Details

The monument includes remains of the medieval settlement of Welton, part of
its associated field system and a series of fishponds of medieval date,
situated on the south side of the valley of the former Whittle Burn. Welton
Tower 75m to the north east is the subject of a separate scheduling.
The historical context of the monument is recorded in several documents; the
manor of Welton, which was originally a member of the barony of Prudhoe, was
given to Tynemouth Priory by the end of the 12th century. It was subsequently
granted to Simon de Welton, in whose family it remained until the end of the
17th century. At this date the manor became part of the Blackett, and later
Allendale Estate. By the late 18th century the village and its fields had been
enclosed and four individual farms had been created.
The medieval plan of the village is a type well known in this part of
Northumberland, in which a single row, or two parallel rows of houses face
onto a rectangular village green or hollow way, with crofts or garden areas to
the rear. This type of village in northern England is thought to be the result
of deliberate planning by Norman rulers attempting to exert control over a
rebellious region during the 11th and 12th centuries.
With the exception of two tofts, Welton has been totally abandoned. The
remains survive as a series of prominent earthworks situated between Welton
Hall Farm and Welton Farm. The former farm retains remains of the manor house
including Welton Tower, a late addition of the 15th century. The earthworks of
the main south row of the village are visible as a series of at least 12
rectangular platforms or tofts, orientated east to west and containing the
sites of individual timber longhouses. Where the longhouses are visible as
earthworks, they are on average 15m long and between 0.2m to 1m high, and
divided unequally into two rooms. To the rear of each toft there are the well
defined remains of an elongated enclosure or croft, each bounded from its
neighbour by a hollow way, drainage gully or a low bank, the latter standing
on average 0.5m high. The crofts at the eastern end of the row are 80m long
and at the western end they are 60m long. At the eastern end of the row there
are less well defined remains of up to six further crofts. The row is bounded
on the south side by a narrow lane, visible as a slight hollow way and then by
a continuous perimeter bank of earth and stone which served to separate the
village from the surrounding, formerly more extensive open field system. The
perimeter bank continues around the eastern end of the village. The main
street of Welton fronts onto a prominent hollow way on average 20m to 23m wide
bounded by banks. An irregular pattern of four rectangular tofts, which are
thought to be the remains of an unplanned north row, separated from, but
parallel to the south row are thought to be a relatively late addition to the
village.
Part of the formerly more extensive open field system which surrounded the
village survives to the south of the village perimeter bank. Here there are
three medieval furlongs or fields bounded by intact headlands measuring up to
4m wide and standing up to 1m high. Each furlong contains ridge and furrow.
At the south eastern corner of the monument there are a series of sub-
rectangular hollows of varying sizes, interpreted as the remains of a group of
fishponds. The fishponds are served by a leat entering the system from the
west through the remains of a denuded stone feature thought to have been a
sluice.
A number of features are excluded from the scheduling: these are all fence
lines, hedges and stone walls which cross the monument, telephone poles and
power lines, gate posts, the pump at the north eastern corner of the monument,
Slate House and the post-war cottage and all sheds and greenhouses; however,
the ground beneath all these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Medieval rural settlements in England were marked by great regional diversity
in form, size and type, and the protection of their archaeological remains
needs to take these differences into account. To do this, England has been
divided into three broad Provinces on the basis of each area's distinctive
mixture of nucleated and dispersed settlements. These can be further divided
into sub-Provinces and local regions, possessing characteristics which have
gradually evolved during the last 1500 years or more.
This monument lies in the Wear-Tweed sub-Province of the Central Province, an
area long characterised, except for the western margins, by nucleated
settlements both surviving and deserted. Variations within the sub-Province
reflect land ownership as well as terrain: on some estates in Northumberland
there was much dispersal of farmsteads and consequent village and hamlet
depopulation after the Middle Ages, whereas Durham saw greater stability
because of ecclesiastical control. An overlay of mining settlements adds
complexity to the coalfield areas.

Medieval villages were organised agricultural communities, sited at the centre
of a village or township, that shared resources such as arable land, meadow
and woodland. Village plans varied enormously, but when they survive as
earthworks their most distinguishing features include roads and minor tracks,
platforms on which houses stood and other buildings such as barns, enclosed
crofts and small enclosed paddocks. As part of the manorial system most
villages included one or more manorial centres which may also survive as
visible remains as well as below ground deposits. In the central province of
England, villages were the most distinctive aspect of medieval life, and their
archaeological remains are one of the most important sources of understanding
about rural life in the five or more centuries following the Norman Conquest.
Medieval villages were supported by a communal system of agriculture based on
large, unenclosed open arable fields. These large fields were sub-divided into
strips (known as lands) which were allocated to local tenants. The cultivation
of these strips with heavy ploughs pulled by oxen-teams, produced long, wide
ridges and the resultant ridge and furrow where it survives is the most
obvious physical indication of the open field system. Individual strips or
lands were laid out in groups known as furlongs defined by terminal headlands
at the plough-turning points and lateral grass baulks. Furlongs were in turn
grouped into large open fields. Well preserved ridge and furrow, especially in
its original context adjacent to village earthworks, is both an important
source of evidence about medieval agrarian life and a distinctive contribution
to the character of the historic landscape. It is usually now covered by the
hedges or walls of subsequent field enclosure.
A fishpond is an artificially created pool of slow moving fresh water
constructed for the purpose of cultivating, breeding and storing fish to
provide a constant and sustainable supply of food. They may be dug into the
ground, embanked above ground level, or formed by placing a dam across a
narrow valley. Groups of up to 12 ponds variously arranged in a single line or
in a cluster and joined by leats have been recorded. The ponds may be of the
same size or of several different sizes with each pond being stocked with
different species or ages of fish. The size of the pond was related to
function, with large ponds thought to have had a storage capacity whilst
smaller, shallower ponds were used for fish cultivation and breeding.
Fishponds were maintained by a water management system which included inlet
and outlet channels carrying water from a river or stream, a series of sluices
set into the bottom of the dam and along the channels and leats, and an
overflow leat which controlled fluctuations in water flow and prevented
flooding.
The tradition of constructing and using fishponds in England began during the
medieval period and peaked in the 12th century. They were largely built by the
wealthy sectors of society, with monastic institutions and royal residences
often having large and complex fishponds. The difficulties of obtaining fresh
meat in the winter and the value placed on fish as a food source and for
status may have been factors which favoured the development of fishponds and
which made them so valuable. The practice of constructing fishponds declined
after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. More fishponds
fell out of use during the post-medieval period, although some were re-used as
ornamental features in 19th and early 20th century landscape parks or gardens.
Documentary sources provide a wealth of information about the way fishponds
were stocked and managed. The main species of fish kept were eel, tench,
pickerel, bream, perch and roach. Once a year, probably in the spring, ponds
were drained and cleared.
Fishponds are widely scattered throughout England but the majority are found
in central, eastern and southern parts. In practice it appears that most were
located close to villages, manors and monasteries or in parks so that a close
watch could be kept on them to prevent poaching. Although approximately 2000
examples are recorded nationally, this is thought to be a small proportion of
those in existence in medieval times. Despite being relatively common,
fishponds are important for their association with other classes of medieval
monument and in providing evidence of site economy.
The medieval village remains at Welton are well preserved and retain
significant archaeological deposits. Taken together with the remains of the
open field system and the fishponds, they will contribute to our knowledge and
understanding of the development of medieval settlement in the region.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Tolan-Smith, M, Landscape Archaeology in Tynedale, (1997), 53-67
Tolan-Smith, C, Landscape Archaeology in Tynedale: Chapter 5, (1997), 53-67
Other
CUCAP, Welton DMV, (1974)
Dr C Tolan-Smith,
NZ06NE 22,

Source: Historic England