Monument record 1654 - Chapmonswiche

The place name of Chapmonswiche suggests a possible deserted medieval hamlet or manor. It was first mentioned as Cepmundewiche in the Domesday Book as a waste manor in 1086. In 1334 it was 'a hamlet' & in 1450 it consisted of 'a messuage, 18 acres of land and 1 acre of wood in 4 separate parts in the vill of Ouerpeuere', by which time it was a rent rather than a place. 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.