Ebook: Orton Hall Farm: A Roman and Early Anglo-Saxon Farmstead

With major contributions from Dr. Helen Barnford, Dr A. S. Esmonde Cleary, K. F. Hartley, Martin Howe, Joan King, Prances Lee, J. R. Perrin, R. J. Spain and Felicity Wild, and contributions from Dr. J. R. Baker, A. Challands, Mary Harman, Dr. M. Henig and Dr. Graham Webster. Principal illustrations by Edward Curry and Linda Meadows. Photographs by James Brown.

Excavation in the parish of Orton Longueville during the 1970s revealed a farmstead which had been occupied from c.50AD right through into the 6th century. At its greatest extent, in the 4th century, the farmstead included three barns, a house with a walled yard, a large rectangular building and a mill-house. Important evidence for the milling of grain, brewing and animal management was recovered. The farm was apparently a large establishment having many features in common with a medieval manor, and it may have been an imperial estate. Occuption continued into the Saxon period, with evidence of a granary and possibly a hall.