| Summary : Deserted Medieval settlement; moat, tofts, crofts, buildings, boundaries, pond, hollow ways, ridge and furrow, crofts and a mill mound visible as cropmarks and earthworks. |
More information : [Area TF 100297] The deserted medieval village of
Graby is listed by St. Joseph. Slight traces of desertion are
visible on available R.A.F. cover at approximately Aslackby and
Laughton parish.
East and West Graby are mentioned in the Domesday Survey. (1-3)
Graby (without division East or West) is an extant hamlet.
Earthworks in the one surviving pasture field, centred TF 100297,
constitute shrinkage. (4)
Listed by Beresford. (5)
The site of this hamlet is on gentle slopes at about 40.0m ASL.
The pasture fields to the west and north of the farm, centred
at TF099 295 and TF 100 297, contain the only visible remains of
the shrunken village. RAF air photographs (2) show
rig-and-furrow in an extensive area around the site.
The western pasture field contains extant rig-and-furrow, and
some vague unsurveyable earthworks, probably surface quarrying.
The northern pasture field, noted by authority 4, contains a
series of hollow-ways, and some irregular depressions, probably
quarrying. No house sites could be identified, and the farmer
reports no finds.
Surveyed at 1:2500 on AM. (6)
The Medieval settlement around the present village of Graby referred
to by the previous authorities was visible as cropmarks and
earthworks and has been mapped from good quality air photographs.
The following main features were identified:-
Just to the north of Graby farm, centred at TF 0999 2968, are what
appears to be two arms of a moat. The moat, if complete, would
define an area of approximately 60m by 60m. To the east of the moat,
centred at TF 1008 2971, are the fragmentary remains of tofts visible
as 3 conjoined ditch defined enclosures measuring on average 50m by
50m. Within these tofts were the remains of 3 rectilinear buildings
defined by walls now covered with earth. These measured 20m by 10m,
15m by 5m, and 10m by 5m and are centred at TF 1006 2973,
TF 1010 2970 and TF 1010 2969. To the north of the tofts, across the
main road through Graby, are further remains of tofts and crofts
centred at TF 0993 2978. These were visible as the cropmarks of
ditched boundaries their line continued by that of the modern
housing. Further west and to the south of the road again, centred at
TF 0976 0952 and TF 0991 2959, are further fragmentary remains of
toft and croft boundaries. A small pond was visible within this area
at TF 0988 2966. Along the southern limits of the Medieval settlement is a hollow way about 300m long and centred at
TF 0988 2948. Immediately south of the hollow way is all that
remains of the ridge and furrow that once surrounded the whole of the
Medieval settlement at Graby. This is centred at TF 0988 2948 and is
80m in length. Further west of are the cropmark remains of more
croft boundaries, centred at TF 0958 2938. At the western extremity
of the Medieval settlement remains, centred at TF 0939 2931, is a
cropmark hollow way continuing north of the modern road for 430m
across a field to Mareham lane. This follows the line of Roman Road
260 but the cropmark is of a hollow way which is almost certainly
Medieval in date. To the south east of the Medieval settlement at
TF 1010 2954 are the possible remains, visible as a cropmark, of a
windmill mound, with a diameter of 25m. (Morph No. LI.818.1.1-14)
This description is based on data from the RCHME MORPH2 database.
(7) |