Summary

The monument includes extensive earthworks representing the medieval remains of Hawling shrunken settlement and Roelside, an abandoned medieval settlement, along with a contemporary field system, the remains of a post-medieval farmstead and field system, and the remains of a possible pre-Conquest settlement.

Source: Historic England

Details

The earthworks, which cover an area of around 15ha, were surveyed by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England between 1988 and 1990 and were found to consist of several discrete blocks of mostly well-defined tofts and crofts, all aligned north-west to south-east, spanning both sides of the stream. At least eleven abandoned crofts and the foundations of at least twenty-two stone buildings on the north side of the valley were identified, and the remains of up to fourteen crofts and at least six buildings on the south side.

The earthworks on the north-west side of the valley, which represent that part of Hawling which was granted to Roel and subsequently became the settlement known as Roelside, fall into two areas separated by a north-west to south-east boundary. On the west side of the boundary there are the remains of at least four crofts and five building platforms, bounded to the north by a south-facing lynchet. To the east of the boundary, the remaining two-thirds of the settlement on this side of the valley contains a major concentration of well-defined building platforms, defined by banks or lynchets aligned north-west to south-east, several possible long houses and between five and seven crofts. It is possible that the distinction between these two areas may relate to different phases of settlement or abandonment. In the valley bottom, to the east end of the settlement, there is some evidence of minor stream diversion and a building platform representing the possible remains of a watermill. Extending eastwards from the settlement, running along the contours of the valley side, are the earthworks of several lynchets which are roughly aligned east to west and represent the remains of a contemporary field system. The croft banks on this side of the valley overlie a pre-existing series of irregular lynchets and terraces. Although there is no evidence elsewhere for the date of this underlying pattern, in view of the frequent evidence elsewhere in the area for prehistoric and Romano-British settlement, it is quite likely to be of pre-medieval origin.

On the south-west side of the valley, the earthworks representing the remains of the shrunken medieval village of Hawling include at least fourteen crofts of which four contain the remains of at least five building platforms. The medieval earthworks are overlain by the post-medieval earthworks of a large farmstead and a series of small rectangular fields which continued in use until at least into the mid-C18. Most of the field boundary banks, which are aligned north-west to south-east, are depicted on Hawling estate maps of 1748 and 1755, but from their general shape and alignment, it is likely that some of them represent the reutilisation of medieval croft boundaries. None of the croft boundaries are directly in alignment with those across the valley, and this emphasises their separate character which places the earthworks on the north-west side in Roelside and those on the south-east side in Hawling.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The medieval and later settlement remains and associated fields at Hawling are designated for the following principal reasons:

* Rarity: the survival of two physically juxtaposed villages of which one was abandoned whilst the other shrank is relatively rare nationally.

* Survival: the earthworks at Hawling survive remarkably well, providing exceptional clarity with regard to the layout of the two villages.

* Potential: the site has significant potential in the form of buried archaeological features that will not only provide dating evidence for the development and decline of the two medieval villages but will also provide evidence for the possible pre-Conquest settlement that is believed to have existed at Hawling.

* Documentation: the earthworks have been subject to academic and archaeological research which has allowed, and continues to allow, the formulation of hypotheses about the historical development and decline of the two villages.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Roberts, , Wrathmell, , An Atlas of Rural Settlement in England, (2000)
Aldred, D H, Dyer, C C, 'The Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society' in A Medieval Cotswold Village: Roel, Gloucestershire, (1991), 139-170
Other
Title: A Map of the Common Fields with the Copyhold and Leasehold Estates of William Wyndham in the Manor of Hawling
Source Date: 1748
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Title: A Map of the Freehold and Copyhold Estates with the Common of Pasture belonging to William Wyndham Esquire situate within the Manor and Lordship of Hawling
Source Date: 1755
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Source: Historic England