Information for record number MWA1521:
The former Medieval Deer Park at Ragley Hall

Summary A Medieval deer park, where deer were kept for hunting, associated with Ragley Hall. The existence of the deer park is known from documentary evidence and it was located at Ragley Hall, south west of Alcester.
What Is It?  
Type: Deer Park
Period: Modern (1310 AD - 2050 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Alcester
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 07 55
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Registered Park or Garden (Grade: II*)
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Imparked in 1334. Now an extensive park with about 230 deer occupying about 90 acres.
2 The perimeter of the Medieval deerpark was not identified.
3 There is still a deerpark at Ragley, although the Medieval boundary was not identified.
4 The south-west or deer park is characterised by scattered groups of deciduous trees, and larger mixed plantations including Cockerham's Wood and Big Grove. The Woodland in the south-west park extends to the east of the south drive to form Ladies Wood. A carriage drive, today a track, extends east from the south drive at a point 200m north of the Evesham Lodge, passing through Ladies Wood, across the dam of the lake and back to the pleasure grounds south-east of the Hall, while 730m south-east of the Hall the carriage drive passes a dogs' cemetery with a 19th century monument. The lake 400m south-east of the Hall is roughly triangular on plan with a dam at its eastern end. The carriage drive returns towards the Hall across the dam. There is a mid- and late-20th century yacht club and associated clubhouse and pavilion at the north-east corner of the lake, while a late-19th century brick shed 80m below the dam contains the remains of a pump. The lake achieved its present form in the mid-18th century when Lancelot Brown remodelled an existing lake which had been constructed in 1630. An earth bank below the present dam may represent the dam of the earlier lake. The parkland to the north of the lake and to the south of the pleasure grounds is relatively level with scattered deciduous trees while the carriage drive extending north-west towards the pleasure grounds is planted with a mid-20th century avenue of cedars.
5 The crenellated gate house dates from 1381. It was constructed without permission by John Rous, but he was pardoned and permitted to build a fortified house too.
6 As part of the park plan for Ragley parkland (2013), the evidence for a Medieval deer park at Ragley was assessed. In 1332 and 1333, the King granted Burdet free-warren and then a licence to impark land in Arrow. Burdet was therefore given rights to reserve a piece of land exclusively for hunting and reveals his high social and political status. Burdet’s licence has often been used as evidence for a Medieval origins of the deer park at Ragley Hall, but this is not supported by the manorial history or the two proposed locations for Burdet’s Medieval park, both of which lie outside the post-Medieval deer park.
 
Sources
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England
Author/originator: English Heritage
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Deer Parks
Author/originator: Shirley E
Date: 1867
Page Number: 156-7
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No:
Source Type: Digital archive
Title: Ragley Hall: Parkland Plan
Author/originator: Nicholas Pearson Partnership LLP
Date: 2013
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Digital archive
Title: Ragley Hall: Parkland Plan
Author/originator: Nicholas Pearson Partnership LLP
Date: 2013
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Statuatory List
Title: National Heritage List for England
Author/originator: Historic England
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No:
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: Archaeological Recording West of the Upper Court of Ragley Hall, Arrow, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Coutts C & Gethin B
Date: 2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report No 0329
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: SMW
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 790
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Historic Landscape Assessment
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1999
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Registered Park or Garden Parks and gardens that are considered to be of historic importance are placed on a register. The register comprises a variety of town gardens, public parks and country estates. The main purpose of the register is to help ensure that the features and qualities that make the parks and gardens special are safeguarded if changes are being considered which could affect them.

The gardens on the register are divided into three grades in order to give some guidance about their significance, in a similar way to Listed Buildings. The majority of parks and gardens on the Register are of sufficient interest as to be designated as grade II. Some, however, are recognised as being of exceptional historic interest and are awarded a star giving them grade II* status. A small number are of international importance, and are classified as grade I.
 		back
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique Documentary Evidence Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts. When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey. back
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
more -> 		back
period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CLUBHOUSE * A building occupied by a club or commonly used for club activities. back
monument LODGE * A small building, often inhabited by a gatekeeper, gamekeeper or similar. Use specific type where known. back
monument CLUB * A building used by an association of persons for social and recreational purposes or for the promotion of some common object. back
monument LAKE * A large body of water surrounded by land. back
monument DEER PARK * A large park for keeping deer. In medieval times the prime purpose was for hunting. back
monument PARK * An enclosed piece of land, generally large in area, used for hunting, the cultivation of trees, for grazing sheep and cattle or visual enjoyment. Use more specific type where known. back
monument BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known. back
monument DRIVE * A road/carriage way giving access from the main road to the house, stables. back
monument PAVILION * A light, sometimes ornamental structure in a garden, park or place of recreation, used for entertainment or shelter. Use specific type where known. back
monument PUMP * A machine used to raise and move water and other liquids, compress gases, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CEMETERY * An area of ground, set apart for the burial of the dead. back
monument WOOD * A tract of land with trees, sometimes acting as a boundary or barrier, usually smaller and less wild than a forest. back
monument FORTIFIED HOUSE * A house which bears signs of fortification. These often include crenellated battlements and narrow slit-like windows. back
monument GARDEN * An enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit or vegetables and/or recreational purposes. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SHED * A slight structure built for shelter or storage, or for use as a workshop, either attached as a lean-to to a permanent building or separate. Use more specific type where known. back
monument PLANTATION * A group of planted trees or shrubs, generally of uniform age and of a single species. back
monument GATE * A movable stucture which enables or prevents entrance to be gained. Usually situated in a wall or similar barrier and supported by gate posts. back
monument DAM * A barrier of concrete or earth, etc, built across a river to create a reservoir of water for domestic and/or industrial usage. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record