The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
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• 232 • Roberta Gilchrist<br />
multiple churches might result, such<br />
as at Beechamwell, Norfolk, where<br />
the convergence <strong>of</strong> three settlements<br />
resulted in the co-existence <strong>of</strong> three<br />
parish churches in a single village. In<br />
eastern England, <strong>ca</strong>ses <strong>of</strong> multiple<br />
lordship oc<strong>ca</strong>sionally resulted in the<br />
sharing <strong>of</strong> a single churchyard by two<br />
to three parish churches, such as at<br />
Reepham, Norfolk. In regions <strong>of</strong><br />
dispersed settlement, churches may<br />
have been founded in relative<br />
isolation, although this appearance<br />
may sometimes be deceptive.<br />
Agricultural shifts, such as a<br />
transition <strong>from</strong> arable to pastoral<br />
farming, could <strong>ca</strong>use the movement<br />
<strong>of</strong> settlement to areas <strong>of</strong> free<br />
grazing, such as greens and parish<br />
boundaries. In such <strong>ca</strong>ses, early<br />
village sites were deserted and<br />
churches that now appear to be<br />
isolated in the lands<strong>ca</strong>pe were once<br />
in close proximity to their<br />
communities. Churches in towns<br />
were placed in order to encourage<br />
easy access: on street corners, on<br />
main thoroughfares, at markets,<br />
bridges and at gates in town walls,<br />
so that travellers and pilgrims could<br />
visit them easily when beginning or<br />
completing a journey.<br />
Figure 13.1 Sequence <strong>of</strong> church constructions at Raunds, Northamptonshire, Between 1050–1150, there was a<br />
late ninth to thirteenth centuries.<br />
massive rebuilding <strong>of</strong> churches,<br />
Source: Boddington 1996, Fig. 5<br />
translating timber-built, lo<strong>ca</strong>l<br />
churches to the more substantial<br />
parish churches constructed in stone. Ex<strong>ca</strong>vations have shown that these early stone churches<br />
were <strong>of</strong> fairly simple form, consisting <strong>of</strong> one or two cells, <strong>of</strong>ten incorporating an apsed eastern<br />
end: examples include All Saints, Barton Bendish, Norfolk; Barrow, Lincolnshire; St Paul-in-the-<br />
Bail, Lincoln; and St Benedict, Norwich. A small number <strong>of</strong> three-cell early churches are known,<br />
incorporating an axial, or central, tower, while others had towers attached to the western end <strong>of</strong><br />
the church. It has been suggested that such towers may have been reserved for the use <strong>of</strong> the lord<br />
who had built and owned the church, with the nave left open for public use (Morris 1989, 252–<br />
255). Moreover, the manorial residence <strong>of</strong> the lord seems to have been closely associated with<br />
the church. Ex<strong>ca</strong>vations at Barton-on-Humber, Humberside, which retains a highly embellished<br />
<strong>An</strong>glo-Saxon tower, revealed that the church <strong>of</strong> c.970–1030 was erected just west <strong>of</strong> a large bank<br />
and ditch, which defined a sub-circular enclosure that may have been the manor or residence <strong>of</strong><br />
the lord (Figure 13.2) (Rodwell and Rodwell 1982).