Summary
This deserted medieval village was mentioned in records in 1086 and survives as earthworks in Gunby Hall Park. The village was probably organically abandoned sometime in the 17th century and was already earthworks before the present Hall and park was established in c.1700.
Identification Images (3)
Monument Types
- HOUSE PLATFORM (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- HOLLOW WAY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- DESERTED SETTLEMENT (Medieval to Mid 17th C - 1086 AD to 1666 AD)
- RIDGE AND FURROW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
Description
Deserted medieval village of Gunby. Now surviving as earthworks in Gunby Hall Park.
(1) According to the OS, Gunby Village is mentioned in the Domesday Book. By 1563 it had 15 households (Hodgett, 1975). The village now exists in Gunby Hall Park as a series of holloways, some 4m wide and up to 2m deep. Often wet in the U-shaped bottom owing to poor drainage. The flat, raised areas between are the sites of cottages and gardens.
On the eastern side a covered reservoir, hydraulic ram and wind pump (now dismantled) have been cut into a portion of the village remains, perhaps in the 19th century. In a ploughed field centred at TF 472 668, hollows, brick, tile and other debris were noted by the NT Archaeological Survey in January 1986 [SZE5826].
(2) The village was probably dispersed when Gunby Hall was built in 1700, as it was clearly thriving in the late 16th century when it is listed as containing 15 families (Oldfield: 1829, 195).
The village layout is similar in form to Bratoft (NTSMR 60342), with a series of east to west hollow-ways, or paths, connected by a north to south track, and tofts and crofts arranged on each side. Today, the paths survive as deep grassy ditches, with the property divisions showing as slightly shallower, linear depressions. Surrounding the village are various episodes of ridge and furrow, some of which appears to be quite early (NTSMR 60289, 68026) while others are later (NTSMR 60290). To the south, a phase of later cultivation actually crosses through the former village plots, indicating that, like at Bratoft, the medieval village was probably reduced in size in the later medieval or early post medieval period, if not abandoned altogether [SNA65272].
References
- SNA65272 - National Trust Report: Northern Archaeological Associates. 2012. Gunby Parkland Landscape Management Plan: Plan Pre-1700 Archaeological Assessment.
- SNA68204 - Report: Air Photo Services Ltd. 2019. Assessment of Aerial Imagery for Archaeology, Gunby Estate. APS Sites 71, 66.
- SNA68936 - Report: Allen Archaeology Ltd. 2020. Archaeological Monitoring and Recording for land off Back Lane, Gunby Hall estate.
- SNA69001 - Measured Survey: Heritage Lincolnshire. 2013. Archaeological Earthwork Survey of Parkland at Gunby Hall.
- SNA70184 - Report: Archaeological Project Services LTD. 2023. Archaeological Monitoring and Recording on land at Gunby Park.
- SZE31 - Monograph: C W Forster. 1924. Lincolnshire Record Society.
- SZE5826 - Unpublished document: L Smith. 1986. National Trust Archaeological Survey Report: Gunby Hall. p.9-10.
- SZE7425 - Monograph: E Oldfield. 1829. Topographic and Historical Account of Wainfleet.
- SZE7780 - Monograph: M W Beresford. 1960. The Lost Villages of England.
Designations
None Recorded
Other Statuses and References
- National Monuments Record Reference: TF46NE7
Associated Events
- ENA6823 - Field Survey, Gunby Parkland Landscape Management Plan, Gunby Estate, 2012
- ENA8188 - Field Survey, NT Archaeological Survey of Gunby Hall Estate, Lincolnshire
- ENA9485 - Remote Sensing, Assessment of Aerial photography and Lidar across the Gunby Hall estate
- ENA9947 - Archaeological Intervention, Watching brief during installation of new internet cable, Back Lane, Gunby Hall estate
- ENA10019 - Field Survey, Earthwork Survey of the deserted medieval village, Gunby Hall Estate
- ENA10963 - Non Archaeological Intervention, Watching brief of two test pits during inflitration testing in Gunby Park
Associated Finds
None Recorded
Related Records
None Recorded