Details

The monument includes the buried remains of a medieval moated grange, known as
Mareham Grange, which belonged to Sempringham Priory.
By 1086 the land was held by Guy de Craon whose descendants granted land to
Sempringham Priory in the mid-12th century. It is likely that sheep farming
was the principal activity of the grange established here. After the
Dissolution the land was acquired by Sir Thomas Horsman and became part of the
main estate of Burton Pedwardine.

Situated on flat land, immediately to the north of Salt Box Farm, the buried
remains cover an area measuring approximately 230m by 180m. Appearing as a
parallelogram in plan, the buried remains of the moat enclose an area
measuring 210m by 170m. The moat arms have been infilled but survive as buried
features up to 15m in width, visible on aerial photographs. The north eastern
corner of the moat was cut by the construction of a railway line in the 19th
century.

A slightly raised area at the south west corner of the moated island, where
fragments of stonework are evident in the ploughsoil, indicates the location
of buried building remains thought to include domestic and agricultural
buildings. Internal divisions of the moated island, such as yards, paddocks
and gardens, are shown on aerial photographs. Pottery fragments dating from
the 14th to 16th centuries and buried stone walls have formerly been noted
within the area of the moated island.

All fences are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them
is included.

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

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

A monastic grange was a farm owned and run by a monastic community and
independent of the secular manorial system of communal agriculture and servile
labour. The function of granges was to provide food and raw materials for
consumption within the parent monastic house itself, and also to provide
surpluses for sale for profit. The first monastic granges appeared in the 12th
century but they continued to be constructed and used until the Dissolution.
This system of agriculture was pioneered by the Cistercian order but was soon
imitated by other orders. Some granges were worked by resident lay-brothers
(secular workers) of the order but others were staffed by non-resident
labourers. The majority of granges practised a mixed economy but some were
specialist in their function. Five types of grange are known: agrarian farms,
bercaries (sheep farms), vaccaries (cattle ranches), horse studs and
industrial complexes. A monastery might have more than one grange and the
wealthiest houses had many. Frequently a grange was established on lands
immediately adjacent to the monastery, this being known as the home grange.
Other granges, however, could be found wherever the monastic site held lands.
On occasion these could be located at some considerable distance from the
parent monastery. Granges are broadly comparable with contemporary secular
farms although the wealth of the parent house was frequently reflected in the
size of the grange and the layout and architectural embellishment of the
buildings. Additionally, because of their monastic connection, granges tend to
be much better documented than their secular counterparts. No region was
without monastic granges. The exact number of sites which originally existed
is not precisely known but can be estimated, on the basis of numbers of
monastic sites, at several thousand. Of these, however, only a small
percentage can be accurately located on the ground today. Of this group of
identifiable sites, continued intensive use of many has destroyed much of the
evidence of archaeological remains. In view of the importance of granges to
medieval rural and monastic life, all sites exhibiting good archaeological
survival are identified as nationally important.

Mareham Grange survives well as a series of buried deposits. The buried
building remains and features will preserve valuable evidence for the layout
and function of the grange. Waterlogging in the base of the moat will
preserve organic remains (such as timber, leather and seeds) which will give
an insight into domestic and economic activity on the site. As a result of
archaeological survey and documentary research the plan of the moat and the
establishment and ownership history of the grange are quite well understood.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Healey, RH, Roffe, DR, Some medieval and later earthworks in South Lincolnshire, (1990)
Healey, RH, Roffe, DR, Some medieval and later earthworks in South Lincolnshire, (1990)
Other
Johnson, JS, (1976)
Johnson, JS, (1976)
Lossco-Bradley, PM, (1988)

Source: Historic England