Haycroft is a
deserted village
An abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages have been deserted for a variety of causes. Abandonment of villages is often related to epidemic, f ...
in the civil parish of
Spurstow
Spurstow is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which is located 6½ miles to the north west of Nantwich. The parish also includes the settlement of Spurstow Sketh ...
, in
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, England, located at , immediately east of Haycroft farm. Aerial photography has shown evidence of a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
village and a field system. The site is a
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
.
Description
The earthworks are located a little to the north west of the present village of Spurstow, which is believed to have subsequently contracted or moved. They lie in a valley, which formerly contained a stream. There are six house platforms which are 25–40 metres
2 in area, each of which is surrounded by a 2-metre ditch. To the north side of the platforms and abutting them there is evidence of medieval
ridge and furrow
Ridge and furrow is an archaeological pattern of ridges (Medieval Latin: ''sliones'') and troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open-field system. It is also known as rig (or rigg) and fu ...
ploughing. A later causeway runs north–south, bisecting the site. The existing lane to Haycroft farm represents part of an old road from
Ridley Green to
Beeston.
See also
*
List of scheduled monuments in Cheshire (1066–1539)
There are over 600 scheduled monuments in Cheshire, dating from pre-history to the present.
For ease of reference these are split into three lists by period:
* List of scheduled monuments in Cheshire dated to before 1066
*List of scheduled monum ...
*
History of Cheshire
The history of Cheshire can be traced back to the Hoxnian Interglacial, between 400,000 and 380,000 years BP. Primitive tools that date to that period have been found. Stone Age remains have been found showing more permanent habitation during ...
*
History of agriculture in Cheshire
Agriculture has historically been the primary industry of the English county of Cheshire. Dairy farming has predominated, and the county was particularly known for cheese-making.
Prehistoric era
The area now forming Cheshire was sparsely popula ...
References
Former populated places in Cheshire
Archaeological sites in Cheshire
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