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Summary

The settlement of North Cockerington probably has its origins in the late Saxon period, and survives to the present.

Full description

PRN 44510 (includes now defunct PRN 40318) also see PRN 43595 moated site and PRN 41375 mill mound.
The name Cockerington may derive from a British river-name Cocker, found in Cumberland, Durham and Nottinghamshire, and an older name for at least the lower reaches of the River Lud. Cocker is derived from a Celtic root, meaning 'crooked', 'winding'. Cockerington would then mean 'the farmstead, village associated with or called after the river Cocker'. {1}
The settlement of North Cockerington (also known as Cockerington St Mary) is first documented in the Domesday Book, and therefore probably has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon period. The entries in Domesday Book make no distinction between North and South Cockerington. Six manors were recorded in seven entries. The minimum population was 57. Further historical references link North and South Cockerington, and in 1334, the returns for the lay subsidy were approximately 40% higher than the wapentake average, making the parish one of the wealthiest in the area. The poll tax returns of 1377 recorded 286 tax payers, which was a large population for the area. {2}{3}{4}{5}
Medieval settlement remains and ridge and furrow are visible as cropmarks and earthworks around the present village on aerial photographs. {6}
The Diocesan Returns of 1563 recorded 70 households in North Cockerington. {7}
The population of North Cockerington (or Cockerington St Mary) in 1801 was 170, and by 1901 it was 213. The nineteenth century population peaked in 1871 at 298. {10}
PRN 44510a During a watching brief on Meadow Lane at TF 3741 9069, two ditches and three pits were recorded. One ditch was aligned north-east/south-west, the other east/west. It is possible that these features represent continuations of the medieval earthworks observed in the surrounding fields.{8}{9}
PRN 44510b A watching brief was carried out on a another plot on Meadow Lane in 2002 (TF 3743 9070). Further ditches, gullies and pits and a boundary ditch were recorded. One of the ditches contained thirteenth and fourteenth century pottery, and a gully was recorded which contained a sherd of fifteenth-sixteenth Toynton or Bolingbroke ware. Like the features identified during the previous watching brief, although these features are largely undated, it is suggested that they are probably associated with the earthworks still visible in the area surrounding the site. {3}{4}
PRN 44510c During a watching brief in 2001 at circa TF3720 9080, a relatively large assemblage of pottery was recovered, split into two phases. A medieval phase consisted entirely of thirteenth to fifteenth century Toynton All Saints ware. A post medieval phase was dominated by seventeenth to eighteenth century pottery suggestive of moderately high status occupation. The chronological gap between the two phases suggests that the site was abandoned between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries.{11}{12}
Earthworks and cropmarks were observed on aerial photographs as part of the national mapping programme. These included trackway PRN 44510d (TF 3769 9007); ponds PRN 44510e - f (TF 3766 9007; TF 3707 9098); enclosures PRN 44510g - u (TF 3768 9011; TF 3781 9018; TF 3749 9002; TF 3748 9018; TF 3768 9034; TF 3765 9017; TF 3752 9063; TF 3721 9079; TF 3719 9091; TF 3723 9073; TF 3730 9075; TF 3702 9093; TF 3706 9096; TF3718 9107; TF 3705 9101); ridge and furrow PRN 44510v (TF 3769 9040); field boundary PRN 44510w (TF 3760 9037); boundary bank PRN 44510x (TF 3729 9093); crofts PRN 44510y - ab (TF 3778 8971; TF 3781 8987; TF 3795 8996; TF 3784 9005). {6}

<1> Kenneth Cameron, 1998, A Dictionary of Lincolnshire Place-Names, p.32 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI5432.

<2> C.W. Foster and T. Longley, 1924, Lincolnshire Domesday and Lindsey Survey, 3/30; 4/57-8; 26/20; 27/25; 40/18, 23 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI893.

<3> Pre-Construct Archaeology, 2002, Plot at Meadow Lane, North Cockerington, MLNC02 (Report). SLI8622.

<4> Pre-Construct Archaeology, 2002, Plot at Meadow Lane, North Cockerington, LCNCC 2002.180 (Archive). SLI8623.

<5> Graham Platts, 1985, Land and People in Medieval Lincolnshire, - (Bibliographic Reference). SLI1074.

<6> Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1992-1996, National Mapping Programme, LI.365.8.1-9 (Map). SLI3613.

<7> Gerald A.J. Hodgett, 1975, Tudor Lincolnshire, Appendix 1 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI6089.

<8> Lindsey Archaeological Services, Nov 1998, Land off Meadow Lane, North Cockerington, NCM98 (Report). SLI8233.

<9> Lindsey Archaeological Services, Nov 1998, Land off Meadow Lane, North Cockerington, LCNCC 1998.97 (Archive). SLI8234.

<10> William Page (ed), 1906, The Victoria County History: Lincolnshire - Volume 2, p.372 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI1104.

<11> Archaeological Project Services, Sept 2002, Land at Chapel Lane, North Cockerington, NCC01 (Report). SLI8619.

<12> Archaeological Project Services, Sept 2002, Land at Chapel Lane, North Cockerington, LCNCC 2001.246 (Archive). SLI8620.

Monument Types

• SETTLEMENT (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Modern - 1000 AD? to 2050 AD)
• BOUNDARY DITCH (Medieval to Modern - 1066 AD to 2050 AD)
• DITCH (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• PIT (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• RIDGE AND FURROW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

• SHERD (Medieval - 1200 AD to 1499 AD)
• SHERD (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1200 AD to 1700 AD)
• SHERD (Post Medieval - 1600 AD to 1899 AD)

Associated Events

• Land off Meadow Lane, North Cockerington
• Watching brief on land at Chapel Lane, North Cockerington
• Watching brief at Meadow Lane, North Cockerington

Protected Status

• SHINE
• Scheduled Monument
• SHINE
• SHINE
• SHINE

Sources and further reading

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