Site of Lower Woodcote Deserted Medieval Settlement

Description of this historic site

Documentary evidence suggests that this may once have been the site of the Medieval settlement of Lower Woodcote. The site lies just south of the Police Head quarters at Leek Wootton

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Notes about this historic site

1 The two Woodcotes (Upper and Lower) are among the hamlets mentioned by Rous at the end of the 15th century as being completely destroyed.
2 There is nothing visible from the air. In 1332 there were 13 persons taxed. Other documents exist, but were not examined thoroughly.
3 Location unknown (U), period of desertion known but documentary evidence inferior in quantity.
4 Dugdale indicates that Woodcote was reduced to only the manor house and concludes that this was Woodcote Inferior (Lower Woodcote).
5 Beighton’s map of 1725 also shows a manor house at Woodcote.
6 A new house was built in 1861 to replace this manor house.
7 The manor house mentioned in 4 is probably the Woodcote Farm marked on the 1847 map at SP2869. The field pattern shown on the Tithe Map of Leek Wootton was very different from now, but no clue to the site of the last village is given by the field names.
8 An earlier field inspector gives a probable moat site as visible (SP2769) and suggests it may be connected with one of the Woodcotes.
9 No traces of depopulation or of the moated site were found when the site was visited.