Information for record number MWA10259:
Bretford medieval settlement

Summary On the Fosse. Granted a market and a fair in the 13th century. Recorded as a borough at around this time.
What Is It?  
Type: Market, Fair, Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish:
District:
Grid Reference: SP 42 77
(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: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 BRETFORD is recorded as a Borough in 1279 and in 1334 Subsidy was valued at £31.13. A market charter for Tues granted 2 Sept 1227, by K Hen III to Nicholas de Verdun. Theobold de Verdon was holding a market here later. A fair was recorded 1279, held by Theobold de Verdon.
2 First recorded in AD 1199 as Bredford. Etymology uncertain. Possibly Breta-FORD, 'FORD of the Britons' not unlikely as carries Foss over the Avon. Suggest early origin, at least early med (really?).
3Area of monument considerably increased to reflect earthworks visible on EA lidar layer. Some crofts/burgage plots are visible east and west of the Main Street. The town was probably larger, to the north of the increased area. However, there are no surviving earthworks or helpful air photos. Prof. Chris Dyer has found abundant pottery whilst fieldwalking in the fields immediatley to the north (C. Dyer pers. Comm.) which again suggest it was larger.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Place Names of Warwickshire, (EPNS)
Author/originator: Mawer A & Stenton F M (eds)
Date: 1936
Page Number: 368
Volume/Sheet: XIII
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs to 1516 (Warwickshire)
Author/originator: Institute of Historical Research (CMH)
Date: 2005
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Warwickshire
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: LIDAR
Title: Environment Agency LIDAR (2008)
Author/originator: Environment Agency
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source EPNS The Journal of the English Place-Name Society. The English Place-Name Society was founded in 1923 to carry out a survey of English place-names. Its journal contains reports as well as articles about place-names or specific place-name studies, book reviews and bibliographies. The journal is published annually. Individual volumes also exist for most counties; that for Warwickshire was published in 1936. back
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
 		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
monument LAYER * An archaeological unit of soil in a horizontal plane which may seal features or be cut through by other features. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument MARKET * An open space or covered building in which cattle, goods, etc, are displayed for sale. back
monument FAIR * A site where a periodical gathering of buyers, sellers and entertainers, meet at a time ordained by charter or statute or by ancient custom. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument CROFT * An enclosed piece of land adjoining a house. back
monument BURGAGE PLOT * A plot of land longer than it is wide, can include any structures on it. Typical of medieval towns. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument FORD * A shallow place in a river or other stretch of water, where people, animals and vehicles may cross. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record