More information : (TF 1896 6135 (GCE)). OS mapping (1a) shows two ditches, plus a linear pond suggestive of a third ditch, in the immediate area of St Leonard's Church (TF 16 SE 10). Soilmarks visible on APs suggest that these features are part of an enclosure around the Church. (1b)
The large field surrounding St Leonard's Church has been ploughed, with the area east of the farm track returned to pasture; the western half is in crop. No surface trace survives of the northernmost ditch shown by auth 1. The linear pond has been infilled also and is traceable only as a very slight depression in the field surface. Approximately 120m of the third ditch survives upto 14m wide and c1.5m deep immediately west of the farm track. The northern 40m of this ditch have been infilled to create a hard-standing parking area for the Church since the last OS map revision. The ditch is overgrown.
Further examination of aerial photographs has revealed that St Leonard's Church lies within two rectilinear ditched enclosures, one inside the other. Substantial parts of both enclosures are visible as earthworks on early APs but have since been mostly ploughed out. The inner enclosure, which has the church roughly at its centre, measures approximately 150m by 100m; part of its west side still survives as an earthwork. The outer enclosure measures approximately 15m by 170m; it extends further to the west than the inner enclosure.
Ridge and furrow visible on 1947 APs respects the enclosures and almost certainly rules out a post-medieval date for them. The old parish name of Kirkstead suggests that there may have been a church in this area before St Leonard's, and whilst it is possible that the enclosures are connected with this (hypothetical) early church, they are very large and should indicate a large associated settlement. There is no AP evidence for such a settlement. However, Kirkstead Abbey immediately to the north is recorded as having moved to its present site 48 years after its original foundation. No AP evidence
has been found for the earlier site elsewhere in the parish. The outer enclosure may, therefore, indicate the precinct boundary of the original abbey.
The AP report, and transcriptions at 1:1000 scale, were undertaken in response to observations made during the RCHME 1:1000 field survey of Kirkstead Abbey, and are held in the NMR as part of that project's archive (1)
The enclosures and associated features around St Leonards church have also been mapped at 1:10,000 scale as part of the RCHME: Lincolnshire NMP. (Morph No. LI.468.2.20-26,3.1-3)
(2) |