ORE Open Research

TITLE The Historic Landscapes of the Levels

AUTHORS Rippon, Stephen

DEPOSITED IN ORE 25 April 2008

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The version presented here may differ from the published version. If citing, you are advised to consult the published version for pagination, volume/issue and date of publication -in theSevern Estuary 11 (2000),1i9-i35

THE HISTORIC LANDSCAPES OF THE SE,VERI\E.STUARY LEVELS

By StephenRippon

The deepalluvial sequencesthat make up the SevernEstuary Levels comprisea seriesof stratified landscapesdating Jrom earlyprehi,story through to thepresent day. Most of theselandscapes are deeply buried, and, whilst exceptionally 'historic well-preserved,are largely inaccessibleand so ill-understood.It is only with the landscape',that lies on the surface of the Levels, that we can really start to reconstruct and analyse what thesepast landscapeswere like. However, although the enormously diverse historic landscapeis itself an important source of information, itsfull potential is only achievedthrough its integration with associatedarchaeological and documentatyevidence. This presentsmany challengesand whilst much has beenachieved in the last tenyears, there is a long way to go before we can write a comprehensivehistory of the SevernLevels.

Two techniquesare vital. Historic landscapecharacterisation focuses on the key character defining featttres of dffirent landscapesand can suggestthe processes that may have led to their creation.This is almost invariably a complexstory as mostlandscapes combinefeatures from a numberof dffirent periods, thoughretrogressiveanalysis can disentangle this palimpsest. In the past ten years, both techniqueshave been successfullyapptied to various oJ' the Severnwetlands, although attention hasfocused upon the wholly cultural process of reclamation; thepotentialll.t significant role played by certain features of the natural environment,including the belt oJ-sanddunes that fringe much of the Somersetcoast, has been neglected.Elaborate models have also been constructerJ,based largely on landscapemorphology, and there is a desperateneed to test thesehypotheses throttghfieldwork. Above all there is a need to move beyondsimple landscapecharcterisation towards more detailedpalaeogeographies.

Introduction logical, palaeoenvironmental,and documentary resources,it is perhaps Despitethe long history of archaeologicaland surprisingthat until recently few attempts palaeoenvironmentalinvestigations in thepeatlands weremade to combineall three.Indeed, it was only in the 1990sthat the value of ,the remarkablyrich archaeologyof the of what is arguablythe richest resourceof all - the historic Severn Estuary as a whole only came to be landscape(the presentpattern of fields, roads, recognisedfrom the 1970s.Following the pioneering settlementsetc.) - startedto be recognised.This work of John and Bryony Coles in the Somerset paper will review some of the developmentsin Levels,subsequent discoveries elsewhere around the historic landscapestudies around the Severn,while Estuaryhave maintained the region'snationai if not a case-study,revisiting the Caldicot Level in South international profile. These finds are significant in East ,will iliustrate how we can progress themselves,but in coming from a wetland environ- beyond simple historic landscapecharacterisation menttheir value is enhancedby the integrityof their towardsmore detailedpalaeogeographies. context:their associationwith other contemporary landscapefeatures and palaeo-environmental evidence(e.g. Bell et al. 2000; Nayling 1998; Coastal wetlands: the range of Nayiing andCaseldine 1997).In themedieval period, opportunities documentarymaterial provides yet anothersource The presentappearance of the SevernLevels is of information, and the abundant archives of almost entirely due to the work of some 60 Abbey for example, whose estates generationsofhuman communitiesover the pasttwo included large tracts of the SomersetLevels, have millennia, with a freshwater,largely agricuitural, also made a major contributionto the development landscapebeing createdfrom a wide range of of agrarianhistory (e.g.Harriscn 1997;Keil 1964). intertidal and perimarine environments. That Consideringthe richness of these archaeo- mankind shouldchose to transform the iandscanein

-, r46 Rippon this way is not simply an issuelbr wetland the problem of flooding rs to moclifythe landscape. archaeolo-eistsand historians.The reasonsbehind for example through the constructionof lou, environmentalchange on this scalehave implications embankmentsto protect crops from surnmer for any scholar sfudying theseperiods, in that the flooding, but without the intentionof providingyear_ 'ring' 'summer reasonswhy wetlands were manipulatedto this round flood defence.Such or dikes, extent must reflect wider economic,social and certainiy existed in the Netherlandsand Gerrnany demographictrends. (Bazelmanset al. 1999;Lambert 1911,94; Mayhew 'infield' As describedin moredetail elsewhere (Rippon 1973,48), and the enclosuresidentified on 2000a),the rich ecologicalmosaics that coastal the SevernLevels may haveperformed a very similar wetland environments contain offer a very wide function (Figures 1 and 4; Rippon 2000a).While 'summer range of natural resourcesthat were exploitedby such dikes' will provide someprotection, human communitiesthroughout . These they existed in what remained an intertidal resourceswould haveinciuded fishing, wildfowling, environment and in order to realise fully the the grazing of livestock, and the opportunity for agricultural potential of coastal wetlands,the producing salt by boiling seawater, and could be landscapeneeds to be transformedthrough reciam_ exploited without significantly changingthe natural ation.This involvesthe constructionof a seawall to environment.Experiments in the Netherlandsand keep the tides peffnanently at bay, and led to an (Bottema et aL.1 9 80 ; YanZetst et al. 1976), intertidalenvironment becoming wholly freshwater aiongwith palaeoenvironmentalevidence from both andwith a managedwater table. This sequencefrom Britain and the continenthave shown that it is even exploitation, through modifi cation, to transformation possibleto grow crops on a high intertidal marsh, appearsto have occurred in both Britain and though such environmentsare not ideally suitedto mainland Europe (e.g. Bazelmanset al. 1999; agriculture(Behre and Jacomet1991; Behre et al. Crowsonet a|.2000; Rippon 2000b, 169-77),and 1J9f; Crowsonet a|.2000; Korber-Grohne1981; asthe historiclandscape oftoday was createdthrough Pals 1999 Yan Zerst 1914;1989). One solutionto a combinationof theseprocesses, it containswithin

'infield' Figt'tre I : The early medieval at Vole, in Brent on the (see Turner et al.fig. I this volume Jbr location). These oval-shaped enclosures are characteristic of the highea coastal parts of the Severn Levels and would appear to have been the earliest reclamations in an otherwise open and relatively feature-less marsh. A key issue is 'ring' 'summer' whether they pre-dated the construction of a sea wall (ie were analogous to the continental or dikes, or whether they were simply the earliest areos to be enclosed in an erea recently protected from tidal inundation bv embankment.salong the coast and major tidal rivers. --r

1 1'l Historic Landscapesof the SevernEstuary L-t / its fabric valuableevidence for the changingways survival of ridge and furrow in a few areascertainly in which humancommunities decided to utilisetheir supports the documentaryevidence for fairiy environment. extensivearable cultivation, at leastfrom the 11,hto 14thcenfuries (Allen 1992;Rippon 1996,fig. Reclamation: high cost, high risk but 52; 2000a,229-34),while arableyields and land values high return were far higher than on the adjacent drylands was the Reclamation key processin the creationof (Harrison 1991).The archaeologicalevidence for iandscape the historic and as such is deservingof arablecultivation on the Levels is slim, suchis the further attention.There has been some debatein lack of large-scaleexcavation and palaeoenviron- yearsabout the recent adoptionof new agricuhural mentalsampiing from medievalsettlements, though and the technology context in which agricultural resultsfrom Seabank(Insole 1999)and Rockingham occurred (Astiil innovation and Langdon 1991). Farm (Locock and Lawier 2000, 100) on the provides Reclamation oneexample. The costs,risks Avonmouth Levels and Puxton in benefitsof that approach and to landscapeutilisation (Julie Jones,unpublished data) suggest that wheat, been considered have in detail elsewhere(Rippon bariey,beans, and possibly oats were cultivated. The In summary,the 2000a). rich natural resourcesof significance of the legumes is consideredfurther coastalwetlands are lost oncethe areais embanked below. drained,representing the and first cost of reclam- Despite the apparentextent of arable cultiv- The capitalcost ation. of constructingflood defences ation,all the SevernLevels retained extensive areas is also enonnous,and once built, the seawalls and of pasturewell into the medieval period. This is drainagesystems required regular maintenance: reflectedin the fabric of the historic landscapeby cost another of reclamation.Even well maintained the extensive network of often funnel-shaped floodprotections schemes could be overwhelmedby drovewaysthat linked the mainly coastalsettlements freakstorms, indicating that reclamationwas alsoa with usually common pasturesin the lower-lying high risk strategytowards wetland utilisation. backfens.The relativesignificance of arableversus Consideringthese high costs and high risks, one pastoralfarming is difficult to assess,but recentwork might ask why anyone bothered:the answeris that is suggestingthat the latter may have been rather reclamationoffered a high return on that investment more significantthan previouslv thought, since part in termsof increasedagricultural productivity. of the arablesector may have beengeared towards It is very difficult to assessthe reiative livestockhusbandry. importance arable 'account of versuspastoral farming without Where rolls' survive they allow the detailed documentarysources. For the SevernLevels, proportion of different crops being grown in the these only really exist for GlastonburyAbbey's arablefields to be assessed,and at Brent, Sowy and estates at Brent, Sowy and Withy. Therehas been a Withy at least, a remarkably high proportion of the tendency to stress the importance of arable demesnewas being sown with beans(see Table 1; cultivation on reclaimed coastalmarshes, and the Rippon forthcomitrg).

Table1: acreagessown with wheat, oats barley and beans on wheat oats barley beans acres yield/ yield/ acres yield/ yield/ acres yield/ yield/ acres yield/ yield/ ,",d "/" b"*t sown acre seed SOWN acre seed SOWN acre seeo sown acre seed SOWN

1282t3 289 4.0 2.A 151 11.1 2.2 800 4.3 2.2 I z+u or+.3 1300/1 272 3.4 1.7 220 10.2 1.7 no data A^d^ 1302/3 308 +.o t.z 228 12.6 2.1 521 5.9 3.0 1057 49.3 1304/5 .1.3 298 2.6 204 12.1 2.1 183 6.0 3.0 685 26.7 1311/1 2 261 t.t J.o 179 10.1 2.1 203 4.7 2.4 o+,J J t.o 1313/1 4 179 5.5 2.8 171 10.0 2.0 1Y 8.1 A'l 275 7.0 3.5 654 40.0 1314t15 296 8.4 4.3 131 11.6 2.3 209 13.7 6.5 636 32.9 1330/1 44 87 12.9 3.2 131 4.5 2.2 262 50.0

1333/4 1^- 44 7.3 3.6 95 12.6 3.1 loc o.z J. I 304 54.3

average 411 221 5.5 2.8 163 11.4 2.2 (2e) (B 1) (4 1) !)lr o.c J.t 685 43.6

ihe high yields per acre of oats was due to the very high sowing rate: Harrison 1997, 291 source: Harrison 1997, table 4.25 --q?--

148 Rippon

The cultivation of beansdurrng the medieval 1995,109; Postan 1966,583; Titow 1969,41). period is a sign of progressiveagriculture, and the Contemporary writings certainly show that the c.20oAof demesnesown in areassuch as Norfolk potentialfor growing legumesfor this purposewas and Kent is usually seen as being very high recognised,and the acreagessown in partsof East (Campbell1991; 1997 , table 10.1; Campbeilet al. Anglia and South East England were sufficient to 1993, 136, ftg. 20). Clearly, the figures for Brent impiy that improving fertiiity was theprime objective (43.6%) andWithy ( 100%)are extraordinarily high. (Farmer1911,564).In most cases, however, the far It hastraditionally beenargued that the introduction smallerareas that weredevoted to legumeswere used of legumesinto medievalagriculture was primarily insteadof fallow in orderto producea superiorfodder as part of crop rotations in order to improve soil crop.Comparison with therest of medievalEngland fertility(e.g. Brandon 1,972,418; Campbell 1988, suggeststhat the acreagessown with beanson the fig. 1; 1991,144-5;Currie 1988; Gross and Butcher SomersetLevels represents a highly specialisedform

Figure 2: A tentativereconstruction of theNorth SomersetLevels duringthe Romanperiod (later j'd centuryAD)' Note that theposition of the coastlineis unknown,as by analogy with the Welshside of the Estuary, it is likely to have been lost to later erosion (Allen and Rippon 1997; Nayling 1999). Overlying alluvium and the ravages of larcr agriculture mean that the detailed layout of individual settlementsand their associatedfietdsystems is only knownJbr threeareas (inset: Banwell Moor, Kenn Moor and PuxtonDolmoors: seeRippon 2000b). I{istoric Lantlscapes of the Ser-ern Estttctry t19 of agricr-rlturalproduction. Beans are an ideal crop and Minnitt 1995)and the Goidcliff settlementoff for sr,rchenvironments since they preferheavy soils theCaldicot Levei (Bell eta\.2000). Several srudies andarereiatively salt-tolerant(in themedieval period havealso been made of thediverse Romano-British theywere evencuitivated on high intertidalmarshes: landscapesranging from saltproduction in the Brue Crowsonet al. 2000; Insole 1999;Murphy 1993; valley of Somerset(fuppon 1995; 1997a), agriculture 1994).The high percentageof ground put down to on a high intertidal saltmarshat Nash on the Caldicot beanson the SomersetLevels could, therefore, reflect Level (Meedensand Beasleyforthcoming), the regularflooding, thoughthe sameaccount rolls show relativelylocaiised enciosure and drainagewithin a so little expenditureon drainageworks, and had so reclaimed marsh on the North SomersetLevels few labour servicesdevoted to main-tainingflood (Figure2: Rippon2000b), through to the large-scale defences,that the areacan hardly havebeen regularly reclamationof the WentloogeLevel (Fulford et al. inundated.Rather than simply being a responseto 1994). However, in all casesthe windows of environmentaiconditions, it would appearthat opportunity for exploring these landscapeswere certain estatemanagers were making a positive limited by the later depositsthat almost invariably decisionto grow beans. overlie them. If we really want to understandhow Beans are a protein-rich sourceof food for human communities exploited, modified and both humansand animalsthat can easilybe stored evenfuallytransformed these landscapes, we must dry or turned into bread/cake,and in a number of focuson the mostrecent occasion when this occurred medievalaccounts, it is specificallymentioned that and which led to the creationof the present,or 'historic' beanswere fed to pigs (seeRippon forthcoming). landscape.The articulatedlandscape GlastonburyAbbey's bean-growingmanors on the elementswhich needto be consideredinclude: SomersetLevels certainly had large herds of pigs, . the nafural environment (landform, drainage the largestof all being located at Sowy (Keil 1964, systemsetc) 81, 125).However, the preferential growing ofbeans . settlements(where people lived and worked) on certain manors may also have been associated . agriculture, with the raisingof horses.'s only including fields (in which agri- culturewas practised) sfud farms in Somersetwere locatedat Brent and and otherareas of landed resource(such Sowy (Keil 1964,81), and a traditionof horse as meadowand woodland) . breedingmay be evidentin Domesday,for manors non-agricuituralresources (raw material in the Brent Marsh areahad a relatively high number procurementand manufacturing) of horses,including unbrokenmares (Round 1906, . roads and other communicationroutes (which 423).Of all Glastonbury'smanors, the three largest linked communitiesliving in settlementswith herdsof cattle were also locatedon the manorsof eachother and with their resources) Brent,Withy and Sowy which all containedextensive . ritual foci (where religion and burial were tracts of marshland,and practisedextensive bean practised) cultivation (Keil \964, table 19). Added to fertile . social structures(including kinship groups) meadowsand pasfures it seemsthat medievalestate . territorial structures(economic and tenurial managerswere making careful choicesas to how units within which all the above were they could most effectivelyutiiise thesedistinctive articulated) environments.The perceptionof landlordssuch as . Glastonburywas cleariy that the high, particular demography(including the racial origins ofthe pastoral,productivity of their Brent estatejustified peoplewho lived in this landscape) the costsand risks of reclamation. Sources and methods in understanding the historic landscape Reconstructing past landscapes around the The key to understandingthe historic landscapeis Severn Estuary the careful integration of a wide range of source Understandingthe patterns of agriculture in the material that relates to these various articulated reciaimedcoastal wetlands is important.but what components.The richest record of all is the very did theselandscapes look like? A numberof seminal fabric of the historic landscapeitself: the individual studieshave now beenpublished that have affempted field boundaries,roads and settlements,and the to reconstructprehistoric landscapes, notably around, patternsthey form when mapped. TWo techniques 'lake the Glastonbury village' in Somerset(Coles provide the key to unravelling these landscapes: 150 Rippon historiclandscape characterisation and retrogressive The natural landscape analysis.A basic characterisationhas now been Much of the work that has been carried achieved for all the Severn Estuary landscapes out on the historic landscapesof the Severnwetlands (Rippon I99Ja, fig. 39),with more detailedsfudies has focusedon the processof reclamation,drainage of severalareas (Musgrove \997; Rippon 1996). and enclosurethat createdthe essentialfabric Historic landscapecharacterisation is now being of the historic landscape.This emphasison applied throughout the country (Dyson Bruce et al. cultural processesis quite justified, for theseiandscapes 1999;Fairclough 1999),and can play an important as they are today are almost wholly the creation part in the elucidationof how landscapeevolves, but of humancommunities. However, coastal wetiands in itself is simply a morphologicalclassification. For are such dynamic environmentsthat it is all it to fulfil its true potentialone must addtime-depth, to easyto forgetthat, whilst presentinga seriesof possibilities, in which retrogressiveanalysis plays a vital part human activify was at times alsoheavily (Williamson 1981). constrained by nature: we need to achieve a far greater The processof retrogressiveanalysis is now understandingof what the natural landscape well known. Startingwith the most recentmap of a looked like, and how it evolved. particular areUone works back through a sequence On the ground,the variouswetlands that of progressivelyearlier maps of the samearea until fringe the SevernEstuary can appear as flat and feafureless, the earliestis reached(which can be termeda base but there are a number of important elements map). This revealshow landscapesevolve, such as of the naturai environment that have the way in which farmerswill graduallyadjust a field come to shapethe cultural landscape boundary pattern following the superimpositionof notably reiief, watercoursesand coastal a feafuresuch as a road or railway (or set-backsea barriers.The leastobvious is relief: noneof the wall: e.g.Rippon 1996,fig. 4). Evenwithin the few SevernLevels are in fact flat and more frequent hundredyears for which we have good cartographic inundationand hencesediment deposition leads to sourcesit may be possible to identify certain thoseareas closest to the coastand major tidal rivers chronologically-distinctlandscape forms, which can being the most elevated.It was theseareas that were then be recognisedin less well-documentedareas. settled first when human communities came to In this w?y, one canthen deconstructthe base-ffi?p, colonisethe marshes(Figure 4). The dominanceof identifzing certainlandscape forms that arelater than fine sedimentwithin the SevernE,sfuary, however, others,allowing one graduallyto move towardsthe meansthat there areno sand-filledrelict creekbanks earliest layout of that landscape.Recovering (roddens)as are found in Fenland. information from air photographsenables features Coastalmarshes are also crossedby two types to be restoredto this early pattern,,which have since of watercourse:rivers and streamsflowing off the been lost, while the integrationof topographical adjacentuplands to the coast,and a networkof creeks referencesin early documentarysources can add which drain thesemarshes of tidal waters.This further time-depth to these landscapes(Musgrove natural patterns of watercoursesthat traversedthe 1991). In addition to saying that a particular intertidal area came to be incorporatedwithin the landscapefeature existed by a particular tirne, field- post-reclamationhistoric landscape.Once tidal names,for example,can give an indicationof how inundation had ceasedthe network of tidai creeks the land was formerly managed,for example on no longer had a function, and many appearto have commonor enclosedfields (for an examplesee Cutt beenused as field-boundariesin thenewly enclosed Furlongbeiow). Morphology cansimilarly give clues post-reclamationlandscape. The major rivers to former landuse,such as strip-like fields that flowing off the uplandsremained active and having fossiiize open-fields, and the funnel-shaped been embankedprovided important means of drovewaysthat allowed the movement of livestock communi-cationbetween the coastand inland.The from settlements,through agricultural areasto larger rivers often supportedimportant port tewns cofirmongrazings. In the GwentLevels, for example, such as on the Parrett, on the both freld- and place-namesgive clearevidence for , Newport on the Usk, and Cardiff on the Taff. the colonisationof certainplaces by Englishpeasants Eventhe lessertidal inletssupported small ports and in the 12'hcentury, which hints that the area may landing places such as Rooksbridgeon the Axe 'Abergwaitha' havebeen subjectto a similar processplantation to (Russett1991, 62-4) and on Magor thatwhich is well-documentedin SouthWest Wales Piil (Allen and Rippon 1991).These rivers couid also (seebelow). be usedto power watermills, as at Rooksbridgeon Historic Landscapes of'the Severn Eshrarv r5l

the Axe (Holt 1987; Naish 1968)and Kingston development;Kidson and Heyworth(lgl6, fig 12) Seymourin North Somerset(Gardner and Rippon evenomit the dunesfrom their palaeogeographical 1997),while a canalisedupland stream powered the reconstructions 'Abergwaitha' of the SomersetLevels. The belt of mill at (calendar of charterRolls III, dunessouth of Worleburycertainly existed by the 88-89;Rippon 1996,79). Clearly,these tidal inlets, Romanperiod, as severaloccupation layers of that particularlywhere they crossedthe higher,coastal datehave been recorded stratified within the dunes parts of the Levels, were importantlong-term foci at Weston-super-Mare(Rippon 1997a,35).The for human activity and the mapping of buried excavationsat BreanDown establishedthat the dunes palaeochannelsis an importantchallenge for the there startedto accumulateduring the early 2',d future(see Locock, this volume). millenniumBP (Bell 1990).The occurrenceof The leastunderstood elementsof the natural intercalatedfreshwater peats and estuarinecrays in environmentare the beltsof sanddunes that protect the presentintertidal zone might suggestthat the muchof the Somerset coast.These dunes must have duneshave periodically migrated out into theestuary playeda critical role in theevolution of the Somerset though in the Roman period at least,intertidal Levels.They would have providedvery effective marshesappear to havebuilt up on the seawardside protectionfrom tidal floodingand as such could have of the dunes(Allen andRitchie in press;Bell 1990,, aided or encouraged reclamation,although a 258;Druce 1998). During the medieval period, the continuousnatural coastal barrier also disruptsthe presenceof dunesfurther southcan be inferredby dischargeof freshwater. The breachingof a belt of the place-nameBerrow, first recordedin AD gl3 sand 'place dunesrlay, therefore,increase the risk of and meaning at the hiils, (presumably occasionaltidal flooding whilst reducingthe risk of refeningto thedunes: Costen 1992,1 l4; Mills lggl, regularfreshwater inundation. 32).Theearliest reference to dunesat Burnhamis in Despitethe potential significanceof these AD l30l (Nashn.d., 2l), andthe furthestsouth that dunesfor the evolution of the SomersetLevels, very thesand appears to haveextended is theLighthouse littlework hasbeen carriedout into theirorisins and Innin Bumham(Rippon 1995, 103). Although there

Figure 3: Berrow church and the coast sctnd dunes of the centrol Somerset Levels. looking north towards (top) Thi's I3't' centurv c'hurc'h, and its associatecl settlement was cons;Ltmeclhv drifting sand, prohahly in the late medieval period. -r

152 Rippon ls now a continuousbarrier betweenBrean and stone:in fact,the publication of researchshould often Burnham,this cannotalways havebeen the caseas be the startingpoint for achievingsomething better. - at ieast one major river referredto in a Saxon ThereforeFigure 4 is very much a working modei. Charleras the Siger in AD 693- is now blockedby and much of the detail is speculativeand basedon the dunes, though when this occurred is unclear evidence already published. However, it raisesa (Rippon 7995,fte. 2).The migrationof the dunes number of importanceissues with regardsto how during the iate medievalperiod is indicatedby the far our understandingof this and similar landscapes partial burial of the medievalsettlement at Berrow, has come. What follows is a brief commentatyon andprobably reflects the increasedstorminess known some of the key issuesthat preparingthese maps to have occurred at this time (Figure 3: Nash n.d., raised, with particular referenceto the rangeof 21; andsee Nash f9l2l3; Rippon 1995;1991,242- evidenceused, and some of the major unresolved 5; Toft 1988). issues. Figare 4.1: the eurly medievalperiod Case-study: a new landscape reconstruction Recentarchaeological observations have confirmed of the Caldicot Level that an extensivephase of post-Romanflooding The maps createdthrough historic landscape affectedmuch ifnot ali of the CaldicotLevel (Rippon 1996,35; characterisationare very general,and do not show andsee Loco ck 1997;Locock and Walker 1998; what a particular landscapelooked like at any one Meddens and Beasleyforthcoming; Rippon particulartime in the past.However, when combined 2000b).Palae oenvironmental and sedimentological with the techniquesof retrogressiveanalysis and studiesindicate that the Romano-Britishlandscape documentaryresearch, it is possible to produce was buried under saltmarshesand mudflats. The position speculativemaps of different periods.Whilst these of the earlymedieval coastline is not known but Allen and maps are in themselvesuseful, the very processof Rippon(1991,356) have established that at their creationis in itself a valuableexercise in that it the end of the Romanperiod it was not less than raisesproblems that require fuither research.In the 0.8 km further out into the Esfuary than the present following case-studyI return to the CaldicotLevel, seawall. which has seenthe most detailedhistoric landscape The CaldicotLevel is not crossedbyany major analysisof ali the SevernEsfuary Leveis, including rivers, though a number of streamsflow off the adjacent a characterisation(Rippon 1996, figs l6-20), uplands(Rippon 1996,,fig. 3B). Their pre- reclamation hypotheticalmodels of how the landscapecould have coursesacross the Levels are in most cases evolved (Rippon 1996,figs 4 and 25), and outline unclear,but they have a high archaeological potential maps suggestinghow the landscapemay actually and their mapping must be a high priority. havedeveloped (Rippon 1996a,figs 23,33 and34). Figure 4.2: turn of the millennium? Since then, little further work has been carried out There is no evidencewithin the historic landscape apartfrom an analysisof the areaaround Magor Pill to suggestthat the CaldicotLevel was everenciosed (Allen andRipp on1997)and small-scaleexcavations by more than a single sea wall (ie there are no at BroadstreetCommon (unpublished)and Redwick embankmentsrooted on the fen-edgethat extendto (Yates2000). However, work on analogouswetlands the coast,other than along the Usk andCollister Pill: around the Estuary, and indeed more widely, has Rippon 1996, 68, fig. 25). Based upon this provided new information, notably through fuither observation,it was previously assumedthat the theoreticalmodelling on how reclamationproceeded sequenceof reclamationwas as follows: the entire (Rippon 1991afig.7 anddetailed heldwork ;2000a), areaof marshwas embanked,and then small areas on one of the primary settlementfoci ('infieidS') at were enclosedin the form of infieldsz,and that as Puxton on the North SomersetLevels (Rippon more land was required, enclosure and drarnage 1991b;1998;1999). expandedfrom theseinitial foci. Analogy with the Figure 4 is a new attempt to reconstructin continent, however, suggestsa potentially different generalterms how the historic landscapeof the sequence.Experiments have shownthat it is possible Caldicot Level may just have evolved.It is not an to grow certain crops on a high intertidal marsh, indicationof how our understandingof this specific though the seediingsin particular are vulnerable to landscape emerged,but also a reflectionof how the freak summer storms. The solution of marshland author's thinking has changed.There is, perhaps,a communities in the Netherlandsand Germany was tendency to see ideas,once published,as cast in to enclosesmali areasof marsh with a low Historic Landscapes oJ the Severn Estuary i53

- 'summer embankment or dike' - thatwas designed of a landscapedominated by English-stylenucleated simpiy to protect these crops during the growing villagesand open fields (Rippon \996,61-8; Davies season,rather than provide year-roundprotection: 1987;Sylvester 1969).In contrast,the areaeast of the landscapewas being modified but not trans- CollisterPi1l (Caldicot Moor) was left asan intertidal formed (Bazelmanset al. 1999;Rippon 2000a).It marsh,and used as a colnmonpasfure by a seriesof was only later that permanentprotection was fen-edgecommunities, which reflectsthe different provided through the constructionof a more policiestowards landscape management adopted by substantialsea wall along the coast. these lords and their tenants (Rippon 2000a). For the CaldicotLevel it cannow be suggested Whetherthere was a consciousdecision to 'reserve' that the earliestfeatures in the historic landscapewas this area for its natural resources,or the lack of not a continuoussea wali alongthe coast,but a series enciosurewas simply the resuitof communalinertia of roughly oval-shapedenclosures which havebeen is unclear,though the latterwould appearmore likely 'infields' termed (Rippon 1996,42-5, 72-3). This asthere is no evidencethat CaldicotMoor was used hypothesismust be testedthrough fieidwork, and for anything other than grazing. work on the North SomersetLevels at Puxton has Having protectedthe areaof former saltmarsh 'infields' establishedthat one of these was indeed from tidal inundation, the threat of freshwater an area of agricultural land, protectedby a low flooding had to be addressedby embankingthe larger embankment,and associatedwith an adjacent streams that flowed off the adjacent uplands settlement(Rippon 1991b;1998; 1999).That these (Monksditch and Mill Reen).A third major arrificial enclosuresappear to representindividual attempts watercourse(now called Elver Pill Reen, but to improvethe agriculturalproductivity of quitesmall formerly Earls Reen)is somethingof an enigma.It areasof marsh, suggeststhat this initial phaseof carries the upland streamknown as the Llan Allen colonisationwas a piecemealaffair, undertakenby Winter Sewer,whose small catchment,and the name individual farmerswho investedlimited resources. itself, suggestsmay havebeen largely seasonai. On in what remaineda risky environment. this basis,such a major artificial watercoursewould On the Caldicot Level, in addition to those appear to have been unnecessary, although 'infields' the identified in 1996, further possible stream'ssignificance as a landscapefeature is examplesmay now be recognisedat Burnt House reflectedin its inclusionas an estateboundary in the and Farmfield in Nash, and to the south of Whitson 8'h-centurycharter of (Evans 1893 ,313-4). church. It is not known whether any others existed It may be no coincidencethat it also marks a closer to the coastwhich have been lost to later pronounceddivision within the historic landscape erosion. betweenRedwick and the parishesto the east,with Figure 4.3: early 72'hcentury? their largely nucleated settlementand mostly common fields, and Goldcliff, Nash and Christ- The date when a seawall was first built along the church to the west which had a more dispersed coastis unclear.The foundationgrant of Goidcliff settlementpatter and mostly enclosedfields. Priory in c.I 113 refersto a churchat Goldcliff anda Over time, the landscapestarted to evolve chapelat Nash, and since it is highiy 'infields'. unlikely that aroundthe primary Settlementwould have suchstructures would be constructedon an intertidal expanded,and in a number of instances,'lobe- saltmarsh,it canbe assumed that the CaidicotLevel shaped' enclosuresadjacent to the infields would had been embankedby that time. This must have appearto representthe secondstage of agricultural been a major undertakitrg- an enterprisefar greater expansion(one such example has recently been than 'infield' - the creationof the enclosures which surveyedat Puxton on the North SomersetLevels). suggests the work of a powerful individual lord, or In a numberof cases,notably in Redwick andUndy, considerableco-operation between many commun- these areaswere still common fields in the l9,h ities. The constructionof a coastalsea wall is, century, and their field-names, strip-basedmorph- however,relatively cost effective as the length of ology,and documentary references in othercases also embankmentper areaprotected from flooding was suggeststhat thesesecondary enclosures were once very favourable.This act, along with the foundation open fields. The degreeto which land was held in of Goldcliff Priory,ffivyrepresent part of a policy of severalfyat this time, and the extentto which these investment and estateimprovement on the part of field systemsextended towards the coastis unclear. the new Anglo-Norman Marcher lords, that These early settlementfoci also came to be elsewherein southWaies is reflectedin the creation linked through a network of droveways. There -r

154 Rippon

rl,. \ \ '!, J/, \ rk. t \u / \ ,\,, /t

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Figure 4-'The CaldicotLevel in l831 (basedon the Commissionersof Sewersmaps; GwentRecords Office D.1365/ 2: see Turner et al. this volumefigure 3), and a modelfor the developmentof the Caldicot Level during the medieval period.

appearsto have beenfwo primary axesof communi- the backfens,which themselvesevenfually became cation, one leading from Liswerry on the fen-edge foci for settlement.This is most noticeablealong down to Nash and Goldcliff, and the other leadine Whitson Common andBroadstreet Common in Nash from Magor to Redwick. (seeFigure 4.5). Three very contrastinglandscapes emerged. Figure 4.4: colonisation of the coustul zone In Undy, the only marshlandsettlement appears to As the highercoastal areas were gradually enclosed, have been at Chapel Tump (the medieval character areas f of common pasturecame to be restrictedto of which is i11-understood),and otherwisethat part the fi- backfens.In orderto link the coastalsettlements of the parishthat lay on the Levels appearsto have with thisvaluable re source, a seriesof funnel-shaped beenexploited by the communityliving on the fen- i+ drovewaysextended through 6 the enciosedlands to edge.Field-names and morphologysuggest that the l , ___Ar

t56 Rippon drainedland appears to havebeen arranged in mostly Christchurch,documentary evidence supports the common fieids. The sameapplied tn Magor (untii impression_qained from the historic landscapethat the monasticgrange at Lower Grangewas founded: this was an atea without extensivecom-mon fielos. seebeiow). Redwicfr(see Turner et al. this volume, Thereis little evidencefor fen-banksat this period, tig. 3), by contrast,was a wholly marshiand simiiarly suggestingless communal regulation ofthis community and it can be hypothesizedthat the landscape.It is possiblethat there were some intakes presentvillage is of polyfocal origin, emerging in the backfenby fen-edgecommunities in through the gradualcoalescence of the earlier foci and Bishton at this time (Rippon 1996,l5-l). 'infields' adjacentto the (Taylor1983, 131-3). This Figure 4.5: expunsion into the backfen modei could be testedthrough limited fieldwork as is occurringat Puxtonon the Norlh SomersetLevels, In Redwick, an area of former common backfen where an expansionof the settlementfrorn its early pasture beyond the Mere Reen fen-bank was 'infield'-edge locationinto thesurrounding areas has enclosedby the GreenMoor Wall. The survivalof been detectedthrough test-pittingand gardens unenclosedstrips into the 19tr'century, and docu- 'cutt' surveys.Once again,much of the agriculturalland mentedfield-names (e.g. Cutt Furlong: refers appearsto havebeen arranged in commonfields. As to a parcelof landin a sharedmeadow: Fieid 1993, the drained land extendedfurther into the backfen, 23), suggestthat the newly reclaimedland became the risk of freshwaterflooding increased,leading to common fields (Rippon 1996, 14-5).The western theconstructionof a fen-bank along Mere Reen part of this newly reclaimedarea was occupiedby 'boundary: 'New ('Mere' means Field 1993,64). Tintern Abbey's Grange' (now Grangefield In contrastto Redwick, the settlementpattern Farm:Rippon 1996,80-81),and in Magor,a large tn l,lash and GoldclilJ'was largely dispersed.Some tract of the backfen was simiiarly enclosedand degreeof English colonisationis suggestedby the drained during the 13'hcentury by the monks of '-ton' predominanceof place-names,though there Tintern through the creationof their Lower Grange. are aiso a numberof Welshplace- and fieid-names. Another discreteepisode of backfen colon- Apart from the common meadow at Broadmeadin isation is representedby the village at Whitson

Figure 5: Redwick,from the east.The polyfocalvillage lies at the centre of an area offormer openJields(and see Turner et al. this volume,fiS 3) Historic: Landscape,s of'the Severn Estuarv t57

(Figure6). Therehas been some speculation, based the king as guardianof Isabellade Clare,and after on its unusualmorphology, that this planned village william Marshallacquired it throughhis marriage may have links with the Low Countries(Rippon to Isabella.The Bloetsappear to have overseena 1996,86).There are arso parailels with settlernents dramaticrebuilding of the (R. Turnerpers. in /SouthWest Wales,such as comm,2000)and they may also have developed the Templeton,that are known to have been created estatesthat they held, including that of whitson. duringthe Flernish colonisation of thisarea following By this stage,the rernainingareas of unen_ the Anglo-Normanconquest (Kissock 1992,fig. 5; closedcomfilon pasture were restricted to the lowest- Toorians1990, 100; I 996, 2000).When writin in lying backfen areas.To the north it was rnostly 1996,there was, however, no firm evidencefo, *i.n boundedby the fen-edge,though there were some Whitson was created,or by whom. However,, enclosuresin Wilcrick and Bishton(Rippon 1996, researchby Rick Tumerinto thehistory of chepstow 75-7). To the south the cornmonpastures were castle has thrown up an interestinglink beiween generallybounded by fen-bankssuch as Green Moor whitson andwiston in pembrokeshire.wiston was Wall, and internally they were sub_dividedby foundedin c. I 100 by Wizo, one of the leading Monksditchand Earls (now Elver pill) Reen.A Flemishcolonists of pembrokeshire (Kissocklggl, numberof manorsclairned g9l, certainareas of common, 13l; Murphy I 145;Toorians I gg0,100).There suchas GreenMoor which was part of Magor with is no clearmorphological link betweenthe whitson Redwick.However, that the tenantsof Bishton, and Wiston,though Murphy (1997,146) suggesrs Goldcliff, Llandevenny,porton, Whitson and the lattermay alsohave a plannedorigin. In the early Wilcrick all had rights of grazingthere probably 14thcenturyboth Wiston and Whiston wereheld by reflectsthe former practiceof inter_commoning RalphBloet IV (died I24Il42) (Crouch1990, l9g_ which is known to have been practicedon other 9). Bloet, and his father(Ralph Bloet III) were coastalwetlands (e.g. the Essex Marshes: crackneil stewardsof Chepstow Castlewhen it was held by 1959;Rippon 2000a). r

uu"o** r

Figure 6: the planned lancl,scapeo./ Ilhitson,.from the south. The./brmer.funnel-shapecl common (now enclg.seclantJ with a road down its centre) is on the left, with 'in/ield' the linear village in the centre. Whitson c,hurch, ,-y crn ealier which lav acliadlac:ent to enclosure i,s in the bottom right hand c,orner. =-!z

1s8 Rippon

The early f 4t|'-centurylandscape processesthat led to theircreation. Some inferences By the heightofthe medievaldemographic, agrarian canbe madeabout the socialstructures that may have beenresponsible and economic expansionthe landscapeof the for creatingthese landscapes and a CaldicotLevel displayedremarkabie diversity: limited amountcan be saidabout the changinguses to which they CaldicotMoor: remainedan intertidalsaltmarsh and were put. This in turn gives an insight usedas a commonpasfure into the contemporaryperception of the costs,risks, andbenefits ofpursuing a particularstrategy towards Undy: small backfen common,but largely laid out ' landscapeutilisation. as common fields exploitedby the fen-edge We will never be able to map medieval community. Single settlementtowards the landscapesin the samelevei of detail and coastat ChapelTump. accuracy as was the casewith the 19'hcentury. Mistakes wili Magor: tripartite division of the landscape:a small be made,but it is importantto appreciatethat this is backfencommon; the lands of Lower Grange, all part of the scholarly process.The maps andthe areato the souththe field morphology reproducedhere as Figure 4 are not an end in of which suggestwere enclosed. themselves,but a means to an end - the better Redwick.an unplannedand rather sprawling village understandingof how this landscapeevolved. set within largely commonfields. Extensive Hopefully,they will stimulatedebate, but aboveall commonmeadows to westand north enclosed fieldwork to testthe hypothesesbeing presented.In within fen-banks.Extensive common pasture anotherdecade someone may feel inclinedto revisit to north. the historic landscapeof the Caidicot Level, even Porton:planned landscape with singlefarm. matching ChristopherTaylor's (1989) masterful study of Whittlesford in Cambridgeshire. Whitson. planned village besidefunnel shaped We need more selectiveexcavation, and though common.Common pasfures to eastand north. fieldwalking is difficult in a landscapewhich remains largely Goldcliff and Nash: dispersedsettlement pattern pastoral,test-pitting and gardensurveys have proved amongst largely enclosedfields, some very successfulin village surveyselsewhere (eg common fields particularly close to the Puxton).We must also remembernot to neglectthe primary settlementlocations (the 'infields'). natural environment in which these cultural Christchurch. area of enciosedfields and common Iandscapeswere created,and more work is meadow beyond the backfen common desperatelyneeded on particulariythe evolutionof at Liswerry, exploited by the fen-edge palaeochannelsand sanddunes. But all that is for community. the future. I wish to end with a single positive message.Just over ten yearsago, when the Severn Conclusions EstuaryLeveis ResearchCommittee was founded, the historic iandscapewould not have been The Severn Estuary Levels contain within their recognisedas an entity worthy of research:now it is deeplystratified sequence of deposits,a remarkable seen as a key aspectof the cultural heritage, range of buried landscapesthat have now seen recognisedby the inclusionof the Gwent Levels in considerablearchaeological attention. However, it the Register of Landscapesof OutstandingHistoric has only been in the past decadethat the most Interest in Wales(Cadw remarkablelandscape of all - today's .historic 1998). Much has been achieved,yet thereremains much to landscape'- has seenthe attentionit deserves.The do. integrationof historic landscapecharacterisation and retrogressiveanalysis, with archaeological,palaeo- Acknowledgements environmentaland documentaryevidence is allowing 'Gwent Theoriginal LevelsHistoric Landscape Study' the story of how the presentlandscape came into was fundedby Cadw andthe CountrysideCouncil for being to be told. A detailedanalysis of the historic Wales. I would particularlylike to thankSue Howard landscapeenables the basicstructure of that areato and Rick Turner for the advice and encouragement. be determined,and by attempting to reconstructhow The more recentwork at Puxtonhas been supported the landscapeappeared at variousspecific points in by The British Academy,The Arts and Humanities the past, one is forced to think about the very ResearchBoard and the Universityof Exeter. r

Historic Landscapes oJ'the Ser-ernEstuarv 159

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