Description

In April 2008 an archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Channel 4’s ‘Time Team’ at the site of Ulnaby Hall in High Coniscliffe, County Durham (NGR 422778 517155). This site is the location of the Ulnaby deserted medieval village (Scheduled Monument Number 20961).
An evaluation comprising eight trenches largely confirmed the results of the 2007 earthwork survey carried out by English Heritage, while highlighting the different information that can be gained from excavation as opposed to non-intrusive methods.
The village of Ulnaby appears to have been occupied for a relatively short period of time beginning in the late 13th or early 14th century, becoming largely unoccupied by the 15th century. The evidence suggests that the two-rowed plan, either side of a hollow-way and green, was the original form of the village, with an adjacent manorial enclosure. In the 15th-16th century activity appears to have focused on the westernmost tofts of the North Row and some enclosures in the former South Row. The hollow-way appears to have remained an important access route well into the 19th century. No evidence was found to support a pre-medieval origin for the village.