How do we know what medieval villages looked like?

Part IIYou are now going to see how written and pictorial evidence

can help us find out about medieval villages

The village of Elton in CambridgeshireMuch of the evidence you will use in this section is about the village of Elton. Unlike Wharram Percy, Elton is still a thriving village today. All the medieval buildings were destroyed long ago and archaeologists have not been able to excavate the ruins. Yet we can still work out what life was in Elton was like, even if we can’t find out everything we would like to know.

For a start there is the Domesday Book. Every village in England was described there, so sure enough there is an entry for Elton.

Source 5From the Domesday Book, the survey William ordered to find out what everybody ownedIn Elton the Abbot of Ramsey had 10 hides of land. There are now 4 ploughs on the demesne. There are 28 villeins having 20 ploughs. There is a church and a priest, and 2 mills with an income of 40s a year. There are 170 acres (69 hectares) of meadow.

Note on money: Before decimal coins were introduced in 1971, there were pennies, shillings and pounds: 12d (old pennies) made a shilling20s (shillings) made a pound.

Source 6From another royal survey 100 years after the Domesday Book

2 water mills and a fulling mill also belonged to the Abbot; also fishing rights on the river

The manor of Elton belonged to the Abbot of Ramsey Abbey, who also held 23 other manors.

He did not live in Elton and rarely visited it.

His officials ran the manor for him. They had to keep records such as Sources 7 and 13 of all the money spent and received.

Source 7Examples from the thirteenth-century records of money spent by the lord1286

1297

6d paid for branches for the barn and the sheepfold

12d paid for the hiring of one ship for carrying 1200 bundles of rushes from Wytlesmere to Elton12d paid to a carpenter for work on the chapel 12 working days2s paid to a man thatching the barns during 32 days with board6d to a carpenter for making gates before the hall and barn during 6 days2d to a mason for repairing the walls before the the great barn5s 2d for 4 men slating the chapel for 3 weeks

These records tell us a lot about the buildings in Elton. Most of the evidence is about the buildings around the manor house, which belonged to the lord. Pictures from other villages can help us discover what these buildings in Elton might have looked like. As well as these buildings there would have been dozens of peasant cottages. These would probably have been similar to the cottages in Source 4 (previous lesson)

Source 8

Source 9

Source 10. This picture comes from the Luttrell Psalter – an illustrated prayer book

Discuss

Which of the buildings shown in Sources 8-10 are mentioned in the written sources?

Source 11 a barn

Source 12A manor house

Source 14Baking bread in an oven

Source 15A blacksmith’s smithy

Source 16 – Examples taken from the fourteenth-century records of money spent by the lord of Elton1307

1311

1313

1324

1345

1350

15d for a thatcher hired for 20 days to thatch the stable, the dovecote and the sheepfold4d for a mason to mend the wall between the manor house and the granary9d paid to a mason for mending the dairy2d paid to a carpenter for mending the common privy20d paid to two carpenters for mending the dovecote next to the chapel16d paid to one slater for mending the roof of the manor house, kitchen and bakehouse during 16 days with food3s 11d for stones and slates for making a new oven and furnace in the manor12d for a mason for repairing the walls of the manor house after the flood

ActivityUse Sources 5-16 to complete a copy of this table about the buildings in Elton. First find each different type of building and write it in the first column, then fill in the other columns. An example has been done for youType of building

What was it made of?

What was it used for?

Where was it?

Sheepfold Branches and thatch

Keeping the sheep in

Near the manor house

...