Information for record number MWA12475:
Water Tower, Kenilworth Castle

Summary The Water Tower at Kenilworth Castle, built in perhaps the early 14th century by Thomas of Lancaster. The Queen's Chamber was situated on the top floor, and an associated culvert is shown on maps running from here to North of Mortimer's Tower.
What Is It?  
Type: Tower, Garderobe
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Kenilworth
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 27 72
(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: )
Scheduled Monument (Grade: 04/01/1996)
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The Water Tower at Kenilworth Castle, built in perhaps the early 14th century by Thomas of Lancaster. The Queen's Chamber was situated on the top floor, and an associated culvert is shown on maps running from here to North of Mortimer's Tower (Although it is considered that the map may be wrong). It has been suggested that the culvert is itself an earlier feature, and it may have been used to power a mill in the area between Mortimer's Tower and the Water Tower. The culvert is shown on a plan of 1814 labelled a 'vaulted passage to Water Tower'. It is almost 80m in length and high enough to stand in near Mortimer's Tower (or so it was said).
2 There are two garderobe shafts in the Water Tower. The ground floor in is located west of the first floor one, and lies at the end of a narrow, roofed corridor; the latter is open to the sky.Only 19th and 20th century material was recovered from the fill of the ground floor garderobe shaft when it was proposed to open it to the public (associated with its use for a Moule's Earth Closet). Mason's marks were also recorded from the shaft, adding to the existing corpus.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: Archaeological Excavation of the Garderobe in the Water Tower, Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire
Author/originator: C Coutts
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: Archaeological Excavation of the Garderobe in the Water Tower, Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire
Author/originator: C Coutts
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Scheduled Monument Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs) are those archaeological sites which are legally recognised as being of national importance. They can range in date from prehistoric times to the Cold War period. They can take many different forms, including disused buildings or sites surviving as earthworks or cropmarks.

SAMs are protected by law from unlicensed disturbance and metal detecting. Written consent from the Secretary of State must be obtained before any sort of work can begin, including archaeological work such as geophysical survey or archaeological excavation. There are nearly 200 SAMs in Warwickshire.
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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 SHAFT * Use only if function unknown, otherwise use specific type. back
monument GARDEROBE * A small latrine or toilet, usually built into the thickness of the wall of a castle or great house, with the waste dropping into a cess pit or straight to the outside. back
monument CULVERT * A drainage structure that extends across and beneath roadways, canals or embankments. 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 TOWER * A tall building, either round, square or polygonal in plan, used for a variety of purposes, including defence, as a landmark, for the hanging of bells, industrial functions, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CASTLE * A fortress and dwelling, usually medieval in origin, and often consisting of a keep, curtain wall and towers etc. back
monument WATER TOWER * A tower serving as a reservoir to deliver water at a required point. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record