Monument Type(s):

• SETTLEMENT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• TOWN? (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Summary

This site represents: a possible town of medieval date, a settlement of medieval date.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA4677 - 2000 - 2002 Shelton WTW - Llanforda Pipeline Assessment by SCCAS
• ESA7578 - 2014 Trial trenching, land N of Lower House Farm, Knockin, Shropshire by CPAT

Description

Knockin is not mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, but a castle was built here in c1160 and the church (St Mary's) was founded c1190. The village is likely to be a "planted" settlement, dating to the mid 12th century, carved out of the Saxon manor of Osbaston <1>

Knockin is a linear village and exists as a result of medieval plantation. This medieval settlement is inextricably linked to the construction of Knockin Castle by Guy le Strange between 1154 and 1160 which remained the principal holding of the family for most of the middle ages. <5>

The village at Knockin is considered to be a planned settlement dating from the medieval period, particularly as there is no mention of a settlement here in Domesday Survey of 1086. The earthworks of the medieval castle, established between 1154 and 1160, lie just to the east of the village, with the church occupying an adjacent plot to the west, between the castle and the village. The original layout of the village has, to a large extent, been retained to the present day; the main street, now the B4396, runs from west to east and is flanked by property boundaries which extend on either side of the road as far as what were originally a pair of back lanes, which have been fossilised either as present‐day roads, or as public footpaths. ->

-> Trial trenching was undertaken in 2014 across a site to the N of Lower House Farm. No direct evidence for dwellings within the settlement was revealed by the evaluation, but ditch 18 in Trench C could define a burgage plot boundary on a north/south alignment. It is likely that those areas evaluated lay within the garden plots to the rear of any dwellings, these presumably having been located on or close to the main road frontage to the south. A holloway running north/south across the area might represent part of the former street pattern but could have simply provided farm access to the village’s fields and pastures. It was not possible to evaluate the holloway as it is a public footpath. ->

-> A large ditch was exposed in two of the trenches, measuring up to about 6.0m wide and 2.5m deep, was perhaps the most significant feature revealed. There was evidence in Trench B of an associated bank on its eastern side and together these imply a defensive earthwork. This had previously been identified to the N (PRN 03723) on the north side of the medieval timber castle and it has been previously speculated that this formed part of an earthwork surrounding the borough of Knockin. A combination of the evaluation results with the examination of aerial photographs seems to suggest, however, that there was an enclosure, potentially ovoid in shape and of about 2.2ha, on the west and north side of the castle. Perhaps this was a disproportionately large outer bailey although its true nature will only be revealed by further study. ->

-> The continuation of the course of the ditch observed in trenches A and B can be clearly seen from the air, which predates modern housing developments. It formerly extended further to the north as a visible earthwork before continuing to the north and then east as a fossilised boundary. The adjoining field to the east of Trench A still retains evidence of the earthwork, which curves to the south‐east as it approaches the main road through the village. <6>

The overall appearance of the modern village from the air, is highly suggestive of a medieval planned settlement, an assumption supported by earlier observations from Watson and Musson (<4>). However, the alignment of the two medieval ditches excavated in 2014-2019 (see PRN 03723) suggests that they had been abandoned before the modern road alignment was adopted, in which case the medieval settlement was of a somewhat different design and the modern street pattern is more likely to be of post-medieval date. <7>

The postulated extent of medieval enclosure, suggested on fig.23 of <7>, has been used to plot a postulated extent on the GIS, although this should be viewed as indicative only. <8>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.