Nucleated village
Anucleated village,orclustered settlement,is one of the main types ofsettlementpattern. It is one of the terms used by geographers andlandscape historiansto classify settlements.[1]It is most accurate with regard to planned settlements: its concept is one in which the houses, even most farmhouses within the entire associated area of land, such as aparish,cluster around a central church, which is perhaps close to thevillage green.Other possible focal points, depending on cultures and location, are a commercial square, circus, crescent, railway station, park or sports stadium.
A clustered settlement contrasts with these:
- dispersed settlement
- linear settlement
- polyfocal settlement: two (or more) adjacent nucleated villages that have expanded and merged to form a cohesive overall community
A sub-category of clustered settlement is aplanned village or community,deliberately established by landowners or the stated and enforced planning policy of local authorities and central governments.
England
[edit]One of many examples of a nucleated village in England isShapwick, Somerset.[a]
Many nucleated villages originated inAnglo-Saxon England,but historianW. G. Hoskinsdiscredits a previously held view that uniquely associated nucleated villages with that influx to England and their emergent society.[2]
In England, nucleated settlements prevail for example in central parts of the country away from the rockiest soil and steepest slopes where open field farming predominated.[3]In this landscape, the village was typically surrounded by two (or three) large fields in which villagers had individual strips – seeopen field system.Various explanations have been offered as to the reason for this form of settlement including the ethnic origin of the Anglo-Saxon settlers, density of population and the influence of local lords of themanor.Tom Williamson[b]theorised in 2004 that the best explanation is the combination ofsoil qualityand climate which leads to differences in agricultural techniques for exploiting local conditions.[4]
Planned settlements can be clearly distinguished from other communities in the late medieval period when landowners began to en masse allocate two rows of new houses set on equal-sized plots of land -burgage plots.At the opposite end of the burgage plot there is often aback lanewhich gives the original village a regular layout, right-angled development, which can often still be seen today in England. Planned villages were usually associated with markets, from which the landowner expected to make profits.
Central Europe
[edit]In central Europe, nucleated villages have also emerged from smaller settlements and many farmsteads (equivalent to manyhamlets) grew in population to become larger settlements. These villages generally have an irregular shape but are roughly circularly grouped around a central place such as a church or a feature easy to defend.
Israel
[edit]
As a modern example, manykibbutzimandmoshavim,built from the start as planned settlements, follow the nucleated pattern. Strips of agricultural land often radiate directly outwards.
Over time, some of those grew into less regular forms; others, however, retain the clear nucleated structure to this day.
See also
[edit]- Haufendorf,a type of enclosed village in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Further reading
[edit]Notes and references
[edit]- Notes
- ^This has been extensively investigated byMick Aston
- ^University of East Anglia
- References
- ^Muir, Richard.The NEW Reading the Landscape.University of Exeter Press.
- ^Hoskins, WG (1955). "The Making of the English Landscape".The Geographical Journal.121(4): 511.Bibcode:1955GeogJ.121..511T.doi:10.2307/1791761.JSTOR1791761.
- ^Roberts; Rathmell.An Atlas of Rural Settlement in England.English Heritage.
- ^Williamson, Tom (2004).Shaping Medieval Landscapes.Windgather Press.