Walbottle, village green

HER Number:
11556

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Walbottle, village green

Place:
Walbottle

Map Sheet:
NZ16NE

Class:
Gardens Parks and Urban Spaces

Site Type: Broad:

Site Type: Specific:
Village Green

General Period:
Medieval

Specific Period:

Form of Evidence:
Structure

Description:
Wild (2004) suggests that the characteristic green villages of Northumberland date back to the reconstruction of settlement in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest and the 'harrying of the north'. The greens originally had a defensive function to protect livestock against Scottish raiders. The wide open space in the centre of the village could also be used for fairs, markets, for grazing animals and a meeting space (Rowley and Wood, 2000, 41). Dwellings were often built around the green, with a common forge, bakehouse, pinfold, smithy, alehouse, stocks, spring or pond (HER 11561) on the green itself (Roberts 1977, 146). In the 19th century Walbottle green had a pond, stone pant and a horse trough.

Easting:
1699

Northing:
6629

Grid Reference:
NZ16996629

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
T. Wild, 2004, Village England - a social history of the countryside, p 13; T. Rowley and J. Wood, 2000, Deserted Villages (third edition), p. 41; B.K. Roberts, 1977, Rural Settlement in Britain, p. 146; B.K. Roberts, 1987, The making of the English village - a study in historical geography, p. 151; G. Walton and A. Watson, 1992, Bygone Walbottle