Information for record number MWA1123:
Site of Charlecote DMV (Old Town site)

Summary The site of the Medieval deserted settlement at Charlecote. Remains of the settlement are visible as earthworks which include three house platforms and a hollow way. It is located 150m south east of Charlecote Park House.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement, Hollow Way, House Platform
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Charlecote
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 25 56
(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 'Old Town'.
2 'Deserted Village?' said to have been explored by one of the Lucys. Medieval pottery found November 1958 by Alan Dyer. NB Lucys had a key and ?skeletons in stone coffins - former is said to be in their museum. Information from A Dyer.
3 The only member of the family now living at Charlecote Park thinks that the excavation took place c1860 when an iron key, buckle and stone coffins were found. The present whereabouts of the finds are unknown. There are no surveyable remains at the indicated site. These could be the remains of the deserted Medieval settlement of Charlecote (PRN 6270).
4 Survey of Village earthworks and phosphate levels undertaken by M S Alexander and B K Roberts. Faint earthworks are visible, disturbed by an avenue and post-depopulation levelling and landscaping. Only the roadway, three building foundations at the E extremity of the site and the field name 'Old Town' indicate the site. High and medium phosphate values exist over the site of the earthworks.
7 A map of 1736 shows two fields in the area of the earthworks, both called 'Old Town'. At this time they appear to have been outside the Park and this may be the Village of Hunscote, although this is uncertain.
8 In 1851, St Leonard's Church was entirely rebuilt to a large plan. It seems likely that the finds referred to in
3 were identified during this rebuilding.
 
Sources

Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Charlecote 'Old Town' DMV
Author/originator: MVRG
Date: 1978
Page Number: 12-13
Volume/Sheet: No 26
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Map
Title: 44NE
Author/originator: JMM
Date:
Page Number: 44NE
Volume/Sheet: Annotated Map
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Map
Title: Deserted Medieval Villages
Author/originator: Beresford M W & Hurst J
Date: 1971
Page Number: Fig 1
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: Map 1886
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1886
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 6" series
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Plan
Title: Charlecote 'Old Town' DMV
Author/originator: MVRG
Date: 1978
Page Number: Fig 6
Volume/Sheet: No 26
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25SE1
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 25SE1
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Personal communication - Bryn Gethin
Author/originator: Gethin B
Date: 2012
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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
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.
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technique excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
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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.
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monument ROADWAY * The central part of a road between the pavements or the verges. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument VILLAGE * A collection of dwelling-houses and other buildings, usually larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a simpler organisation and administration than the latter. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument COFFIN * A chest made of stone, wood or lead, used to enclose a dead body. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. 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 CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. back
monument HOUSE PLATFORM * An area of ground on which a house is built. A platform is often the sole surviving evidence for a house. 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 HOLLOW WAY * A way, path or road through a cutting. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record