Information for record number MWA1207:
Tanworth Mill

Summary Documentary evidence suggests this is the site of Tanworth Mill, a watermill originally built during the Medieval period. A pond and an overshot waterwheel, dating to the Imperial period, survive. The site is located 600m south east of Danzey Green.
What Is It?  
Type: Watermill, Building, Mill Pond, Fishpond
Period: Medieval - Industrial (1066 AD - 1900 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Tanworth in Arden
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 12 69
(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
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 A watermill in Tanworth is recorded in the early 13th century and by 1316 there were 2 mills in the manor. In 1627 3 mills existed in the Archer Estate. Information on ownership exists for the 19th century and early 20th century. The last miller was there until 1947. The stone floor of the mill is now used as a living room. The 3 storey brick building dates from the early 19th century. The external overshot waterwheel was installed in 1867 and survives. Much of the machinery appears to remain in position. The small pond which fed the wheel has been retained as an ornamental feature.
2 The water from the large millpond continues to flow from the pond under the mill bridge and into the wooden penstock, although there is no longer a sluice system in operation to control the flow. After passing under the wheel, the water course flows on through the garden to join the River Alne about 200m beyond the mill.
4 2 grants to the Earl of Warwick between c1204 and 1220 granted land for the watercourse of the mill and land to form a fishpond, and earthworks of 2 adjacent ponds (the latter now dry) can still be seen today.
 
Sources
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Fishponds
Author/originator: Aston M and Bond J
Date: 1988
Page Number: 419
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Watermills
Author/originator: Booth D T N
Date: 1978
Page Number: 83-4
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Photograph
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: PJA
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 805
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: PJA
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1234
   
Images:  
Tanworth Mill, Tanworth in Arden
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1979
Click here for larger image  
 
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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 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
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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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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period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. back
monument WATERCOURSE * A channel used for or formed by the conveyance of water. Can be natural, eg. a river or artificial eg. an aqueduct. Use more specific type where known. 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 FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument MILL * A factory used for processing raw materials. Use more specific mill type where known. See also TEXTILE MILL, for more narrow terms. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument MILL POND * The area of water retained above a mill dam for driving a mill. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument MACHINERY * Apparatus used for applying a mechanical force, or to perform a particular function. Use more specific type where known. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. 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 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 SLUICE * A dam which can be raised or lowered to regulate the flow of water. back
monument PENSTOCK * A pipe, usually of reinforced concrete or metal, which delivers pressurized water from a dam to hydraulic turbines. back
monument WATERMILL * A mill whose machinery is driven by water. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record