Medieval Acklam : In-depth Information

In 1066, Acklam was an important and thriving settlement, with its estates valued at £48. By the time the settlement was recorded in the Doomsday Book around 1086, its value had plummeted to a mere 40 shillings. This was a direct result of the Norman’s deliberate policy of destroying the existing political and economic infrastructure of the area, as a means of establishing full control over the still rebellious north of England.

The earliest map of the settlement is a large 14 foot square plan dated 1716, now on display at the Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough. This shows a landscape dominated by the 17th century hall, but also revealing a clear outline of the remnants of this two row settlement.

Two small-scale excavations took place at Acklam Hall in the mid-1960’s, establishing the presence of archaeological deposits beneath the topsoil, and recording a number of features, including post-holes, ditches and a rubbish pit.

Finds recovered from the site, including a silver penny of Henry VIII, several potsherds and a large amount of pottery, dated the site to between the 12th and 16th centuries.

Further archaeological work was carried out in 1997, with a number of evaluation trenches being opened across the Swedish Mission Playing Fields, a plot of land fronting the south side of Church Lane. This revealed well-stratified medieval deposits across the site, with significant amounts of 12th-13th century pottery. One of the trenches provided evidence of a late medieval dwelling fronting to Church Lane in the form of a rubbish pit with animal remains and a tumbled wall. The pottery from this trench was later than that recovered elsewhere and dated to the 15th and 16th centuries.

Taken together, the known documentary archaeological and aerial photographic evidence, suggests that Acklam comprised at least 12 properties on the south row and 13 on the north, possibly more. Presuming that each farmstead contained an extended family of around six people this would indicate a population of around 150 if all the farmsteads were occupied at once, not counting the cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and hens!

The church of St. Mary’s was completely rebuilt in 1876 and expanded in 1956-7, however, three stone effigies survive, the earliest dated to the 15th century and the other two from the 16-17th centuries.

Medieval Acklam

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