Glimpses of Medieval Garton End
Avril Lumley Prior
A splendid charter, written on a large sheet of parchment and embellished with gold-leaf and a portrait of a medieval king, proclaimed that Carton [Garton End], together with Dogsthorpe, Eastfield, Gunthorpe and Newark, was given to Peterborough Abbey by King Wulfhere of Mercia in 664. The document is a blatant forgery, inspired by an early twelfth-century fabrication. It probably was commissioned by the abbot of Peterborough especially for the visit of Edward I and Queen Margaret in 1302 or for that of his son, Prince Edward of Wales, and his companion, Piers Gaveston, shortly afterwards. Its purpose was to persuade the royal guests to follow their predecessors’ example by absolving the abbey from taxation and by generously adding to its coffers. However, the forger seemed unaware that Carton and its neighbours were covered completely by the vast Eastwood that stretched as far as Eye until c. 1209, when it was cleared and the land leased by the abbot to various small-holders.
So what did medieval Carton look like? By studying the ‘Enclosure Map’ of 1821 (a copy of which is held by Peterborough Central Library) and a register of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century peasants’ agreements, it is possible to provide a basic reconstruction of the early hamlet. Several of the hamlet’s houses appear to have been substantial, built around courtyards with huge parcels of land to the rear and in the adjacent fields. Names of tenants such as William de la Grene and Robert atte Grene suggest that the settlement was originally formed next to a village green. The ‘green’ was probably much larger during the thirteenth century, extending westwards as far as Dogsthorpe Road and southwards as far as the modern Pyecroft, where the village pond was situated until it was drained in 1936. Thus, the sharp bend in the road may be explained. The ‘Enclosure Map’ map shows that the green had shrunk dramatically by 1821 and now has completely disappeared.
Medieval Carton was served by a road system similar to today. The present Elmfield Road and Newark Avenue (formerly Newark Lane), to the north of the ‘green’, confusingly were named Eastfield Road on the 1821 map. Nevertheless, charter evidence reveals that during the thirteenth century they were simply ‘green ways’ [grassy tracks] leading to the abbey’s huge East Field. There was also a road leading from Carton to the Eastwood, which may roughly have followed the line of Central Avenue. Yet another route stretched southwards towards Peterborough from the ‘green’, which was known as Cartongate. Therefore, we may conjecture that, since the thoroughfare terminated at Carton ‘green’, it became known as first Carton End Lane and finally Garton End Road.
Sadly, the old hamlet of Carton now has been enveloped by Dogsthorpe parish. Although many vestiges of the medieval settlement have disappeared beneath housing developments, two of its fields, Doddesthorpe Swallows and Chain Close are perpetuated in late 1930s street names.