Information for record number MWA1348:
Alscot Deserted Medieval Settlement

Summary The Medieval deserted settlement of Alscot. The existence of a settlement is suggested by documentary evidence. It was located 500m south east of Atherstone on Stour.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Preston on Stour
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 20 50
(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 Rous calls this village 'Arlescote Juxta Stratford' and comments that it has been damaged (mutalatur). There is an Arlescote Park and House. The hamlet was over the Stour from the main village.
2 No archaelogical evidence (D). Documentary evidence, but period of desertion unknown (1).
3 There is no visible evidence of desertion.
4 A secondary settlement. Tradition locates a chapel here (PRN 6288). In 1248 there were some peasant inhabitants and in 1287 there was a reeve of Alscot and perhaps a tavern there. In 1327 there were six taxpayers, but by 1534 there seems to have been only one House. Alscot later included buildings subsiduary to the Park.
5 Copy of the VCH entries from pages 82 and 89.
6 The settlement was documented until 1721.
 
Sources

Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 8, Gloucestershire
Author/originator: Pugh R B (ed)
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 8
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Digital Data
Title: National Record for the Historic Environment (NRHE) also known as AMIE, formerly known as NMR
Author/originator: Historic England
Date: 2014-2016
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Descriptive Text
Title: Preston on Stour
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:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 66
Author/originator: Beresford M W
Date: 1945
Page Number: 99
Volume/Sheet: 66
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Deserted Medieval Villages Research Group
Author/originator:
Date: 1958
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

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
source VCH The Victoria County History of the Counties of England. This publication covers the history of each county in England. For Warwickshire, seven volumes were published between 1904 and 1964. They comprise a comprehensive account of the history of each town and village in the county, and important families connected to local history. Each volume is organised by 'hundred', an Anglo-Saxon unit of land division. The Victoria County History also contains general chapters about Warwickshire's prehistory, ecclesiastical and economic history. A copy of each volume is held at 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
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.
more ->
back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument VILLAGE * A collection of dwelling-houses and other buildings, usually larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a simpler organisation and administration than the latter. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument HAMLET * Small settlement with no ecclesiastical or lay administrative function. 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 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 DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record