Bixley medieval settlement facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bixley medieval settlement |
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Looking north-east across the site
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| Location | Norfolk |
| OS grid reference | TG 259 049 |
| Designated | 20 August 1998 |
| Reference no. | 1018177 |
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Imagine a village that used to be busy with people, but then everyone left, and it slowly disappeared. That's what a deserted medieval village is! Bixley medieval settlement is one such place in Norfolk, England. It's located about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of a city called Norwich. Today, it's protected as a special historic site called a Scheduled Monument. This means it's an important historical place that is looked after by the government.
Contents
What Was Bixley Like?
To learn about Bixley, historians look at old records. One very important record is the Domesday Book. This book was made in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. It listed all the people and property in England.
Early Population of Bixley
The Domesday Book showed that Bixley had 19 adult males in 1086. This number only counted men who were heads of households. So, the total population was likely much larger. Later tax records from the 14th and 15th centuries show that Bixley was a small village. It had fewer people compared to other villages in its local area, called a hundred. By 1524, only five people paid taxes there. This shows how small the village had become.
Why Did Bixley Disappear?
Bixley wasn't the only village near Norwich that disappeared. Other nearby settlements, like Arminghall and Belhawe, also became deserted. Experts believe that many villages close to Norwich became empty around the end of the medieval period. This happened because people moved away from the countryside. They went to live and work in the growing city of Norwich instead.
The Village Church
Even though the village is gone, its church still stands. The church of St Wandregeselius is on the western edge of the old village site. The church's tower is very old, built in the early 14th century. Most of the rest of the church was rebuilt much later, in 1868. It is a Grade II* listed building, which means it's a very important historic building. Sadly, the church's roof and inside were badly damaged by a fire in 2004.
Exploring the Remains of Bixley
Today, you can still see the outlines of the old village on the ground. These outlines are called "earthworks." They are like bumps and dips in the land that show where buildings and roads used to be.
Extensive Earthworks
Historic England, a group that looks after historic places, says that Bixley's earthworks are "among the most extensive of their kind" in this part of England. This means they are some of the biggest and clearest examples of a deserted medieval village in the area.
What the Earthworks Show
Most of these earthworks are found to the east of an old path called a green lane. This green lane was once part of a main road that went from Norwich to a town called Bungay. This road was closed in 1800.
If you look closely at the ground, you can see where groups of homes used to be. There are signs of several groups, each with two or three houses. These groups of homes are about 85 to 150 meters apart. In between these groups, you can see evidence of small fields and other enclosed areas. You can also spot the paths and lanes that connected everything in the old village.
Population and Layout
The Domesday Book mentioned that the adult male population in 1086 included three bordars and thirteen sokemen.
- Bordars were a type of peasant who had a small cottage and a little land.
- Sokemen were freemen who owned their land and owed service to a lord.
Historians believe that the way the settlement is laid out at Bixley, with its scattered groups of homes and fields, matches the kind of population described in the Domesday Book. It helps us imagine what life was like for these different groups of people in the medieval village.
