Wharram Percy
Wharram Percy
House Site 6
The two major excavations of peasant houses -- Area 10 and Area 6 -- were done in the mid 1950s. Once these areas were opened,
walls seemed to go in all directions. Indeed, at Area 10, it was found that a Norman Manor house underlay the peasant house excavated there.
Both sites presented considerable problems of interpretation; indeed, reinterpretations in the 1980s, make sense of the evidence found in the late 1950s and
early 1960s.
This picture shows Site 6 -- just above St. Martin's church on the valley edge -- as it appears today. Outlined in stone are
the various peasant house foundation lines dating from the 12th to 15 centuries. The two longest foundations -- in the
center and on the right -- are both 15th century. The smaller foundations -- in the foreground and on the left -- are 14th century. The 13th
century house had wooden footings (i.e., no stone foundations) and, therefore, left few traces on the ground.
Ken Tompkins
ken@odin.stockton.edu