Information for record number MWA1328:
Undated Cemetery near Milcote Hall

Summary The site of a cemetery, possibly dating to the Early Medieval period. It is located 550m west of Clifford Chambers bridge.
What Is It?  
Type: Cemetery, Burial, Inhumation
Period: Early medieval (801 AD - 1065 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Milcote
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 19 52
(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 The Saxon cemetery at Milcote was discovered in 1866 during gravel extraction. The site is located near the confluence of the Stour and the Avon. At this time more than 400 skeletons were found in a small area. It has been estimated that at least 2000-3000 bodies would have been interred in this cemetery. However no grave goods or furniture was recovered apart from what may be the remains of a wooden club and a fragement of iron. In 1915 a further excavation took place. 20 or more skeletons were uncovered, but again no grave furniture was found. The skeletons were all of male adults, no female or juvenile skeletons were found in either excavation. The only dating evidence comes from a few fragments of Saxon pottery.
2 Information from the present owner claims that bones are still occasionally found in the field.
4 Photocopy of slides.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: WNHAS
Author/originator: Tomes R F
Date: 1866
Page Number: 15-16
Volume/Sheet: 30
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Photograph
Title: Early medieval cemetery at Milcote
Author/originator: Wise P J
Date: 1992
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:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 49
Author/originator: Major Godsal
Date: 1923
Page Number: 62-3
Volume/Sheet: 49
   
Images:  
19th century excavations of an Anglo Saxon cemetery at Milcote
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1886
Click here for larger image  
 
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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
source TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument CLUB * A building used by an association of persons for social and recreational purposes or for the promotion of some common object. back
monument INHUMATION * An interment of unburnt, articulated human remains. Use specific type where known. back
monument GRAVE * A place of burial. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. 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 CEMETERY * An area of ground, set apart for the burial of the dead. back
monument BURIAL * An interment of human or animal remains. Use specific type where known. If component use with wider site type. Use FUNERARY SITE for optimum retrieval in searches. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record