Spring line settlement
Encyclopedia
Spring line settlements occur where a ridge of permeable rock lies over impermeable rock and there will be a line of springs
along the boundary between the two layers.
It sometimes happens that a sequence of spring line (or springline) settlements will arise around these springs, becoming villages.
In each case to build higher up the hill would have meant difficulties with water supply; to build lower would have taken the settlement further away from useful grazing land or nearer to the floodplain
.
Spring line villages are notable for having long, narrow parish
boundaries – stretching up to the top of the ridge and down to the river but being narrow in the direction of adjacent spring line villages.
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
along the boundary between the two layers.
It sometimes happens that a sequence of spring line (or springline) settlements will arise around these springs, becoming villages.
In each case to build higher up the hill would have meant difficulties with water supply; to build lower would have taken the settlement further away from useful grazing land or nearer to the floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
.
Spring line villages are notable for having long, narrow parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
boundaries – stretching up to the top of the ridge and down to the river but being narrow in the direction of adjacent spring line villages.
Some examples in England
- to the north and south of the Howardian HillsHowardian HillsThe Howardian Hills form an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Yorkshire, England. located between the Yorkshire Wolds, the North York Moors National Park and the Vale of York. The AONB includes farmland, wooded rolling countryside, villages and historic houses with parkland...
in the North Riding of YorkshireNorth Riding of YorkshireThe North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...
. - to the west and east of the ridge that stretches south from LincolnLincoln, LincolnshireLincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
and on top of which is the Roman roadRoman roadThe Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
Ermine StreetErmine StreetErmine Street is the name of a major Roman road in England that ran from London to Lincoln and York . The Old English name was 'Earninga Straete' , named after a tribe called the Earningas, who inhabited a district later known as Armingford Hundred, around Arrington, Cambridgeshire and Royston,...
. The western line (which includes Boothby GraffoeBoothby GraffoeBoothby Graffoe is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies approximately 7 miles south of Lincoln, on A607 . It's population is approximately 400....
and NavenbyNavenbyNavenby is a village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England. Lying south of Lincoln and north-northwest of Sleaford, Navenby has a population of 1,666 and is a dormitory village for Lincoln...
) is close under the escarpment; the eastern line (which includes MetheringhamMetheringhamMetheringham is a medium sized village in Lincolnshire approximately ten miles south of the English city of Lincoln...
) is up to 6 miles (10 km) away from the crest of the ridge. - to the south of LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and difficult to identify among the continuous housing development of later centuries, there are: EwellEwellEwell is a village in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, close to the southern boundary of Greater London. It is located 14 miles south-south-west of Charing Cross and forms part of the suburbia that surrounds Greater London. Despite its growing population it is still referred to as a...
(a derivative of the Old English Et Welle), CheamCheamCheam is a large suburban village close to Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton, England, and is located close to the southern boundary between Greater London and Surrey. It is divided into two main areas: North Cheam and Cheam Village. North Cheam includes more retail shops and supermarkets,...
, SuttonSutton, LondonSutton is a large suburban town in southwest London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Sutton. It is located south-southwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The town was connected to central London by...
, CarshaltonCarshaltonCarshalton is a suburban area of the London Borough of Sutton, England. It is located 10 miles south-southwest of Charing Cross, situated in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton Ponds in the centre of the village. The combined population of the five wards...
, WallingtonWallington, LondonWallington is a town in the London Borough of Sutton situated south south-west of Charing Cross. Prior to the merger of the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington into the London Borough of Sutton, it was part of the county of Surrey.- History :...
, BeddingtonBeddingtonBeddington is a settlement between the London Boroughs of Sutton and Croydon. The BedZED low energy housing scheme is located here. In Beddington was a static inverter plant of HVDC Kingsnorth....
, WaddonWaddonWaddon is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, to the south west of central Croydon on the borders of the London Borough of Sutton. Waddon has an older area with 19th century properties, some even older, close to central Croydon. Further south is a large estate of Council-owned homes and a...
, CroydonCroydonCroydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, AddiscombeAddiscombeAddiscombe is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south of Charing Cross.It is situated just to the northeast of central Croydon, and is home to a high proportion of people who commute to Central London, owing to its proximity to the busy...
, Elmers EndElmers EndElmers End is a place in London Borough of Bromley, England. It has a large green space which is the centre of a gyratory. Very close to the combined railway station and Tramlink terminus bearing its name is the old sewage farm. The remains of this industrial site can still be seen...
, and BeckenhamBeckenhamBeckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
. Road and place names to the north of the line provide evidence that that area was relatively uninhabited: Cheam CommonCommon landCommon land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
, Sutton Common, Thornton HeathThornton HeathThornton Heath is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south-southeast of Charing Cross.-Geography:...
, and NorwoodSouth NorwoodSouth Norwood is an urban town and in south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a suburban development 7.8 miles south-east of Charing Cross. South Norwood is an electoral with a resident population in 2001 of just over 14,000...
(a derivative of North Wood). - Below the northern escarpmentEscarpmentAn escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
of the South DownsSouth DownsThe South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
are villages such as EdburtonEdburtonEdburton is a small village in West Sussex, England, on the road from Upper Beeding to Fulking.-History:The village was named after Edburga of Winchester who was a granddaughter of King Alfred the Great and daughter of his successor King Edward the Elder. The church she founded c.940 at Edburton...
, FulkingFulkingFulking is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the north slopes of the South Downs, five miles to the north-west of Brighton...
and PoyningsPoyningsPoynings is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the north side of the South Downs near Devil's Dyke, five miles north-west of Brighton...
. - In the Vale of the White Horse (now in OxfordshireOxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, formerly in BerkshireBerkshireBerkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
), villages such as East Ginge, West Ginge, Letcombe BassettLetcombe BassettLetcombe Bassett is a village and civil parish about southwest of the market town of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire....
, ChildreyChildreyChildrey is a village and civil parish about west of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. The parish was part of the Wantage Rural District in Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the whole of the Vale of White Horse from Berkshire to Oxfordshire.Childrey was originally an island...
and WoolstoneWoolstone, OxfordshireWoolstone is a village and civil parish about south of Faringdon in the Vale of White Horse. Woolstone was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire....
are at the head of wooded valleys below the RidgewayRidgewayA ridgeway is a road or path that follows a ridge, or the highest part of the landscape.-Roads and pathways:*The Ridgeway, an ancient track in southern England, which now forms part of the Ridgeway Path or National Trail...
on the north-facing scarp slope. - In East AngliaEast AngliaEast Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, spring line settlements such as BurwellBurwellBurwell may refer to:*Carter Burwell*Burwell, Cambridgeshire*Burwell, Lincolnshire*Burwell, Nebraska*USS Laub , a destroyer renamed the HMS Burwell when she was transferred to the Royal Navy in World War II...
, Swaffham PriorSwaffham PriorSwaffham Prior is a village in East Cambridgeshire, England.Lying 5 miles west of Newmarket, and two miles south west of Burwell, the village is often paired with its neighbour Swaffham Bulbeck, and are collectively referred to as 'The Swaffhams'. Swaffham Prior was often known as Great Swaffham in...
, Cherry HintonCherry HintonCherry Hinton is a suburban area of the city of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, England. It is around southeast of Cambridge city centre.-History:...
mark the Fen Edge and are close to the probable Lower Icknield WayIcknield WayThe Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern England. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.-Background:...
.