Details

Cold Newton shrunken medieval village is situated on high ground in north-
east Leicestershire. It comprises extensive village earthworks on both north
and south facing slopes with the present day habitation being situated on the
highest ground lying between.
The earthworks are divided into three areas, the first of which is north of
the present village, west of Skeg Hill Road and forms an `L' shape measuring
350m north-south and 325m east-west. A prominent hollow way up to 2m deep
running north-south is a continuation of the present Main Street which
lies to the south. Leading off the hollow way are many house platforms and
smaller trackways enabling an almost complete village road system to be
traced. On the far north side are two embanked fishponds over 200m apart.
The first fishpond, in the north-western corner, is rectangular measuring 30m
x 20m overall with 1m high banks; the second is roughly square, its sides
measuring approximately 40m with banks of about 1m in height. A stream runs
down the western boundary of the area and originally fed the fishponds via a
connecting channel.
The second area lies to the east of Skeg Hill Road and is 300m long and
between 75m and 125m wide with a section at the northern end which contains
the later manor house which is not included in the scheduling. Village
earthworks are identified in the form of minor trackways leading off Skeg Hill
Road and a series of house platforms of various shapes and sizes. At the
south-eastern corner of the area is a well defined square moat with an
entrance causeway on its south-western corner and a ditch up to 2m deep and
waterlogged on its northern arm. An external bank of varying height of up to
1m lies on the north side. Differing grass colour and slight unevenness of
the surface on the moat island indicate the presence of manorial buildings.
Situated 170m to the north of the moat is a circular windmill mound 2m high
and 10m in diameter. Excluded from the scheduling are the house and garden on
the north-west side of the moat.
The third area is roughly a square, the sides of which are 100m in length and
which is situated to the south of the present inhabited village. It is
comprised entirely of village earthworks consisting of hollow trackways and
rectangular house platforms.
Cold Newton was originally known as Newton Burdet. It had 11 households at
the Domesday survey, 38 taxpayers in 1377, 15 households in 1563 and 1670 and
101 inhabitants at the time of the census in 1801.

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

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The village, comprising a small group of houses, gardens, yards, streets,
paddocks, often with a green, a manor and a church, and with a community
primarily devoted to farming, was a significant component of the rural
landscape in most areas of medieval England, much as it is today. Villages
provided some services to the local community as well as acting as the focus
of ecclesiastical, and often manorial, authority within each medieval parish.
Although the sites of many of these villages have been occupied continuously
down to the present day, many have declined considerably in size and are now
occupied by farmsteads or hamlets. This decline may have taken place gradually
throughout the lifetime of the village or more rapidly, particularly during
the 14th and 15th centuries when many other villages were wholly deserted. The
reasons for diminishing size were varied but often reflected declining
economic viability or population fluctuations as a result of widespread
epidemics such as the Black Death. As a consequence of their decline, large
parts of these villages are frequently undisturbed by later occupation and
contain well-preserved archaeological deposits. Over 3000 shrunken medieval
villages are recorded nationally. Because they are a common and long-lived
monument type in most parts of England, they provide important information on
the diversity of medieval settlement patterns and farming economy between the
regions and through time.

Also sometimes associated with medieval settlements are moated sites which
often served as prestigious manorial residences. Such moated sites form a
significant class of medieval monument and are important for the understanding
of the distribution of wealth and status in the countryside. Many examples
provide conditions favourable to the survival of organic remains.
Cold Newton is one of a group of isolated medieval rural settlements in East
Leicestershire. It survives in exceptionally good condition and has a wide
diversity of associated features, including a moat. The well preserved and
extensive earthworks indicate the considerable archaeological potential of the
site.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Hoskins, W G, 'Transactions of the Leicestershire Arch & Historical Society' in Seven Deserted Village Sites in Leicestershire (Volume 32), , Vol. 32, (1956)

Source: Historic England