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The Medieval Settlement Research Group was established in November
1986 from an amalgamation of the Medieval Village Research Group (founded
1952) and the Moated Sites Research Group (founded 1971).
Archaeologists, geographers, historians and others belong to the Group,
aiming to use their disciplines co-operatively in order to advance knowledge
of settlements of all kinds. The Group’s interest is concentrated on
the period between the 5th and 16th centuries, but does not exclude earlier
and later periods, study of which is often essential for understanding
developments in the middle ages.
Over the last forty years members of the Group
have contributed significantly to the transformation of views on the history
of settlement. Hundreds of "lost" or deserted villages have been
identified, shrunken villages and deserted hamlets or farmsteads have been
added to the lists of abandoned sites, and moated sites are recognised as a
distinctive type of habitation, whether in villages or dispersed as isolated
farmsteads. The organisation of the long-term research project at
Wharram Percy in North Yorkshire has been a key achievement whilst archive
records, for which there is a computerised index, have been deposited in the
National Monuments Record. The Group has for many years also sought to
influence the policies of the national heritage bodies and others and has
issued a number of policy statements on various topics. The Group’s latest,
all embracing, statement can be viewed
here.
Excavation reveals the constantly
changing shape and size of settlements, and enables us to study houses and
the life that went on within them. Research into the origin of
settlements has shown that most moated sites developed in the 12th and 13th
centuries whilst the 9th and 10th centuries are revealed as critical for the
establishment of many nucleated settlements in the Midlands, often planned
along with their field systems. In many other areas dispersed settlements
continued to predominate, further increasing during the 12th and 13th
centuries as former woodlands and marginal lands were brought into use.
There are still many gaps in our knowledge, and problems remain which can
only be solved by further research, hence the Group’s support for a new
project in the Whittlewood area of Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire to
succeed "landscape" projects such as those at Wharram Percy, Raunds and
Shapwick.
Through the Medieval Settlement
Research Group reports of new discoveries are communicated, new ideas are
aired and new research themes discussed. This is achieved through
various meetings and conferences but also through the Annual Report which
contains both articles and details of fieldwork and excavations and is free
to all members. Research Grants are also available to members of the
Group. |
