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Summary

Originally imparked in the mid-13th century.

Monument Type(s):

• PARK (Medieval to 19th century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• FISHPOND (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• WALK (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• MOAT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• LODGE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Full description

1. Washingley Park, fish ponds, moat, hall, walks, "otter pond" and lodges. Also a moat by the side of the church which may be Caldecote. Nearly all this area is arable. A few lawns and trees at the Hall; moat probably gone.

2. The landscape of the parish of Washingley is dominated by a chronological sequence of emparkment. Although few documents are available the field evidence and archaeological material is very strong. An original licence for emparkment was granted in the mid-thirteenth century and, given the position of the original hall and the presence at that time of the village to the north, it would appear that this park was to the south forming a typical arrangement of village, church and hall with park behind. However, in the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries the village was deserted and the park expanded to the north over the village site. Whether this expansion took place whilst the church was still active is unknown, the church is reported to have been in ruins by 1534. The role of the park in the village desertion can also only be surmised - whether the desertion was to a certain extent enforced to enable emparkment or whether decline had already reached a crucial point. The increasing area of land given over to parkland would also impact on the economic structure of the parish as overall production potential dropped and labour market fell, as the park expanded from an original 50 acres to at least 250 acres. Most of the parish had been given over to pasture subsequent to village desertion and Bigmore suggests that an increase in sheep farming was a prime cause for desertion. The SMR entry dealing with the DMV records the presence of ridge and furrow but is not exact as to the placement or extent . It is almost impossible to date the very numerous expansions and contractions suggested by the numerous curved field boundaries and it is thus difficult to set them within the wider economic and social context. If more primary documentation became available this parish would make an excellent candidate for a more detailed examination of the impact of emparkment on a single parish. Park no. 58

<1> Way, T., 1998, Cambridgeshire Parks & Gardens Survey (Unpublished document). SCB15975.

<2> Way, T., 1997, A Study of the Impact of Imparkment on the Social Landscape of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire from c1080 to 1760, p257, park 58 (Bibliographic reference). SCB18038.

Sources and further reading

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