NAME Monk Sherborne PARISH Monk Sherborne HUNDRED Chuteley DISTRICT and Deane NGR SU 608563 GEOLOGY Reading Beds and London Clay

SITE CONTEXT The church and Manor Fm are sited on a N facing slope at 100m OD on the edge of a small spur which to the SW has a height of 120m OD. The main area of the village lies just below 100m OD on the E slope of a large knoll. Between the two centres there is a slight dip to just under 90m OD.

PLAN TYPE & DESCRIPTION Polyfocal. Irregular row and Church/Manor Fm complex.

The church/manor focus is located away from the main area of settlement and is sited within a large 'island' being bounded by roads and green lanes. There have been several finds of pottery of Iron Age to Medieval date within and around this unit and on the S edge of the unit Roman remains have been discovered.

The main settlement area consists of an irregular row of houses along a street which at the N end divides into two. It is along the W fork that the greatest concentration of older houses lie but with little here that could be described as regularity. It is possible that the main area of houses represents a seperate focus and that gradually the two centres have been connected by later development.

AREAS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL

The unit within which the church and Manor Farm are situated is an AHAP. This type of feature within settlement plans containing such buildings are of great significance especially when accompanied by Roman and earlier remains. The possibility that this area has been a focus for settlement, if not continuously, since the Roman period and possibly before, makes this area and the land immediately surrounding it of high archaeological potential.

The building lines on either side of the road to the N from the church/Manor Farm unit are covered by an AAP. Occupation may never have been intense along this area and any houses may have been irregularly spaced but the dating of settlement in this area will have implications for the understanding of the development of the village.

CHURCH & CHURCHYARD All Saints. Early Norman herring-bone flint laying. Later Norman N doorway and chancel arch. Possibly there was also an apse.

BUILDINGS (Listed) 11 High St C17 II Rookery Cottage Rd C17 C18 II Bay-mon C16 C18 C19 II The Forge C18 II Queens Meadow Salters Heath Rd C16 C18 II Wantage Cottage C17 C18 II Monks Ford Salters Heath C16 C20 II Woodgate Fmhse C16 late C19 II Barn N C18 II Redhouse Fmhse C17 II Barn E C18 II Reynards Retreat Early C19 II All Saints church II Thames Dell C17 late C18 early C19 II Rookery Fmhse Early C19 II Appletree Cottage C17 II Eastrop Cottage C17 II Jonathan's Thatch early C17, remodelled C19 II

SMR DATA 11 60825580 Med church 14 61065588 IA pot 15 61065588 Roman pot 16 61005592 Pot from area of dark soil. Date unknown 18 60745545 Roman building, pot and coin 19 60305538 Flint flakes 30 60905580 Med pot C12/13 46 60805630 Roman coin 63 60905570 Roman tile and pot 64 60905570 Prehist flint debitage

ADDITIONAL SITES/FEATURES 1 60885695 Site of cottage shown on Tithe map. The area is under arable cultivation. At the time of the field visit in July, the site of the cottage was clear by the stunted growth of the crop in this area 2 60705667 ditto 3 60885659 Site of outbuilding shown on Tithe map 4 60895651 Site of cottage shown on Tithe map 5 60935643 ditto 6 60955611 Site of outbuildings shown on Tithe map 7 60825607 Site of outbuilding shown on Tithe map 8 60925592 Hollow-way. Sunken lane forming the E boundary to the Church/Manor Fm focus

CARTOGRAPHIC SOURCES OS 1:2500 SU 6055-6155, 6056-6156, Tithe map 21M65/F7/161/2 (1839)

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRIMARY HISTORIC SOURCES Domesday Hugh of Port. Young Alnoth held it from King Edward in freehold. Then and now it answered 10.5 hides and 0.5 virgate. Land for 10 pl. In lordship 3 pl; 8 villagers and 13 smallholders with 4 pl. 5 slaves; meadow, 16 acres; woodland at 23 pigs. Value before 1066 and later £8; now £10.

Subsidy Rolls 1334 Not recoreded 1524 5. 6. 2 (34 taxpayers)

Manorial Documents

Hearth Tax 1665 72 hearths chargeable (26 houses) 34 hearths not chargeable (30 houses) Total 56 houses

PLACE NAME 1086 sireborne OE 'bright stream' but the proximity of many of the Sher names to the county boundary makes the meaning 'shire' also probable. 'Monk' from the fact that there was a priory here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

OTHER PROJECT ARCHIVE ELEMENTS The priory from which the settlement gets the 'Monks' pre-fix is at the N end of the parish and is known as Priory. It was founded by Henry of Port during the reign of Henry I (VCH Vol II p 226).

Coates suggests that Monk Sherborne and may have formed have a single unit ( Coates, 1989 p118)