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Summary

Haxton, alias Haxon, was Haustona in Domesday. To the south-west of the extant Higher Haxton farmstead are the well-preserved earthworks of what appear to be a former medieval setttlement, including hollow ways and house platforms. An extensive relict strip field system surrounds the settlement. The shrunken settlement and associated strip fields are clearly visible as earthworks on lidar derived images.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS63NW/21

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FARMSTEAD (VIII to Late Medieval - 701 AD to 1539 AD)
• SHRUNKEN VILLAGE (VIII to Early Medieval - 701 AD (Between) to 1399 AD (Between))

Full description

Reichel, O. J., 1910, The Hundred of Sulfretona or Hairidge in Early Times, 232 (Article in Serial). SDV39757.

Button and Haxon are mentioned in a document of 1346 in relation to Baldwin le Flemeng.

Reichel, O. J., 1928-1938, The Hundred of Braunton in Early Times, 391, 404, 446-449, 455, 473 (Article in Monograph). SDV73922.

Haustona (Haxon in Bratton Fleming) was a Domesday estate held by the Bishop of Exeter, and before the conquest it was held by Ordulf. Together with Button it formed one of two quillets of land given to the Bishop by the Count of Mortain, in exchange for the castle of Cornwall. They subsequently passed to the Fleming family and in 1241 they were held by Baldwin le Fleming (Testa de Nevill).

Morris, J., 1985, Domesday Book: Devon (Part One), 101 d; 117 b3 (Monograph). SDV356768.

The Bishop of Exeter held Haxton. Before 1066 it was held by Ordwulf. Given to the Bishop by the Count of Mortain in exchange for a castle in Cornwall (Launceston).

Morris, J., 1985, Domesday Book: Devon (Part Two), 2,9; 2,10 (Monograph). SDV249.

Haxton and Benton had presumably once been combined with the manor of Bratton Fleming, which which they shared pasture land.

University of Exeter, 2020-2021, University of Exeter Unlocking Landscapes Project – validated data, ULDEV32 (Interpretation). SDV365999.

The site of deserted medieval settlement named Haxton, the location of which was previously unrecorded, is identified amidst an extensive system of strip field cultivation.

Environment Agency, 2021, University of Exeter Understanding Landscapes Project - Lidar visualisation (Cartographic). SDV366001.

The deserted settlement and associated strip fields are clearly visible as earthwork banks and hollow on lidar derived images.

Smart, C., 2022, Unlocking Landscapes project, 23rd June 2022 (Personal Comment). SDV364882.

The earthworks of a deserted medieval settlement, including hollow-ways, platforms, and a surrounding strip-field system, have been identified at Haxton from lidar data by David Simkins.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV9082 - Lidar Survey: University of Exeter Unlocking Landscapes Project

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