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WHERE POWER LIES: LORDLY POWER CENTRES IN THE ENGLISH LANDSCAPE c. 800–1200

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2025

David Gould ,
Oliver Creighton ,
Scott Chaussée Open the ORCID record for Scott Chaussée [Opens in a new window] ,
Michael Shapland  and
Duncan W Wright Open the ORCID record for Duncan W Wright [Opens in a new window]
David Gould
Affiliation:
Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Archaeology, Exeter University, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK. Email: [email protected]
Oliver Creighton
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Exeter University, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK. Email: [email protected]
Scott Chaussée
Affiliation:
Wesseex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, SP4 6EB, [email protected]
Michael Shapland
Affiliation:
Archaeology South-East, 2 Chapel Place, Brighton and Hove, Brighton, BN41 1DR, UK. Email: [email protected]
Duncan W Wright
Affiliation:
School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Toward the end of the first millennium ad, a burgeoning class of secular elites emerged throughout western Europe who developed local power centres to denote their prestige. Seigneurial investment was prioritised towards residences, as well as churches and chapels, the two elements often paired into single places in the landscape. In England, our understanding of these complexes is limited due to scant excavated evidence and skewed by the impact of the Norman Conquest, after which castles became the dominant form of aristocratic site. Previous approaches have often fetishised defensibility and promoted notions of national exceptionalism, but a more meaningful understanding of these places can be gained by adopting a broad chronological and thematic remit. Drawing upon the results of the AHRC-funded research project ‘Where Power Lies’, this paper offers a foundational evaluation of the landscape evidence for lordly centres, presenting data on their distribution in two regions, complemented by results from intensive investigation of case study locations (Bosham, West Sussex and Hornby, North Yorkshire). This allows a wider range of material signatures from lordly centres to be characterised, resulting in greater comprehension of how elites in England shaped and experienced a Europe-wide phenomenon.

Keywords

elite sitesNorman Conquestmilitary archaeologylandscape studieschurch archaeology
Type
Research paper
Information
The Antiquaries Journal , First View , pp. 1 - 35
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society of Antiquaries of London

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