MM154

St Brides Netherwent Deserted Village  

 

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Caerwent  

342807  

189595  

Domestic  

Deserted Medieval Village  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of earthworks, platforms and building footings, representing a deserted village, of probable medieval date. The remains of the deserted village are located in the valley of the small St Brides brook, which runs along the E side of the site. St Bridget's Church stands at the centre of the former settlement, which extends over two modern fields. Records indicate that the land on which the village stood belonged to Gilbert de Clare in the 14th century and was sold to the Morgan's of Pencoed in the 16th century, although details of the village itself are scarce. It is thought that there were 10 inhabited houses in 1649, although by the time of the tithe map in 1839 only one remained and this too had gone by the 1880s. The surviving remains comprise a series of earthworks representing house platforms, banked enclosures and hollow ways. These are best preserved in the field around the church, having been reduced by ploughing in the field to the north. The house platforms survive to a height of 0.5m with the substantial N/S orientated hollow way located on the western side of the site up to 1m deep. The LiDAR data clearly shows the earthworks, providing more detail than is visible on the ground. Four square or rectangular platforms can be identified on the western side of the church, with the traces of buildings visible on two. The tithe map records a track running through the village from the stream, curving around the western side of the churchyard and joining with the N/S orientated hollow way. This is also visible on the LiDAR as a linear hollow that curves around the house platforms and meets the river 30m north of the modern bridge. Adjacent to the stream on the SE side of the site are the remains of two roughly rectangular hollows that have been interpreted as fishponds. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval settlement. The monument forms an important element within the wider medieval context and the scheduled area may be expected to contain a wide range of archaeological information, including chronological detail and evidence in regard to construction techniques and agricultural methods. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.