Information provided by Chalgrove Local History Group
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reproduced by kind permission of Oxford Archaeology.
Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey on behalf of the controller of Her Majesty's Stationary Office, © Crown Copyright. Licence AL 100005569. |
Hardings
Field, Chalgrove is the site of one of the most fully excavated
medieval, moated manors in
England.
Excavations revealed evidence of a pre-moat occupation dating from the late 12th to early 13th
century, succeeded by the construction of a moated house in the mid 13th century that underwent
considerable modernisation over the following 200 years, until it was demolished in the late 15th
century.
A significant amount of documentary evidence fits well with the identification of four phases of
occupation, three of which by eight generations of the Barentin family, and a fifth phase relating
to the final use and eventual demolition of the house and buildings after the family had moved to
Little Haseley.
England.
Excavations revealed evidence of a pre-moat occupation dating from the late 12th to early 13th
century, succeeded by the construction of a moated house in the mid 13th century that underwent
considerable modernisation over the following 200 years, until it was demolished in the late 15th
century.
A significant amount of documentary evidence fits well with the identification of four phases of
occupation, three of which by eight generations of the Barentin family, and a fifth phase relating
to the final use and eventual demolition of the house and buildings after the family had moved to
Little Haseley.
Artefacts included many fine wares, some continental, amongst the 2915 sherds of pottery that
were recovered and decorated floor tiles, coins, objects of metal, bone and ivory, vessel and
window glass, and some slags. 11,105 bones and 2265 shells of marine molluscs were
collected, together with seeds and charcoal and gave much information about the ecology,
economy, diet, husbandry, pathology and butchery of the period.
The site was discovered during aerial reconnaissance in July 1976 by Richard Chambers,
Oxford Archaeological Unit, now Oxford Archaeology, who, together with James Bond, Oxfordshire
County Council Department of Museum Services, carried out an earthwork survey and identified two
moated islands. In November that year, when Oxfordshire County Council decided to prepare the
field to use as a playing field by covering with topsoil, R.Chambers, with the help of local farmer,
Adrian Nixey, evaluated the site with three trenches, confirming the presence of building remains.
The limited availability of topsoil brought about the decision by the County Council, in the spring of
1977 to lower the level of the earthworks. With such potential damage in mind, further investigations
were made and the remains of both domestic and agricultural buildings were revealed. Inevitably
damage did occur when the field was stripped of topsoil during the very wet conditions of that summer
but a watching brief by R.Chambers produced a partial plan of some outbuildings and enabled further
identification. Due to the waterlogged conditions further leveling was delayed until the following
spring. Excavations continued from May 1978 until December, under the direction of Philip Page,
after which the site was again left open.
In the spring of 1979 the Department of Environment recommended the scheduling and preservation
of the site, funding further, limited excavation and preparation of the site for burial and partially funding
the cost of burial.
The whole investigation had been carried out with very limited resources, using labour from the
Manpower Services Commission job-creation scheme, the good will of the landowners, and
volunteers from Chalgrove Local History Group and other residents. The failure to see the post
examination programme through to publication was mainly due to the limited resources having to be
diverted to other sites, mostly also under serious threat.
However, twenty-five years on, the range and quality of the information recovered remain outstanding
and have considerable research value, so, with the help of a grant from English Heritage, Oxford
Archaeology, www.oxfordarch.co.uk, has pursued the publication of a report. The resultant
monograph, published in 2005 and entitled 'Barentin's Manor', is available locally through
Chalgrove Local History Group and from Oxbow Books, www.oxbowbooks.com.
