|
Ravenstone is a small rural cluster village with a population of 2149,〔(2001 Census results for Ravenstone )〕 situated just off the A511 road between Coalville and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in North West Leicestershire, and within the National Forest, England. ==Historic settlement== Archeological excavations carried out in 1981 to the south of the present village revealed the site of a Romano-British settlement.〔(The Romano-British settlement at Ravenstone )〕 Evidence for iron smelting was found, along with kilns and coins dating from the late 3rd century. There is also evidence of a Roman road crossing the southern part of the parish and through the settlement.〔('' A Brief History of Ravenstone in the County of Leicester'' ) ppp.27-29 of the Ravenstone with Snibston Parish Plan, 2008〕 The settlement site was destroyed when around eight million tonnes of coal were extracted by opencast mining between 1982 and 1996.〔(Sence Valley Forest Park )〕 The area has since been returned to open fields and is now known as the Sence Valley Forest Park. The first documentary evidence of the existence of the village is in the Domesday Book when Donisthorpe, a manor in Derbyshire, was owned by Nigel of Stafford and it was valued at twelve pence.〔The Domesday Book〕 Its name, which is derived from the Old Norse ''Hrœfnes'', the name of a Saxon invader, and the suffix ''tūn'', meaning "Hrafn's farm or village", suggests that the settlement was probably initiated by the Anglo Saxons.〔Watts, Victor ''et al.,'' (2004) ''The Cambridge Dictionary of Place Names'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-36209-1〕 A castle, most probably consisting of an earth mound and ditch surrounded by a wooden palisade, is documented in a treaty concluded between 1147 and 1153 by the Earls of Chester and Leicester, in which it was agreed for it to be destroyed since it threatened their respective estates.〔(Ravenstone's vanished castle )〕 The exact site of the castle has so far never been established, but it may have stood on the north side of the village on or near the site of Ravenstone Hall. The parish church of St Michael and All Angels is situated on the northern fringe of the village and dates from 1323. The church is of sandstone believed to have been quarried at nearby Alton, one of the two abandoned villages in the parish. Alton means "old farm", suggesting that it had been established before Ravenstone. The centre of the village was designated a Conservation Area in 1973.〔(Ravenstone Conservation Area )〕 The neighbouring parish of Snibston is home to St. Mary's church, one of the smallest churches in Britain, which holds only about 30 people. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ravenstone, Leicestershire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|