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Archaelogy - Sites to See

Aldwick and Tiscott deserted medieval earthworks

Aldwick and Tiscott deserted medieval village earthworks, Long Marston. The county contains the sites of several settlements which have been partly or completely abandoned in earlier periods. Many of these 'shrunken' or 'deserted' village sites date from the medieval period, and particularly from the 14th and 15th centuries, when the English population fell sharply as the climate deteriorated, and as epidemic diseases such as the ‘Black Death’ arrived from the Continent. Some deserted sites remain visible as earthworks, with the trackways through them showing as sunken ways and the buildings as slightly raised platforms. At Aldwick house platforms, a sunken way, ponds and a possible boundary ditch can be seen, and there are good examples of 'ridge and furrow' (medieval ploughing) in the fields surrounding the settlement. At Tiscott, earthworks consisting of a sunken way, house platforms, and ridge and furrow have survived, but they are difficult to see from the public footpath.

From Long Marston follow Station Road, and turn right into Alnwick Drive, which is just after Whitwell Farm. Park at this near end, and follow the public footpath which runs alongside the farm track. Tiscott 'DMV' is on the left, two fields (approximately 450 yards) before the farmhouse, grid reference SP 885 179. For Aldwick 'DMV', continue along the footpath and take the signposted footpath to the right just before Alnwick Farm. The earthworks occur throughout this field, and there are also others, and ponds, in the adjacent fields, grid reference SP 892 175.

Map showing Aldwick and Tiscott