Details

The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of Coxhoe medieval
village. This lies on the magnesian limestone plateau of East Durham, on a
south facing slope. The plan of the medieval settlement of Coxhoe is of a type
familiar to this part of County Durham in which parallel lines of tofts or
houses with crofts or garden areas to the rear face on to a village green.
Beyond the tofts and crofts would lie the communal open fields where the crops
were grown. The tofts and crofts at Coxhoe survive as visible earthworks up to
0.5m high, forming rectangular and subrectangular enclosures of between 6m and
10m wide arranged around a narrow green. A number of building platforms are
visible within these enclosures, some of which have visibly surviving building
stone within them. The village of Coxhoe first appears in land grants of the
14th century. By the end of the 14th century the village was in the hands of
the Blakiston family. In 1418, the manor house and mill were described as
ruinous. In 1484, the inquisition following the death of Thomas Blakiston
stated, that the toft at the north west end of the village and the water-mill
were the property of the Prior of Finchale. Coxhoe remained in the hands of
the Blakiston family until Mary, the daughter and heiress of Christopher
Blakiston, married William Kennett, before 1621.
All fencing 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 past 1500 years or more.
The East Durham Plateau local region is a limestone upland partly covered by
glacial clays. The upper part of the plateau was almost devoid of settlement
until the creation of the late 19th century mining communities, but ancient
villages occupy the varied soils of the western sub-Provincial boundary, and
can be found along the north-south routes just inland from the coast. Towards
the southern edge and the Tees Valley, there has been significant settlement
depopulation.

Medieval villages were organised agricultural communities, sited at the centre
of a parish or township, that shared resources such as arable land, meadow and
woodland. Village plans varied enormously, but when they survive as
earthworks their most distinguising features include roads and minor
trackways, platforms on which houses stood and other buildings such as barns,
enclosed crofts and small paddocks. They frequently included the parish
church within their boundaries, and as part of the manorial system most
villages included one or more manorial centres which may also survive as
visible remains as well as below ground deposits. In the central province of
England, villages were the most distinct aspect of medieval life, and 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.
Coxhoe medieval settlement, 170m south west of East House Farm, is well-
preserved and retains significant archaeological deposits. The village is a
good example of its type and will add greatly to our knowledge and
understanding of medieval rural settlement in the region.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Surtees, R, History of the County of Durham, (1816), 66-67
Other
unreferenced photos in Durham Uni., Coxhoe,

Source: Historic England