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Summary

The settlement of Northorpe is first mentioned in the Domesday Book and survives to the present.

Full description

Northorpe is first mentioned in the Domesday Book. The name is thought to derive from the Old Danish word 'thorp', meaning 'secondary settlement', to which the Old English north was added to distinguish it from Southorpe in the same parish. Northorpe is recorded together with Southorpe in Domesday, and it is difficult to separate the entries. {1}{2}

The Lay Subsidy of 1334 lists the settlement's wealth as £1 12s 5.25d, below average for its wapentake (Corringham). {3}

By the late 17th/early 18th century, there were 20 families in the parish. This number had dropped to 14 by 1723. {4}

Notable residents of the village in 1856 are listed in White's Directory. 179 souls were recorded as being in the parish at this time. {5}

An Anglo-Saxon sculptured stone, said to be from Northorpe, is preserved in the cathedral library at Durham Cathedral. The stone is a portion of a tomb-slab or cross shaft, measuring 3ft 2" long by 11" wide and 5" thick. The face has two rows of figure-of-eight interlacements with two free rings or circles at one end; one edge has a cable-moulding but the other edge and the back have been cut away. The stone's origin within Northorpe is unclear; Pevsner indicates that the sculpture was from Northorpe church, but Davies says it was found in one of the walls of the old hall and this is thought to be more likely. {6}{7}{8}

Evidence of significant medieval settlement activity was recorded in 1996, during trial trenching on land off Chapel Lane (PRN 50632a - SK 8964 9710). The area of settlement activity appeared to be defined by a broad north to south aligned hollow way, visible at the eastern edge of the site as a linear earthwork. Further earthworks to the west of this appeared to represent the remains of former house platforms, one of which revealed the remains of a north to south aligned limestone wall during trenching. Other features revealed included a gully, a post hole and a backfilled quarry pit, at the base of which lay the remains of a former limestone-walled well. An assemblage of medieval pottery, two probably medieval hone stones and a quantity of animal bone was recovered from the site. The pottery assemblage comprised sherds from a variety of different fabrics and forms, largely dating from the late 12th to 15th centuries, although three residual sherds of late Saxon Torksey ware pottery were also recovered. {9}{10}

<1> Kenneth Cameron, 1998, A Dictionary of Lincolnshire Place-Names, p.93 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI5432.

<2> C.W. Foster and T. Longley, 1924, Lincolnshire Domesday and Lindsey Survey, 1/39, 53; 4/13; 8/16; 16/22, 25, 27; 71/13, 14; L4/6, 8, 9 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI893.

<3> R.E. Glasscock, 1964, 'The Lay Subsidy of 1334 for Lincolnshire' in Lincolnshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Reports and Papers, vol.10.2, p.129 (Article in Serial). SLI653.

<4> R.E.G. Cole, 1913, Speculum Dioeceseos Lincolniensis sub Episcopis Gul: Wake et Edm: Gibson A.D.1705-1723. Part 1: Archdeaconries of Lincoln and Stow, p.167 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI6090.

<5> William White, 1856, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire - Second Edition, p.197 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI886.

<6> Lincolnshire County Council, Sites and Monuments Record Card Index, SK 89 NE: H (Index). SLI2881.

<7> Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram, 1989, Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition), p.585 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI1062.

<8> D.S. Davies and A.W. Clapham, 1926, 'Pre-Conquest Carved Stones in Lincolnshire' in the Archaeological Journal, vol.33 (2nd series), pp.17-8, fig.3 (Article in Serial). SLI307.

<9> Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln), 1996, Chapel Lane, Northorpe, PCA site code: NOR96 (Report). SLI1822.

<10> Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln), 1996, Chapel Lane, Northorpe, LCNCC 141.96 (Archive). SLI1495.

Monument Types

• CARVED STONE (Early Medieval/Dark Age - 850 AD? to 1065 AD)
• SETTLEMENT (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Modern - 850 AD? to 2050 AD)

Associated Finds

• SHERD (Early Medieval/Dark Age - 850 AD? to 1065 AD)
• ANIMAL REMAINS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• SHERD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• WHETSTONE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Events

• Chapel Lane, Northorpe

Sources and further reading

Related records

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