Download PDF

Summary of Dominant Character

This zone is typified by semi regular to irregular patterns of small to medium enclosures generally bounded with dense species rich hedgerows with frequent mature trees (DMBC 2006). Such characteristics are generally considered an excellent indicator of hedgerows of pre-parliamentary enclosure origin (Rackham 1986, 194-204; Pollard et al 1974).

Field patterns in this zone vary from arrangements of intersecting blocks of curving narrow rectilinear fields forming semi regular strip patterns, through to less regular patterns more characteristic of landscapes assarted from woodland over a long period. These patterns are clearest in areas managed as permanent pasture but there are also parts of the zone in which more intensive arable cultivation is being practiced. In these intensified areas the field patterns are larger in scale and generally less densely hedged.

In those areas still maintained as pasture, can be found the highest concentrations of upstanding ridge and furrow and moated site earthworks in South Yorkshire.

Road patterns in this area are typically sinuous or irregular, with some un-metalled ‘green lanes’ (fig 1) a significant character feature, particularly around Fishlake and Sykehouse. Parish boundaries and road boundaries generally feature mature species rich hedgerows.

In contrast to the road network are a number of straight linear routes related to main and branch railway lines and to the New Junction Canal. These features overlie the clearly earlier field and road patterns, bisecting fields and other features.

Settlement within this zone (the zone also surrounds a number of significant ‘Nucleated Rural Settlements’) includes a significant number of dispersed farmsteads which include 25 listed farm buildings dating from the 17th to 19th centuries (English Heritage 2005). Typical forms of the dispersed farmsteads in this landscape are plans which have evolved from simple linear, l-plan and dispersed layouts into more formal courtyard arrangements in the later 19th century (see Lake and Edwards 2006, 42-44) for a detailed account of farmstead plan-form types. Building materials used for older sections are predominantly brick and pantile although some sandstone rubble is sometimes seen in lower building courses (English Heritage 2005). Many farms feature significant post 1950 expansion phases in the form of large prefabricated metal barns used predominantly for cattle shelter.

Blocks of woodland in this zone are less common and smaller in size than in other assarted or strip enclosure landscapes in South Yorkshire, probably as result of the lack of steep slopes in this generally low relief landscape. Where they do exist they are rarely large enough to register in the project database in their own right.

Relationships with Adjacent Character Zones

This character zone is closely related to its underlying geological strata, which can be generalised as an area of Bunter Sandstone overlain with silts, clays and gravels. To the east and west of the zone, the Bunter Sandstone is overlain by areas of alluvium that have been historically less suitable for settlement and arable production. This change in geological character is marked by changes in historic characteristics to areas described in the ‘Surveyed Enclosure’ and ‘Wetland Enclosure’ character zone descriptions.

To the south of Fenwick, around the area of Moss, is a substantial character area of former common belonging to the Surveyed Enclosure Zone.

To the north and south of the zone are the floodplains of the Went and Don rivers respectively. In these areas land use was historically characterised by seasonally flooded grassland meadows (known locally as ‘ings’) and is described in the ‘Wetland Enclosure’ character zone. The villages of Sykehouse, Fishlake, Fenwick, Haywood, Braithwaite and Thorpe in Balne all relate to this character zone but collectively form a part of the ‘Nucleated Rural Settlements Zone’.

Inherited Character

The principal character of this zone consists of those underlying elements relating to non surveyed or piecemeal patterns of land enclosure. The patterns visible on 19th century mapping throughout this zone suggest that much of the enclosed land at that time had developed from large open field systems surrounding nucleated villages in a pattern typical of much of the English midlands (see Hall 2001, 13-15). The HEC project defines ‘Strip Enclosure’ character units as “Fields resulting from the enclosure of medieval open fields. Typically these fields are at least 5 times longer than their width with essentially parallel sides exhibiting reverse-s curve boundaries fossilising the shape of earlier cultivation strips within the common field” (SYAS 2005). This type of enclosure pattern is generally thought to have resulted from the private enclosure of common arable fields from the late medieval period onwards (Taylor 1975, 78-80). Map evidence examined during this project indicates that in South Yorkshire the majority of this type of enclosure predated the first 6 inch to the mile survey by the Ordnance Survey, with very few new examples appearing in the later 19th and early 20th century. Good examples of strip enclosure patterns of this type can be seen: to the south of Sykehouse (HSY4384); to the south of Thorpe in Balne (HSY4332); and to the east (HSY4392) and north (HSY87) of Fenwick and in the ‘Fosterhouses Strip Enclosures’ character area north east of Fishlake. The area of strip fields at Fosterhouses were already enclosed by 1825, when the Hatfield Thorne, Fishlake, Stainforth and Sykehouse enclosure award was drawn up (Haywood 1825). Late 18th century legal papers (Sheffield Archives references DDCL/1808 and CM/1373) refer to the area as “closes in the Hays of Fishlake” - part of this area is still known as Hayes a placename that may mean “enclosure” (Smith 1964, 15) or, more specifically, “land enclosed by hedges” (Field 1972, 101). If these interpretations are to be believed, the origins of the piecemeal strip enclosure of this area may be medieval in origin as the placename Hayes has been traced to 1343 [written as Haya] and 1404 [written as le Haghe] in documents relating to this location (Smith 1964, 15).

Ridge and furrow is recorded by the HEC database and South Yorkshire Sites and Monument Record in 14 character units within this zone, although detailed field survey would undoubtedly reveal further sites. Comprehensive digitisation of archaeological features apparent on 20th century aerial photographs (English Heritage 2006; Roberts et al 2007) showed a particular concentration of ridge and furrow surviving until at least the mid 20th century which almost exactly corresponds to this character zone (Figure 2). The majority of this ridge and furrow is interpreted as being of post-medieval origin (English Heritage 2006). The fossilisation of the ridge and furrow patterns is likely to have taken place at time at which land passes from arable use to permanent pasture. Continued management as grassland has prevented the earthworks from being ploughed away (Fairclough 2001, 11).

The loss of ridge and furrow in this zone, particularly along its western fringe is intimately related to the reintroduction of arable farming and consequent intensification of land through the removal of field boundaries in the late 20th century. Analysis of aerial photography taken from the 1950s to the 1990s has indicated that “only one fifth appears to be extant on the most recent air photographs and this is largely concentrated in the area between the rivers Went and Don and the ancient settlements of Sykehouse and Fishlake” (Roberts et al 2007, Chapter 8, p4). This pattern of boundary removal will be discussed further below.

The piecemeal nature of the enclosure of this landscape zone meant that many of the fundamental patterns and features underlying the current patterns survive. Many lanes, and some longer continuous boundaries, for example those that enclosed the earlier open field units and marked the edges of parishes, may well have been established in the medieval period.

Definite legibility of medieval landscape features is provided at the surviving moated sites of the district. In a national contexts these earthwork sites are generally agreed to consist of a >“wide, water-filled ditch partly or completely enclosing one or more islands of dry ground which provided the site for one or more buildings (domestic, religious or agricultural), or for horticulture, or for both” (Darvill 1988, Para. 1).

These features frequently served to emphasise the high status of a residence, often a manor. Sites are sometimes known in association with other earthworks such as building platforms, causeways or fishponds (ibid, Para 7). They are often found sited on low lying land.

Of the twenty-three moated sites recorded on the South Yorkshire SMR (SYAS 2008) in the Doncaster MBC area, eleven have been recorded within this zone. Most of these have survived to some extent due in no small measure to their identification and cataloguing as archaeological sites (see Le Patourel 1971; and Roberts 1977, 91-94 for lists of sites), with most gaining legal protection as Scheduled Ancient Monuments during the later 20th century (English Heritage 2004). The importance of this level of legal protection is best highlighted by the case of Woodhouse Field Moat [SMR ref: 315] photographed and described as an upstanding monument in 1980 (Figure 3). Site notes, dated January 1986, recorded the deliberate levelling of the field in which the monument stood (through the infilling of the ditch with imported soil) and its drainage with land drains prior to cultivation (Sydes 1986). The damage to the site and the surrounding former ridge and furrow patterns is clearly visible on 1999 vertical aerial photography (Figure 4) with the site visible as soil marks, a clear sign that the most recent ploughing of this land has disturbed the stratigraphic layers making up this monument.

Better preserved examples include Thorpe in Balne Manor House (SMR309); Fenwick Hall (SMR312); Radcliffe Moat (SMR393); Tilts Farm (SMR399); and Round About Moat (SMR399). Of these the most dramatic is Thorpe in Balne Manor House, a site which has a well preserved medieval moat, building platform, fishponds and an upstanding section of medieval chapel retained in a later complex of barns. The residential complex at the site has been rebuilt in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. A further well preserved complex site can be seen at Radcliffe Moat near Adwick le Street where a medieval moated site is preserved in a small area of rough ground which also includes a rare example of a waterlogged Motte and Bailey castle and the possible earthwork remains of Langthwaite or Hangthwaite deserted medieval village (Beresford 1953, 239)

Later Characteristics

An important factor in the later development of the historic character of this zone has been the intensification of drainage regimes sponsored through the 1970s and 1980s by the UK Government Ministry of Agriculture. This intensification often leads to the agglomeration of fields, a process that in this zone occurs later than in other parts of South Yorkshire, frequently not becoming apparent until 1980s and 1990s mapping. The effects of the state sponsored drainage programmes has been studied in detail at Sutton Common to the immediate west of this zone where one phase of this work is known to have reduced water levels by 2m (Van de Noort et al 2007, 7), greatly increasing the viability of arable exploitation in the area. It is probable that it was one of these schemes which resulted in the demise of Woodhouse Field Moat described above. Damage through the desiccation of previously waterlogged remains has been highlighted as potentially important on many of the scheduling descriptions of the moated sites in the district.

The introduction of arable farming into this area is apparent when comparing some of the many aerial photographs taken by Derrick Riley over the 1970s and 1980s ¹ with vertical photos taken in the late 1990s, this has led to the lost of large areas of ridge and furrow during this period.

The process of intensification has continued into the present as the economies of scale provided to farmers by larger land parcels continue to offer incentives to remove hedges. Acting to counter this trend are incentives offered by the ‘stewardship’ schemes sponsored by central government since the early 1990s. These schemes offer financial incentives to farmers who enter into environmental management agreements, which can include steps to maintain or restore historically characteristic features such as boundaries, buildings and (under the Environmental Stewardship system in place since 2005) reduce the impact of their activities on known buried archaeological sites (Rural Development Service 2005, 68-70).

A contemporary development has been the introduction of the Hedgerow Regulations of 1997 (HMSO) which requires the notification of the Local Planning Authority before the removal of a hedgerow in addition to conferring powers on the same authority to serve a Hedgerow Retention Notice where hedgerows can be defined as important in historical, archaeological, wildlife or landscape terms.

Areas within this Zone

• ‘Balne Ancient Enclosures’
• ‘Fosterhouses Strip Enclosures’

Bibliography

Beresford, M.W.

1953 The Lost Villages of Yorkshire. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 150, 215-240.

Darvill, T.C. 1988

Monuments Protection Programme. Monument Class Description: Moats fifth revision [online]. London: English Heritage. Available from: http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/mpp/mcd/moat.htm [accessed 9/02/08]

Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC)

2006 Doncaster Hedgerow Survey [unpublished GIS data set]. Available from: Doncaster MBC Landscape Planning - Environment Group, Planning Services, Danum House, Doncaster, DN1 1UB.

English Heritage

2004 Scheduled Monument System Data [unpublished dataset export]. Swindon: English Heritage National Monuments Record. Available from: National Monuments Record Centre, Kemble Drive, Swindon.

English Heritage

2005 Listed Building System Data [unpublished MIDAS dataset export in xml format]. Swindon: English Heritage National Monuments Record. Available from: National Monuments Record Centre, Kemble Drive, Swindon.

English Heritage

2007 Archaeological Cropmarks of the Magnesian Limestone [unpublished GIS data set]. Swindon: English Heritage National Monuments Record. Available from: National Monuments Record, Kemble Drive, Swindon.

Fairclough, G.

2001 Foreword – Strategies for understanding and protection. In: D. Hall, Turning the Plough: Midland open fields: Landscape Character and Proposals for Management. Northampton: Northamptonshire County Council / English Heritage, 9-12.

Field, J.

1972 English Field Names: A Dictionary. Newton Abbot: David and Charles (Publishers) Ltd.

HMSO

1997 The Hedgerows Regulation (Statutory Instrument 1997 No.1160)

Hall, D.

2001 Turning the Plough. Midland Open Fields: Landscape Character and Proposals for Management. Northampton: Northamptonshire County Council and English Heritage.

Haywood, J.

1825 Hatfield Thorne, Fishlake, Stainforth and Sykehouse Enclosure Award Plan. [unpublished microfilm copy of original 12 chains to the inch plan held by Doncaster Archives] Sheffield Archives reference A152/3

Le Patourel, H.E.

1971 The Moated Sites of Yorkshire. London: Society for Medieval Archaeology

Lake, J and Edwards, B

2006 Historic Farmsteads. Preliminary Character Statement: Yorkshire and Humber Region. Cheltenham: University of Gloucester Countryside and Community Research Unit / English Heritage / Countryside Agency.

Pollard, E., Hooper, M.D. and Moore, N.W.

1974 Hedges. London: Collins

Rackham, O.

1986 The History of the Countryside. London: J.M. Dent

Roberts, P.

1977 Moated Sites of the Doncaster District. In: J.R. Magilton, 1977 The Doncaster District: An Archaeological Survey. Doncaster: DMBC Museum and Arts Service, 91-93.

Roberts, I., Deegan, A., Berg, D. and Ford, L.

2007 Archaeological Cropmark Landscapes of the Magnesian Limestone. [Unpublished project report]. Morley: Archaeological Services WYAS for English Heritage.

Rural Development Service

Higher Level Stewardship.

Smith, A.H.

1961 The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire- Part One. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

SYAS

2005 South Yorkshire Historic Environment Characterisation: revised project design 18th Feb, 2005. [Unpublished document]. South Yorkshire Archaeology Service.

SYAS

2008 South Yorkshire Sites and Monument Record [dynamic MS Access – GIS database] Sheffield, South Yorkshire Archaeology Service. Available by appointment with SYAS, Howden House, 1 Union Street, Sheffield, S1 2SH. Email: syorks.archservice@sheffield.gov.uk [accessed 9/01/08]

Sydes, B.

1986 Site Visit: Woodhouse Field Moated Site, PI315. [unpublished site visit note in SY SMR file 315] Available by appointment with SYAS, Howden House, 1 Union Street, Sheffield, S1 2SH. Email: syorks.archservice@sheffield.gov.uk

Taylor, C.

1975 Fields in the English Landscape. London: J.M Dent

Van de Noort, R., Chapman, H.P. and Collis, J.R.

2007 Sutton Common: The excavation of an Iron Age ‘marsh-fort’. CBA research report 154. York: Council for British Archaeology.

¹A selection of these photographs relating to South Yorkshire has been indexed by 1km grid square and is available for consultation by appointment with the SYAS SMR officer at Howden House, 1 Union Street, Sheffield.