Houghton is a deserted medieval village located one mile to the west of present-day Brampton, Cambridgeshire. [1] Unlike many such villages which became deserted following the black death, Houghton was abandoned earlier when Henry II declared the county of Huntingdonshire a royal forest, forcing the villagers to move elsewhere to obtain food and fuel. [1] The village was discovered during work to upgrade the A14 road which commenced in 2016. [2]
Houghton began as an unenclosed Anglo-Saxon settlement in the sixth century, eventually by the ninth century consisting of around forty houses and other buildings. [1] [2] By the early Norman period the village was centred to the north of the Anglo-Saxon site with more formalised plots and trackways. [1]
Houghton is a deserted medieval village located one mile to the west of present-day Brampton, Cambridgeshire. [1] Unlike many such villages which became deserted following the black death, Houghton was abandoned earlier when Henry II declared the county of Huntingdonshire a royal forest, forcing the villagers to move elsewhere to obtain food and fuel. [1] The village was discovered during work to upgrade the A14 road which commenced in 2016. [2]
Houghton began as an unenclosed Anglo-Saxon settlement in the sixth century, eventually by the ninth century consisting of around forty houses and other buildings. [1] [2] By the early Norman period the village was centred to the north of the Anglo-Saxon site with more formalised plots and trackways. [1]