High Yorkshire Wolds, Pt. 2.
Prehistoric landscape = two sites of Mesolithic flint scatters found, Vessey Pastures in Birdsall parish (a parish that spans part of the high wold, scarp slope and part of the Vale of York like the parishes of the Low Villages in North Lincs.) and east of Wharram Le Street near the source of the Gypsy Race at the head of the Great Wold Valley. A proposition is that ‘water holes’ provided good ambush points for hunter-gatherers (see same conclusion in Humber Wetlands Project, spn). Neolithic and Bronze Age woodland clearance, ‘territorial demarcation’ and agricultural economy led to loss of natural flora. Round barrows built, but still the issue of where did they get their water.
Iron Age and Romano-British settlement = Evidence of organised settlements across the Wolds related to sources of water but also isolated farmsteads more distant from water sources. Also ‘ladder closes’ (like ‘ladder settlements’) alongside ancient track-ways. Maybe isolated farms were outlying farms of Romano-British estates (like monastic granges).
Saxon landscape = nucleated villages and open fields are late Saxon but usually based on Romano-British sites. Lots of isolated farms abandoned. Late Saxon some Scandinavian re-naming of settlements.
Medieval open field landscape.
Post medieval landscape = some 17th century village desertions and consolidating of local land to to single landowners eg Towthorpe and Cowlam where wells dug into valley sides. Big farms on deserted village sites had access to the water supply around which the earlier settlement had grown. By 18th century most of acreage of large farms was pasture or rabbit warrens. 18th and 19th centuries some community wells funded by lords of the manor, some over100 feet deep. At Thixendale village well sunk late 18th century, later capped by pump. Some cottages given ‘dealwood’ gutters and water butts. Capturing roof water was encouraged by William Marshall. J. R. Mortimer noted that by 1900 Fimber villagers had returned to using ‘mere’ despite having a well dug in 1867.
After enclosure many dewponds built especially for outlying tenant farmsteads eg Sykes estate by 1770s. Later underground cisterns constructed, brick-lined, into which soft water channelled from roofs o farmhouse and farm buildings. Usually topped by hand pump.
20th century = Thixendale large tank on supports, water gravity-fed to cottages. Lord Middleton built pump-house on spring-line to pump spring water to his residence, home-farm and cottages at Birdsall. Rural water companies borehole wells at Kilham and Etton.