The Lost Villages of the Ditchfords

There are cases of so-called 'lost villages' all over England and almost as many theories and explanations for their demise. The principal culprit is often said to be the Black Death, sweeping through the countryside in the 14th century and emptying villages of their inhabitants. However, this is by no means the only possibility and in the case of the Ditchfords there do appear to be other reasons for their disappearance. Ditchford is a name that was widespread in this area (perhaps because of their proximity to the Fosse Way - 'fosse' meaning ditch in Old English). Remnants of this, in the form of the names of houses and farms, are still evident on detailed maps, but of the three villages - Ditchford Frary, Lower Ditchford and Upper Ditchford - there is almost no trace.

A 15th-century witness, a priest from Warwickshire called John Rouse, wrote in 1491 that the Ditchfords had been abandoned during his lifetime. Changes in agricultural practices are thought to be the principal reason for this abandonment. As farming gradually became more efficient there was a disinclination to cultivate the stony soils of the more exposed and windswept upland areas.

At the same time, in the Cotswolds, the wool trade was rapidly supplanting arable farming, as the wolds were given over to sheep farming. Much of the land was owned by the great abbeys who, deriving a third of their income from wool, turned vast tracts of land over to summer pasture in the uplands and winter pastures on the more sheltered lower slopes. The result was, of course, that the villagers, mostly farm labourers who had for centuries depended on access to arable land for their livelihood, lost that access. They simply had to move elsewhere in search of work.

Today there are no solid remains of any of the three villages. What you can see, however, is a series of regular rolls and shapes in the land that indicate settlement. Upper Ditchford, which stood on the slope near Neighbrook Farm, is the least obvious but you can see banked enclosures and terraces that probably supported buildings. The site is somewhat clearer in the case of Lower Ditchford, where there are terraces and the site of a manor house and moat. Ditchford Frary has left its name to a nearby farmhouse.

Todenham survived the rigours of depopluation, and today is a quiet and unspoilt village on the edge of the Cotswolds. It's really a long, single road flanked by an assortment of houses and their leafy gardens. The manor house dates from the end of the Georgian period whilst the church is worth a visit for its decorated and Perpendicular interior. Its features include a 13th-century font with the names of 18th-century churchwardens inscribed upon it.

While you're there

Tuesday is market day in Moreton-in-Marsh; it's the largest, indeed practically the only, weekly market left in the Cotswolds. Full of bustling bargain hunters, it gives a hint, at least, of how village life must have once been.

Where to eat and drink

The highly attractive Farriers Arms is in Todenham, a short way up from the church. The market town of Moreton-in-Marsh, 3 miles (4.8km) south west, has plenty of pubs, cafes, and restaurants, including the well-known Marsh Goose.

What to look for

As you are crossing the fields at the beginning of the walk, look out for the pleats in the fields that indicate medieval ridge and furrow ploughing techniques. These are common all over central England, though many have been ploughed out by modern machinery. The furrows were created by cumbersome ox-drawn ploughs, the ridges separated different farmers' workings in the same open field. Each furrow would originally have been about a furlong (201m) in length, the distance being about as far as the ploughing beast could pull before it needed a rest.