Landscape and Settlement
Rural settlement displays strong contrasts between nucleated settlement, where it is dominated by large villages with few isolated farmsteads, and dispersed settlement comprising hamlets and isolated farmsteads and few villages. These are closely linked to the patterning and historical development of fields and routeways. Between the two extremes are areas that contain both nucleated and dispersed settlement to varying degrees. These patterns of settlement and land use can be closely related to the dates of surviving buildings – see Historical Development.
Nucleated villages are concentrated in a central band running from Northumberland into Somerset and Dorset. Farmsteads were sited within these villages, which were surrounded by extensive communally farmed townfields (open fields). These were subject to amalgamation and enclosure by tenants and landlords at varying rates from the 14th century onwards. New farmsteads were often created within the new enclosures.
Farmsteads in areas of dispersed settlement are either isolated or grouped in hamlets. They typically surrounded by much more ancient patterns of enclosure, which included communally farmed townfields, and extensive areas of common pasture. Dispersed settlement is characteristic of western and parts of eastern and south–eastern England, farmsteads.| This analysis of the settlement pattern of England in the mid-19th century shows nucleated settlements and the densities of dispersed settlement. Clearly visible is a central area which is characterised by nucleated settlement and was dominated in the medieval period by communal fields, which together with common pasture was subject to enclosure and the establishment of new isolated farms in later centuries. Based upon ‘England: Rural Settlement in the mid-19th century’. Source: An Atlas of Rural Settlement in. England (2000) ©English Heritage/Roberts, B.K. and Wrathmell, S. |
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Farmsteads in the landscape
| The historic parishes of Ecchinswell and Sydmonton are long, narrow land units stretching from chalk downland in the south, crossing an area of fertile greensand where the medieval open fields were located with wooded clay lands to the north.The chalk downs remained open until the late 18th century when they were enclosed and new farmsteads created with large fields with regular boundaries – the sinuous boundary dividing the farms is the parish boundary, recorded in an early 10th-century charter.The new Sydmonton Warren Farm was over 700 acres in size and was provided with a large regular courtyard farmstead with brick and flint ranges including a threshing barn. Ashley Warren Farm also had flint and brick farm buildings. Based on OS 1st Edition 6” map 1853–1890. © and database right Crown Copyright and Landmark Information Group Ltd (All rights reserved 2005) Licence numbers 000394 and TP0024. |
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| This north-western part of the Region extends into Roberts and Wrathmell’s Central Province where settlement predominantly consists of nucleated villages. Duns Tew is a small village with a cluster of farmsteads, four of which are still working farms, lying close to the junction between clay vales to the north and limestone to the south. All the listed farmhouses and barns date from between the early 18th and 19th centuries, probably reflecting reorganistion of holdings after enclosure of the open fields. It is noteworthy that so many farms remained in the village rather than moving out to their newly enclosed holdings.The only earlier farm building in the village is a 16th-century dovecote at Manor Farm. Based on OS 1st Edition 6” map 1853–1890. © and database right Crown Copyright and Landmark Information Group Ltd (All rights reserved 2005) Licence numbers 000394 and TP0024 |
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| The poor soils of the heathland of the New Forest dictated a largely pastoral farming economy with commoning, the grazing of animals on the heathland being a important characteristic of the area. Commoners often had very small enclosed holdings – sometimes as little as one acre – and required few farm buildings. Any farm buildings were likely to be small and poorly built. Consequently there are relatively few historic farm buildings associated with the holdings of commoners and these farmsteads are difficult to identify from historic mapping. Encroachment onto the Forest creating small enclosures is recorded from the 13th century. Most of these new enclosures probably occurred around the fringes of the open heath and created irregular fields such as those in the north-west part of the area. Further episodes of enclosure in the 19th century produced the regular blocks of small fields and in some cases resulted in the creation of new farmsteads that – as seen here – were provided with small, brick-built farmsteads occasionally having a regular L- or U-plan. Based on OS 1st Edition 6” map 1853–1890. © and database right Crown Copyright and Landmark Information Group Ltd (All rights reserved 2005) Licence numbers 000394 and TP0024. |
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National Context Content
Regional Character Summaries
©2007 English Heritage