More information : Centred TA 156142. Further areas of Habrough Shrunken Medieval
Village (see also TA11SW3) lie south and east of St Margaret's
Church. At TA 158142 is a moated manorial site on a single island.
The southern part is ploughed and it has a causeway to the north
west, with evidence of a clay ditch-lining in the surviving northern
portion of moat. House sites adjoin. Finds made in 1965 at TA 156141
from the site of the manor house and the next-door close comprise
Medieval shelly and gritty ware, 14th and 15th century wares, and a
good range of post Medieval pottery; late Medieval pottery came from
TA 158143 just north of the manor house in 1963. Further finds of
Medieval and post Medieval pottery, and heavily-fired bricks have
been made to the south of the moat. Some features show on air
photographs. (1-3)
TA 156 142. An excavation on the moated site on the E side of the
village of Harbrough was carried out in 1990. The earthworks of the
site are still well defined, with the moat enclosing a rectangular
island c.46m N-S by 58m E-W. A raised platform was visible in 1972
in its NW quadrant, adjacent to a causeway which led across the ditch
to a rectangular sunken area immediately to the W. Excavations were
in advance of a new gas pipeline, and provided a section across the
enclosure ditches and platform. The artificial moat platform sealed
10th century pottery. The ditches had been kept scoured clean to the later 15th century, at which time the first of a series of three
roof-tile kilns was constructed at the S end of the moat, using clay
dug out of the island. In the early years of the 17th century the
site was abandoned and deliberately slighted. Documentary evidence
suggests that the moat can be identified with the manorial site of
the de Saltfletby family during the 13th and 14th centuries. It was
subsequently granted to a branch of the Skipwith family, who held
the site from 1365 to the end of the 16th century, when they were
reputed to have died out. (4)
The Medieval moat, referred to by the previous authorities, and
Medieval settlement remains were seen as earthworks, around the
present village of Harbrough, and mapped from good quality air
photographs. Very few of the remains have not been ploughed out and
most are now visible as cropmarks. The moat is only partially
visible and is more accurately located at TA 1571 1423. Extending
from its west side are eight partially visible conjoined
enclosures, possibly the remains of tofts, crofts or manorial
enclosures. Ridge and furrow is visible in one of the tofts
centred at TA 1557 1421. More remains of tofts and crofts are
visible to the west and east of the present village, centred at TA
1525 1425, TA 1500 1440 and TA 1595 1545. Three areas out of the
system of ridge and furrow that once surrounded the Medieval
settlement survive as earthworks, centred TA 1500 1427, TA 1587 1453
and TA 1601 1425. A broad ditch centred at TA 1533 1426 appears to
be a boundary or pond but it has been suggested it could be the
remains of a moat (see TA 11 SE 4).
The Medieval settlement remains at Harbrough form an almost
continuous line with those further to the east (see TA 11 SW 3),
but they form two separate nuclei if not two different villages.
(Morph No. LI.309.1.1-17)
This description is based on data from the RCHME MORPH2 database.
(5)
Air photographs taken in 1999 show further detail for this site, in particular the area immediately surrounding the moat, where further boundaries and areas of ridge and furrow are visible as cropmarks. A later field system cuts across some of the medieval features. (6)
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