Monument record MDO1315 - Medieval settlement, Kingston Russell

Earthworks associated with the deserted medieval village of Kingston Russell, visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and LiDAR imagery. Earthwork remains of a deserted village and manor house. The site is documented in Domesday Book. By 1281 full manorial rights at Kingston was granted to William Russell, including a market and annual fair. The manor house it thought to be situated to the south of the River Bride. However, little survives except for a few slight earthworks and fish ponds. By about 1532 the village had so declined that the church was united with Longbredy. Only eight houses were recorded in the Hearth Tax of 1664. Taylors map of 1765 shows a few remaining houses and the main way out of the medieval village which can be traced from SY 573894 to SY 579904 as a well defined hollow-way, partly hedged and banked and followed by a modern bridlepath. The main street of the medieval village now lies beneath the garden of the present Kingston Russell House.

(SY 572895) Deserted medieval village of Kingston Russell. It cannot be distinguished from other Kingstons in Domesday Book <4>, but the manor is recorded in 1212 and in 1281 full manorial rights at Kingston was granted to William Russell, including a market and annual fair. The manor house was probably south of the River Bride, but today no trace remains except for its fish ponds and the 'humps and hollows' of the village site. By about 1532 the village had so declined that the church (St James's Chapel) was united with Longbredy and only eight houses were recorded in the Hearth Tax of 1664. Gerard <1> describes Kingston Russell as "an obscure Hamlet" and Hutchins <2> quoting the 1st edition of 1774 says "in a close appear ruins where buildings stood, perhaps the seat of the Russells". Taylors map of 1765 (see illust.) shows the few remaining houses and the main way out of the medieval village. This can still be traced from SY 573894 to SY 579904 as a well defined hollow-way, partly hedged and banked and followed by a modern bridlepath <5>. The main street of the medieval village now lies beneath the garden of the present Kingston Russell House. <6>

Earthworks associated with the deserted medieval village of Kingston Russell are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and LiDAR imagery <8-10>. The features include field boundaries and the remains of fish ponds. They were digitally plotted during the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project.

<1> Gerard, T (Coker, J ), 1732, A Survey of Dorsetshire. , 27 (Cartographic materials). SWX8143.

<2> Shipp, W, and Hodson, J W (eds), 1863, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 3rd edition. Volume 2 (Monograph). SWX1269.

<3> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1973, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1972, 101 (Serial). SDO72.

<4> Good, R, 1979, Lost Villages of Dorset, 52 (Monograph). SWX1569.

<5> Dorset County Council, 1980, Countryside Treasures in Dorset: West Dorset District, 73 (Monograph). SDO12280.

<6> Bailey, C J, 1982, The Bride Valley : the story of the past, with photographs of the present, 21-3 (Monograph). SWX1298.

<7> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/088 RCHME Inventory: Dorset I (West) and Revision (Unpublished document). SDO17367.

<8> 21-APR-2006, D0060481 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11684.

<9> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1824 4285-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11645.

<10> 20-JUL-1989, NMR OS/89389 110-1 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11689.

<11> National Record of the Historic Environment, 450419 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jun 17 2024 1:34PM