Information for record number MWA1199:
Enclosure 400m SW of Church

Summary A rectangular enclosure is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs. The enclosure is of unknown date. It is divided internally into three compartments. The enclosure is situated 200m south of Ratley.
What Is It?  
Type: Enclosure, Rectangular Enclosure
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Ratley and Upton
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 38 47
(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 Photographs show three sides of a probable rectangular enclosure formed of banks. The enclosure is divided into three by internal banks and is situated on a N facing slope. Its extreme regularity almost suggests a recent date, although there is no obvious explanation for the enclosure. At the top of the field the banks are cut by a hollow way which follows the field boundary.
3 The enclosures also show on air photographs, although these do not help to interpret the site.
4 Three probably undated, medieval or post-medieval conjoined rectilinear enclosures, possibly stock enclosures, are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs. The site comprises a large enclosure which is subdivided into three by linear banks. The south western corner of the enclosure appears to be overlaid by the extant hedge boundary. This site has been mapped from aerial photographs as part of the South East Warwickshire and Cotswolds HLS Target Areas National Mapping Programme.
5 These still survive. Not clear what they are although possibly garden features associated with the former manor?
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP4755
Author/originator: CUCAP
Date: 1965
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP4755: C, G
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: SE Warwickshire and Cotswolds NMP Project
Author/originator: Russell Priest
Date: 2010-2012
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: SMW
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 790
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: R.C. Hingley personal comments
Author/originator: R C Hingley
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 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 Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. 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.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE * A monument consisting of an area of land enclosed by a ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier, where the barrier consists of several straight or near straight sections. 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 GARDEN FEATURE * Unspecified landscape feature. Use more specific type where known. back
monument RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE * A rectangular shaped area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument STOCK ENCLOSURE * A pound for the accommodation of livestock. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument MANOR * An area of land consisting of the lord's demesne and of lands from whose holders he may exact certain fees, etc. back
monument FIELD BOUNDARY * The limit line of a field. back
monument HEDGE * Usually a row of bushes or small trees planted closely together to form a boundary between pieces of land or at the sides of a road. back
monument TARGET * Any structure or object, used for the purpose of practice shooting by aerial, seaborne or land mounted weapons. 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