Pre-Conquest estates in the west Midlands: preliminary thoughts

Pre-Conquest charters from the est Midlands provide evidence which cannot be revealed by archaeological means of the type of administrative organization within the Hwiccan kingdom. Estates comprising a number of parish units may be reconstructed but appear to have been carved out of larger territorial divisions. Nodal areas, frequently in riverine locations, appear to have been linked to areas of secondary development in more heavily wooded countryside. This association between complementary regions gave rise to a system of organization based upon sound economic foundations and the resulting pattern of regional complementarity was still apparent in the landscape at a later period. Fragmentation of administrative units was well-advanced by the mid-Anglo-Saxon period and minor units of parish or subparish size had come into being, many of which were clearly recognized as independent communities. In some areas these units had become well-established early enough for their boundaries to influence those of the ecclesiastical parishes. In the secondary areas subdivision occurred at a later date and yet other areas remained largely undeveloped without lasting demarcation. The charters also show, however, that settlement had been established throughout the Hwiccan kingdom by the later Anglo-Saxon period, with a number of minor settlements in existence beyond any village nucleus.