Monument record 398/0 - Royals Green

The placename, Royal's Green, is first mentioned as 'villa de Ruhull' in c.1130. This has been taken to represent a deserted medieval village, but no earthworks are known and there is some existing settlement. 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. 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.