The Story of Bosworth Links
In 2016, the Market Bosworth Society set out on an ambitious journey. With support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we launched a project which would bring the past to life. The idea was simple yet powerful: invite the people of Market Bosworth and its surrounding villages to dig small test pits in their own gardens and community spaces. Each spadeful of earth held the promise of discovery — fragments of pottery, traces of old buildings, and clues to how people lived centuries ago. These finds didn’t just tell stories of individual homes; they helped piece together the bigger picture of Leicestershire’s evolving landscape, settlements and communities.
To make this possible, the Society partnered with University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS). Their archaeologists guided volunteers every step of the way, offering training, supervising digs, and analysing the artefacts unearthed. And when the results came in, they weren’t locked away in academic papers. They were shared back with the community through lively talks and outreach events, turning archaeology into something everyone could experience.
What made Bosworth Links truly special was its inclusivity. Anyone could join, young or old, experienced or complete beginner. Some chose to dig, others washed finds or kept meticulous records. There were roles for everyone, from the able-bodied to those less mobile. Together, they formed a team united by curiosity and a love of history.
By the end, Bosworth Links had done more than uncover artefacts. It had uncovered connections—between people, places, and the stories that shaped them.
Exploring Market Towns and their Past
Market towns like Market Bosworth are quintessential features of the English countryside, serving as vibrant hubs for communities far beyond their own borders. In 2017–18, the initial community-led archaeological project in Market Bosworth proved highly successful, offering residents a rare chance to uncover their town’s history, make exciting discoveries, and identify previously unknown archaeological sites dating back thousands of years.
Building on this success, subsequent excavations have explored nearby villages, including Carlton (2022), Coton (2023), Cadeby (2023), Shenton (2024), Shackerstone (2024), and Congerstone (2025), and have unearthed a landscape over 10,000 years in the making!
Why this Matters
This work adds to a much larger research effort across the East Midlands, aiming to understand the role and development of medieval market towns as social, administrative, industrial, and commercial centres within their regional networks. To achieve this, we also study surrounding settlements that may share historical and cultural ties with the market town.
A coherent, community-led archaeological study of a market town and its satellite villages has never been attempted before. This unique approach provides an opportunity to explore how towns shaped, and were shaped by, the countryside around them, while helping to address the significant evidential gap between AD 410 and 1086.
Key Questions We’re Investigating
- Medieval Connections: Did villages have a symbiotic relationship with their market town? Did the fortunes of one influence the other?
- Manorial Ownership: How did shared or separate control of settlements affect these relationships?
- Impact of the Black Death: Market Bosworth saw major changes in the 14th century—did surrounding villages experience the same?
- Mystery at Shackerstone: Is the earth mound a medieval castle or a post-medieval prospect mound from a lost formal garden?
- Origins of Villages: Some settlements appear in the Domesday Book, others do not. When did they develop?
- Scandinavian Influence: Villages like Cadeby have Viking name elements—what evidence exists for Viking activity?
- Roman Presence: There was a villa at Market Bosworth, field systems at Carlton and pottery kilns near Cadeby – what other evidence for these Roman landscapes could be found?
- Prehistoric Past: Previous archaeological work around Market Bosworth had recovered artefacts dating back to the Palaeolithic period – what other evidence for these Prehistoric landscapes could be found?