Torpel Manor Field is home to an important and visually impressive series of medieval and later earthworks, preserved by English heritage as a Scheduled Ancient monument.  The site is well-known locally, but little archaeological work has been undertaken, and its character, context and development are poorly understood. The aim of this project is to address this issue, and through a combination of non-invasive survey and archival work, characterise the social and physical landscape of the site, which lies in an area of considerable archaeological interest.

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The field is reputedly the site of a ringwork castle or fortified manor, and is surrounded by earthworks that are indicative of further settlement and activity, probably in the post-conquest medieval period. There is an adjacent deerpark, and standing remains of what may well be an associated hunting lodge. 

 

The site has the potential to illuminate wider considerations of settlement, trade, and elite power in the medieval period. Its situation on the edges of the ‘midland’ and ‘ancient’ zones of medieval agriculture makes it a particularly interesting site through which to examine the development of the landscape and field systems, and their relationship to the adjacent villages and castle/manor. 

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