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Summary

Saxon or medieval field system around Lord's Meadow to the east of Crediton

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1297305: BLAGDON TERRACE AND ATTACHED GARDEN WALLS TO FRONT
• Listed Building (II) 1208206: BLAGDON HOUSE INCLUDING SERVICE BLOCK AND GARDEN WALLS
• Listed Building (II) 1292619: CEMETERY CHAPEL

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS80SW/10

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FIELD SYSTEM (VIII to Late Medieval - 701 AD to 1539 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, SS80SW17 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV337923.

Crediton is one of the many places in Devon where traces of ancient Saxon open fields are apparent in modern field boundaries and these traces suggest the probable layout of the first Saxon 'tun' or farm, by the Creedy, to which Crediton owes its name. Norden's map taken from a Terrier of the lands of the Manor of Crediton in 1598 in the possession of the Govenors of Crediton Church, shows that there still remained the strip occupation of an open field system around Lord's Meadow at SS845005 with others north of the High Street and Threshers Road at SS826004. The traditional site of the birthplace of St Boniface, said to have been in AD680, suggests that the fields around Lord's Meadow represent the open fields of the earliest Saxon settlement. Hoskins shows that Saxon occupation here cannot have been earlier than their victory at Penselwood in AD658 and he suggests that St Boniface's father may very possibly have been the leader who made this farm out of the wilderness (citing TDA & Hoskins & Finberg). The accepted evidence for the existence in the 7th century of common meadows and ploughlands does not entitle us to assume that the fields were based upon the long furrow strips which developed in later medieval times. Recent archaeological evidence suggests that the fields familiar to the earliest Saxons were the small square fields and short furrows prevalent before their conquest. There is no evidence that they introduced better ploughs or a more advanced agricultural technique (citing Finberg).

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, SS80SW20 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV337924.

The Ordnance Survey suggests these fields are later in date.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Strip fields of varying width are shown on the 19th century map.

Smith, Rev. P., 1882, The Early History of Crediton, 195 (Article in Serial). SDV337632.

Hoskins, W. G., 1952, The Making of the Agrarian Landscape, 279-80,298,310. (Article in Monograph). SDV320933.

Luxton, C., 1955, The Tun by the Creedy, 33-9, Fig 1-3 (Article in Serial). SDV337633.

Field system surrounding Lord's Meadow, East Town, Crediton. The enclosure between Common Marsh Lane and Lord's Meadow is a group of 'fossilized' strips of an ancient open field of varying width according to the number of strips in each enclosure of Saxon date. A similar pattern, with the name Landscore exists in the West Town to the north of High Street and Threshers Road, but this may be later in date. The hillside opposite Common Marsh Lane is a more likely site for a second field. Norden's plan of 1598 shows part of the pattern still in being; the strips running up and down the slope. A field running alongside Old Tiverton Road is called John Ware-headland. 'The Retreat', an old cob house, may have been the site of the original farmhouse.

Leland, J., 1964, Leland's Itinerary 1535-45, 239 (Monograph). SDV337630.

Donn, B., 1965, A Map of the County of Devon, 1765 (Reprint) (Monograph). SDV336413.

Finberg, H. P. R., 1969, Westcountry Historical Studies, 60-1, 144 (Monograph). SDV140512.

Finberg, H. P. R., 1974, Formation of England 550 -1042, 80-1 (Monograph). SDV337925.

Borthwick, A., 1999, Land off Mill Street, Crediton: The archaeological and historical implications of development, 3 (Report - Assessment). SDV323116.

Oxford Archaeotechnics Ltd, 1999, Playing Fields, Exhibition Road, Crediton, Devon: Topsoil Magnetic Susceptibility & Magnetic (Gradiometer) Survey (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV356391.

Magnetometer (gradiometer) survey, carried out on playing fields on the north-eastern outskirts of Crediton, revealed a number of anomalies whose geometry and regularity are indicative of recent agricultural and/or sports field features.

Exeter Archaeology, 2006, Archaeological assessment of a proposed college site to the east of Exhibition Road, Crediton, 7; figure 3 (Report - Assessment). SDV337881.

The Norden map of 1598 shows Lord's Meadow surrounded by small fields. The pattern of the enclosures suggests they represent former strips of an open field system which were later enclosed. It has been suggested that they are characteristic of a Saxon field system but they are more likely to be of medieval origin.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4176 - College Site to the east of Exhibition Road in Crediton
• EDV6431 - Geophysical Survey of Exhibition Road Playing Fields (Ref: 1860599/CRD/EBC)

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