Monument record 102 - Earley Village

Placename evidence suggests a possible shrunken/deserted medieval village near Earleywood Farm, Norton. A shrunken village is where a village shows evidence of earlier settlement that has not been re inhabited. 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.