February 2023

13 Buckden Roundabout February 2023 Houghton Medieval Village By Richard Storey Chairman/Secretary for the Buckden Local History Society. In 2018 during the construction of the A14, the largest Archae- ological dig in the UK was taking place on either side of the 21 miles of new road. During the excavations 250 archaeologists, led by archaeology experts from the Museum of London Ar- chaeology (MOLA) Headland Infrastructure, dug more than 40 separate excavation areas, uncovering new information about how the landscape was used over 6,000 years and about the origins of the villages and towns along the A14 in Cambridge- shire today. A Roman trade distribution centre, 3 prehistoric monuments and an abandoned medieval village were among the nationally significant archaeological discoveries made. The medieval village of Houghton was an outlier to the main settlement at Brampton but with no church or manor house it was strictly a ‘ hamlet ’ rather than a ‘ village ’. It developed on the western edge of the territory of Brampton, approximately. 250m to the north - west of Brampton Wood and 200m to the east of the Great North Road. It would likely have been located here potentially partly because of it being close to the Great North Road (with the blacksmiths being used by people travel- ling up and down the road), and the proximity to Brampton Wood for timber and other supplies. It is currently not shown on any Ordnance Survey map. Thanks to surviving historical documents we know that the village uncovered was called Houghton, meaning ‘ estate or farm on a heel - shaped spur of land ’ in Old English. But who lived there, and what made them leave? Houghton started out in the 6th to 9th centuries AD as an un- enclosed Anglo - Saxon settlement of 40 houses and huts. By the time it was abandoned in the 13th century the small settle- ment had become a neatly laid out hamlet, with houses lined up along trackways and set within more obvious plots. Finds and features offer clues about what life in Houghton was like – it was unusu- ally rich with industrial activity. Con- centrated traces of metalworking remains have been found around one building, thought to be a blacksmith ’ s shop. On the other side of the central track are what appear to be tanks called ‘ retting pits ’ – perhaps for treading or beating flax to make clothing fibres or some other water - based process. But what made the people of Houghton leave this bustling village? The most common reason for this to happen in Britain is plague. As outbreaks claimed the lives of thousands, village populations rapidly declined and survivors moved on, resettled and created new communities. However, things were different at Houghton. On his accession to the throne in 1154, King Henry II claimed the whole county of Huntingdonshire as his exclusive hunting ground under Nor- man law. As the ‘ royal forest ’ expanded the villagers lost ac- cess to the local woodlands, which would have provided their food and fuel, and were forced to move out. Over years the buildings collapsed and other structures decayed, leaving only the archaeological evidence of what was a busy little hamlet. A new Heritage Centre for Northstowe and Longstanton will showcase discoveries made during the archaeological works from the A14 upgrade and Northstowe New Town project. The centre, which is scheduled to open by early 2023, will be adjacent to the new regional offices of Homes England and will feature local collections, especially those relating to RAF Oak- ington as most of Northstowe is built on the site of the former air base. The project is a joint collabo- ration be- tween Homes England, Cambridge- shire County Council and National Highways and Longstanton & District Heritage Soci- ety. It has been designed as a venue for school visits, on - site archaeological activities, major heritage presentations, and will be open to the general public. For more information on Buckden ’ s rich archaeology and histo- ry please see our website, https://www.buckdenhistory.co.uk/ or contact me at buckdenhistory@gmail.com. (Continued on page 8) Below, aerial view of the Houghton archaeological dig. All pictures from the Mola website with kind permission