Information for record number MWA1217:
Site of Henley Great Park

Summary The site of Henley Great Park, a deer park dating to the Medieval period and known from documentary evidence. It is believed to have been located 800m south of Botley Hill.
What Is It?  
Type: Deer Park
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Henley in Arden
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 14 66
(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 The Great Park of Henley, although so called, was actually situated in Beaudesert. It lay immediately N and NW of the Henley boundary, that is of a line running from the old weighing-machine house down the back of Henley-in-Arden High Street to the Bear Lane and then SE to where it touches Ullenhall parish. The land occupied by the present Park Farm (SP16NW) must have been included in it. The Great Park is first mentioned in 1296 in connection with deer that were hunted there illegally, and in 1326 it was said to include 300 acres of wood. It was for a long time empaled for deer and in 1535 deer were still kept there, but in 1547 it was described as disparked and in the King's hands for the 'sustenation of his foals and mares'. It is not marked on Saxton's maps of Warwickshire (1603).
3 Although no extant remains of the pale were found, the course probably followed the Beaudesert-Wootton Wawen parish boundary.
4 Photocopied maps of the area showing the possible course.
5 The deer park at Beaudesert was established around 1265.
 
Sources
Source No: 5
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Symbols of Status in Medieval Warwickshire (1000-1500)
Author/originator: Hook D
Date: 2014
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 117
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 3, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1945
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 3
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Henley in Arden
Author/originator: Cooper W
Date: 1946
Page Number: 18
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Map
Title: Henley in Arden
Author/originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
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 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 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 MACHINE HOUSE * A building housing machinery. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. 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 PARISH BOUNDARY * The limit line of a parish. 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 FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record