Monument record 362 - Frith

Frith is mentioned in the Domesday survey where it is recorded as being held as two manors in 1066 but combined into one manor by 1086. Taken to represent a deserted village/hamlet near the present Frith Farm. Medieval and later villages were abandoned by their inhabitants for many reasons. The effects of disease and poor harvests made rural living difficult, and whole communities are thought to have relocated to urban settlements. Landowners sometimes relocated settlements for aesthetic reasons and for landscaping. Once abandoned the villages quickly became derelict and were not inhabited again surviving only as earthworks, often visible only from aerial photographs. They can also be identified by documentary evidence or the presence of a church where there is no settlement.