The Original Maesbury

The picture below shows an artist's impression of an Anglo-Saxon fortified settlement (this one in southern England courtesy of the Museum of London), so the original Maesbury (Meresberie) probably looked something like this. The settlement was surrounded by a ditch and a wooden palisade. The surrounding land would have been actively farmed, with the fortified area used as a retreat in times of danger.

We know from the Domesday Book that there was an Anglo-Saxon fortified settlement of Maesbury, and that it was the main settlement of the area. But where was it?

The map on the right is from 1839, the earliest currently available. All maps up to the mid 20th century show Maesbury as the area along Ball Lane which, in the censuses from 1851-1901 was known a Maesbury Road.

The original Maesbury Road would simply have followed the top of Wat's Dyke, and the Dyke provided a ready made section of the fortifications, so it seems most likely that the fortified settlement of Domesday was next to it.

The field boudaries have not changed much since 1839, just some of the hedgerows ripped out, and they are not likley to have changed in the previous 1,000 years either. The field names are also likely to have been handed down through the generations.

The group of cottages along Ball Lane are clearly separated from the Ball Mill at the top, and the old Maesbury Mill at the bottom. With one field behind them known as 'Maesbury Field' - this looks like the most likely site of the fortifications, possibly just Maesbury Field, maybe a little further up or down. The main entrance would probably have been from Wat's Dyke on the north west corner.

The Mill was not mentioned in the Domeday Book, so that was probably built some time later and the village extended. The modern Back Lane appears to have provided a back way to the Mill, behind the village.

The more detailed, and more accurate, OS map from 1890 still shows Maesbury as being below the same field. The cottage in the bottom left corner is now Hope Cottage, but there appears to have been another building at the end of the lane in 1890.

The map below is from about 1930 or 40, There are now some houses on the back lane side of Maesbury Field, otherwise still much the same.

In the arial photo (from about 1999), below right, the hegderows have been ripped out as so often in the late 20th century, to make room for the tractors. Now we just have a row of houses along Ball Lane. Faint hedgerow lines can still be seen across the field which may have been the boundaries of the Anglo-Saxon fortified settlement of Mereberie. The Domesday Book even lists a church, probably in the middle of the field. Maybe one day we we'll get some archaeologists to to excavate it all . . .

Footnote: the modern transport planners have decreed with their road signs that 'Maesbury' is now the area around the cross-roads, between the school and the church, the Ordnance Survey have followed suit. Perhaps this is fair enough as so little of the old village is left, but maybe we could have some road signs on Ball Lane to let visitors know that they are entering 'Old Maesbury'.

The Domesday book stated that there was church at Meresberie, for further info:

• Anglo-Saxon Architecture (britainexpress.com) - "The Anglo-Saxon's put a lot of energy into tower building in their church architecture, and often Saxon towers are the earliest surviving part of English parish churches. The towers began as a defensive structure; they enabled inhabitants of a village to gain a high lookout point and an easily defensible position to ward off attacks. Saxon towers often had rooms high up which were reached by a ladder. The ladder could then be drawn up when danger threatened. " This site has more links, including some example of the few surviving anglo-saxon churches