Ludgershall

The Roman road known as Akeman Street that connected London and Cirencester runs through Ludgershall. The modern A41 follows the route. Other than that, no Roman archaeology is known in the parish.

Ludgershall is recorded in Domesday and was part of Bernwood Forest from before this time. Bernwood had been a hunting forest from the time of Edward the Confessor. It grew to its largest extent under Henry II. The whole area was not covered by woods; in the medieval period a forest was a place where deer roamed for hunting and so included open land, villages and fields. All those who lived in the forest were not allowed to hunt or even gather wood without a special licence from the king. Bernwood Forest was finally disafforested in the reign of James I in 1635, although it had been shrinking in size since the time of King John (1199-1216).

There were two manors in Ludgershall in the medieval period. Ludgershall Manor House is recorded as habitable in the 16^th century. Tetchwick manor was based around Tetchwick Farm and there was a small hamlet there as well. The earthworks of the deserted medieval village have been identified on aerial photographs. Tetchwick Farm itself is a late 17^th century thatched house.

Ludgershall itself has shrunk since the medieval period and the earthworks of the bigger village can be seen at the north-west end, in the centre of the present one and elsewhere. The remains of another deserted medieval settlement survive east of Kingham’s Farm. The site was recorded before being disturbed with a gas pipeline. It had one large hollow-way running north-south through the centre with seven house platforms on the west and two on the eastern side of the street. There is lots of ridge-and-furrow to be seen in Ludgershall parish, as well. This is the remains of the medieval farming technique. There also seems to have been a bit of industry in Ludgershall in the medieval period. Waste from a 15^th century pottery kiln was found in land next to a house called Clovelly on Duck Lane in 2000. This seems to have produced similar pottery to the famous Brill/Boarstall wares so perhaps the correct name should be Brill/Boarstall/Ludgershall ware.

There are the remains of a medieval moat in Dovehouse Field that by tradition was the site of a hall belonging to King Ludd (a pre-Roman king) and is supposed to have given this parish its name (Ludgar’s Hall). It is more likely, however, to have been the site of a medieval house, some records say the house of Lady de St Armand that was destroyed during wars in the time of Edward I. Nearby is another depression that may be part of another moat or a fishpond. The name itself suggests that the field contained a dovecote in the medieval or post-medieval period.

A medieval hospital is said to have existed in Friar’s Mead in Ludgershall, but the exact location is not known. The hospital, known as Santingfield after the house it was dependent on in France, may have been founded before 1236 and dissolved in 1414. Another field-name that suggests the site of an old building is Mill Knob Field. A mound where the windmill possibly sat has been recorded in the field and there are records of it in the 15^th and 16^th centuries. The 15^th century record may refer to a windmill at Rookery End, however, where another mound has been identified. 18^th and 19^th century records show a field called Mill Field south of the village that might have been the site of a watermill but part of it has been destroyed by the railway.

Bury Court stood south-east of the church. It was a medieval to post-medieval country house but it fell down in the 19^th century. A house platform showing where it once stood can be seen on aerial photographs, next to a fishpond that may have been connected to the house. The Kya was a small witchert cottage that was scheduled for demolition on Piddington Road. It was thought to be an 18^th century cottage but building recording and tree-ring dating revealed it was a late 16^th century house – the timber for the roof had been felled in 1569. It was a very unusual survival as small cottages like this have not survived well until the present day. Unfortunately the house was demolished before this date was obtained. The oldest surviving building in Ludgershall is St Mary’s church. The original date of the church is uncertain as the chancel was added and the nave altered in the 14^th century, so destroying much of the earlier fabric.

The other listed buildings in the parish mainly date to the 17^th and 18^th centuries, like Wayside Cottage on Buckingham Road, Brook Cottage on Duck Lane or Rookery Farm. Petty’s Farm is a little earlier, having been first constructed in the late 16^th century, as were Home Farm and Ludgershall Farm. Before barns at the latter farm were converted into houses there was an archaeological investigation in the farmyard in 2005 and 2006. This revealed a post-medieval cobbled farmyard surface with a pathway constructed of 19^th and 20^th century gravestones from the church. Apple Cottage on the High Street has been identified as medieval and may therefore date to the 15^th century. Others are slightly later in date, such as The Thatched Cottage (also known as The Hovel) that was built in the 19^th century with witchert, a local building material. It may have been a squatters cottage built on waste ground. The felling date of one of the timbers used in the building was tree-ring dated to 1812.

Garden archaeology has become more common in recent years and work in the Rectory House gardens uncovered a pond that may be either medieval or 19^th century. It contained medieval pottery but this may have been residual and a garden pond is shown on a 19^th century map of the area.