| Summary : The remains of the medieval village of Wallerthwaite, located in a wide hollow south west of the village of Markington. The medieval village was located on the south side of a green which occupied the floor of the hollow. A street extended through the green and continued as a road beyond either end. Houses were built on slight terraces extending south west up the slope to the south of the green. A range of enclosures and yards, some of which were under cultivation, lay to the north west of the houses separated by tracks and paths. The north east of the green and the surrounding fields were occupied by field systems including arable and pasture. The remains of the house platforms and enclosures south west of the street survive as low earthwork banks with the intervening tracks still visible. In some of the enclosures remains of medieval ridge and furrow cultivation survives. The original main street running through the village remains in use and now survives as Wallerthwaite Lane. Little is known of the history of Wallerthwaite. It existed in the medieval period and, in common with other medieval settlements in England, became deserted, although it is not known exactly when or why this occured. It was deserted by the 14th century and it is thought that the Black Death in 1349 and raids by the Scots earlier in the century were responsible. Scheduled. |
More information : SE 295 649 . The earthworks of the lost village of Wallerthwaite are visible east of the farm.
The former road to Wormald Green is shown on the O.S. 1st Edn. as running through the site. (1)
Earthworks visible. (2)
Scheduled. (3)
The remains of this village are centred at SE 2953 6475, and have been surveyed at 1/2500. (4)
The earthworks, under permanent pasture, are in poor condition. They consist of weak and fragmentary scarps or banks defining the limits to small crofts and rig and furrow. No house platforms can be identified with certainty. The whole appears to represent the fringe of the village, the centre of which may have lain on the gently rising ground to the west, and on either side of the old road to Wormald Green. This area has long been under the plough. Published survey (25") correct. (5)
SE 296 647. Deserted village (site of), Wallerthwaite. Scheduled No NY/473. (6)
The remains of the medieval village of Wallerthwaite, located in a wide hollow south west of the village of Markington. The medieval village was located on the south side of a green which occupied the floor of the hollow. A street extended through the green and continued as a road beyond either end. Houses were built on slight terraces extending south west up the slope to the south of the green. A range of enclosures and yards, some of which were under cultivation, lay to the north west of the houses separated by tracks and paths. The north east of the green and the surrounding fields were occupied by field systems including arable and pasture. The remains of the house platforms and enclosures south west of the street survive as low earthwork banks with the intervening tracks still visible. In some of the enclosures remains of medieval ridge and furrow cultivation survives. The original main street running through the village remains in use and now survives as Wallerthwaite Lane. Little is known of the history of Wallerthwaite. It existed in the medieval period and, in common with other medieval settlements in England, became deserted, although it is not known exactly when or why this occured. It was deserted by the 14th century and it is thought that the Black Death in 1349 and raids by the Scots earlier in the century were responsible. Scheduled. (7)
These earthworks are visible on historic and recent air photos. The earthworks visible on the air photos mostly accord with the description above. However there have been significant changes since the earliest photos were taken. A large pond is now present at SE2958 6479. The pond occupies what was the lowest part of the site but it is not known whether additional material was excavated to form this water body. The 1940s photos show a broad curving ditch at SE2957 6478, perhaps a hollow way or the side of a large enclosure. The pond has submerged or destroyed this, a section of Wallerthwaite Lane and the north edge of a large enclosure at SE2962 6473. A second modern pond sits just above the larger one at SE2950 6484. It appears to have been formed by damming and remodelling part of another possible hollow way which skirted around a natural but artificially modified hillock at SE2951 6486.
Beyond these ponds the remains appear to survive as earthworks. (8-12)
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