Bascote Shrunken Medieval Settlement

1 Spoken of by Dugdale as ‘reduced’, but in 1730 there were thirteen houses.
2 The extent of shrinkage is unclear, the main depopulation being in a field called ‘The Green’, with further evidence of depopulation coming from the field S of Manor Farm (PRN 5423). Despite ‘The Green’ having been ploughed for about eight years it is still possible to trace over a dozen earthworks. The majority are situated on a slope E of the main hollow way, with those in the extreme SE corner being unploughed. The site has produced fairly large amounts of roofing tile, brick, building stone and pottery as well as two pieces of metalwork. The pottery ranges from 12th to 18th century. This probably gives a reasonable indication of the length of occupation. The tile may be Medieval or Post Medieval and there is local white lias building stone.
3 Excavations along the line of a sewer trench in 1996 (EWA3238) revealed the remains of three buildings, together with boundary ditches and walls, a yard surface and a corn dryer. 11th to 15th century pottery was recovered, as was some evidence of industrial activity.
4 Full report on the excavations undertaken on the easement of the STW pipeline across the area of medieval settlement earthworks. Includes plot of ploughed out earthworks, with eight tofts recorded adjacent to a holloway. Evidence spanning the 11th to 15th century was reocrd. Extensive excavation report, including documentary background, specialist reports etc.