen’s Head which served the upper strata of society down through the coaching and
carrier inns to the small public houses and alehouses catering to the local labourers and
artisans. There were four licensed premises in or near to the Burgage – The White Swan,
The Boot and Shoe, The Black Horse and The Newcastle Arms.
The White Swan
The site of the White Swan
Evidence suggests that a public house existed on this site as early as 1697 when it was
known as the Cock House. As the name suggests the pub was a regular venue for
cockfighting, a sport associated with heavy drinking and betting. The old pub was
rebuilt by new landlord John Elsam in the early 1800s and reopened under a new name,
The White Swan. Today the three storey brick building is The White Room and has a
blue wall plaque marking the old pub.
As seen in the 1841 tithe map below the premises extended behind the frontage on King
Street into a long yard which is today occupied by a garage and associated workshops, a
hairdressing salon, apartments, an art studio and a public car park .
The White Swan (59), yard, outbuildings and close (60, 61 and 69) in 1841 tithe map.
In the 19th
century the building had several pub rooms on the ground floor and upstairs
was accommodation for the landlord and his family and bedrooms for travellers. Behind
the alehouse in the yard was a skittle alley, stables, a brewhouse, barns, piggeries and
several small cottages and workshops for a range of traders such as smiths, butchers and
chandlers. The White Swan was evidently a popular and lively meeting place and much
more than a drinking house – in the early 1800’s it would seem that it also provided a
venue for women of easy virtue to ply their trade.
John Elsam, and son Thomas, ran the White Swan for the first half of the 19th
century
and were busy entrepreneurs with interests in farming, malting, hop growing, property
and organising auctions and pony races on the nearby Burgage Green. They issued pub
tokens to their regulars as a means of easy payment and ensuring customer loyalty.
Pub token for The White Swan
The next landlord, Matthew Revill was recorded in 1869 as landlord and blacksmith, he
was followed in 1900 by William Gibson who was also a farmer, and finally the last
landlord of the White Swan - William Foster.
The White Swan c 1900 with William Gibson wife and child
The White Swan closed in 1921 by order of the local magistrates. For decades public
houses had been closing in England, victims of an active temperance movement and a
general anxiety amongst the middle classes regarding drunkenness in labouring men.
On 11th
March 1921 at the annual meeting of the Licensing Committee the constabulary
advised that The White Swan was difficult to police owing to its peculiar shape and
situation and pointed out that locals had two convenient alternative pubs in the
Wheatsheaf and the Newcastle Arms. The licence was refused and landlord William
Foster lost his living - so ended 300 years of beer and good cheer.
The White Swan c1920 with William Foster the last landlord - note the old pub sign
The Boot and Shoe
We have only one firm piece of evidence for the Boot and Shoe pub which is a sale
notice in the Nottingham Journal of 1783.
To be Sold by Private Contract A small freehold estate situate at Burgage, in the parish
of Southwell, known by the Sign of the Boot and Shoe, consisting of a Dwelling House,
Brewhouse, Coalhouse, and Stable with Yard, Garden and Orchard.
Nothing more is known about the alehouse and its exact location remains a mystery but
Roger Dobson suggests a site on the right hand side looking down the Burgage and
possibly close to the crossroads. The old pub may well have been demolished to make
way for the large mansions and gardens built on the Burgage in the 18th
century.
The Black Horse
This alehouse was located on the edge of the Burgage in Back Lane (now Burgage
Lane) and in 1841 was run by Joseph Stanfield aged 46 who also worked as a farmer.
The 1841 tithe map records the property (number 35) as a house, brewhouse and yard
and today the site is a private house - The Paddock. The Black Horse may have started
as an alehouse following the Beerhouse Act of 1830 and appears to have closed by the
1870s.
The Black Horse, number 35, highlighted on 1841 tithe map
The Newcastle Arms
The Newcastle Arms now The Final Whistle
This is the only public house in the Burgage which survives as licensed premises and is
now called The Final Whistle. It was built in the 1860s as the inn for the nearby railway
station. The pub was run by the Hall family from 1880 until 1955 and older inhabitants
of Southwell still refer to it as Bob Hall’s. Ale was initially brewed in the pub’s
brewhouse but in 1890 it was tied to Shipstones of Nottingham whose bitter had a
reputation as a powerful brew – a fighting beer. It is now a free house and serves a wide
selection of ales.
Research by Di Parrish and Ellis Morgan
Sources
R. Dobson, Southwell Inns and Alehouses, Southwell and District Local History Society
and Nottinghamshire County Council (2008). .
Tithe Map and Apportionment Book Southwell 1841 Nottinghamshire Archives
AT1231c
Location 2 The Burgage Manor House
Built for £500 in 1801-2 the original part of this handsome house was designed by local
architect Richard Ingleman for Evelyn Richard Sutton Falkner (1772-1837) son of Dr
Thomas Falkner, a wealthy local surgeon and apothecary. Dr. Falkner had purchased
several cottage plots on the north side of the Burgage Green. Some of these were sold to
enlarge the old House of Correction in 1787 and others were later demolished to make
way for the new Manor House and garden by his son. Evelyn Falkner may have intended
using the house as a boys’ boarding school but financial constraints appear to have
obliged him to raise a mortgage on the house and to let it for rent soon after its
completion.
Enter Lord Byron
From 1803 to1809 it was home to Catherine Gordon Byron and her son George, 6th
Baron Byron of Rochdale who was at the time a scholar at Harrow and later at Trinity
College Cambridge. It was during his time at Southwell, encouraged by his friends John
and Elizabeth Pigot who lived close by on the Burgage, that the young Byron published
his first collections of poems in the nearby town of Newark-on-Trent.
Sketch by Elizabeth Pigot c. 1806 of the Burgage Manor House
By kind permission of Geoffrey Bond
Sport, amateur dramatics and the pursuit of local beauties appear to have kept the young
man occupied. Julia Leacroft of Burgage House was the cause of some gossip in the
town and there was an exchange of unpleasant correspondence in early 1807 between
her brother Captain John Leacroft and Byron.
Much has been written about Lord Byron and anyone interested in his time in Southwell
should read articles by Geoffrey Bond, ‘Byron at Burgage Manor,1803-08’
Transactions of the Thoroton Society, Vol114 (2010), pp.147-57 and Professor Stanley
Chapman, ‘Burgage Manor: New Perspectives on Georgian Southwell’ Transactions of
the Thoroton Society, Vol.114 (2010) pp. 135-145
Boarding School
In 1809 Evelyn Falkner, who was still struggling to make a success of his boarding
school, put the house up for rent. It was leased by a lawyer, Mr Elgie, whose wife is
recorded in 1813 as headmistress of a boarding school for girls which closed about
10years later.
In 1823 the house was extended by Mr Falkner to accommodate more boarders for his
school. Evidently Evelyn Falkner was no business man for within a few years the school
closed and he was declared bankrupt in 1830.
Family Home
From 1832 the Manor House was home to Miss Caroline Fowler, a wealthy spinster who
lived there ministered to by a staff of servants until her death in 1855. She changed her
name to Miss Caroline Berdmore-Fowler in memory of her great uncle Thomas
Berdmore from whom she had inherited a sizeable legacy. Thomas Berdmore was dental
surgeon to George III. He died in 1785 without children and is buried in St. Mary’s
church, Nottingham where his memorial plaque records that ‘ he acquired a liberal and
ample fortune by the profession of dentist’
Memorial plaque to Thomas Berdmore, St. Mary’s Church, Nottingham.
From the 1850s until 1881 the Monckton family occupied the Manor House. The
Honourable Edmund Gambier Monckton was the fourth son of the 5th
Viscount Galway.
He had gained the rank of Captain in the Rifle Brigade and later was a Colonel in the
Yorkshire militia. He moved into the Manor House when in his 40s and with wife
Arabella raised seven children. He died in 1872 at the age of 62 but his widow continued
to live in the house until her death in July 1880. The house was put up for sale the
following year. (The present holder of the title Viscount Galway lives in Canada and is a
great grandson of Edmund Monckton).
Sale catalogue of 1881 - plan of Manor House with 25 acres of gardens and closes
The house was bought by Richard Huskinson Warwick, the son of a successful Newark
brewer. His father (also Richard) had taken over the old Sketchley Town Wharf brewery
which he later relocated to Northgate where in partnership with Joseph Richardson built
up into the largest brewery in the district. Generations of Warwicks continued in the
business taking over several other smaller breweries before being themselves bought out
by John Smiths in 1962. Richard H.Warwick died in 1909 and the Manor House was
placed on the market.
The old Warwick and Richardson’s brewery now converted into apartments.
By kind permission of Kerrington Property Co.
Guest House
The Manor House became a guest house ran by a Mrs A. Brown and for a while counted
amongst its clients one Kenneth Tweedale Meaby.
Kenneth Tweedale Meaby.C.B.E. DL , Clerk of the Peace.
He was Clerk of the Peace and travelled each working day into Nottingham from
Southwell station which involved changing trains at Rolleston – such was his influence
that the mainline train was held until Mr Meaby was safely aboard (one errant driver
who dared to set off without him was ordered to reverse back to Rolleston station).
In World War 1 the Manor House served as a convalescence home for the recuperation
of soldiers wounded on the Western Front.
Photographs of soldiers and staff outside the Burgage Manor House .
During World War 2 the Manor House was occupied by the offices of the D’Arcy
Exploration Oil Company. The story of Nottinghamshire’s oil field is not well known
but it played a vital role in the war when Britain’s transatlantic oil supply was being
strangled by the German U-boat campaign. At its height there were over 200 productive
wells in Nottinghamshire producing millions of barrels of high grade oil.
Freda Kirkby worked for the oil company at their headquarters and has kindly shared
some of her memories.
The Darcy Exploration Company headquarters were at Burgage Manor, whilst the
American drillers, about forty in all, were based at Kelham Hall, then an Anglican
monastery. They were known as the ‘Roughnecks’. It was all very top secret. It was
vital that the Germans didn’t find out that the Nottinghamshire oilfield was being
developed. Fortunately, Sherwood Forest helped to screen most of the workings.
At Burgage Manor, the British managers, led by Richard Southwell, had their offices on
the ground floor and the American bosses occupied the top floor. Mr Southwell was
later knighted for his war work. My job was to carry out various secretarial tasks. I
would also be regularly expected to ring the Saracen’s Head to book a table at lunch
for the bosses. Another task, which made me giggle sometimes, was to receive cables
from the Americans’ wives, addressed to their husbands. They were always a bit ‘lovey
dovey’.
Working with the American bosses was a lot of fun. Donald Walker was responsible for
the administration of the American Company and used to say, ‘I have 40 big babies (the
‘Roughnecks’) to look after’. He had an uncanny ability to chew and dictate at the same
time. One of his problems was that the ‘Roughnecks’ didn’t have enough food. They
worked 12 hours a day for 7 days a week, more than the British drillers who had a
greater food allowance
The ‘Roughnecks’ would travel each day up to Eakring to the Duke’s Wood oilfields, but
after their work shift they would often call in at the company headquarters. One clear
memory I have is seeing them regularly run up the staircase to talk to their bosses and
then sliding down the banisters before coming into our office. Once in the office they
would quickly open their pockets and hand out sweets to us young office girls.
The other times we would see the American oil drillers was at the Assembly Room
dances. They liked their dancing ! Wherever they went they always wore big, white
stetson hats, bright shirts and western boots so everyone in town thought they were
proper cowboys ! One place the Roughnecks would regularly be at was the Fox Inn at
Kelham.
I can remember one fatal accident at the Duke’s wood oilfield. An American, Hermann
Douthit, was working on a high rig when he fell and received a fatal injury. On the day
of Hermann’s funeral I can remember seeing the bosses, all dressed in black suits, leave
Burgage Manor to travel to the funeral. Years later, when a group of the ‘Roughnecks’
returned to Nottinghamshire for a reunion, they all visited Hermann’s grave.
Youth Hostel
On 22nd
July, 1944, Miss Sarah Lamport, representing the American Embassy, opened
the Manor House as a Youth Hostel with room for 46 male and 34 female guests. In the
Y. H. A. handbook for 1945 there is a stipulation that visitors should wear slippers – no
doubt to protect the fine Georgian interior.
The hostel’s first wardens, Mr and Mrs Barnes, greeting Mr and Mrs Leslie Walters who
had first met at the hostel.
By kind permission of the Imperial War Museum
Family Home
In the 1960s the house passed back into private ownership. After 20 years as a Youth
Hostel it was somewhat run down but has been lovingly restored by its present owners
Mr and Mrs Geoffrey Bond
Burgage Manor House today (photo Nick Hugh McCann)
From boarding school to hospital , guest house to offices and youth hostel to family
home – this house has seen many changes but it is its connection with Lord Byron that
makes the Burgage Manor House a special part of Southwell’s heritage.
Sources
Geoffrey Bond, ’Byron at Burgage Manor, 1803-08’,Trans.Thoroton Society, Vol.114
(2010) pp.147-157.
Prof. Stanley Chapman, ‘Burgage Manor: New Perspectives on Georgian Southwell’,
Trans.Thoroton Soc. Vol.114 (2010) pp.135-145.
Megan Boyes, Love without Wings, Derby, (1988)
Betty.M.Arundel, Southwell A History Walk, Southwell Civic Society (2001)
Julie. O’Neil, The Life and Times of J.T.Becher of Southwell, (2002)
Southwell: The Town and Its People, volume 1.. Southwell,and District Local History
Society (1995)
Southwell. The Town and its People, volume II. Southwell and District Local History
Society, (2006)
Location 3 The early House of Correction
In 1609 James 1 decreed that each county should provide “one or more fit and
convenient house of correction for suppressing and punishing rogues, vagabonds and
other idle vagrant and disorderly persons”. By 1630 eighty Houses of Correction or
Bridewells serving every county in England had been founded – Nottinghamshire had
two, one in Nottingham town and the other in Southwell, built on the Burgage Green in
1611.
Those accused of more serious crimes were usually held in separate county prisons
awaiting trial. The Southwell prison however served both as a House of Correction for
the County and also as the general gaol for the Liberty of Southwell and so housed both
minor offenders and more hardened felons. We have no plans of the earliest building but
later plans indicate separate accommodation for these two classes of inmate and also
segregation of the sexes. Typical of the vagabonds and idle rogues in Southwell were
Quittance Loryman who in 1624 was guilty of eavesdropping and having an evil manner
of life and Gertrude Stafford of Gamston who in 1655 was found to be ‘a very lewd
woman’ The inmates in a Houses of Correction were forced to menial work such as
hemp picking, carding, spinning or stone breaking for which they received allowances
for essentials; disobedience was punished by flogging and confinement in chains.
The local Justices managed the house and employed a governor. Their first appointment
at Southwell, John Sturtivant of Norwell, neglected his duties and was dismissed within
18 months having “allowed diverse vagabonds to escape” and having spent most of his
energies as master of the Nottingham goal.
Ruinous, insecure and too small
The earliest House of Correction could accommodate up to 20 inmates, but over the
following two centuries it was in frequent need of repair, of improved security and of
enlargement to meet the rising number of prisoners.
In 1632 it was ‘ruinous and in great decay’ and required repairs costing £33.
In 1652 the county officers declared that “the house had become so ruinous a new House
was ordered to be built”. Edward Cludd, Esquire, was empowered to receive the sum of
£200 levied on the County for its erection. In April, 1655, “the House not being
completed and all the money having been spent, a further £50 was ordered to be raised
for completing it”.
In 1707 local builder Francis Ingleman was hired to build a new wing to the house
In 1721 prisoners Holland and Moorhouse broke out and ran away.
In 1725-6 repairs costing £17 and in 1729 further repairs were necessary the house being
in a’ very nasty and noisesome condition and unfit for the reception of prisoners’.
In 1761 £101 to the Master to repair and extend the house.
In 1766 additional walls were built to improve security and ventilation but by 1774 the
House was too small to contain all the prisoners and gaol fever (typhus) had broken out.
In 1776 Thomas Blackney of Blyth was recommitted for six months for breaking out
and running away.
In 1788 five men escaped with all their irons on and that a reward of £5 each was
offered for their recapture.”
John Howard visits Southwell
The Southwell House of Correction was inspected by the great prison reformer, John
Howard in 1775, 1776, 1779 and 1782. He reported that “ in front of the court, is a
room on the ground-floor, in which were two men... and a damp dungeon down ten
steps, 14 feet square and 7 1/2 feet high, the window 2 feet 10 inches by only 8 inches –
In the back court is a new building with two rooms on the ground-floor, and one above
....one of the latter is an infirmary. The rooms are about 15 feet by 12, and have
chimneys, but no firing is allowed by the county. No pump in this court ...for the
women, a court might be made out of the keeper’s garden. Allowance three-halfpenny
loaf. No employment. A few years ago seven died here of gaol fever. ”
On 4th
January 1775 Howard had made a series of recommendations to the
Nottinghamshire Justices in respect of Southwell.
1. That water be provided on both sides of the House as there is none within the
walls.
2. That the backyard be lowered and paved and a necessary (WC or sewer) House
in it.
3. That iron casements be fixed in every window.
4. That a room be built for the sick prisoners.
5. Fresh straw every fortnight and an oven to sterilise clothes
John Howard (1726-90) – prison reformer
Despite his lack of official status, Howard’s reputation was such that many local
authorities took notice of his reports, especially where they feared an outbreak of gaol
fever which in some places had spread out of the prisons into the surrounding populace.
“On 9th
July 1787 at the Quarter Sessions at Southwell it was decided that ‘as the House
of Correction at Southwell was insufficient for confining and punishing offenders the
Court ordered the purchase from Thomas Falkner, Surgeon, of two cottages and a piece
of land adjoining the House for the sum of £210 and the incorporation in the House of
the said cottages”. This improvement cost £677 and achieved a modest increase in the
accommodation available.
When Howard visited Southwell in 1789 he approved these changes noting that “There
is now the old dungeon, a day-room, and court for felons, and several rooms and courts
for the separation of the prisoners of different denominations, and also of the sexes; and
very properly three cells for the refractory. Water in all the courts.”
Final days
By 1800 several counties had adopted purpose built prisons but conditions at Southwell
once again deteriorated through poor maintenance and an increase in the sharing of
facilities by different denominations of prisoner. More progressive prisons were
expected to have individual sleeping cells for all prisoners but at Southwell they not only
shared sleeping rooms but, in many cases, shared their beds.
In 1806 James Neild visited Southwell and gave a damning report on conditions in the
prison: “nothing can exceed the squalid wretchedness and filth which are everywhere
presented”.
He described in graphic detail the scene in the felon’s room “ you descend ten steps into
a loathsome hole or dungeon 13ft by 10ft and 7ft 3 in high with three wooden bedsteads
on which lay some dirty straw and pieces of ragged rug--- seven of the prisoners heavily
ironed sleep here every night”.
In the same year the local Justices responsible for the prison, the Rev. J T Becher and his
uncle, Rev. William Becher also condemned the prison and began a scheme for a new
purpose built prison in Southwell. The story of this new House of Correction can be
found in the next location - 4 – on the map.
The layout of the early House of Correction
Using a scale plan drawn by local architect Richard Ingleman in 1806 together with the
detailed description of the old prison by James Neild in 1806 local researcher Rob Smith
has formed a detailed schema of the building and a possible internal layout is shown in
the diagram below
Possible Internal Layout of the early House of Correction in 1806
The lavender coloured spaces represent buildings, yellow for airing courts and light
brown for passages and unused spaces.
What remains today of the Old House of Correction?
The old prison was demolished and its fabric reused in the construction of the new
House of Correction. The exact location of the old House of Correction was probably
the left hand side of the police station and under the adjoining driveway and garden
further to the left. It may well be that remnants of the old dungeon could survive
underground on this spot.
Sources This article is based on research by Mr Rob Smith with thanks to Mr Lance Wright for
access to his research on the Houses of Correction.
English Prisons Under Local Government. Sidney and Beatrice Webb. First published
1922.
The Oxford History of the Prison. Editors Norval Morris and David J Rothman. 1998.
The State of the Prisons in England and Wales, Third Edition. John Howard. 1877
State of the Prisons in England, Scotland and Wales. James Neild. 1812
Southwell – The Town and its People. Southwell and District Local History
Society.Vol1 1992
Southwell – The Town and its People. Southwell and District Local History Society.
Vol2 2006
The Life and Times of Rev. J T Becher. Julie O’Neill. 2002.
Location 4 Rainbows Freight Yard, the new House of Correction and
Carey’s lace factory
The new House of Correction A new House of Correction was built here in 1807 to replace the old one which had
stood further up the Burgage since 1611. In 1806 the old House of Correction had been
declared ruinous, derelict and offensive. Led by local magistrate Rev. J.T.Becher plans
were made to erect ‘the best new prison in the country’. Local architect Richard
Ingleman was given the task of designing the new building. This was a period of new
thinking in prison planning in Britain with several competing designs; Ingleman chose
the windmill or radiating design which he improved upon for Southwell’s new House of
Correction.
Model of the House of Correction, Southwell built in 1807, based on the windmill or
radiating design.
Three wings, North, West and South, radiated from a central Governor’s house; each
wing was divided lengthwise into two wards. The six wards housed a different class of
male or female prisoner with room for six prisoners sleeping on the first floor (the
chamber storey) and working on the ground floor – a total capacity of thirty six
prisoners. A double sleeping cell in each ward with a fire place provided a sick room,
and there was a solitary cell set aside for refractory prisoners. Outside each ward were
‘airing courts’ (exercise yards) enclosed by palisade fencing and walls.
The Governor’s house located at the centre of the site also contained the chapel,
servants’ quarters and storerooms. It was joined to each wing by a frame bridge and
enabled the Governor and wardens to hear, see and even smell all three wards from the
Governor’s house. An ingenious layout of screens and boarding provided the Governor
and wardens with a one-way system of observing the inmates. The prison boundary wall
was 17 feet high with top courses of loose bricks to prevent escapes. The entrance to the
prison was through the imposing stone clad Reception Lodge which can be seen today
fronting onto the Burgage Green.
Entrance lodge to new House of Correction
New prison regime.
Rev.J.T.Becher formalised new rules for the operation of the prison, intended to achieve
the objectives of reforming criminals by strict discipline and moral re-education but with
minimal cost to the community. In 1812 the operation of the prison was examined by a
Parliamentary Committee along with those of the nation’s first local penitentiary at
Gloucester where a harsher regime existed which invlved strict separation of all
prisoners at all times. The Parliamentary Committee felt it was advisable to have two
classes of prisoners, the more serious offenders to be subject to the strict routine
employed at Gloucester, whilst less serious criminals should be held in the more relaxed
system adopted at Southwell.
The inmates
The work and day-rooms were fitted with grates, small side-ovens, and a cupboard and
shelf for each prisoner. Each cell contained an iron bedstead with a straw mattress, two
sheets, two blankets, and a rug.
Inmates rose at 5am and cleaned the cells and corridors before 2 hours of hard labour on
the treadwheel or pumping or grinding corn. Breakfast was at 8am followed by one hour
in chapel for moral re-education by the prison chaplain. From 10am until 6pm was hard
labour with one hour for lunch from 12 -1pm. 6pm was supper time followed by an
evening of further instruction before bed and lights out at 10pm. Prisoners convicted of
lesser crimes and the less fit were kept busy at oakum picking, rug making and cooking
and cleaning - there were no idle hands in prison.
Prison diet consisted of strictly rationed portions of gruel, bread and potatoes – soup or
4oz meat were served on alternate days at dinner. Milk or cocoa was served three days a
week for breakfast instead of gruel.
By today’s standards the nature of crimes committed by many inmates of Southwell’s
prison would appear trivial. Records for 1829 show many were guilty of stealing
clothing, food (poaching) or fuel at a time when many of the working class in
Nottinghamshire suffered real hardship. Sentences of 3 to 6 months hard labour were
commonplace with the additional punishment of whipping for reoffenders.
However some were hardened criminals with numerous repeat offences, such as Isaac
Holden who was transported to Australia in 1837. He wrote a poem of 30 verses, each
verse describing a new crime, starting with the theft of money from his mother. One of
his more minor episodes was stealing ‘two fowls’ for which he served 6 months at
Southwell.
“My name is Isaac Holden, you very well know,
And when I was ten years of age a robbing I did go;
It was out of my mother’s box, as you the truth shall hear,
Seven spade-ace guineas I did take, I solemnly declare.
The I went to Cotgrave back again without either fear or doubt,
And when sitting in a publick house the constable fetched me out;
They said you have stole two fouls my man we very well do know,
And for the same offence six months to Southwell I did go.
Prison Staff
The prison governor ran all aspects of the prison; his exact duties had been prescribed in
detail by Rev. J.T. Becher who continued to keep a close watch on the House of
Correction. The inmates’ spiritual wellbeing was the responsibility of the prison
chaplain and their physical health was overseen by the prison surgeon. Contagious
diseases were not uncommon in such overcrowded institutions as prisons especially the
dreaded gaol fever which was probably tick borne typhus, which in weakened
individuals carried a high mortality rate.
New Extension 1817
The prison struggled to house the rising number of convicted criminals and so in 1817 a
second prison was built which brought the total accommodation up to 80 male and 10
female places.
Model of Southwell House of Correction in 1817
The new part (the upper half of the model above), called the penitentiary, comprised five
two storey wings forming a semicircle around a central tower. The tower was connected
to the two ‘horns‘of the wings by communal rooms used as refectories. The workrooms
and day rooms were on the ground floor with the bed chambers on the first floor above.
The central wing at the back of the prison had an additional attic floor which served as a
chapel. Warders could see into the open air courts and workrooms from observation
points on the flat roofs and from the central tower. The old and the new parts of the
prison operated as two separate prisons with their own staff but controlled by one prison
governor. It may be that the more serious offenders were held in the new penitentiary.
The 19th
century saw a marked and prolonged rise in the number of offenders sentenced
to custodial punishment. In previous times transportation and execution had reduced the
need for long prison sentences, but transportation was coming to an end in the 1840’s
and the old ‘Bloody Code’ which had in the previous centuries condemned even minor
criminals to execution was no more. The demand for more prison space led in 1829 to
further enlargement of Southwell’s House of Correction with the addition of a storey of
sleeping cells to four of the wards in the penitentiary part of the prison
Tread wheel
In 1822 four treadmills were installed at the prison in a two-storey brick building to the
north side of the prison. The wheels were 18 ft. 6in. across and each wheel could take 11
prisoners at a time. Up to 60 prisoners a day were forced to walk the ‘everlasting
staircase’ for hours with only short periods of rest. In some prisons the wheels were
adapted for practical uses such as pumping water or corn grinding but most, including
those at Southwell, had no useful function other than the reforming of criminals by daily
hard labour.
In Southwell the revolutions of the wheels were displayed by a clock on the outside of
the prison wall on the Lower Kirklington Road – maybe to reassure the passing law
abiding citizens that the wheels were well used.
A prison tread wheel - prisoners were separated by partitions, the men in the foreground
are on their rest breaks.
Silent Routine
In 1837 the authorities adopted the Silent System. Any form of communication between
prisoners, be it sounds, gestures, expressions or signals of any kind were completely
barred and even the warders could be sanctioned for anything more than the barest of
essential communication.
Prison staff supported the system; one of them reported that ‘the prison is greatly
improved, the noise and cursing and swearing used to be terrible’, but the prisoners
hated the enforced silence - ‘I would rather pay ten shillings a week than stop in prison,
for we are not allowed to speak to each other’.
Rebuild in 1867
In 1867 the early radial part of the prison was demolished and replaced by a gigantic
multi-storey block with row upon row of solitary cells something akin to a prison
warehouse. Evidently the prison regime had also changed with prisoners now separately
held in single cells as opposed to the old communal wards of 1808.
A new Governor’s House was constructed adjoining the reception lodge fronting onto
the Burgage Green.
The prison block built in 1867 was later adapted as a lace factory seen in photo.
Government control and closure of Southwell’s House of Correction
The local provision of prison services was something of a postcode lottery where the
treatment of inmates rested largely on the whimsical judgments of the local authorities.
Gradually the whole prison service became completely centralised and in 1877 a new
Prison Act formally placed the prison service in the hands of the Home Office in
Whitehall. Southwell’s House of Correction closed in 1880. Some of the buildings were
demolished and the bricks and fittings sold but others survived and were adapted into a
lace factory.
Surviving buildings of the House of Correction
In the foreground of the Rainbow site is the imposing 1808 stone clad Reception Lodge
for the admission of new prisoners and visitors. To the left of the lodge is the
Governor’s House built in 1867 which survives as a private dwelling.
At the very far end of the site is a three story brick building with arched stone windows
which is the old prison chapel and to its left (not seen in photo) are two surviving blocks
from the 1817 prison, albeit in a somewhat dilapidated state.
Sources
This article is based on research by Mr Rob Smith with thanks to Mr Lance Wright for
access to his research on the Houses of Correction.
English Prisons Under Local Government. Sidney and Beatrice Webb. First published
1922.
The Oxford History of the Prison. Editors Norval Morris and David J Rothman. 1998.
The State of the Prisons in England and Wales, Third Edition. John Howard. 1877
State of the Prisons in England, Scotland and Wales. James Neild. 1812
Nottingham Lace 1760s – 1950s. Sheila A Mason. 1994.
Southwell – The Town and its People. Southwell and District Local History
Society.Vol1 1992
Southwell – The Town and its People. Southwell and District Local History Society.
Vol2 2006
The Life and Times of Rev. J T Becher. Julie O’Neill. 2002.
Carey’s Lace Factory
Nottinghamshire was the centre of mass production of machine made lace – the
popularity of this cheaper lace, used in clothing and house furnishings, saw a rapid
growth of lace factories in the county and ‘Nottingham Lace’ was exported throughout
the world in the 19th
and 20th
centuries.
Machine Lace
The House of Correction on the Burgage Green in Southwell closed in 1880. Five years
later, W.G. Gregory opened a lace making factory on the site which in 1895 was taken
over by Henry Carey whose family ran the factory up to its closure in the1950s.
The Carey family
Henry Carey was a staunch Wesleyan Methodist actively associated with the Broad
Street Chapel in Nottingham. His two sons followed him into the family business as did
many later generations of the family. Henry Carey had opened his first lace factory in
Hyson Green in 1834 and later founded a lace and dye works in Forest Road in Bulwell.
His decision to expand into Southwell may have been dictated by the high council rates
and a shortage of factory sites in the increasingly overcrowded Nottingham.
The conversion of the old House of Correction into a lace factory involved some
demolition but the old prison blocks were ideal to house the huge lace making machines.
As the factory expanded new factory units were built and at its height Careys ran 57 lace
machines and employed hundreds of workers from Southwell.
Plans showing change from House of Correction to Lace Factory
The machines ran eighteen hours a day serviced by two shifts of workers from 5:00am-
2:00pm, and 2pm-11pm. They were powered by steam from three furnaces which also
heated the factory at a constant 70 degrees – a stable temperature was necessary to
maintain the tension of the cotton thread. Conditions in the large machine rooms were
noisy, hot and dusty and workers often emerged covered in black graphite powder used
for lubricating the machines. Good lighting was essential to monitor the fine cotton
thread and lace design; the early gas lights were a constant fire risk and were later
replaced with electric light.
Steps in lace weaving.
Large rolls (cheeses) of cotton thread from the Lancashire mills had to be wound onto
spools and bobbins. This required careful attention to the correct tension of thread and
was done by hand in the early years by women and apprentices but later by winding
machines. The lace machines were operated exclusively by men, these Twisthands wore
bowler hats as a safety helmet and white aprons to protect their clothes. The machines
were capable of producing lace 360 inches wide with 54 threads to the inch with some
3,000 bobbins and spools that frequently needed rethreading. As the spools emptied they
were rewound with new thread by the 'slipwinders' – usually apprentice boys. The
workers needed to maintain constant vigilance to run a machine at full capacity.
Lace machines
The pattern of lace was controlled by a system of punch cards fed as a continuous roll
into the lace machine – the holes in the card controlled the movement of each hook and
shuttle in the machine so producing the desired pattern. This system was invented in
1801 by Joseph Jaquard and was one of the earliest computer systems to be applied to a
manufacturing process. New designs and patterns were created by skilled craftsmen and
many thousands of different patterns were produced.
Rolls of punch cards – Jaquard system of lace production (Wollaton Museum)
Women were employed to finish off the lace, mending any mistakes or holes in the lace
and edging the fabric. This involved fine needlework so good lighting was essential – at
Carey’s the women worked on the top floor of the factory under the skylights.
Women mending lace at Carey’s lace factory
The finished lace was taken from Southwell by horse and cart (later by lorry) to Bulwell
for dyeing or bleaching before being sold and distributed to the market.
Apprentices
In the early days lads as young as 12 years would start work by helping the twisthands;
later the usual school leaving age was raised to 14years. Cyril Flowers started working
at Careys as a threading boy in 1929 when 14years old. He was paid 7s 6d per week,
and an extra 6d for 3 hours on a Saturday.There was no formal training programme but
Mr.Hancock the foreman moved Cyril around the factory to ensure he learnt all the
processes.
Carey's during World Wars and Inter-war Years
Prior to WW1 many of the workers at Cary's formed part of a Territorial Force, and 40
of its employees served in WW1. The memorial outside the gates to the factory lists the
names of 16 men from the factory who had died in World War 1.
Out of four Hopewell brothers only William Hopewell survived. He was a lace threader
at Carey's prior to the war. He was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his
outstanding bravery during the Zeebrugge mission on the 23 April 1918. His citation
reads ‘‘William Hopewell took the Lewis gun ashore and continued to fire it, and was
almost the last man to retire’. He survived the war and returned to work at Carey's
factory.
The lace industry suffered a downturn during WW1 and struggled in the Great
Depression of the late 1920's and 30's but Careys managed to survive.
In WW2 the factory was diverted to war work especially the production of mosquito
nets, camouflage fabric and protective window coverings. For the first time women were
trained as twisthands and operated the lace machines but returned to mending when the
men returned after the war.
The Decline and Closure of Carey's
After WW2 demand for lace had fallen. Carey's at Southwell struggled on with fewer
machines functioning, and filling any orders that came in. Curtain lace was being
manufactured in Scotland, and in other parts of the world. In December 1956 Cary's
closed down. Cyril Flowers was the last man to be paid off and given £25 extra and a
fortnight’s pay. Many machines were scrapped and others were exported to Greece. The
closure of Carey's badly affected other businesses in the town especially the Pork
Butchers where many of the girls bought food.
The site was eventually taken over in the 1950s by the present occupants - Rainbows
Freight Company.
Sources
This article is based on research by Christine Raithby and Rob Smith.
http://www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/places/southwell.htm
http://www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/people/nottinghamwomen.htm
http://www.ournottinghamshire.org.uk/page_id__558_path__0p2p55p141p151p.aspx
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Notts-heroes-Zeebrugge/story-12225580-
detail/story.html#axzz2SL0IbNqq
http://www.ashbracken.com/BrHouse-HTML/BrH1816-C.html#CareyH
Mason, Sheila A. (1994) Nottingham Lace 1760s-1950s Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd., Stroud,
Glos.
Kelly's Directory 1922 and 1928
Wrights Directory of Nottingham 1891
Hardstaff, R. Reminisces of Southwell
Southwell and District Local History Society (1992) Southwell the Town and its People pp. 54-
56
Personal communication –Sheila Mason
Memories of Cyril Flowers from Roger Dobson
Location 5 The Maltings and Toad Hall
The Maltings
The Maltings on Kirklington Road were built in the early 1800s on the site of an old
mansion called Toad Hall. The main malthouse and workers’ cottages, shown in the
photograph above, are now private dwellings. The old malt kiln survives and its roof is
just visible behind the buildings.
On the far right at the corner with Station Road is a detached house called The
Brewmaster’s House; this was the family home of Charles Walker who founded the
maltings and was chief maltster.
The Maltings (435) and Walker house (437) in 1841 tithe map
In 18th
and 19th
century Nottinghamshire the brewing of beer was an important industry
and relied on a ready supply of malted barley, hops and good water. The Southwell area
alone supported two breweries, eight maltsters, fourteen hop growers and osier holts (for
hop poles).
What is Malting?
Introduction As barley germinates its starch content turns into sugar. In malting this
natural process is controlled and halted when the grain has partially sprouted and has a
high sugar content .Most malted barley is used in brewing when the sugars are converted
by yeast into alcohol. The process can be divided into Steeping, Germinating and
Kilning
Section of Burgage Maltings (Civic Society Survey 1970’s) illustrating the malting
process.
1 Steeping The barley grain was repeatedly soaked in water and then drained over 2 to 3
days to stimulate germination. The grain was added to the water in the steeping tanks
and the water changed at least every twenty four hours. The water was then drawn off
and the barley left in the tank for half a day for the heat to germinate the grain. If the
grain opened readily when it was squeezed sufficient water had been taken up.
2 Germination The steeped grain was spread out using shovels on the growing floors to
a depth of four to eight inches. The barley needed to be turned regularly to aerate the
grain. This was a skilful job as was controlling the louvres on the windows to protect
the malt from the light. Men were often required to work barefoot or wear felt slippers.
This stage took anything from eight to twenty-four days and was complete when the new
shoots had sprouted.
3 Kilning Warm air was passed over the barley to halt growth and dry the grain. The
sprouted grains were placed on the kiln floor to a depth of three to four inches and
slowly dried over three to four days. Varying the length and heat during kilning resulted
in different flavours and colours of beer.
The design of the malthouse on the Burgage is a typical example of an early 19th
century
floor maltings. The two storey brick building had low ceilings and small square external
windows with louvres. These features combined with the long rectangular shape of the
growing floor allowed close control of light and ventilation. At one end of the building
was the steeping tank and at the other end the kiln with a drying floor above the furnace
chamber.
Malting took place between October and May during the cooler months. In the summer
the men worked on the land and helped with the harvest. The malthouse had to be
thoroughly cleaned: women and children earned a penny for cleaning the perforated kiln
tiles with a bent knitting needle and a cork to protect their hands.
Perforated kiln tile from the Burgage Maltings
Walker Family
Charles Walker was born in Wellow in 1775 and married Jane Fern of Southwell.
Charles acquired the maltings site on the Burgage sometime in the 1820s. He is recorded
as a maltster in Pigott’s Directory of 1828 but along with John Walker (probably his
brother) had business interests in milling, hop growing, farming and property. They
owned over 25 acres including all the land between the Maltings and the River Greet,
Greet Mill and hop grounds near Maythorne.
The 1841 Census records Charles Walker, aged 64, living in the Burgage together with
his wife, Jane, aged 62, and their granddaughter, Elizabeth Booth, aged 16 and a farm
servant, Mary Turner, aged 16. By 1847 Charles Walker had died. His son-in-law John
Booth and grandson Charles Booth continued to run the family businesses but in 1847
the Maltings were put out to rent and finally sold in 1854.
Sale of Lot 1 - the Maltings and land (The Stamford Mercury November 1854)
Lot 2 consisted of the Greet Mill and adjacent land. The control of the mill passed to the
Cauldwell family and a new Railway Inn (the Newcastle Arms) was built on the land
next to the Railway Station.
Later Years
The immediate fate of the maltings following its sale in 1854 is not clear. A William
Taylor is recorded as a maltster and farmer and living in the Burgage in both the 1871
and 1881 censuses. By the end of the 19th
century malting and brewing in Southwell had
declined and was concentrated in nearby Newark.
During the 20th
century the maltings buildings were for a short time used as a cheese
factory but slowly fell into disrepair. In the 1970’s a survey of The Maltings was carried
out by the Civic Society with a view to converting the building to a visitors’ centre. The
plan did not materialise but the survey noted the louvred roof ventilator, small brick
arches with sliding shutters and also mentions a steeping tank and perforated kiln floor
tiles. Apparently in the 19th
century earthenware and cast iron tiles had replaced earlier
floor materials such as horse hair woven into a coarse mesh and perforated wooden
boards.
The buildings are now private homes - one of the more attractive conversions of old
buildings in the town.
Sources
Patrick A. Maltings in Nottinghamshire 1977
Dobson R. Southwell Inns and Alehouses, 2008
Census Records 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871
NAO AT1231C, Tithe Map and Commutation Awards 1840/41
Roe S.A. Survey Report for Southwell Civic Society 1970’s
Chapman, S. and Walker, D. (eds.) Southwell, The Town and its People, 2006
Toad Hall
Prior to the establishment of The Maltings in the 1820s this site was occupied by an
‘ancient timber mansion’ called Toad Hall (almost certainly a corruption of ‘The Old
Hall’). We have no records of when the house was built but it appears to have been
demolished around the end of the 18th
century when in the possession of the Stenton
family. A survey in 1784 of several properties in Southwell owned by the Stentons
includes the plan below of Toad Hall lying in 3 acres of land.
1784 Survey of Stenton estate
Situated by the crossroads, the old hall and outbuildings lay almost exactly on the
footprints of the Brewmasters House and the Maltings. Could there be any remnants of
the hall underneath these later buildings? At the far right is a rectangular moated plot.
Moats were employed for several reasons but one possibility is that this was the site of a
manor house which predated the Old Hall. Any excavation to answer this question
would be difficult for the area of the moat now lies beneath the car park at the beginning
of the Southwell Trail.
In 1797 Toad Hall was put up for sale when it was described as ‘a dwelling house
together with the coach house, stables and all other outbuildings and garden – called
Toad Hall –in the Burgage of Southwell: together with a close of rich pasture and an
orchard (planted with fruit trees and surrounded by a moat) containing together about 6
acres.
Sale of Toad Hall in 1797
It appears that the sale did not go through for Richard Shilton in his History of Southwell
(1818) reports that the house was demolished by Richard Stenton in 1798. Shilton’s
account of Toad Hall reads - a large and very antique timber mansion built it is said by
one of the family of Ireland, long resident in Southwell, but now extinct. The habitation
went by the name of Toad-hall, though formerly it may be supposed to have been known
by a more genteel appellation, was taken down in 1798 by order of Richard Stenton,
Esquire, the then owner. It was situated at what is now the foot of the green, at the
upper part of a close of considerable length, and extends nearly to the Water Mill.
Almost at the bottom is a small island moated round, doubtless coeval with the mansion.
The turnpike road to Hockerton and Mansfield, is made by the side of this close, and
leads over the Greet at the Water Mill…
The Stenton family.
According to Dickinson’s History of Southwell (1801) the Stenton family were settled in
Southwell from the reign of Charles 1. In the first half of the eighteenth century the
fortunes of the family improved considerably when Henry Stenton (d.1746) moved to
London. He began work as a bricklayer but soon progressed to become a builder,
property developer and investor in West End housing. The business passed to his son,
Richard, who accumulated great wealth and was able to retire to Southwell and build a
large house on Westgate and acquire a hundred acres of land.
In 1767 just four years before Richard died a document was drawn up, “Particulars of
Mr Stenton’s Estates in or near Southwell”. Included is the land on the Burgage
including Toad Hall with close and orchard of 6 acres. In 1784 Richard Stenton (1754-
1806) who had inherited his uncle’s estate, commissioned a further survey of his family
lands and property in and around Southwell – seen above. During the latter part of the
eighteenth century he played a prominent part in Southwell life and in 1789 he was
appointed High Sheriff, which shows the high regard in which he was held. He died in
1806
At the turn of the century the Stenton family was firmly established as a family of
independent means and one of the notable families of Southwell including in its ranks,
Sir Frank Stenton, a leading historian of the 20th
century. Today Stenton house still
stands on Westgate and continues to be occupied as a private dwelling house.
Toad Hall – a paper trail.
Tax records and deeds provide a tenuous paper trail back to 1674.
In 1718 Henry Woodward raises a mortgage on a property ‘a messuage with moat and
orchard’
In 1704 this same property had been sold to Henry Woodward by the Rev. Hugh
Cartwright
In 1691 the property was part of an agreement between George Cartwright and Edward
Ballard gent. of the Burgage.
Deeds from 1718, 1704 and 1691
In 1674 the Hearth Tax returns for Southwell record an Ed. Ballard living in a house
with four chimneys in Southwell.
Hearth Tax returns for the Burgage, Southwell 1674
It is evident that the officials responsible for the counting of chimneys started down at
the Mill on the River Greet and recorded as they processed up the Burgage into modern
King St. Four chimneys would denote a substantial dwelling in 1674 and was almost
certainly The Old Hall.
Here the paper trail runs dry.
Sources
Southwell the Town and Its People Volume 11 Southwell Local History Society 2006
NAO (Nottingham Archives) DDM 102/18 Stenton Papers
NAO DDM 102/16 p.7 Stenton Papers
NAO DDM 102/20 Stenton Papers
NAO DD.M 72/25 and 26
NAO DD.M 72/21
NAO DD.M 72/16
Dickinson, W. History and Antiquities of the Town of Southwell NCC 1996
Shilton R. The History of Southwell in the County of Nottinghamshire, Newark 181
Webster R F (ed) Nottinghamshire Hearth Tax 1164-1674. Thoroton Society Record
Series 1988.
Location 6 Elmfield House
This was the earliest of the Burgage’s grand houses built c 1730 for the Lowe family.
The house and its attached outbuildings and land extended down the right side of the
Burgage Green all the way to the Newark Road. It is not clear what existed on this side
of the green before the erection of Elmfield House but it may have replaced several
smaller properties.
In 18th
century deeds the house passed in turn from the Lowe to the Bousefield,
Kitchin, Burnell, Maltby and Oliver families. A sale notice in 1789 after the death of
Mrs Ellen Burnell describes the property as having many outbuildings including a dairy
and 14 acres of land.
Sale of Elmfield House in 1789
The house and land appears in Dickinson’s sketch of c 1790 when it was owned by Mr
Oliver
Part of Dickinson’s sketch
Boarding School for young ladies –Miss Catherine Heathcote
In 1813 Mary Williams had founded a boarding school for girls which on her death in
1831 was continued by her daughter Catherine. Catherine had married Edward
Heathcote, organist at Southwell Minster, on 9th
October 1927, but it was not to be a
long marriage as Edward died in 1835 at the age of 38, they had no children. Catherine
never remarried, but devoted the rest of her life to the school, and her religious and
charity work.
Census records show that the school had between 18 and 32 pupils at any one time with
several servants and 4-6 teaching staff who taught a range of subjects including French,
maths, history, geography, architecture, astronomy, music, drawing, painting and
needlework – a remarkably wide syllabus for girls at the time.
Although the school was very successful Kate did not live in luxury, most of the fortune
she made through the school was given to charity. She also raised funds through other
means such as organising many garden parties, and her most notable charitable donation
was a sum of £2000 towards the £2500 cost of building Holy Trinity Church. She has a
memorial in the church.
A descendant has written that “through her competent management of the school and its
finances she was able to maintain a constant stream of supplies and monetary gifts to her
missionary brothers, and later nephews, in New Zealand, and their families”.
In July 1881 during one of her regular garden parties it was reported that the
‘excitement led to a collapse - her body being shocked’. She passed away on
Monday morning 11th
July 1881.
Her death seemed to mark the end of an era and it was said that the poor of the
town had lost a friend. She was buried in the grounds of the Minster, and the
school was passed on to her long term teaching assistants and sisters Miss
Emma and Sarah Gaster who continued to run it until 1905.
Family Home
From 1905 Elmfield House was home to Dr. Henry Handford and his family.
Dr. Handford was a physician at Nottingham General Hospital, and later
Medical Officer of Health for the county of Nottinghamshire until his
retirement in 1926.
Dr. Henry Handford.
Henry was married to widow Mary Emily Strutt (daughter of 1st Baron Belper)
in 1872. The Hon. Mary Handford was an active supporter of women’s
organisations in particular The National Union of Women Workers which she
represented at a National Conference in 1918 which led to the formation of the
Women’s Institute in Great Britain. She had seven daughters from a previous
marriage but her second marriage to Dr. Hanford bore two sons, Henry and
Everard Handford,
On October 15th
1916 both brothers were killed in a disastrous attack on the
Western Front.
Extract from memorial at Trinity College Cambridge
HANDFORD Everard Francis Sale, Lieutenant, 8th Sherwood Foresters, Notts & Derby
Regiment, died 15th October 1915 aged 20. Son of Maj. H. Handford, M.D. (R.A.M.C.)
and the Hon. Mrs. H. Handford, of Elmfield, Southwell, Notts and brother of Henry
Basil who also fell the same day at the same battle. Commemorated on the Loos
Memorial, France
Elmfield continued as a family home up to the present day.
Research by Jo Williams and June Stevens
Sources
Prof Stanley Chapman, Letters reveal widow’s story, Newark Advertiser, January 2000
NAO – DD.M 90/61 and 67
Dickinson, W. History and antiquities of the Town of Southwell , West Bridgford, 1996
Chapman, S. and Walker, D. (editors). Southwell. The town and its people, volume II.
Southwell & District Local History Society, 2006
Southwell: The Town and Its People: An Historical Survey by Local Writers. Southwell
& District Local History Society, Vol1,1995.
Chapman and D. Walker (eds), Minster People, Southwell and District Local History
Society (2009)
Williams family memoirs by kind permission of Mr Rob Smith
Location 7 The Burgage and neighbouring cottages and an old chapel
The Burgage (on the left in the photo above) was the home of Elizabeth and John Pigot,
friends of Lord Byron. Their mother Margaret, sister of the social reformer Rev. John
Thomas Becher, had married Dr John Pigot of Derby where Elizabeth and her three
brothers were born. Dr Pigot died young in 1794 and Margaret with her four children
returned to live with her mother in the family home - The Burgage.
Byron’s mother moved into the Manor House opposite the Pigot’s home in 1803.
Elizabeth was several years older than Byron and befriended the young man, almost
adopting the role of big sister. She encouraged him in his literary endeavours including
the publication by a Newark printer of his first collection of poems in 1806. Elizabeth
sketched the Burgage Manor House in 1806; the open window was apparently Byron’s
bedroom.
Elizabeth Pigot’s sketch of the Burgage Manor House
Disappearing cottages
In the 1841 tithe map of Southwell the Pigot’s house (The Burgage) was surrounded by
several small cottages arranged around the sides of an island of land.
1841 tithe map
From early deeds we know that the Pigot’s garden had been enlarged by the purchase
and demolition of old cottages. These lost cottages had been subdivided by local
landlords to form crowded tenements in which lived the working classes of the Burgage
An extract from the 1817 sale to W W Clay Esq. of several cottages reads ‘that cottage
in the burgage of Southwell in a certain lane there called Petticoat Lane* now converted
into several tenements and in the several occupations of John Simpson, John Clay, Wm
Ricket, George Percival, Sarah Breedon, widow Clarke and James Manderville
*Petticoat Lane was an old name for the first section of Burgage Lane (Back Lane)
The process of demolishing the smaller properties continued into the 19th
century. As
can be seen in the modern map below a few cottages at the top end of The Burgage
Green survived.
Modern map showing a few surviving cottages
Mediaeval Chapel of St Thomas
In 1833 the unmarried Elizabeth Pigot moved to Easthorpe and gave her house ‘The
Burgage’ to her younger brother, Richard Henry Hollis Pigot, a retired naval captain
who had fought at The Battle of the Nile and was in need of a large family home. The
deeds for this transfer of the Pigot’s house leads us on a long paper trail extending back
to the 13th
century and revealing the location of a mediaeval chapel.
The paper trail back to the Chapel of St Thomas the Martyr in the Burgage -----
1833 – Pigot deeds identify the old ‘Chapel Yard’ as part of their garden.
1719 and 1636 – leases of land to the Butler family include the Chapel Yard in the
Burgage.
Mid-16th
century – ‘the Burgage chapel is down to the ground’ – the chapel was
evidently demolished during the Reformation.
1475 – the Will of Rev. John Warsop has instructions that lights (candles) be taken to
the chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr on the Burgage (White Book of Southwell).
Before 1249 – chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr is mentioned in grants made by William
of Widdington (White Book of Southwell).
The Chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr in the Burgage.
On 29th
December 1170 Archbishop Thomas was murdered in his cathedral at
Canterbury and two years later he was canonised by Pope Alexander III. The cult of St.
Thomas the Martyr spread rapidly through England and many churches, chapels and
altars were dedicated to the saint.
The evidence from the documents listed above indicates that a chapel dedicated to St
Thomas was established here in the Burgage sometime in the 13th
century. The chapel
appears to have been a chantry chapel but it may also have served as a chapel for the
Manor of the Burgage. Clergy from the Minster were recorded as celebrating mass in the
chapel and some were criticized for loitering in the town rather than returning
immediately to their duties in the mother church.
Pilgrim badges of St. Thomas the Martyr
The cult of St.Thomas, a priest who dared to challenge his king’s authority, was
understandably not popular with a monarch such as Henry 8th
. The reformation saw the
abolition of many chantry chapels and the Burgage chapel seems to have been one such
victim with its demolition in the mid16th
century. Nothing survives of the chapel above
ground but what lies beneath the gardens of The Burgage and the neighbouring houses?
Article by Pauline Thompson and Ellis Morgan
Sources
M. Boyles, Love Without Wings, Derby
Shilton, R. P. The History of Southwell, in the County of Nottingham, including a
Description of the Collegiate Church. Newark, Ridge, 1818
A.F.Leach, (ed) Visitations and Memorials of Southwell Minster, Camden Society
(1889) 1988)
White Book of Southwell - extracts by kind permission of Prof. Michael Jones
Nottinghamshire Archives (NAO) DD 479/1- 42 ; DD.SP 28/13 and DD.T.81/1-2.
Location 8 Burgage House
Burgage House sits on the boundary of the Burgage and King Street and is another fine
Georgian mansion built about 1800 replacing smaller cottage plots. Originally a small
lane ran behind the house as seen on the 1841 map below – the lane has been walled off.
Burgage House was home to the Leacrofts, lawyers from Wirksworth in Derbyshire,
who had married into the Becher and Swymmer families. The Bechers and Swymmers
were prominent Bristol merchants who had amassed considerable wealth in the previous
century from shipping including the slave trade to the West Indies.
In the opening decade of the 1800s John Leacroft (attorney) and wife Elizabeth (nee
Swymmer) lived at Burgage House with their eight children. Their sixth child, Julia,
grew into a beauty and was one of several young ladies of the district who caught the
attention of Lord Byron whose mother lived nearby in the Burgage Manor House.
During 1806 Byron was a frequent visitor to the Leacroft household where a circle of
friends amused themselves with amateur dramatics, the drawing room being adapted
into a stage. The eighteen year old Julia took the female lead role opposite young Byron.
Whether an innocent mild flirtation or a more passionate attraction, the family became
alarmed by the relationship and Capt. John Leacroft ( Julia’s older brother) confronted
Byron.
In a letter to John Leacroft, dated January 1807, Byron absolves himself of any
misconduct and voices his concern about the gossips of Southwell
An extract from Byron’s letter to John Leacroft reads ‘ a coolness between families,
hitherto remarkable for their intimacy, cannot remain unobserved in a town, whose
inhabitants are notorious for officious curiosity; that the causes for our separation will
be mis—represented I have little doubt ‘
Byron’s poem ‘To Julia’ however leaves little doubt of a romantic attachment ‘ I lov’d
you most sincerely’ but this is Byron and he moves on ‘ I feel disposed to stray, love!’
Subsequent generations of Leacrofts continued to live at Burgage House apparently in
quiet gentility untouched by romantic genius.
Later years
In 1880s the house passed to the Cauldwell family. Edward Cauldwell owned the Greet
Lily Mill and owned several houses in the town.
Burgage House and garden c 1900
In 1920s the property was bought by John Chapman Roe who built a hardware store in
the garden – known as ‘Potty Roes’ the shop commanded a prominent position at the top
of King Street.
Potty Roes hardware store 1920s
The store was later adapted into an ambulance station and from 1960 to 2006 it housed
the town’s public library.
Library
Burgage House remains a family home and the library is now a church.
Sources
R.E. Hardstaff, Human Cargo and the Southwell Connection, Southwell and District
Local History Society (2004)
Chapman, S. and Walker, D. (editors). Southwell. The town and its people, volume II.
Southwell & District Local History Society, 2006.
M. Boyles, Love Without Wings, Derby (1988)
S. Chapman and D. Walker (eds), Minster People, Southwell and District Local History
Society (2009)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron
Mapping the Burgage
The early maps of the county of Nottinghamshire give little useful detail of Southwell.
Chapman’s map of 1774 has some indication of buildings around the Burgage Green but
lacks detailed information.
Chapman’s map 1774
Maps from the 1830s such as those by Greenwood, Sanderson’s map of 1835 and the
early OS series show more detail but again are of limited usefulness.
Sanderson’s map of 1835
If one starts from a modern OS map and works backwards it is possible to visualise the
major changes in the Burgage Green.
O.Ss. map of Southwell’s Burgage Green c 2000 (by permission HMSO)
Comparison with the OS map of 1885 below shows the majority of houses built in the
last 130 years were north of the crossroads and only a few fronted directly onto the
green.
O.S. map of of Southwell’s Burgage Green 1885 (by permission of HMSO)
The earliest detailed map of Southwell was printed in 1840-1 by the Tithe
Commissioners. The version of this map below, showing the Burgage Green area, has
been simplified for clarity by removing the surveyor’s marks and the main buildings are
labelled.
1841 tithe map of Burgage Green (by kind permission of Nottinghamshire Archives))
There is remarkably little difference between these two last maps, The northern half of
the Burgage Green is surrounded by the maltings , the prison and the police station
whereas the southern half is dominated by large houses – Elmfield House, The
Burgage, Burgage Court, Hill House and the Manor House all set in extensive grounds
and built between 1730 and 1802. This wave of rebuilding by wealthy families such as
the Lowes, Bechers and Clays, was not confined to the Burgage area of Southwell and
resulted in the many large brick built mansions which can be seen today throughout the
town.
This ‘gentrification’ would have radically altered the Burgage Green’s appearance and
the social make up of its inhabitants. It begs the question - what went before? Were
these grand houses built on green fields or did they replace older buildings? Sadly we
have no earlier complete maps of the town to consult but we do have two small plans of
property around the green which may give some indication.
The first plan dates from a 1784 survey of the Stenton family estate in Southwell and
describes the Old Hall ‘an antique timber house’ which was demolished c 1798 ( see
pages 57-60 above) and lay at the crossroads fronting the Lower Kirklington Road and
the road to Normanton ( now Station Rd.). Also included is the Brick Yard Close which
was the plot on which the new House of Correction was built between 1806 -8.
1784Toad Hall Orchard and Brickyard Close (by permission of Nottinghamshire
Archives)
If we transfer these plans onto the 1841 tithe map (left below) and the 1885 OS map
(right below) we find the Brick Yard Close fits well into the House of Correction site
and Toad Hall with the later boundaries.
1841 tithe map 1885 OS map
The moated plot lies off the top edge of the map under the railway station - now the car
park for The Southwell Trail. There is good evidence that an old hall once stood at the
bottom of the Burgage Green close to the site of today’s Maltings and Brewmaster’s
House - and one could speculate that an even older moated house stood on this plot but
much closer to the River Greet.
The second plan dating from 1806 is that for the New House of Correction drawn up by
architect Richard Ingleman. This plan has the Brick Yard Close seen above with an
octagonal outline of ‘the intended House of Correction’, next to which lay Mr
Adcock’s and Mr Little’s ground above which lay the original House of Correction
fronting onto the Burgage Green with the Governor’s garden behind. The eventual new
House of Correction opened in 1808 was not octagonal as in this plan.
Richard Ingleman’s 1806 plan for a new House of Correction
(by permission of Nottinghamshire Archives)
This plan when superimposed onto the 1885 OS map accurately follows the boundary
lines.
Plan superimposed on 1885 OS map
l
Close up of detail
On page 37 one can see Rob Smith’s reconstruction of the Old House of Correction –
this plan is based on a detailed report of the prison by James Neild in 1806. The
estimated width of the building (its frontage onto the green) is 82ft 6in which is exactly
5 poles in old units. An identical plot in width and length (beige in the map above) lies
to the north of the old prison. The old Brickyard Close on which the new prison was
built has the same length as its two neighbouring plots but three times the width.
This suggests a possible pre-existing layout of elongated plots along this side of the
green of 5 poles width and sharing a common back boundary line. The Burgage Manor
House built in 1801-2 appears from old deeds to have replaced two or possibly four
previous cottage plots. The map below describes a possible division of this side of the
green up to the boundary of the old Manor of Burgage just above the White Swan pub.
Possible layout of property plots on north-west side of Burgage Green based on 5 poles
The opposite side ( the south –east) of the Green was occupied in the 1841 tithe map by
Elmfield House with its outbuildings and land – there is no firm evidence for what may
have existed here before the 18th
century. It may have mirrored the opposite side with
elongated plots set at right angles to the green. Another possibility is that some of the
buildings of William Calverton’s farm described on pages 10-11 above may have been
located on this side of the Burgage Green stretching over to his other property in
Eastthorpe.
At the top of the Burgage Green is a triangle of land occupied by several smaller
cottages but dominated by the house and garden of The Burgage. As described on pages
67-8 above evidence points to this site as the location of the mediaeval chapel of St.
Thomas the Martyr which was demolished in the mid-16th
century at the Reformation.
In summary the evidence for what went before the 18th
century gentrification of the
Burgage Green is patchy – based on some sound evidence and on speculation the map
below of the Burgage Green is presented as a possible layout.
Proposed pre 18th
century layout of Burgage Green
A central green, an area of common grazing, was surrounded by elongated plots of land
on both sides – the crofts and tofts and small farms typical of a mediaeval settlement. At
the top of the green lay a mediaeval chapel and at the bottom a hall or manor house. The
settlement sat at the heart of the ancient Manor of Burgage (or Burridge) with its
surrounding fields of arable and pasture land.
This proposed layout of the green surrounded by plots, a hall and chapel is very
reminiscent of the planned manorial settlements of Yorkhsire many of which had their
origins in the 12th
to 14th
centuries at a time when the Manor of Burgage was controlled
by successive Archbishops of York - a northern approach to settlement layout may
have influenced this part of Southwell.
Between these earlier centuries and the radical changes of the 18th
century we have the
Hearth Tax records of 1674 which provide some clues to the Burgage Green before its
gentrification.
1674 Hearth Tax record for the Burgage, Southwell
It is evident that the officials responsible for the counting of the chimneys started down
at the Mill on the River Greet and recorded as they processed up the Burgage into
modern King St. 16 houses with chimneys are recorded in the Burgage of which two
had been unoccupied for at least a year. It is generally accepted that 20-30% of
households in the county, especially those of the poor, were omitted from the count and
so the total number of households in the Burgage may have been closer to 20-25 in
1674.
One can be fairly confident that The Mill is that on the River Greet and that Mr
Ballard’s four chimney house is The Old Hall. The exact location of all the other
properties is not clear. The large six chimneyed house owned by Mr Cludd is especially
intriguing – at this time he was resident in Norwood Hall. Robert Young,a clay pipe
maker, occupied a house with one chimney somewhere on the Burgage; from his probate
inventory of 1680 he had a yard in which he kept a cow, a heifer and a calf and must
have had access to grazing either in some land attached to his home or the common
grazing afforded by the Burgage Green.
Archaeological assessment from historical study.
. If our historical proposals are correct then we can predict the following :-
- The main area of the green was common grazing and so should be devoid of any
major buildings. The period of rebuilding in brick in the 18-19th
centuries may
have caused considerable dumping of soil and building materials (as is the habit
of builders from all ages).
- Along both sides of the green may be the remnants of regular elongated plots set
at right angles to the green and may have origins in the 12th
to 13th
centuries.
Later buildings and landscape will have disturbed these layers – the least
disturbed area is probably the ‘lesser green’ on the north- east end of the green.
- Remains of a mediaeval chapel may survive in the gardens of The Burgage and
the adjacent properties at the top of the green.
- The considerable development at the bottom of the green will have destroyed
any remnants of the Old Hall and its associated moated feature.
There are many gaps in our knowledge of the history of the Burgage Green; gaps which
hopefully can be filled in by archaeological investigation which forms the next section
of this report
BURGAGE EARTHWORKS PROJECT:
FIELDWORK RESULTS FROM THE BURGAGE GREEN,
SOUTHWELL, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
12 Woodruff Lane
Bilsthorpe
Newark
Nottinghamshire
NG22 8UF
Tel: 07599 421816
Email: [email protected]
Date: 04.09.14
Author: M. Beresford
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 2
BURGAGE EARTHWORKS PROJECT
FIELDWORK RESULTS FROM THE BURGAGE GREEN, SOUTHWELL,
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
For
Southwell Community Archaeology Group
By
This archaeological report on the fieldwork arising from the Heritage Lottery Funded
‘All Our Stories’ project was commissioned by the Southwell Community
Archaeology Group and prepared by MBArchaeology.
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 3
Summary
MBArchaeology were commissioned to design and deliver a Community Archaeology
training programme by the Southwell Community Archaeology Group. Incorporated
within this was a series of non-intrusive survey techniques and a test-pit campaign at
the Burgage Green in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. The fieldwork, alongside
separately conducted archival research by the group, revealed evidence of a
previously unknown Medieval settlement, dating between the 11th
and 14th
centuries.
MBArchaeology 4
Burgage Earthworks Project
Contents Page No.
Summary 3
List of Figures 5
List of Appendices 5
Acknowledgements 5
1.1 Introduction 7
1.2 The Study Area 8
1.3 Previous fieldwork at the Burgage Green 9
2.1 Archaeological survey of the Burgage Green 10
2.2 Dowsing 11
2.3 LIDAR imagery 13
2.4 Geophysics 13
3.1 Test Pit Evaluations 15
3.2 Test Pit data 16
4.0 Drawings & Photographs 25
5.0 Test Pit summary 38
6.0 Discussion 39
7.0 References 44
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List of Figures
Figure One: The Manor of the Burgage 8
Figure Two: Possible Saxon Burh layout 9
Figure Three: Dickinson’s Earthwork plan 11
Figure Four: Dowsing results 12
Figure Five: LIDAR image of Burgage Green 13
Figure Six: Magnetometer survey results 14
Figure Seven: Resistivity survey results 14
Figure Eight: Resistivity survey results with linear features marked on 15
Figure Nine: Location of test pits on Lesser Green 16
Figure Ten: Location of test pits on Large Green 20
Figure Eleven: Location of test pits on Lesser Green, Phase Two 22
Figure Twelve: Preliminary plan of the Burgage plots on the Lesser Green 39
List of Appendices
Appendix One: Amount and type of artefacts recovered during the Burgage 44
Earthworks project
Appendix Two : Orientation & position of test pits 51
Appendix Three: Report on Pottery by Jane Young 54
Acknowledgments
The archaeological element of the Burgage Earthworks project benefited immensely
from the support of Southwell Town Council, who kindly gave permissions to
undertake fieldwork on the Green, and for the use of the Old Courthouse for indoor
training sessions and Finds Analysis.
MBArchaeology 6
Burgage Earthworks Project
Also, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council
(AHRC), both of whom provided funds and advice in order to make the project aims
and objectives achievable, and ensured that group members could be adequately
trained and supported during the fieldwork aspect.
Special thanks must also go to the University of Nottingham staff and students who
provided support to the project, Gareth Davies of Trent & Peak Archaeology and Alan
and Celia Morris who all provided geophysics training and support to the group, Dr.
Chris Brooke and Dr. Keith Challis for obtaining LIDAR imagery for the project, Jane
and Katie Young for their provision of Finds Identification training and the provision
of a Finds Report, Southwell Handicentre who gave help with purchasing tools and
equipment for the project, and both Southwell Library and Southwell Methodist
Church who provided building space for the Final Celebration Event and Exhibition.
Finally, thanks to the wider community for their ongoing support and interest, without
which the project could not have been the success it was.
MBArchaeology 7
Burgage Earthworks Project
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Fieldwork at the Burgage Green, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, was carried out by
volunteers from the Southwell Community Archaeology Group under the professional
supervision of MBArchaeology between March and October 2013. The study
focussed on two areas within the Burgage – the large Green adjacent to the Police
Station and Courthouse, and the lesser Green on the opposite side of Burgage Road.
Survey work included the procurement of LIDAR imagery of the Green, alongside
limited geophysical surveys undertaken by the University of Nottingham. These
entailed a magnetometry and resistivity survey of parts of the large Green. To
supplement this, a second phase of resistivity surveying on the lesser Green was
undertaken by Alan Morris, a private geophysics specialist who works primarily on
Community Archaeology projects in the region.
Based on the geophysics results, a total of twenty-one test pits were excavated, six on
the large Green and fifteen on the lesser Green. The test pits were excavated down to a
maximum depth of 1.2m, or until archaeological features were noted. Any potential
structural features, such as building foundations, walls or yard surfaces, were recorded
and left in situ for future exploration through trenching, except where limited sampling
of yard surfaces were undertaken to determine structural make-up.
Finds analysis work was undertaken for all material recovered, with finds being
washed, recorded and re-bagged, and a detailed study of the pottery recovered was
undertaken by Jane Young (see Appendix II).
The ‘Burgage Earthworks’ project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of
the All Our Stories initiative. Additional funding and project support was provided by
the University of Nottingham.
MBArchaeology 8
Burgage Earthworks Project
FIGURE ONE – THE MANOR OF THE BURGAGE
(© Southwell Archaeology)
1.2 THE STUDY AREA
The Burgage Green is an open grassland in the historic Minster town of Southwell,
Nottinghamshire, approximately six miles to the west of Newark-on-Trent. It is a
designated public open space, and is managed by Southwell Town Council. The
south-western region of the Burgage Green forms one of the highest points in the
town, at approximately 46m O.D. and slopes gently downwards to the north-east
towards the River Greet. The edge of the study area, which abutted Newark Road, sits
at approximately 34m O.D.
The Burgage Green lies within the ancient Manor of Burgage, which in the tenth
century formed part of a royal estate of wooded hills and fertile river valleys. In
AD968 Southwell was granted by King Edwy to the Archbishop of York, and the
Manor of Burgage formed part of this royal gift.1
Place name evidence, however,
suggests the Burgage may have originally been called ‘Burridge’, and a recent
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 9
hypothesis by researchers from the universities of Nottingham and
Leicester suggests that the town may have formed part of an Anglo-
Saxon burh based on earthwork evidence.2
The Burgage Manor remained under the lordship of the Archbishop of
York until the mid-nineteenth century, and was administered by the
Archbishop’s steward. None of the Manorial Court records survive
except for the period 1806 through to the 1970s.3
The Burgage Green
today is surrounded by over twenty private houses, mostly dating to
the 18th
and 19th
centuries, the Old Court House and partial remains of
the House of Correction.4
FIGURE TWO – POSSIBLE SAXON BURH LAYOUT
(© University of Nottingham)
1.3 PREVIOUS FIELDWORK AT THE BURGAGE GREEN
1.4 Previous fieldwork at the Burgage Green has been very limited.
One test pit was excavated by the University of Nottingham and
volunteers from the Southwell
Community Archaeology Group as part of the Southwell Fun Day in June 2012.
Limited excavation here revealed a mixed deposit of artefacts dating from the
Medieval period to the present, and also building debris through the form of whole
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 10
and partial brick remains. The suggestion was that the ground had been heavily
disturbed and may have been used to dump rubble and waste material from nearby
building work.5
Prior to this, the local antiquarian William Dickinson (1787) compiled a plan of
existing earthworks that encircled the Burgage and other areas of the town. He put
forward his hypothesis that these earthworks formed part of a Roman Foss, or
defensive structure.6
The size and location of the earthworks, however, contradict
Dickinson’s theory of it being a Roman Foss, and it is much more likely that the
earthworks he recorded were actually several separate features. For example, parts of
these earthworks may have formed part of an Anglo-Saxon burh, as discussed above.
However, Challis and Harding believe that the portion of the earthworks that surround
the Burgage Green formed part of an Iron Age hillfort, although they record this as
being ‘destroyed’ in their 1975 survey.7
It is also recorded as being an Iron Age hillfort
in the Historic Environment Records
FIGURE THREE – DICKINSON’S EARTHWORK PLAN
(M3098).
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 11
2.1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE BURGAGE GREEN
The surveying element of the Burgage Green included dowsing, magnetometer and
resistivity surveys and LIDAR imagery.
2.2 DOWSING
The use of dowsing within archaeology is a controversial topic and the practice has its
supporters and objectors. Martijn Van Leusen has undertaken a detailed study of the
use of dowsing within archaeology, and found that the validity of dowsing for
archaeological features is heavily reliant on an appropriate test design methodology.8
To this end it was decided that the dowsing element of the surveying would be
undertaken before the LIDAR imagery was obtained and before the geophysical
survey was conducted. This ensured the dowsing results could not in any way be
reliant or based upon known archaeological features highlighted by more scientific
methods.
Also, in order to ensure a controlled test environment, a small section of the lesser
Burgage Green was selected and this was systematically dowsed and results recorded
by hand held GPS equipment. The dowsing survey picked up a number of linear
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 12
features running across the lesser Green in an approximately south-east / north-west
direction.
These anomalies were marked by pegs on the ground and electronically captured by
the GPS device. For ease of location, we also plotted the basic boundary of both sides
of the Burgage Green. The results of the dowsing survey can be seen in Figure Four.
FIGURE FOUR – DOWSING RESULTS
(© MBArchaeology)
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Burgage Earthworks Project
2.3 LIDAR IMAGERY
LIDAR imagery of the Burgage Green was obtained through the Environment
Agency.9
The linear features picked up by the dowsing survey are clearly reflected on
the LIDAR image too (see Figure Five).
FIGURE FIVE – LIDAR IMAGE OF BURGAGE GREEN
(© Southwell Archaeology)
2.4 GEOPHYSICS
Both magnetometry and resistivity surveys were undertaken on the larger Burgage
Green but only one main feature was noted. This was a linear feature running south-
east / north-west across the Green and extending from Burgage Road across to the
Gatehouse. Initial interpretation was that this may be a modern drain and/or electrical
cable due to the nature of the magnetometry response.10
MBArchaeology 14
Burgage Earthworks Project
FIGURE SIX – MAGNETOMETER
SURVEY RESULTS
(© University of Nottingham /
Southwell Archaeology)
Resistivity results for the lesser Green, however, clearly show the linear features
identified through both dowsing and LIDAR imagery (Figure Seven & Eight).
FIGURE SEVEN – RESISTIVITY SURVEY RESULTS
(© MBArchaeology)
MBArchaeology 15
Burgage Earthworks Project
FIGURE EIGHT – RESISTIVITY SURVEY RESULTS WITH LINEAR
FEATURES MARKED ON
(© MBArchaeology)
3.1 TEST PIT EVALUATIONS
Based on the results of the survey work at the Burgage Green, it was decided that the
majority of the test pit evaluations would be undertaken on the lesser Green. These
were located on the northern half of the Green and strategically placed to examine the
liner features identified through the survey.
Documentary research had suggested that there were Medieval toft or croft plots in
existence somewhere in the Burgage Green area, with a Hall or Manor House to the
northern end and a chapel towards the south. Due to the equidistant nature of the
linear features on the lesser Green, it was hypothesised that these may have been
dividing boundaries between the toft plots, especially as they appeared to extend right
up to the modern road. In total, fifteen test pits were excavated on the lesser Green.
MBArchaeology 16
Burgage Earthworks Project
3.2 TEST PIT DATA
The Lesser Green – Phase One
FIGURE NINE – LOCATION OF TEST PITS ON LESSER GREEN
(© MBArchaeology)
Test Pit #1
Test Pit #1 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with an
orangey-brown clay layer underneath. Inset within the clay layer was a stone surface
comprising pebbles, cobbles and small – large stones, including local skerry stone
(mudstone). This became quite compact at approximately 45cm depth. Pieces of
charcoal, coal, animal bone and broken pottery were also found within the make-up of
the cobbled surface. At approximately 40cm depth a shallow, linear feature was noted,
running in a north-west/south-east direction, and lined with wood. This was extremely
friable and crumbled on touch. The feature was interpreted as a shallow land drain.
Finds included pottery spanning very Late Saxon through to late 13th
/ early 14th
century, the bulk of which dates to the 13th
.
MBArchaeology 17
Burgage Earthworks Project
Test Pit #2
Test Pit #2 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a pale
orangey-brown clay layer underneath. A cobbled surface comprising small-medium
pebbles, cobbles and stone began to appear at approximately 20cm depth, set within
the clay. Animal bone, pottery sherds and charcoal were found amongst and within the
surface. A compact spread of the surface was exposed c.38cm. A small, round post-
hole (5cm in diameter) was noted in the north-east corner of the pit at a depth of
40cm, with a depth of 6-7cm. The post-hole was filled with a dark grey silty clay. The
cobbled surface had been cut into in the north-east section of the pit, running for the
full metre and with a width of 30-40cm. Large chunks of skerry stone appeared to
form a curving feature separating off the north-east corner of the pit.
When these were removed, numerous sherds of Medieval pottery were discovered,
‘stacked’ in piles, most of which were large and glazed. This deposition continued
over a depth of c.12cm and included the intact neck of a large Medieval jug that had
been upturned and placed on top of a large animal bone and several more sherds of
pot. The pottery deposition continued into the layers below and beyond the extent of
the test pit, making it difficult to understand the nature of the deposition. Plastic
sheeting was laid in the bottom of the pit (c.60cm depth) and the pit backfilled with
the intention of investigating further with a larger trench in the future. Finds included
40-50 sherds of Medieval pot mostly dating to 12th
/ 13th
century.
Test Pit #3
Test Pit #3 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a brown
clay layer directly underneath. A patchy, cobbled surface was exposed at a depth of
c.30cm, comprising pebbles, cobbles and stone. A 1m x 0.5m sondage was excavated
through the surface to determine depth. This was found to be c.45-50cm, with Mercia
Mudstone underlying it. Medieval pottery, animal bone, charcoal and large pieces of
coal were discovered amongst the cobbled surface material. Finds included several
sherds of Medieval pottery and a worked flint found at a depth of 20cm.
MBArchaeology 18
Burgage Earthworks Project
Test Pit #4
Test Pit #4 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a brown
clay layer directly underneath. This became a red-brown clay with occasional cobble
inclusions at approximately 30cm deep. A cobbled surface was exposed at a depth of
c.50cm, comprising pebbles, cobbles and stone, and this sloped towards the southern
end of the pit. Pebbles, cobbles and stones has been inserted into the clay, but were
quite patchy. Finds included Medieval pottery sherds and half of a copper alloy ring,
possibly a loop fastener or belt fitting.
Test Pit #5
Test Pit #5 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a pale
orangey-brown clay layer underneath. This had occasional pebble/cobble inclusions at
a depth of c. 30cm, and continued in this manner until approximately 50cm. The
natural geology was reached at a depth of 50cm (Mercia Mudstone). Although no
surface material was noted, there were still numerous sherds of Medieval pottery
including medium-sized sherds of green- and brown-glazed pot, a couple of which
were highly decorative. Finds included several sherds of Medieval pot, mostly dating
to the 13th
century.
Test Pit #6
Test Pit #6 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a brown
clay layer directly underneath. This became an orangey-red clay with scattered
medium-sized pebble inclusions at approximately 40cm deep. The clay continued
beyond a depth of 60cm, and was deemed to be natural. Finds included several sherds
of Medieval pot, mostly dating to the 13th
century.
MBArchaeology 19
Burgage Earthworks Project
Test Pit #7
Test Pit #7 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a pale
orangey-brown clay layer underneath. Cobbled surface exposed c. 28-36cm deep,
comprising pebbles, cobbles and piece of skerry stone. Animal bone and Medieval
pottery were set within the surface. This was recorded and plastic sheeting was placed
above the surface before the pit was backfilled. Finds included several sherds of
Medieval pot, mostly dating to the 13th
century.
Test Pit #8
Test Pit #8 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a dark
greyish-brown clayey silt layer underneath. This continued to c. 40-50cm and
contained frequent charcoal flecks and pieces, before becoming an orangey-brown
clay layer, which also contained frequent charcoal flecks and pieces. A cobbled
surface was exposed c. 52cm deep, comprising small and medium pebbles set within
the clay. The surface was half-sectioned (north quadrant) to determine depth, and was
excavated to 60cm, when the surface ended, and continued down to 70cm through
natural orange clay. Finds included several sherds of Medieval pot, mostly dating to
the 13th
century.
Test Pit #9
Test Pit #9 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a brown
clay layer directly underneath. This became an orangey-red clay at approximately
40cm deep, before becoming Mercia Mudstone at 50cm. Sherds of Medieval pottery
were recovered from every layer. No features noted within pit.
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 20
The Large Green
FIGURE TEN – LOCATION OF TEST PITS ON LARGE GREEN
(© MBArchaeology)
Test Pit #10
Test Pit #10 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a
reddish-brown clay layer directly underneath that continued to c. 1m deep. At 1.03m,
a thin layer of natural skerry (mudstone) was exposed, which overlay an orange-
brown clay (at 1.08m deep). The pit was excavated to a total depth of 1.1m. Modern
artefacts were recovered from every layer, in the form of Post-Medieval pottery,
pieces of clay pipe, CBM, animal bone, glass and metal objects. A green-glazed
Medieval pottery sherd was recovered from a depth of c. 80cm. The pit was clearly
located within heavily disturbed ground, with relatively modern artefacts noted at 1m
depth.
MBArchaeology 21
Burgage Earthworks Project
Test Pit #11
Test Pit #11 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a
reddish-brown clay layer directly underneath. The pit was tested to a depth of 60cm
with no change. Again, artefacts were mixed, with Medieval pottery recovered at
c.30cm, and modern pottery at 60cm.
Test Pit #12
Test Pit #12 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with
evidence of a cobbled surface exposed at c.22-24cm deep. This comprised small and
medium pebbles that had been inserted into a light brown clayey, sandy silt.
Occasional pieces of animal bone, pot sherds and ash were noted within the surface,
but the pottery was 19th
century. The surface continued to a depth of c.30cm, where an
orangey-red clay was noted before becoming Mercia Mudstone at c. 50cm. Artefacts
were recovered from 0-40cm in the form of CBM, glass, pottery and metal objects, but
none were recovered in the final layer (40-50cm).
Test Pit #13
Test Pit #13 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a
reddish-brown clay layer directly underneath. The pit was tested to a depth of 50cm
with no change. Artefacts recovered were all relatively modern and included a metal
ring pull, glass, CBM and pottery.
Test Pit #14
Test Pit #14 had approximately 10cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a red
clay layer directly underneath. The pit was tested to a depth of 1m with no change.
Again, artefacts were mixed, with Medieval pottery recovered at c.30cm, and only
pieces of brick from 40-50cm. No artefacts were recovered from 50-100cm.
MBArchaeology 22
Burgage Earthworks Project
Test Pit #15
Test Pit #15 had approximately 10cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a red
clay layer directly underneath. The pit was tested to a depth of 60cm with no change.
Artefacts recovered were mainly CBM, including two full bricks at a depth of c.40cm
and floor tiles at c. 30cm.
The Lesser Green – Phase Two
FIGURE ELEVEN – LOCATION OF TEST PITS ON LESSER GREEN,
PHASE TWO
(© MBArchaeology)
Test Pit #16
Test Pit #16 had approximately 15cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a brown
clay layer directly underneath. This contained a cobbled surface at a depth between
15-18cm, comprising small and medium pebbles and cobbles, with inclusions within
the surface including Medieval pottery, CBM and charcoal. The surface was half-
MBArchaeology 23
Burgage Earthworks Project
sectioned (east) and a natural clay layer was noted in the north-east quarter of the pit
at a depth of 38cm. The cobbled surface continued, however, in the south-east quarter
of the pit, and a narrow drainage gulley was discovered directly below this at a depth
of c. 42cm. This ran diagonally (ie. north-east/south-west) and was filled with small-
medium pebbles that had been stood on end. Below this was the natural clay, which
the drainage gulley had been cut into. No artefacts were recovered between 30-50cm.
Artefacts in the layers above (0-30cm) included modern pottery, glass, CMB, clay
pipe and pieces of slag at c. 30cm deep. No Medieval pottery was recovered.
Test Pit #17
Test Pit #17 had approximately 30cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a
compact orangey-red clay layer directly underneath at c.30-35cm depth. A compact
stone/cobble surface was uncovered directly below this layer, appearing to run in a
band approximately 45-50cm wide and in a north-west/south-east direction. A small
post-hole was noted in the south-east corner of the pit, approximately 13cm in
diameter and 10cm deep. Frequent charcoal flecks and pieces were noted within the
clay surface. The cobbled surface was recorded and half sectioned (southern section of
it) and a total depth of c.42cm was noted. Directly underneath the surface a sherd of
green-glazed Medieval pottery was recovered, and the natural orangey-red clay was
uncovered at c.42cm. This was tested to a depth of 60cm, no change and no further
artefacts recovered.
Test Pit #18
Test Pit #18 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with an
orangey-brown clay layer directly underneath. A cobbled surface was uncovered at
c.40cm, with a notable edge in the north-east section of pit. Recorded and left in situ.
Medieval pottery sherds were recovered in every spit between 10-50cm.
MBArchaeology 24
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Test Pit #19
Test Pit #19 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a light
brown clay layer directly underneath. Cobbled surface uncovered at c.40cm deep,
with sherds of Medieval pottery set within it. This was half sectioned (east section)
and cobbled surface continued to a depth of 50cm, under which was a natural
orangey-red clay layer. Tested to 60cm with no change.
Test Pit #20
Test Pit #20 had approximately 20cm of overburden underlying the turf, with a mid-
brown loam layer directly underneath that contained occasional flecks of charcoal.
This became an orangey-red clay layer at c.40cm, which was tested to a depth of
c.80cm with no change. A cobbled feature was noted at c.32-37cm deep. Artefacts
recovered included pottery, animal bone, CBM, clay pipe and pieces of flint. A silver
coin was recovered at c.20cm.
Test Pit #21
Test Pit #21 had approximately 10cm of overburden underlying the turf, with an
orange clay layer directly underneath. This became a dark orange clay at c.30cm and
contained frequent charcoal flecks and frequent small to medium pebbles and cobbles,
although this did not form a surface layer as evident in other pits. A small post-hole
was noted in the south-east corner of the pit at a depth of c.30cm, with a depth of
approximately 50cm. This was filled with a dark silty soil and contained clay patches
and moderate small pebbles. A number of artefacts were also recovered from the post-
hole fill including a nail, animal bone and Medieval pottery. The entire pit had a
moderate amount of metal nails, clinker and slag, and frequent flecks and pieces of
charcoal.
MBArchaeology 25
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4.0 DRAWINGS & PHOTOGRAPHS
PLATE ONE - TEST PIT TWO:
(Above left) – Stone feature cut into cobbled surface
(Above right) – Area of concentrated pottery, denoted by dotted line
PLATE TWO - TEST PIT SEVEN:
Exposed cobbled surface
MBArchaeology 26
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PLATE THREE - TEST PIT SIXTEEN:
Exposed cobbled surface with excavated half-section in eastern quadrant
PLATE FOUR - TEST PIT SEVENTEEN:
Exposed cobbled surface with post-hole
MBArchaeology 27
Burgage Earthworks Project
PLATE FIVE - TEST PIT TWENTY-ONE:
Post-hole
PLATE SIX - TEST PIT ONE:
Wood-lined drain feature
MBArchaeology 28
Burgage Earthworks Project
PLATE SEVEN- TEST PIT ONE:
Close-up of drain cut showing wood lining in-situ
PLATE EIGHT - TEST PIT ONE:
Exposed cobbled surface
MBArchaeology 29
Burgage Earthworks Project
PLATE NINE - TEST PIT TWO:
Stone feature cutting into cobbled surface
PLATE TEN - TEST PIT TWO:
Medieval pottery sherds sat within the cobbled surface
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 30
PLATE ELEVEN - TEST PIT TWO:
Medieval pottery sherds and intact neck of a 13th
century Medieval jug from feature
that had cut into cobbled surface
PLATE TWELVE - TEST PIT THREE:
Exposed cobbled surface
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 31
PLATE THIRTEEN - TEST PIT SEVEN:
Exposed cobbled surface
PLATE FOURTEEN - TEST PIT EIGHT:
Exposed cobbled surface
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 32
PLATE FIFTEEN - TEST PIT THIRTEEN:
Exposed cobbled surface
PLATE SIXTEEN - TEST PIT SIXTEEN:
Exposed cobbled surface
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 33
PLATE SEVENTEEN - TEST PIT SIXTEEN:
Half-section through cobbled surface showing underlying clay layer and possible
drainage feature in top left corner
PLATE EIGHTEEN - TEST PIT SEVENTEEN:
Exposed cobbled surface with post hole to middle left
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 34
PLATE NINETEEN - TEST PIT SEVENTEEN:
Close-up of post-hole
PLATE TWENTY - TEST PIT EIGHTEEN:
Exposed cobbled surface
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 35
PLATE TWENTY-ONE - TEST PIT NINETEEN:
Exposed cobbled surface
PLATE TWENTY-TWO - TEST PIT TWENTY:
Half-sectioned post-hole
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 36
PLATE TWENTY-THREE - TEST PIT TWENTY-ONE:
Exposed cobbled surface
PLATE TWENTY-FOUR:
Intact neck from a Medieval jug, found in Test Pit Two
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 37
5.0 TEST PIT SUMMARY
Throughout the test-pitting, evidence of yard surfaces were noted in the form of
stones and cobbles that had been inserted into the natural orangey-red clay below.
Some areas of the Green, however, had cobbled surfaces that had material inserted
within the stone make-up, including pottery sherds, animal bones, charcoal and ash.
This suggested that rubbish had been thrown onto the surface while it was in use in
order to provide further surface make-up and / or to repair ‘pot holes’ that had begun
to appear. Test pits One and Two both had datable pot sherds within the yard surface
itself, giving a date for construction or subsequent repair some time in the Early 13th
century. Test Pit Two also had evidence to show the surface had been dug into and a
considerable amount of pottery, including the rim of a jug (Plate Twenty-Four)
deposited within the hole.
In total, cobbled yard surfaces were noted in Test Pits One, Two, Three, Four, Six,
Seven, Eight, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen and Twenty, and all of these
had Medieval pottery either within the surface or in the layers immediately above.
Further features were noted within some of the test pits, which suggested potential
building plots. These included a wood-lined drain approximately 40cm from the
modern surface and with a width of c.7-8cm (Test Pit One) and an earthen drainage
gulley in Test Pit Sixteen (at a depth of c.42cm from modern surface), and post-holes
in Test Pit Two (c.5cm in diameter, 7cm deep, discovered at a depth of 40cm), Test
Pit Seventeen (c.13cm in diameter, 10cm deep, at a depth of 36cm), Test Pit Twenty-
One (c.11cm in diameter, 12cm deep, at a depth of 30cm).
Six test pits were also excavated on the larger side of the Green (Test Pits Ten to
Fifteen), with all showing heavy disturbance and mixed artefacts. Test Pit Ten
continued to a depth of 1.1m reflecting much heavier disturbance than other areas
sampled. This was located towards the top (south) of the Green and close to the
Burgage Road. Test Pit Twelve had a cobbled surface at a depth of c. 22-24cm.
However, artefacts recovered above and directly below suggested a much more recent
date (c.18th
/ 19th
century). Sherds of Medieval pottery were recovered in Test Pits
Ten, Eleven and Fourteen, although these were within mixed deposits and not in situ.
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 38
6.0 DISCUSSION
Of the fifteen test pits excavated on the small side of the Green, twelve contained
cobbled surfaces, although it is clear that these were not contemporary in terms of
initial construction, as attested by the pottery recovered. Pottery analysis suggests that
development occurred throughout the 13th century with occupation well into the 14th,
a span of at least one hundred to one hundred and fifty years. Equally apparent was the
difference in the construction itself – five of the pits had a surface comprising stone
and cobbles with no artefacts within the make-up, whilst the rest had pottery inserted
within the surface. This was also noted at two sites excavated by MBArchaeology
and Southwell Archaeology close to the Burgage as part of the 2013
Southwell Peculiar project on behalf of the University of Nottingham.
Houses on Kirklington Road and Station Road both had cobbled surfaces between 20-
40cm of the modern ground surface, and that both of these were adjacent to the
Kirklington/Newark Road that the Burgage Green sits upon is worth noting. This may
suggest further building plots in the locale, although further fieldwork is necessary to
fully understand this.
Although most of the pits on the Burgage Green had Medieval pottery directly above
the cobbled surface, seven had Medieval sherds within the surface make-up itself,
allowing for the construction to be fairly well dated to the 13th century. A few sherds
of Late Saxon and Saxo-Norman pottery were also recovered from the site, suggesting
development may have begun as early as the Late 11th / Early 12th century. Test Pit
Seventeen, however, had green glazed Medieval pottery recovered from underneath
the surface, suggesting it was not laid out until at least the mid-13th century. Due to
this, a span of Late 11th through to Late 14th centuries is apparent.
That the surfaces appeared not to be exactly contemporary with each other based on
the location and date of recovered pottery, and that some had potential evidence for
building construction (ie. drainage and post holes), we decided it would be worthwhile
returning to the survey data in order to work out if we were seeing several
equidistant croft ‘plots’. From overlaying the dowsing, LIDAR and resistivity results,
and measuring this in to visible features on the Green (such as the modern road,
MBArchaeology 39
Burgage Earthworks Project
boundaries and ‘fixed points’ – lamp posts and trees) it was possible to note a
regularity in the strip plots.
It appears there are at least four plots of just under fourteen metres in width, with a
further plot at the bottom of the small side of the Green (abutting the Newark Road)
that is slightly larger, although as this is the corner plot and tapers in width from one
end to the other, this does fit with more generic Medieval layouts. A preliminary plan
of what this looks like is shown in Figure Seven.
FIGURE TWELVE: PRELIMINARY PLAN OF THE BURGAGE PLOTS ON THE
LESSER GREEN
(© MBArchaeology)
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 40
This means our test pits can be located within one of these four plots:
BURGAGE
PLOT
TEST
PIT
POTTERY DATE
(WITHIN SURFACE)
DEPTH (BELOW
MODERN
SURFACE)
1 9 N/A
2 8 MID 12T H
TO EARLY/MID 13T H
52CM
2 4 13T H
TO EARLY/MID 14T H
42CM
2 5 N/A
2 16 13T H
TO EARLY/MID 14T H
15-18CM
2 18 12T H
TO EARLY/MID 14T H
40CM
2 19 MID /LATE 12T H
TO
EARLY/MID 14T H
40CM
2 20 13T H
TO EARLY/MID 14T H
32-37CM
2 21 N/A
3 1 13T H
TO 15T H
38CM
3 2 13T H
TO 14T H
38CM
3 3 14T H 36CM
3 6 14T H 43CM
3 7 13T H
TO EARLY/MID 14T H
27CM
3 17 13T H TO 14T H
35-36CM
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 41
From this we can see that it is plots Two and Three that we have recovered data for.
Plot Two has a surface evidenced in four pits that sits, on average, at 37cm below the
modern ground level. Two of the pits, however, had a marked contrast in depth – Test
Pit Sixteen was some 20cm higher, although a second surface was noted in one corner
of the pit (south-east corner) at a depth of 40cm. This then fits perfectly with our
general surface level as evidenced from the other pits. We may well be seeing an
earlier, Medieval surface being dug into and disturbed, with a later surface layer being
constructed above this. Finally, Test Pit Eight had a surface some 10cm lower, but had
considerably more pottery sherds recovered from it (over twenty). It was impossible to
tell why this might be from the 1m² Test Pit alone.
Plot Three also had an average depth for the cobbled surface approximately 37cm,
which ties in with Plot Two. The one notable exception was Test Pit Seven, with a
depth of just 27cm, but this was located at the very eastern boundary of the Green.
Another notable feature from the test-pit analysis on the small side of the Green is that
all the noted features (the drains and post-holes) sat at a depth that appears
contemporary to the yard surface, suggesting they too may be Medieval in date. The
two drain features were noted at an approximate depth of 40-42cm, and all three post-
holes were between 30-40cm, although their diameter reflects posts equivalent in size
to fence posts or scaffold poles rather than substantial building timbers.
During the final survey work relating to the approximate layout of the plots, it was
noted that there is a rectangular earthwork feature in Plot Two, right at the side of the
modern road and running in the same direction as the yard plots. This may well relate
to a Medieval building associated with the croft, although it was only noted on the
final day of fieldwork, and is a definite aiming point for future research.
Test Pit Twenty One, which was located over the top of the potential platform, had a
considerable amount of Medieval pottery, frequent patches of charcoal and burning,
and several nails and pieces of slag. The largest piece of shell-tempered ware from all
Twenty One test-pits was also recovered from this pit.
Burgage Earthworks Project
MBArchaeology 42
The evidence from the Burgage Earthworks project points towards a working
hypothesis of the Burgage Green being in use in the post-Norman period, and that
several croft plots with yard surfaces existed there from the Late 12th / Early 13th
century onwards. The limited test-pit analysis of the site has not revealed any
structural evidence relating to the buildings, although after this season of fieldwork
we have a clearer idea on the layout of the plots, which in itself provides target areas
for a future phase of work.
The limited exploration of the larger side of the Green suggests the potential for in situ
archaeology, but a much more thorough fieldwork campaign would be needed in order
to identify this. The discovery of the Medieval yard surfaces resulted in the
focus for the bulk of this season’s fieldwork to focus on the smaller side of the Green,
and thus any interpretation of the larger side can be minimal at best. There is a
dramatic reduction in Medieval pottery sherds recovered from the Large Green when
compared to the Lesser Green, and the number of sherds recovered suggests more
residual finds rather than any focussed settlement.
In summary, it appears that the Burgage Green area may have been an extension to
the existing Late Saxon townscape (although this is common in Norman
developments) or, possibly, a development relating to the Burgage as a separate
manor. Further fieldwork and archival research may shed more light on this.
The first pre-Roman archaeology at Southwell was also discovered during the
fieldwork, attested to by a number of flint tools including scrapers and part of a Late
Neolithic blade. A further scraper and blade were recovered from the top of Station
Road during the Southwell Peculiar project. This shows that there was prehistoric
occupation at Southwell, and that so far this seems to relate to the area of the Greet,
rather than the Potwell Dyke upon which the later town developed from the Roman
period onwards.
What this project has shown is that there is a wealth of archaeology surviving on the
Burgage Green, and that to fully understand the development of the area, and how this
relates to the present townscape, further fieldwork is necessary. As can be noted, very
limited or no information was recovered relating to Plots One, Four (and potentially)
Five, but that with focussed effort a more fuller picture could be created, as testified
MBArchaeology 43
Burgage Earthworks Project
by the focussed efforts on Plots Two and Three. Likewise, the larger Green would
benefit from further excavation, complimented by a more detailed geophysical and
topographical survey. There is also clear scope for further archival research to be
undertaken alongside more practical archaeological investigations.
7.0 REFERENCES
1 Morgan, E & Beresford, M ‘Burgage Earthworks Project: Interim Report’, Unpublished, 2013, p. 4
2 Dr. Chris King (University of Nottingham), pers. comm. 17
th June, 2013
3 Morgan & Beresford, 2013, p. 7
4 Ibid. p. 4
5 John Lock (Southwell Community Archaeology Group Chairman) & Dr. Chris King (University of
Nottingham), pers. comm. 2nd
July, 2012 6
William Dickinson A History of the Antiquities of the Town and Church of Southwell, in the Country
of Nottingham, Newark, 1787 7
see The Nottinghamshire Mapping Project, RCHME, 1999 (online at http://www.english-
heritage.org.uk/publications/nottinghamshire-nmp/NOTTINGHAMSHIRE_NMP_web.pdf (accessed
10/6/14) and Challis, A.J. & Harding, D.W. Later Prehistory From The Trent To The Tyne, British
Archaeological Reports 20, 2 Vols. 1975 8
Martijn Van Leusen 'Dowsing and archaeology', Archaeological Prospection, Volume 5, Issue 3, pp.
123–138, September 1998 9
Thanks are extended to Dr. Keith Challis and Dr. Chris Brooke for obtaining and processing the
LIDAR data on behalf of the project 10
Garth Davies (Trent & Peak Archaeology, on behalf of the University of Nottingham), pers. comm.
26th
April, 2013
MBArchaeology 44
Burgage Earthworks Project
APPENDIX I
Amount and type of artefacts recovered during the Burgage Earthworks project
TEST PIT ONE
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5 6
POT 1 13 25 8 2 3
BONE X 23 43 24 33 31
CBM 3 8 24 3 1 X
METAL X 1 2 X 1 1
FLINT X 1 (waste) X 1 (scraper) X X
GLASS X X 1 X 1 X
OTHER X 1 (fcp) 1 (slag) X 3 (charcoal) 23 (charcoal) 1 (stone)
TEST PIT TWO
Material / Spit
1
2
3
4
5
6 6 (stone feature)
POT 3 27 22 3 11 24 47
BONE 8 33 34 11 6 14 6
CBM X 39 26 X 3 X X
METAL X 2 2 1 X X X
FLINT X X 2 X X X X
GLASS X 1 1 X X X X
OTHER X 25 (charcoal) 13 (charcoal) 4 (charcoal) 1 (burnt clay) 10 (charcoal) X X
TEST PIT THREE
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5 (sondage)
POT X 19 5 15 X
BONE X 7 11 22 1
CBM 1 19 2 3 X
METAL 1 X X 3 X
FLINT 1 (waste) 1 (arrow) 1 (waste) X X
GLASS X X X 1 X
OTHER 3 (charcoal) 3 (charcoal) / 2 (slag) / 1 (shot case) 3 (coal) 3 (charcoal) 4 (coal)
MBArchaeology 45
TEST PIT FOUR
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5
POT X 13 11 7 X
BONE X 3 19 32 6
CBM 8 21 12 X 2
METAL X 4 (copper ring) 3 X X
FLINT X X X X X
GLASS 2 X 1 X X
OTHER 1 (charcoal) 4 (charcoal) 1 (charcoal) 3 (charcoal) 1 (charcoal)
TEST PIT FIVE
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5
POT 1 22 10 5 X
BONE X 6 13 2 5
CBM 1 7 9 X X
METAL 1 2 (buckle) 1 X X
FLINT 1 (waste) X 2 (waste) X X
GLASS X 2 (1 slag) 1 X X
OTHER 2 (charcoal) / 12 (wood) 4 (clinker) / 27 (charcoal) 2 (charcoal) X X
TEST PIT SIX
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5 6
POT 2 16 13 7 8 X
BONE X X 2 12 16 1
CBM 1 7 11 5 3 X
METAL 2 X X X X X
FLINT X X X X X X
GLASS X 4 1 X X X
OTHER 1 (clinker) 4 (slag, shale x 2, gun cartridge) 2 (shale) 1 (clinker) X 2 (coal)
MBArchaeology 46
TEST PIT SEVEN
Material / Spit 2 3 4
POT 9 24 7
BONE 2 7 2
CBM 11 3 X
METAL X X X
FLINT X X X
GLASS 3 X X
OTHER 3 (shale x2, slag) 3 (clinker) X
TEST PIT EIGHT
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5 6
POT X 20 12 12 12 2
BONE X 3 10 7 1 1
CBM X 7 4 4 X X
METAL X 1 X X X X
FLINT X 1 (waste) X 1 (core) X X
GLASS 3 4 1 1 X X
OTHER X 8 (coal) 2 (clinker) 6 (slag x 3, coal x 3) X 2 (slag)
TEST PIT NINE
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5
POT X 19 21 11 1
BONE X 3 3 X 1
CBM X 6 10 X X
METAL 1 X X X X
FLINT X 2 (debitage) 4 (debitage) X X
GLASS X 3 X X X
OTHER 3 (slag, unknown, HAS) 4 (slag x 3, HAS) 4 (slag) X X
MBArchaeology 47
TEST PIT TEN
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
POT 9 16 10 9 5 14 10
BONE X X 3 4 4 7 5
CBM X 18 18 17 14 18 22
METAL 2 1 X X X X X
FLINT X X 1 X X 2 (waste) X
GLASS X 7 1 X X X 4
OTHER 1 (plastic) 5 (slag x 2, plastic x 2, carbon) 3 (coal) 6 (charcoal) 1 (coal) 1 (FCP) X
8 9 + 10
7 6
2 2
14 9
X X
X X
2 1
X 2 (shell, coal)
TEST PIT ELEVEN
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5 6
POT 1 103 45 17 33 15
BONE 7 10 5 11 17 18
CBM 1 52 19 11 10 10
METAL 3 X X X 4 1
FLINT X X X X X X
GLASS X 1 X 2 1 X
OTHER 10 (charcoal x 9, FCP) 5 (charcoal x 4, shell) 1 (shell) 2 (clinker, charcoal) 1 (shell)
TEST PIT TWELVE
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4
POT X 12 75 X
BONE X X 34 1
CBM 2 6 17 X
METAL 3 4 6 X
FLINT X X X X
GLASS 1 1 5 1
OTHER X 4 (charcoal) 8 (shell x 4, charcoal x 3, clinker) X
MBArchaeology 48
TEST PIT THIRTEEN
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5 6
POT X 10 25 19 14 24
BONE X 2 2 5 25 4
CBM X 10 4 4 16 6
METAL 1 1 1 X 1 X
FLINT X 1 X X X X
GLASS X 3 1 2 X X
OTHER 1 (plastic) 4 (shell, charcoal x 3) 1 (coal) 3 (coal x 3, shell) X 1 (shell)
TEST PIT FOURTEEN
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5
POT 3 1 2 X X
BONE X X 1 X X
CBM 7 5 3 2 1
METAL 5 X X X X
FLINT X X X X X
GLASS 2 X X X X
OTHER 2 (plastic, charcoal) 2 (charcoal) 1 (charcoal) X X
TEST PIT FIFTEEN
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5 6
POT 3 8 3 X X X
BONE X X X X X X
CBM X 5 11 10 11 3
METAL X 1 X X X X
FLINT X X X X X X
GLASS 2 1 X X X X
OTHER 2 (plastic) X X X X X
MBArchaeology 49
TEST PIT SIXTEEN
Material / Spit
1
2 2 (in surface)
3
POT 14 22 4 6
BONE 16 12 1 3
CBM 25 19 3 2
METAL 1 3 X X
FLINT X X X X
GLASS 6 3 X X
OTHER X X 1 (stone ball) X
TEST PIT SEVENTEEN
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5 7 (North) 7 (South)
POT 11 22 11 6 1 2 1
BONE 6 29 5 5 2 8 2
CBM 19 24 X 3 X 2 X
METAL 5 7 X X X X X
FLINT X X X X X X X
GLASS 5 2 X X X X X
OTHER 1 (flint waste) X X 2 (shell) X X X
TEST PIT EIGHTEEN
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5
POT X 15 10 8 4
BONE X 10 6 8 2
CBM 3 6 10 6 1
METAL X X X X X
FLINT X X X X X
GLASS X 1 2 X X
OTHER X X X X X
50
TEST PIT NINETEEN
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4
POT 1 13 13 12
BONE X 6 27 22
CBM X 19 12 22
METAL X 3 X X
FLINT X X X X
GLASS 1 7 3 X
OTHER X 2 (1 X shell, 1 X fcp) X X
TEST PIT TWENTY
Material / Spit 1 2 3 4 5
POT X 34 16 2 1
BONE X 14 20 17 3
CBM X 23 6 1 X
METAL 2 4 X X X
FLINT X 3 X 1 (core) X
GLASS X 3 2 X X
OTHER 3 (1 x flint waste, 2 x coal) 15 (3 x flint waste, 6 x coal, 2 x seed husk) X X X
TEST PIT TWENTY ONE
Material / Spit
1
2
3 3 (NW
Corner)
3 (post hole)
4
5
POT 22 18 1 2 3 3 1
BONE 35 36 12 X 8 16 8
CBM 7 2 1 X X X X
METAL 2 3 1 X 1 X X
FLINT X X X X X X X
GLASS X 1 X X X X X
OTHER 8 (coal) 2 (coal) 2 (coal) X 1 (coal) 2 (slag) X
6 6 (south west corner)
1 X
X 37
X X
X X
X X
X X
X X
Appendix II
Orientation & position of test pits
All twenty-one test-pits were laid out with four grid points (A, B, C, D) as follows:
The blue marker points on the location maps (pages 16, 20, 22) reflect grid point A of
each test-pit.
Each pit was hand-measured in using tapes from grid point A to fixed positions on the
ground. These were the base of the lamp post (Fixed Point #1) abutting Burgage Road
/ Lesser Green and the base of the bench (lower upright) towards the top of the Lesser
Green and parallel to Burgage Road (Fixed Point #2).
For test-pits 10-13 located on the Larger Green, Fixed Point #1 is the base of the large
tree abutting Burgage Road (the third tree down from the junction) and the base of the
large tree in the upper-centre of the Burgage. For test-pits 14 and 15 located on the
Larger Green, Fixed Point #1 is the base of the tree abutting Burgage Road (fourth tree
up from the bottom of the Green) and the base of the bench (lower upright) directly
outside the Rainbow’s Depot entrance.
51
Location of Fixed Points on the Lesser and Large Greens at the Burgage, Southwell
Test-pit
number
A-B / C-D Orientation A-B Positioning A - #1 (in metres)
A - #2 (in metres)
1 North-east / south-west North-east facing 20.42m 16.00m
2 North-east / south-west North-east facing 21.95m 19.54m
3 East / west East facing 27.45m 20.85m
4 North / south North facing 60.00m 61.00m
5 East / west East facing 30.40m 28.67m
6 East / west East facing 34.34m 29.31m
7 East / west East facing 39.45m 34.60m
8 North-west / south-east South-east facing 30.04m 36.44m
9 North-west / south-east South-east facing 34.40m 45.06m
10 North-east / south-west North-east facing 10.74m 15.75m
11 North-east / south-west North-east facing 16.50m 8.24m
12 North-west / south-east South-east facing 12.30m 17.50m
13 North-east / south-west North-east facing 10.95m 10.10m
14 North-east / south-west North-east facing 25.42m 11.16m
15 North-east / south-west North-east facing 24.03m 10.62m
53
16 North-east / south-west North-east facing 6.67m 15.37m
17 North / south South facing 10.50m 11.25m
18 North-east / south-west North-east facing 29.59m 35.70m
19 East / west East facing 19.80m 27.60m
20 North / south South facing 10.59m 22.22m
21 North-east / south-west South-west facing 3.04m 23.33m
53
54
Appendix III
REPORT ON THE POST-ROMAN POTTERY FROM TWENTY ONE TEST PITS EXCAVATED AS PART OF THE BURGAGE EARTHWORKS PROJECT, SOUTHWELL , NOTTINGHAMSHIRE (BG13) BY JANE YOUNG KATIE YOUNG JOHANNA GRAY AND SOUTHWELL ARCHAEOLOGY GROUP 54 INTRODUCTION
55
A quantity of post-Roman pottery ranging in date from the Saxo-Norman to early modern period was
recovered during archaeological test pitting in Southwell. In total, one thousand one hundred and fifteen
sherds of pottery representing eight hundred and thirty-four vessels were recovered from twenty-one test
pits. The pottery was recorded as two separate projects with some sherds from Test Pit 1 and those from
Test Pits 15 to 21 forming an addition to the report. The material was quantified by three measures:
number of sherds, weight and vessel count within each context with cross-spit vessels being given an
individual vessel number.
The pottery has been fully archived to the standards for acceptance to a museum archive and within the
guidelines laid out in Slowikowskki, et al. (2001). Visual fabric identification of the pottery was undertaken
by x20 binocular microscope. The pottery data was entered on an access database using fabric codenames
(see Table 2) developed for the Lincoln Ceramic Type Series (Young, Vince and Nailor 2005) and the
preliminary Nottingham Type Series (Nailor and Young 2001). Two new medieval pottery types were
identified whilst working on this assemblage and these will be described in detail in a future report.
CONDITION
The pottery is mainly in a slightly abraded to abraded condition with sherd size varying between 1 gram
and 127 grams, although some of the medieval pottery from Test Pit 2 is in a fairly fresh condition. One
hundred and twenty-five of the vessels recovered are represented by more than a single sherd and fifteen
cross-spit joins were noted. The shell and limestone temper has been leached from most of the vessels
containing these inclusions.
THE POTTERY
In total eight hundred and thirty-three vessels in fifty-two identifiable post-Roman pottery ware types and
one Roman sherd were recovered from the twenty-one test pits (Tables 1 and 2). The range of form types
is fairly limited with examples of various types of jars, bowls, plates, dishes and jugs forming the body of
the assemblage, although a few unusual forms such as a Beverley 2-type jug lid were also recovered. The
pottery will be described by ceramic period in a later report. Here it is discussed by individual Test pit.
TABLE 1 POTTERY BY CERAMIC PERIOD WITH TOTAL QUANTITIES BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic Period Total sherds Total vessels
Roman 1 1
Saxo-Norman (11th to 12
th) 2 2
56
Early medieval (12th to mid 13
th) 87 45
High medieval (13th to 14
th) 241 210
General Medieval (13th to 15
th) 46 43
Late medieval to early post-medieval (15
th to 16
th)
34 33
Post-medieval (mid 16th to 18
th) 260 209
Early Modern (18th to 20
th) 444 291
Totals 1115 834
TABLE 2 POTTERY TYPES WITH TOTAL QUANTITIES BY SHERD AND VESSEL COUNT
Codename Full name Earliest date
Latest date
Total sherds
Total vessels
BERTH Brown glazed earthenware 1550 1800 70 48
BEVO1 Beverley Orange ware Fabric 1 1100 1230 6 6
BEVO1T Beverley Orange-type ware Fabric 1 1100 1230 10 10
BEVO2 Beverley Orange ware Fabric 2 1230 1350 48 46
BEVO2T Beverley Orange-type ware Fabric 2 1230 1350 4 4
BL Black-glazed wares 1550 1750 111 91
BS Brown stoneware 1680 1850 5 4
CHPO Chinese Export Porcelain 1640 1850 2 2
CIST Cistercian-type ware 1480 1650 7 7
CMW Coal Measures whiteware 1250 1550 1 1
CREA Creamware 1770 1830 159 119
ENGS Unspecified English Stoneware 1750 1900 56 7
ENPO English Porcelain 1750 1900 3 2
FREC Frechen stoneware 1530 1680 2 2
GRE Glazed Red Earthenware 1500 1650 2 2
HUM Humberware 1250 1550 10 8
LEMS Lincolnshire Early Medieval Shelly 1130 1230 2 2
LERTH Late earthenwares 1750 1900 11 9
LFS Lincolnshire Fine-shelled ware 970 1200 2 2
LMLOC Late Medieval local fabrics 1350 1550 1 1
LSW2 13th to 14th century Lincoln Glazed Ware 1200 1320 1 1
MEDLOC Medieval local fabrics 1150 1450 4 4
MEDX Non Local Medieval Fabrics 1150 1450 9 8
MP Midlands Purple ware 1380 1600 17 16
MY Midlands Yellow ware 1550 1650 46 38
NCBW 19th-century Buff ware 1800 1900 21 13
NCSW Nottingham Coarse Sandy ware 1200 1500 19 19
NNCSW North Nottinghamshire Late Medieval Coarseware
1350 1550 8 8
NNLBS North Nottinghamshire Light-bodied Slipware 1650 1750 2 2
NNQS North Nottinghamshire Quartz and Shell 1100 1250 16 10
NOTGE Early Nottingham Green Glazed ware 1200 1230 8 4
NOTGI Iron-rich Nottingham Green Glazed ware 1200 1230 2 2
NOTGL Light Bodied Nottingham Green Glazed ware 1220 1320 113 105
NOTGR Reduced Nottingham Green Glazed ware 1280 1420 9 8
NOTGV Nottingham Glazed ware Variant 1200 1350 26 26
NOTLGW Late Nottingham Glazed ware 1350 1450 1 1
NOTS Nottingham stoneware 1690 1900 74 50
NSP Nottingham Splashed ware 1100 1250 9 8
PEARL Pearlware 1770 1900 68 45
PORC Porcelain 1700 1900 4 4
POTT Potterhanworth-type Ware 1250 1500 3 3
57
R Roman 50 400 1 1
SCAR Scarborough ware 1150 1350 1 1
SDOXMG Southwell Dull Oxidised Medieval Glazed ware 1200 1350 26 10
SLIP Unidentified slipware 1650 1750 7 7
SLST South Lincolnshire Shell Tempered ware 1150 1250 3 3
SNSPT Southwell Nottingham Splashed-type 1170 1230 44 9
STMO Staffordshire/Bristol mottled-glazed 1690 1800 2 2
STSL Staffordshire/Bristol slipware 1680 1800 11 11
SWSG Staffordshire White Salt-glazed stoneware 1700 1770 14 12
TGW Tin-glazed ware 1640 1770 7 6
TPW Transfer printed ware 1770 1900 24 21
WHITE Modern whiteware 1850 1900 3 3
Totals 1113 834
THE TEST PIT SEQUENCES
The pottery was recovered from twenty-one test pits. The range of types, size of the assemblage and date
of the material found in the different pits varied considerably (Tables 3 to 25).
TABLE 3: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED FOR TEST PIT S 1-14 BY VESSEL COUNT
Test Pit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Totals
Saxo-Norman 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Early medieval 2 11 0 1 8 0 1 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 32
High medieval 17 34 11 17 8 12 23 16 23 1 1 0 0 1 164
Medieval 6 5 1 0 2 6 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 25
Late medieval to early post-medieval
4 1 1 0 1 3 2 3 0 4 5 0 1 0 25
Post-medieval 8 5 1 7 5 4 0 2 2 21 27 39 22 0 143
Early Modern 18 9 3 1 9 6 2 14 10 25 57 35 39 2 230
Totals 55 65 17 26 33 32 29 41 40 52 90 75 62 3 620
TABLE 4: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED FOR TEST PIT S 15-21 BY VESSEL COUNT
Test pit 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Totals
Roman 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
Saxo-Norman 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Early medieval 1 0 0 4 4 0 4 13
High medieval 0 4 6 13 7 6 10 46
Medieval 0 1 1 4 2 2 7 18
Late medieval to early post-medieval
0 1 2 0 1 3 1 8
Post-medieval 0 21 13 2 3 13 14 66
Early Modern 10 1 10 6 11 16 7 61
Totals 11 28 32 29 28 41 44 214
58
Test Pit 1
This test pit produced sixty-two sherds from fifty-five vessels. Two shell-tempered jars or bowls are of
mid 12th to mid 13th century early medieval date. Twenty-three of the vessels are of 13th to 15th century
medieval date. These vessels include Beverley and Nottingham type jugs and jars as well as two jugs from
unknown regional centres. These medieval sherds were found throughout the deposits suggesting that
medieval deposits had been disturbed at a later date. The test pit also produced four Midlands Purple
ware jugs or jars of mid 15th to 16th century date. At least one of these vessels is likely to have been
produced at Ticknall in Derbyshire. Two Midland Yellow ware jars are of 16th to 17th century date. The
five post-medieval Back-glazed ware vessels include a cup of mid to late 17th century date. The other
vessels date to between the mid 17th and late 18th centuries. Activity on the site continued into the early
modern period as industrially made Creamwares, stonewares and a transfer-printed white ware plate were
recovered.
TABLE 5: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 1 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5 Spit 6 Totals
Early modern 6 4* 9* 0 0 0 19
Post-medieval 0 4 2 1 0 1 8
Late medieval to early post-medieval
0 1 2 0 1 0 4
Medieval 0 0 3 1 0 2 6
High medieval 0 2 10 4 1 0 17
Early medieval 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
Totals 6 11 28 6 2 3 56
*denotes multi-spit vessel
Test Pit 2
This test pit produced the second largest group of pottery by sherd count, but only the fourth largest by
vessel count. The one hundred and thirty-two sherds recovered from this test pit represented sixty-five
vessels. Four of these vessels have con-joining sherds between spits. Many of the medieval sherds
recovered from the lower spits and the stone feature are of medium to large size and several are in a fairly
fresh condition suggesting primary deposition. This test pit produced pottery in twenty-five different ware
types, most of which are of medieval type. The earliest thirteen vessels are most probably of mid/late 12th
to early/mid 13th century date and include jugs of both Beverley and Nottingham type with splashed-type
glazes as well as a North Nottinghamshire Quartz and shell-tempered jar. Also of similar early date are six
59
Southwell Nottingham Splashed-type jugs recovered from Spits 5 and 6. One of these jugs is represented
by thirty-three sherds spread between Spits 5 and 6 and the stone feature. This jug has an in-turned rim
and sharp shoulder cordons. Three jugs, one of which has combed decoration, are in early to early/mid
13th century Early Nottingham Green Glazed ware. Twenty-five vessels are of probable 13th to early/mid
14th century date. These include jugs of Nottingham, Nottingham-type and Beverley-type as well as five in
Southwell Dull Oxidised Medieval Glazed ware. Of note is the knob from a Beverley 2 ware jug lid. This
would have belonged to an ornate tubular-spouted jug. Four Nottingham Coarse Sandy ware jars are of
general 13th to 14th century date whilst a South Lincolnshire Shell-tempered jar is of similar, but possibly
slightly earlier date. A Reduced Nottingham Green Glazed ware jug sherd found in Spit 2 is of late 13 th to
14th century date. The Humberware jug sherd found in Spit 3 is of late 14th to mid 16th century type. A
tiny Cistercian ware cup sherd found in Spit 2 is of mid 15th to 16th century date. The large Midlands
Yellow ware dish found in Spits 4 and 5 is of mid 16th to 17th century type. Only four post-medieval black
or brown-glazed earthenware vessels were recovered from this test pit. These are all probably jars of mid
17th to 18th century date. The nine mid/late 18th to 19th century industrial finewares include small bowls
and dishes together with at least one drinking bowl.
TABLE 6: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 2 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5 Spit 6 Spit 6 feature
Totals
Early modern 2 2 5 0 0 0 0 9
Post-medieval 0 2 2 1* 1* 0 0 5
Late medieval to early post-medieval
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Medieval 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 5
High medieval 1 9 5 0 3 9 7 34
Early medieval 0 0 0 1 2* 9* 3* 11
Totals 3 15 14 3 7 18 10 65
*denotes multi-spit vessel
Test Pit 3
Seventeen sherds, each representing a separate vessel, were recovered from this test pit. All but four of
the sherds are of medieval to early post-medieval date. The latest vessels are two tiny fragments of
mid/late 18th to mid 19th century Creamware and a small sherd from an 18th century Nottingham
Stoneware vessel. The Brown-glazed Earthenware jar sherd found in Spit 2 is of mid 17th to 18th century
type. Seven sherds are from jugs in Nottingham Light-bodied Medieval Glazed ware fabrics of 13th to
early/mid 14th century date. A further jug sherd found in Spit 2 is in a Nottingham-type fabric of 14th to
15th century type. Two small jug sherds are in Beverley-type fabrics of 13th to early/mid 14th century date
and one shell-tempered medieval jar sherd is from an unknown regional centre. A small leached shell-
tempered sherd recovered from Spit 4 is most probably from a South Lincolnshire Shell-tempered jar or
bowl of late 12th to 14th century date. The latest of the medieval vessels is a jar sherd in a Late Medieval
60
North Nottinghamshire Coarseware fabric. This type is not yet fully understood but the vessel is likely to
be of 15th to 16th century date. All of the sherds recovered from this test pit are small-sized and most are
in an abraded to very abraded condition suggesting that they had been subjected to considerable post-
deposition abrasion, probably as a result of horticultural or agricultural activity.
TABLE 7: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 3 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Totals
Early modern 2 0 1 3
Post-medieval 1 0 0 1
Late medieval to early post-medieval
0 0 1 1
Medieval 0 0 1 1
High medieval 3 3 5 11
Totals 6 3 8 17
Test Pit 4
Twenty-seven sherds representing twenty-six vessels, most of which are of medieval type were recovered
from this test pit. Eighteen of the vessels are of medieval, mainly 13th to early/mid 14th century date.
These include nine 13th to early/mid 14th century Nottingham Light-bodied Glazed ware jugs and six
Beverley 2 ware jugs of similar date. Also found in this test pit were two possible locally produced vessels.
The earlier of the two types is a small and very abraded sherd from a Southwell Nottingham-type
Splashed ware jar of mid 12th to early/mid 13th century date. The other sherd is from a Southwell Dull
Oxidised Medieval Glazed ware jug of probable 13th to 14th century date. The seven post-medieval vessels
found in this pit comprise Black-glazed ware jars or bowls and three Slipware dishes or bowls dating to
between the mid 17th and late 18th centuries. The only sherd recovered from this test pit that is of early
modern date are two sherds from a flower pot.
TABLE 8: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 4 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Totals
Early modern 1 0 0 1
Post-medieval 3 2 2 7
High medieval 6 5 6 17
Early medieval 0 1 0 1
Totals 10 8 8 26
Test Pit 5
A mixed group of thirty-two sherds each representing a single vessel and two cross-spit joining sherds
was recovered from this test pit. The earliest eight vessels are probably of mid/late 12th to early/mid 13th
century date and include jugs of both Beverley and Nottingham type with splashed-type glazes as well as a
Lincolnshire Early Medieval Shelly ware jar. Also of similar early date are two Southwell Nottingham
Splashed-type jugs recovered from Spit 3. One of these jugs has sharp shoulder cordons similar to those
found on the jug in Test Pit 2. Eight jugs and a bowl are of 13th to early/mid 14th century date. These
61
include jugs of Nottingham-type, a Southwell Dull Oxidised Medieval Glazed ware jug and jugs and a
bowl in Beverley 2-type fabrics. Two of the Beverley jug sherds cross join between Spits 2 and 3. The
Nottingham Coarse Sandy ware jar in Spit 2 is of general 13th to 14th century date. A Humberware jug
sherd found in Spit 3 is of general late 13th to mid 16th century type. The basal sherd from a jug or jar in
Midlands Purple ware is of 15th to 16th century date. The five post-medieval black and brown-glazed
earthenware jars and bowls and a decorated Slipware dish are of mid 17th to 18th century type. The ten
mid/late 18th to 19th century industrial finewares and kitchen wares include decorated jars and plates.
TABLE 9: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 5 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Totals
Early modern 0 9 0 0 9
Post-medieval 1 3 0 1 5
Late medieval to early post-medieval
0 0 1 0 1
Medieval 0 1 1 0 2
High medieval 0 4* 4* 1 8
Early medieval 0 2 4 2 8
Totals 1 19 10 4 33
*denotes multi-spit vessel
Test Pit 6
Thirty-two sherds, each representing a separate vessel, were recovered from this test pit. The group is
mixed and includes pottery of Saxo-Norman to early modern date. The earliest sherd is from a
Lincolnshire Fine-shelled ware vessel of 11th to 12th century date. The sherd is tiny, very abraded and the
fossil shell temper has mostly leached out. Twelve vessels, mainly jugs, are of 13th to early/mid 14th
century date. They are all of Beverley or Nottingham glazed ware type. Six Nottingham Coarse Sandy
ware vessels are probably all of 13th to 14th century date. Three vessels are of late medieval to early post-
medieval type. These comprise a Midlands Purple ware jug most probably produced at Ticknall in
Derbyshire and a North Nottinghamshire Coarseware jug or jar sherd both of general 15th to 16th century
date as well as a mid 15th to 16th century Cistercian ware cup. The four post-medieval sherds include a
large black-glazed jar or bowl, a slipware mug and a Tin-glazed Earthenware porringer. The latest of the
five industrial finewares found in the test pit is a transfer-printed plate of mid 19th to 20th century date.
TABLE 10: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 6 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5 Totals
Early modern 0 4 2 0 0 6
Post-medieval 0 1 3 0 0 4
Late medieval to early post-medieval
0 0 0 2 1 3
Medieval 0 4 1 1 0 6
High medieval 1 4 2 3 2 12
Saxo-Norman 0 0 0 1 0 1
62
Totals 1 13 8 7 3 32
Test Pit 7
Thirty-six sherds representing twenty-nine vessels, most of which are of medieval type were recovered
from this test pit. Twenty-five of the vessels are of medieval date. The earliest of these is a Beverley 1-
type jug with an in-turned rim. This vessel is of mid/late 12th to early/mid 13th century date. Two
Beverley 2-type jugs are likely to be of 13th century date, although they could still have been in use in the
first quarter of the 14th century. The sixteen Nottingham Light-bodied ware jugs recovered from this test
pit are all also probably of 13th century date, although they are in too poor a condition to be certain. Two
other Nottingham-type jugs are of general 13th to 14th century type and a Reduced Nottingham Green-
glazed ware jug is of late 13th to 14th century date. A decorated sherd form a 13th century Lincoln Glazed
ware jug was found in Spit 3. The jug has applied scale decoration. Two medieval shell-tempered sherds
came from this test pit. One is from a South Lincolnshire Shell-tempered jar of late 12th to 14th century
date whilst the other sherd comes from a Potterhanworth ware jar or bowl of 13th to 15th century date.
Two small, Midland Purple ware, sherds come from 15th or 16th century jugs or jars. Two early modern
industrially produced vessels were recovered from Spit 3. One sherd is from an 18th century Nottingham
Stoneware vessel and five fragmentary sherds come from a single small Creamware bowl of mid/late 18 th
to mid 19th century date.
TABLE 11: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 7 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Totals
Early modern 0 2 0 2
Late medieval to early post-medieval
1 1 0 2
Medieval 0 0 1 1
High medieval 6 12 5 23
Early medieval 0 1 0 1
Totals 7 16 6 29
Test Pit 8 A mixed group of forty-seven sherds representing forty-one vessels was recovered from this test pit. The
earliest six vessels are probably of mid/late 12th to early/mid 13th century date and include jugs of both
Beverley and Nottingham type with splashed-type glazes. An Early Nottingham Glazed ware jug sherd
found in Spit 3 is of early to early/mid 13th century date. Eleven jugs and a small jar or dish are of 13th to
early/mid 14th century date. These include small to large-sized jugs of Beverley 2 and Light-bodied
Nottingham-type. Two other Nottingham-type jugs are of general 13th to 14th century type and a Reduced
Nottingham Green-glazed ware jug is of late 13th to 14th century date. A large Coal Measures Whiteware
jug or jar is of mid 15th to 16th century type and a small jug and a cup in Cistercian ware are of mid 15th to
16th century date. Spit 2 produced a sherd from an imported German Frechen-type Stoneware drinking
jug of late 16th to 17th century date. This test pit produced two high quality imported Chinese Stoneware
drinking bowls of 18th century date. These would have been costly items in the 18th century affordable
63
only by the affluent. A wheel-thrown slipware dish was found in Spit 4. The sherd is undecorated and
would date to between the mid 17th and 18th centuries. Two unglazed late earthenware sherds are from
jars or flower pots of late 18th to 20th century date. The remaining ten vessels are all of industrial early
modern type and include Creamwares, Pearlwares and 18th century stonewares.
TABLE 12: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 8 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5 Spit 6 Totals
Early modern 7 5 2 0 0 14
Post-medieval 1 0 1 0 0 2
Late medieval to early post-medieval
2 1 0 0 0 3
High medieval 0 3 7 6 0 16
Early medieval 2 1 0 1 2 6
Totals 12 10 10 7 2 41
Test Pit 9
Forty-four sherds representing forty vessels of mixed date were recovered from this test pit. Two shell
and quartz-tempered sherds from jars or bowls are possibly the earliest vessels to be recovered from this
test pit as they could potentially date to as early as the beginning of the 12th century. As the chronology of
the type is not yet fully understood they could however date to as late as the 13th century. The handle
from a Southwell Nottingham Splashed-type jug is of mid/late 12th to early/mid 13th century date and an
Iron-rich Nottingham Glazed ware bowl or jar sherd is of early to early/mid 13th century date. Twenty
vessels are of 13th to early/mid 14th century date. These include small to large-sized jugs of Beverley 2 and
Light-bodied Nottingham-type. One other Nottingham-type jug and a Nottingham Coarse Sandy ware jar
are of general 13th to 14th century type and a Reduced Nottingham Green-glazed ware jug is of late 13th to
14th century date. A small and very abraded body sherd found in Spit 3 is of general 13th to 15th century
date. A small sherd from a black-glazed Earthenware drinking vessel is of Staffordshire or Derbyshire
type and is of mid 17th to 18th century date as is a decorated Staffordshire-type Slipware dish. The latest
vessels include stonewares, earthenwares and industrial finewares of mid/late 18th to probable mid 19th
century date. Almost all of the sherds recovered from this test pit are in an abraded to very abraded
condition. Their condition suggests that they have been subjected to considerable post-deposition
abrasion, probably as a result of horticultural or agricultural activity.
TABLE 13: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 9 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5 Totals
Early medieval 1 1 1 0 3
High medieval 6 9 7 1 23
Medieval 0 2 0 0 2
Post-medieval 1 1 0 0 2
Early modern 8 2 0 0 10
Totals 16 15 8 1 40
64
Test Pit 10
This test pit produced a fairly large group of pottery of mainly late post-medieval to early modern date.
Sixty-eight sherds representing fifty-two vessels were recovered from this test pit. Only two of the vessels,
including a Light-bodied Nottingham Glazed ware jug found in Spit 7, are of medieval date. Five vessels
however are of late medieval to early post-medieval type. These include a small Midland Purple ware jug
of 15th to 16th century date and a North Nottinghamshire Late Medieval Coarseware jar of similar date.
Another jar sherd in a local fabric also belongs to this period. A Cistercian ware cup sherd is of mid 15 th
to 16th century date and a Midlands Yellow ware large bowl dates to the second half of the 16th or 17th
centuries. Twenty of the later post-medieval vessels are black or brown-glazed earthenwares of mixed 17th
to 19th century type. Most of these vessels are large bowls intended for kitchen or dairy use but the group
also includes jars and jugs. The industrially produced early modern sherds include stonewares and fine
earthenwares of mid/late 18th to mid 19th century date. These include a range of jars, plates, dishes and a
small drinking bowl. Also found in this test pit was the base of an earthenware flower pot of late 18th to
20th century date. Early modern pottery was found throughout all ten spits in this test pit. Two sherds
from a decorated Nottingham-type Stoneware jar cross-join between Spits 6 and 7.
TABLE 14: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 10 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5 Spit 6 Spit 7 Spit 8 Spit 9&10 Totals
Early modern 4 2 5 4 4* 5* 1 1 25
Post-medieval 2 4 1 0 3 4 4 3 21
Late medieval to early post-medieval
1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 4
Medieval 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
High medieval 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Totals 7 7 7 5 7* 11* 5 4 52
*denotes multi-spit vessel
Test Pit 11
This test pit produced the largest group of pottery to be recovered from the project with two hundred
and eight sherds representing ninety vessels. Most of the pottery is of late post-medieval to early modern
date. Seven of the vessels recovered have cross-joins between spits suggesting that several of the spits
removed represent a single original deposit. The only medieval vessel to be recovered from this test pit is
represented by two sherds from a Reduced Nottingham Green Glazed ware jug of late 13th to 14th century
date. There are however five late medieval to early post-medieval vessels comprising three Midlands
Purple ware and two North Nottinghamshire Late Medieval Coarseware jugs or jars of 15th to 16th
century date. Two North Nottinghamshire Light-bodied Slipware vessels were recovered from this test
pit. One sherd comes from a large bowl and one from a large jar. The type dates to between the late 17th
and 18th centuries and is an extension of a Yorkshire tradition. Twenty-one of the later post-medieval
vessels are black or brown-glazed earthenwares of mainly late 17th to 18th century type. Most of these
vessels are large bowls or jars intended for kitchen or dairy use but the group also includes a drinking
vessel. A large Glazed Red Earthenware bowl of mid 17th to 18th century date may just represent a
65
misfired Brown-glazed Earthenware vessel. The three 17th to 18th century Tin-glazed Earthenware vessels
included a blue-banded jar and a sherd from what is probably a vase. Seventeen 18th century Nottingham
Stoneware vessels were recovered from this test pit. The range of forms includes jars, bowls, dishes and
the base of a large mug or tankard. Two other stoneware vessels are also probably of 18th century date.
One of these is a bottle in an oatmeal-coloured fabric which has had the upper body dipped into a brown
slip. This vessel is represented by fifty sherds. Two Staffordshire White Salt-glazed ware sherds of
early/mid to mid/late 18th century date are probably from jars. The twenty mid/late 18th to mid 19th
century Creamware vessels include plates, dishes and a jar and the seven late 18th to mid 19th century
Pearlware vessels include a large plate with a blue-painted edge and a mug with blue-sponged decoration.
A small sherd of porcelain with external moulded basket weave decoration is probably from a small jug of
late 18th to mid 19th century date. Two Nineteenth Century Buff ware jars have brown and white banded
decoration and could date to anywhere between the late 18th and 20th centuries. The two Transfer-printed
vessels and White Earthenware cup are of general 19th to 20th century type. Also found in this test pit
were two unglazed earthenware sherds, possibly from flower pots of late 18th to 20th century date. Early
modern pottery was found throughout all six spits in this test pit.
TABLE 15: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 11 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5 Spit 6 Totals
Early modern 1 24* 17* 5* 9* 5* 57
Post-medieval 0 4 7 7* 7* 7* 27
Late medieval to early post-medieval
0 1 0 1 2 1 5
High medieval 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Totals 1 29* 24* 13* 18* 13* 90
*denotes multi-spit vessel
Test Pit 12
A fair sized group of pottery, consisting of eighty-six sherds representing seventy-five vessels, was
recovered from this test pit. The group mainly comprises late post-medieval black and brown-glazed
earthenwares and industrial finewares. The composition of the glazed earthenwares is different to that
recovered from the other test pits. Most of the vessels found in this test pit are of Staffordshire or
Derbyshire mid 17th to 18th century type and include a high proportion of cups and other drinking vessels.
At least three of the cups are of mid to late 17th century date. Other vessels of probable similar date
include three Midlands Yellow ware jars or bowls and a German Frechen-type Stoneware drinking jug.
The industrial finewares found in the test pit are mainly Creamware and Pearlware tablewares but the
group also includes a tiny Staffordshire White Salt-glazed ware fragment and a porcelain cup. The latest
vessels are transfer-printed white earthenwares of probable mid 19th to 20th century date. A single
internally and externally glazed medieval Humberware jar or bowl of late 13th to mid 16th century date is
the only evidence for medieval occupation.
66
TABLE 16: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 12 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 2 Spit 3 Totals
Early modern 8 27 35
Post-medieval 3 36 39
Medieval 0 1 1
Totals 75
Test Pit 13
Eighty-three sherds representing sixty-two vessels, most of which are of early modern type, were
recovered from this test pit. A small sherd from a Midland Purple ware jug or jar of 15th or 16th date is the
earliest sherd to be recovered from the test pit. A tiny Midlands Yellow ware sherd is of mid 16 th to 17th
century date. The twenty black and brown-glazed post-medieval earthenwares include both mid or late
17th to 18th century types and 18th to 19th century types. These vessels are mainly jars and bowls but at
least one chamber pot and a cup are present in the group. A wheel thrown Slipware bowl is of late 17th to
18th century type. The remaining vessels are industrially produced stonewares and earthenwares. Nine,
early/mid to mid/late 18th century, Staffordshire White Salt-glazed ware vessels were recovered from this
test pit. Three of these vessels are plates with decorated rope moulding at the rim. Other forms include
two small dishes and a small bowl. Most of the late 18th to mid 19th century Creamware and late 18th to
mid 19th century Pearlware sherds are too small to identify vessel form, but they include plates, small
bowls, small dishes and a cup. A tiny sherd of porcelain comes from a cup. The six 18th century
Nottingham Stoneware vessels include jars and a cup. The latest sherd to be recovered from the test pit is
from a 19th to 20th century Transfer-printed plate.
TABLE 17: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 13 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5 Spit 6 Totals
Early modern 4 19 6 4 6 39
Post-medieval 1 2 1 7 11 22
Late medieval to early post-medieval
0 0 1 0 0 1
Totals 5 21 8 11 17 62
Test Pit 14
Only three sherds of pottery were recovered from this test pit. Spit 3 produced a fairly large and fresh
sherd from a Light-bodied Nottingham Green Glazed ware jug of 13th century date. The jug has a
triangular rim and a plain strap handle. A blue-banded Nineteenth Century Buff ware jar was found in
Spit 2. This vessel is of late 18th to 20th century date. The Transfer-printed bowl sherd found in Spit 1 has
a violet-coloured transfer-print and is of general 19th to 20th century date.
TABLE 18: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 14 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 Totals
67
Early modern 1 1 0 2
High medieval 0 0 1 1
Totals 1 1 1 3
Test Pit 15
Only eleven sherds of pottery were recovered from this test pit. With one exception all of the pottery is
of early modern date. A small sherd from a jar or bowl found in Spit 3 is in a North Nottinghamshire
quartz and shell-tempered fabric. This vessel is of mid 12th to 13th century date. The early modern pottery
includes five 18th century Nottingham Stoneware vessels. Two tiny sherds found in Spit 2 are from a
single open vessel in English Porcelain. This vessel could be of 19th or 20th century date.
TABLE 19: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 15 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 Totals
Early modern 3 6 1 10
Early medieval 0 0 1 1
Totals 3 6 2 11
Test Pit 16
Thirty-one sherds representing twenty-eight vessels, most of which are of post-medieval type, were
recovered from this test pit. Five of the vessels are of medieval date. All five vessels potentially date to
between the 13th and early/mid 14th centuries. A small basal flake is from a Beverley 2-type jug or jar is
likely to be of 13th century date, although it could still have been in use in the first quarter of the 14th
century. The two Nottingham Light-bodied ware jugs recovered from this test pit are also probably of
13th century date as is the small Southwell Dull Oxidised Medieval Glazed ware jar. A small sherd is from
a large mid 15th to 16th century Midlands Purple ware jar. Twenty-one vessels are of post-medieval type.
Most of these are mid 16th to 17th century Midlands Yellow ware jars or bowls. Four Brown-glazed
Earthenware jars and one large bowl are of mid 17th to 18th century date. Two Black-glazed drinking
vessels and a large bowl or jar are of similar date. The three Staffordshire-type Slipware vessels include an
elaborate embossed press-moulded dish of probable mid/late 17th to mid 18th century date. A single 19th
century Buff ware jar or bowl with brown slip banding is of 19th to 20th century date.
TABLE 20: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 16 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 Totals
Early modern 1 0 0 1
Post-medieval 3 15 3 21
Late medieval to early post-medieval
1 0 0 1
Medieval 0 1 0 1
68
High medieval 0 4 0 4
Totals 5 20 3 28
Test Pit 17
Thirty-nine sherds representing thirty-three vessels, of which most are of post-medieval to early modern
type, were recovered from this test pit. Ten of the vessels are of medieval date. A small Beverley 2-type
jug is likely to be of 13th century date, although it could still have been in use in the first quarter of the
14th century. A small Nottingham Light-bodied ware jug recovered from Spit 7N is also probably of 13th
century date. Three other Nottingham-type jugs are of general 13th to 14th century type, although the one
from Spit 7N has complex roller stamped decoration which is more commonly found on early to mid 13th
century vessels. A Reduced Nottingham Green-glazed ware jug recovered from Spit 2 is of late 13th to
14th century date. One shell-tempered sherd comes from a Potterhanworth ware jar or bowl of 13th to 15th
century date. Sherds from a single large 14th to 16th century Humberware jug found in the trench is spread
between three spits (Spits 4, 5 and 7N). The two North Nottinghamshire Coarseware sherds come from
jugs or jars of 15th to 16th century date. Thirteen vessels are of post-medieval type. Seven of these are mid
16th to 17th century Midlands Yellow ware jars or bowls. Two large cylindrical Brown-glazed Earthenware
jars are of 17th to 18th century date. Two of the three Black-glazed ware vessels are
Staffordshire/Derbyshire-type cups of mid 17th to 18th century date. A small rim sherd comes from a
wheel-thrown Slipware bowl of late 17th to 18th century date. Ten early modern vessels include
stonewares, industrial finewares and industrial kitchen wares. The latest vessels are of 19th to 20th century
type.
TABLE 21: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 17 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5 Spit 7N Totals
Early modern 4 6 0 0 0 0 10
Post-medieval 1 6 6 0 0 0 13
Late medieval to early post-medieval
0 1 1 0 0 0 2
Medieval 0 1 0 *1 *1 *1 2
High medieval 1 2 1 0 0 2 6
Totals 6 16 8 1 1 3 33
* denotes cross-joining sherds
Test Pit 18
A mixed group of thirty sherds representing twenty-nine vessels was recovered from this test pit. The
earliest four vessels are probably of mid/late 12th to early/mid 13th century date and include jugs of
Nottingham type with splashed-type glazes as well as two small sherds from North Nottinghamshire
Quartz and Shell-tempered jars or bowls. Thirteen vessels are of 13th to early/mid 14th century date.
These include jugs and jars of Nottingham-type, a Beverley-2 –type jar and a Scarborough-type jug. Two
69
abraded Nottingham Coarse Sandy ware sherds found in Spit 2 are of general 13th to 15th century date. A
large Humberware jug sherd found in Spit 4 is of general late 13th to 15th century type whereas the jug
from an unknown regional centre found in Spit 3 is of 14th to 15th century date. Two sherds from a Black-
glazed Earthenware jar and a wheel-thrown Staffordshire-type Slipware dish are of mid 17th to 18th
century date. The six mid/late 18th to 19th century industrial finewares, stonewares and kitchen wares
include bowls and a plate.
TABLE 22: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 18 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5 Totals
Early modern 4 2 0 0 6
Post medieval 2 0 0 0 2
Medieval 2 1 1 0 4
High medieval 2 2 6 3 13
Early medieval 1 1 1 1 4
Totals 11 6 8 4 29
Test Pit 19
Thirty-three sherds representing twenty-eight vessels were recovered from this test pit. The group is
mixed and includes pottery of early medieval to early modern date. The earliest sherds potentially come
from a North Nottinghamshire Quartz and Shell-tempered jar or bowl of mid 12th to mid 13th century
date. The Beverley 1-type and two Nottingham jugs are of mid/late 12th to early/mid 13th century date.
Seven jugs are of 13th to early/mid 14th century date. Six are Nottingham glazed ware type and one tiny
fragment comes from a Southwell-type Dull Oxidised Medieval Glazed ware jug. Two jugs from
unknown regional centres are of general 13th to 15th century date. A single Midlands Purple ware jug or jar
sherd is of 15th to 16th century date. The three post-medieval sherds include a Black-glazed Earthenware
jar or jug, a Staffordshire-type Mottled ware cup and a Tin-glazed Earthenware sherd. The latest of the
eleven early modern vessels found in the test pit is a transfer-printed cup of 19th to 20th century date.
TABLE 23: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 19 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Totals
Early modern 1 3 5 2 11
Post-medieval 0 0 2 1 3
Late medieval to early post-medieval
0 0 1 0 1
Medieval 0 0 0 2 2
High medieval 0 1 2 4 7
Early medieval 0 1 2 1 4
Totals 1 5 12 10 28
Test Pit 20
A mixed group of forty-three sherds representing forty-one vessels was recovered from this test pit. This
was the only test pit to produced Roman pottery. The single sherd recovered from Spit 2 is in an oxidised
70
fabric and comes from a small jar or beaker with a curved rim. Five Nottingham-type jugs are of 13th to
early/mid 14th century date as is the tiny sherd of Southwell-type Dull Oxidised Medieval Glazed ware
recovered from Spit 2. A brown-glazed Nottingham Coarseware sherd is from a jug or jar of general 13th
to 15th century date. The late Nottingham Glazed ware jug sherd found in Spit 2 is of late 14 th to 15th
century date. Three 15th to 16th century vessels include a Cistercian ware cup, a Midlands Purple ware jug
and a North Nottinghamshire Coarseware jar or jug. The thirteen post-medieval vessels include five
Midland Yellow ware jars or bowls of mid 16th to 17th century date and a range of manly 18th to 19th
century black and brown-glazed earthenwares. An early black-glazed cup found in Spit 3 is of mid/late
16th to mid 17th century date. The Glazed Red Earthenware sherd recovered from Spit 3 is from a jar or
bowl of mid 16th to 18th century date. A tiny fragment from a Tin-glazed Earthenware vessel is of 17th to
18th century date. Three unglazed late earthenware sherds are from two garden pots of late 18th to 20th
century date. The remaining fourteen vessels are all of industrial early modern type and include
Creamwares and transfer-printed whitewares.
TABLE 24: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 20 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 2 Spit 3 Spit 4 Spit 5
Early modern 14 2 0 0 16
Post-medieval 8 4 0 1 13
Late medieval to early post-medieval
1 1 0 1 3
Medieval 1 0 1 0 2
High medieval 3 3 0 0 6
Roman 1 0 0 0 1
Totals 28 10 1 2 41
Test Pit 21
This test pit produced a fairly large group of pottery of mainly medieval and post-medieval date. Forty-
eight sherds representing forty-four vessels were recovered from this test pit. A single Saxo-Norman large
Lincolnshire Fine-shelled bowl sherd of late 10th to 12th century date was recovered from Spit 2. Four
early medieval vessels comprise two North Nottinghamshire Quartz and Shell-tempered jars or bowls of
mid 12th to mid 13th century date, a Beverley 1-type jug or jar sherd with a suspension glaze and a
Southwell Nottingham Splashed-type jug or jar. Both the Beverley-type and Southwell-type vessels are of
mid/late 12th to early/mid 13th century date. Ten vessels are of high medieval 13th to early/mid 14th
century date. All of these vessels are Nottingham-type jugs. One of these is a Nottingham variant with
complex roller-stamping on the shoulder. Seven other vessels are of medieval type. These include three
glazed Humberware jugs or jars of 14th to mid 16th century date and two Nottingham Coarse Sandy ware
jugs or jars. Also included are a shell-tempered Potterhanworth jar of 13th to 15th century date and two
sherds from a shell-tempered jar of unknown 12th to mid 13th century regional type. A single sherd from a
Cistercian-type jug is of 16th to 17th century date. Fourteen vessels are of post-medieval type. These
include seven Midlands Yellow ware bowls or jars dating to the second half of the 16th or 17th centuries.
Three of the later post-medieval vessels are black or brown-glazed earthenwares of mixed 17th to 18th
71
century type. Three mid 17th to 18th century Stafforshire-type Slipwares include two cups and a small dish
with trailed decoration. A tiny sherd in a fine red fabric is from a slip-decorated vessel with trailed and
feathered decoration. This vessel is of late 17th to 18th century date. Six tiny sherds are from industrially
produced Creamware vessels of mid/late 18th to mid 19th century date and one sherd is from a 19th to mid
20th century stoneware bottle.
TABLE 25: CERAMIC PERIODS REPRESENTED TEST PIT 21 BY VESSEL COUNT
Ceramic period Spit 1 Spit 2 Spit 3 PH Spit 4 Spit 5 Spit 6 Totals
Early modern 7 0 0 0 0 0 7
Post-medieval 7 5 1 1 0 0 14
Late medieval to early post-medieval
1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Medieval 1 2 0 1 2 1 7
High medieval 2 7 0 0 1 0 10
Early medieval 0 3 1 0 0 0 4
Saxo-Norman 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Totals 18 18 2 2 3 1 44
DISCUSSION
The pottery recovered during this investigation suggests that the areas under investigation differ in
development. This information can be used to help determine the nature of deposits in the twenty-one
different parts of the Burgage Plot and help with our understanding of evolution of the area (see site
report). The ceramic types recovered from the test pits mainly fall within types previously recovered in
the area, but two new medieval types were recovered. A single sherd of Roman pottery could suggest
Roman activity in the area but it could also represent later movement of non-local of earth or rubbish.
Little pottery of definite post-mid 19th century date was recovered suggesting that this was the period that
organised rubbish disposal started in Southwell.
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Young, J, Vince A G and Nailor V 2005 A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Pottery from Lincoln, Lincoln
Archaeology Studies 7, Oxbow, Oxford
72
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Websites
http://www.laxtonnotts.org.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron
http://www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/places/southwell.htm
http://www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/people/nottinghamwomen.htm
http://www.ournottinghamshire.org.uk/page_id__558_path__0p2p55p141p151p.aspx
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Notts-heroes-Zeebrugge/story-12225580-detail/
http://www.ashbracken.com/BrHouse-HTML/BrH1816-C.html#CareyH
Nottinghamshire Archives
DD/SP 4293 Boxes 1- 4 (unlisted Accession Boxes) Manor of Burgage manorial records
1806-1973.
PR.SW. Probate Inventories of Robert Young 1680 and William Calverton 1566
AT1231C Tithe Map and Apportionment Book Southwell 1841
Deeds and surveys of the Burgage
DD 479/1- 42, DD.SP 28/13, DD.T.81/1-2, DD.M 90/61 and 67, DDM 102/18, DDM
102/16 p.7 – survey of Stenton estates 1784, DDM 102/20, DD.M 72/25 and 26, DD.M
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Census Records for the Burgage of Southwell 1841 to 1911.
Trade Directories for Southwell from 1829 to 1941.
75
Land Tax records for the Burgage 1780-90s.
Personal communications and memoirs
We are grateful to Dr. John Savage, David Hutchinson, Freda Kirby, Heather and Peter
Cartwright, for sharing their memories of Southwell
Sheila Mason on the lace industry of Nottinghamshire
Memoirs of Cyril Flowers by kind permission of Roger Dobson,
Williams family memoirs by kind permission of Mr Rob Smith
White Book of Southwell - extracts by kind permission of Prof. Michael Jones
Southwell Community Archaeology Group © 2013