In 1300 Hangleton appears to have been a thriving community of approximately 200 people, making a living predominantly from agriculture.  By 1340 the village was in trouble.  In that year the villagers of Hangleton told tax assessors that many lands in the parish were barren and uncultivated and that they were unable to live by their lands and tenements alone (the implication being that they were obliged to seek some kind of supplementary employment in order to make ends meet).  Even allowing for an element of exaggeration intended to reduce their tax burden the complaints of the villagers point to some kind of economic crisis.  So what had happened?  There are two interrelated explanations.  Firstly, the period c.1275 to c.1315 was characterised by rapid population growth putting increasing pressure on land.   During this period peasant holdings tended to become smaller as land was subdivided to accommodate adult children.  The effect of this was to create a large class of impoverished smallholders, with insufficient land (perhaps as little as one acre) to support their households.  The second explanation is the agricultural crisis of 1315 to 1322, which saw a succession of poor harvests caused by wet weather and accompanied by disease among sheep and cattle.  It is estimated that in some parts of the South East crop yields fell during these years by as much as half and the resultant famine may have increased mortality by between 10% and 15%.   Food prices soared and opportunities for casual employment decreased as producers (both large and small) tried to cut production costs.  The combination of these factors may have spelt disaster for Hangleton: villagers’ holdings were too small to support their families and they were unable to afford the additional food that they needed. 

Medieval bread oven.  Smithfield Decretals.  England early 14th century
Reproduced by permission of The British Library, further reproduction prohibited.

But this was disaster on a small scale in comparison with what was about to befall them.  In 1348 the Black Death arrived in England, wiping about between 40% and 70% of the population.  In Hangleton the population may have fallen by about 60%, leaving a post-plague population of between 65 to 80 people.  The immediate consequence of the reduced peasant population was that there was more land available for the survivors.  In Hangleton two 14th century buildings, possibly barns, were built over the remains of four earlier living houses.  These were replaced at a later point, possibly in the late 14th century, with a farm complex comprising a living house, freestanding kitchen, both with tiled roofs, and barn.  See below.   

Interpretation plan of areas 9 to 12 (Hurst)
Published by kind permission of Sussex Archaeological Society

It is this farm complex that may hold the key to understanding changes in the size and social composition of the village.  Whereas c.1300 there was a sizeable community of peasants, most of whom were small landholders, by the late 14th century the village was more sparsely settled with larger and wealthier peasant landholders, whose social status may have been reflected in the increased sophistication of their buildings.  This explanation, whilst only partially supported by the evidence, would nevertheless be consistent with the general trend in landholding elsewhere in the country in the post-Black Death period.  The population of Hangleton continued to decline and by 1428 when there were just two householders the village had effectively ceased to exist.