Details

The monument includes an abandoned medieval farmstead and an area of
associated small fields, or closes. It is situated near the north western edge
of Romney Marsh on low-lying, artificially drained land around 1.3km north
east of Snargate.
The farmstead lies within the south eastern corner of the monument and
survives as an area of raised, uneven ground containing buried building
foundations and associated below ground remains. Pottery fragments and
building debris found here during field investigation have been dated to the
14th century. The associated closes cover the remainder of the monument in an
irregular grid pattern and take the form of at least six small rectangular
fields enclosed by ditches which are now dry.
Two local maps dating to 1653 and 1721 depict the farmstead buildings, and
later cartographic sources indicate that the farmstead had become abandoned
and was demolished by the mid-18th century. The monument is recorded as Old
House Field in the Tithe Award of 1840.
The wooden sheepfold situated in the south eastern corner of the monument is
excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it 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 Eastern Weald sub-Province of the South-eastern
Province, bounded by the North and South Downs and comprising an oval
arrangement of inward facing escarpments of chalk and sandstone, separated by
clay vales, all ringing a higher sandstone ridge. Apart from concentrations of
nucleated settlements in the Vale of Holmsdale and around Canterbury, the sub-
Province is dominated by high and very high densities of dispersed
settlements, giving a countryside with farmsteads and associated enclosed
fields, of medieval foundation, intermixed with cottages, medieval moated
sites and hamlets bearing the names `green' or `dene'.

In some areas of medieval England settlement was dispersed across the
landscape rather than nucleated into villages. Such dispersed settlement in an
area, usually a township or parish, is defined by the lack of a single (or
principal) nucleated settlement focus such as a village and the presence
instead of small settlement units (small hamlets or farmsteads) spread across
the area. These small settlements normally have a degree of interconnection
with their close neighbours, for example, in relation to shared common land or
road systems. Dispersed settlements varied enormously from region to region,
but where they survive as earthworks their distinguishing features include
roads and other minor tracks, platforms on which stood houses and other
buildings such as barns, enclosed crofts and small enclosed paddocks. In areas
where stone was used for building, the outline of building foundations may
still be clearly visible. Communal areas of the settlements frequently include
features such as bakehouses, pinfolds and ponds. Areas of dispersed medieval
settlement are found in both the South Eastern and Northern and Western
Provinces of England. They are found in upland and also some lowland areas.
Where found, 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.
The medieval farmstead at Pilchers represents the predominant dispersed form
of medieval rural settlement within the Eastern Weald sub-Province. The
farmstead survives well, in association with its contemporary field system,
exhibiting little subsequent disturbance. Field investigation has indicated
that the monument will retain important archaeological and environmental
evidence relating to the original use and abandonment of the farmstead.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Reeves, A, Romney Marsh Earthworks Survey 1995, (1996)

Source: Historic England