Townships and early fields in north Nottinghamshire

Recent work by Riley has illustrated the existence of an extensive system of fields of probable Roman date in north Nottinghamshire and south Yorkshire. When these are compared with the alignments of township boundaries it is evident that the two patterns do not coincide. This suggests that the medieval township structure was not based on an earlier pre-Saxon system of territorial divisions. Such a suggestion would support arguments that have been put forward for a discontinuity of occupancy between the Roman and Saxon periods in this part of England.