It’s official, we’ve been here a very, very long time

The report by the Archaeologists on the dig carried out last September on the Roman site in the village on behalf of the History Group, has at last been received.

The conclusion drawn from the evidence within the trenches dug and the minute investigative processes carried out during the 4 days on all material found is that “in the south of the area under investigation, an Iron Age enclosure was identified with internal structures, possible round houses. Iron Age pottery found suggests that occupation occurred in the Late Iron Age” approx 100BC.

“The north of the area revealed substantial evidence of Roman domestic occupation primarily during the 1st & 2nd centuries. A large elongated rectangular enclosure was discovered more than 110m long by 50m wide. This feature appeared to have a smaller enclosure within which remains of an aisled building were noted” (probably an agricultural building). “The pottery found indicated largely local trade patterns with some indication of more far flung trading contacts.” Further minor investigations after the dig was completed discovered painter plaster which could indicate a more high status building attached to the aisled building but this was not investigated at all. We feel there is much more to be discovered on the site and we have only scratched the surface. We are still waiting for results from environmental samples taken which should show what crops were grown by these long ago residents and what plants formed the landscape. The full report will be available on the village web site in due course.

Archaeological dig

An archaeological dig on the Roman site in the village took place on Monday, 10th September 2007 and continued all week. Six trenches were dug and archaeologists and volunteers worked on these during the 5 days. A small team of metal detectorists had been invited to assist in checking for items of interest in the spoil heaps and the local area of the trenches.

Many interesting finds came to light including some exciting pottery (the best of which was a very large pot, unfortunately broken, but the largest we have found to date), coins, other metal objects, and bones (not human!). Environmental samples were also taken to ascertain what had been growing in the soil, or been thrown into ditches in Roman times.

The site was very busy with archaeologists, surveyors, volunteers and helpers who all worked extremely hard and we are now awaiting the report from the archaeologists for further conclusions as to what went on here. The dig has already confirmed that this is a very interesting and complex site, probably a Roman farm with some evidence of earlier occupation. >> Full picture here in a new window (250Kb)

About Wrawby

Lying 1½ miles north east of Brigg in North Lincolnshire, the ancient village of Wrawby is known to have been the site of a settlement from as early as Roman times. It derives its current name, however, from the time of the Danelaw when it was known as Wraghebi, or Wraghi’s farm.

Domesday Book tells us that the village comprised a church with a priest and farming land, meadow land and woodland at the time of the Norman Conquest. Wrawby’s roots were firmly in the soil then as now, although in recent years farm buildings and farmland have been sold to provide new homes.

The oldest surviving building in the village is the church of St Mary, which is probably Saxon in origin. The current structure has a 13th century tower and pillars. The font is 14th century with a carved Jacobean cover. There is an altar tomb of the Tyrwhitt family, lords of the manor until the mid 17th century (a role subsequently assumed by the Elwes family). A tapestry of “Christ blessing little children” hangs in the church. Its manufacturer, Thomas Tapling of London, who was born in the village, donated it. He also endowed the Parish Reading Room (now demolished), hoping to provide all the villagers the opportunity of an education.

The graveyard surrounding the church was closed in 1857 when a new cemetery was opened on a larger site on the outskirts of Brigg, but there are still a number of fine headstones in situ for the family historian to view.

The original vicarage house was burnt down in 1713, when all the parish records were lost. The oldest register in existence dates from 1675. A new vicarage was built in 1839; this was demolished in the 1960s.

Wrawby church originally also served the township of Brigg until a new church was built there in 1872. There were additionally in the village an Independent Chapel (built 1802), a Wesleyan Chapel (built 1827) and a Temperance Hall (built 1849).

A new Methodist Chapel was built in 1895 and served the village for over a century, finally closing in 2005.

Major landowners into the 20th century included the Elwes family, Clare College Cambridge and the Earl of Yarborough. Land Earl of Yarboroughin Wrawby, with the advowson (right to appoint a vicar) was granted to Clare Hall, as it was then known, by Elizabeth de Burgo in 1348. The Tyrwhitts held the lordship from medieval times, and Robert Tyrwhitt is believed to have entertained Henry VIII lavishly at Wrawby (Kettleby manor house) in 1542.

At the north eastern boundary of Wrawby parish with Melton Ross is the site of an old gallows, reputedly placed there on the order of King James as a warning to prevent bloodshed between the feuding Ross and Tyrwhitt families.

A major change in the agricultural scene came with the enclosure of Wrawby’s open field and commons in 1800-1805. The land was divided between 43 landlords, with Elwes the principal owner. The Elwes estate in Wrawby was sold in 1919.

Although education had been provided for some of the Wrawby boys from the foundation of an old grammar school (now within the town of Brigg) in Tudor times, education for all the children of the village was not readily available until the building of the National School in 1842, at a cost of £433. It was enlarged to accommodate the greater population of the village in 1895. The population had risen from 283 in 1801 to around 1400 in 1891.

The school and master’s house (now a private house) along with several other fine houses of the eighteenth century built of the distinctive local brick remain. The local brick kilns on the outskirts of the village were finally demolished in the 1960s.

Wrawby MillStanding as it does on a small hill, Wrawby is distinctive for its windmill, clear against the skyline on the approach to Brigg along the A18. The earliest record of a mill in Wrawby is 1585; in the nineteenth century there are known to have been two. The remaining mill, restored to a working condition in the 1960s, is Lincolnshire’s last surviving post mill.

The Village on the Hill: a glimpse of Victorian Wrawby was published by the Wrawby History Group and is available direct from Kay Rothery, from the village shop and the Tourist Information Centre in Brigg. Cost £6.99 (plus P&P if applicable.)

The Village On The Hill

The Wrawby Local History Group published The Village on the Hill: a glimpse of Victorian Wrawby containing chapters on farming, housing, education, the church and the mills in the village. This is still available at £6.99 (plus postage and packing if applicable) and on sale both directly, and through the village shop, the Tourist Information Centre in Brigg and Jews’ Court Bookshop, Steep Hill, Lincoln (Tel: 01522 521337.)

Please contact the group through The Secretary, Wrawby Local History Group, Priory Garth, Wrawby, DN20 8RH or send messages from here »