Information for record number MWA13482:
Possible rabbit warren, The Cunnery, Stoneleigh Abbey

Summary The site of a possible medieval rabbit warren was indicated through a field name on 16th century mapping. No trace of this feature was identified through archaeological evaluation carried out on this site ahead of housing development.
What Is It?  
Type: Rabbit Warren?
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Stoneleigh
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 32 71
(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 Local
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The field name 'Cunneyore?' shown on Goodwin's map of 1597, 'Conery' on Wilkes plan of 1749 and 'Cunnery Close' on Baker's map of 1766 suggests that this field may be the site of a rabbit warren, presumably belonging to the monastery. In the middle ages rabbits were farmed for their meat and fur which were highly valued. The rabbits were housed in artificial warrens consisting of low earth mounds with stone built burrows (sometimes called pillow mounds). The 1597 Goodwin estate map also shows a schematic building in the north east part of this field which might be a warren lodge.
2 Evaluation was carried out over this site in 1993. It recorded only agricultural features dating to the medieval period, with no traces encountered of any warren. It is possible that the warren structures lay to the west and were destroyed in the construction of the farm buildings there. If the warren was medieval it presumably lay to the north part of the site, as the southern extent was under cultivation. It is also possible that the field name derives from a post medieval, natural warren in some part of the area.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Archaeological Report
Title: Stoneleigh Abbey: The Kennels and Cunnery sites - A Preliminary Archaeological Survey
Author/originator: Palmer N
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Stoneleigh Abbey - The Cunnery Site Archaeological Evaluation
Author/originator: Jones C
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 Post Medieval About 1540 AD to 1750 AD (the 16th century AD to the 18th century AD)

The Post Medieval period comes after the medieval period and before the Imperial period.

This period covers the second half of the reign of the Tudors (1485 – 1603), the reign of the Stuarts (1603 – 1702) and the beginning of the reign of the Hannoverians (1714 – 1836).
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument LODGE * A small building, often inhabited by a gatekeeper, gamekeeper or similar. Use 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 FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument RABBIT WARREN * An area used for the breeding and rearing of rabbits. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument PILLOW MOUND * A pillow-shaped, flat topped rectangular mound often surrounded by a shallow ditch used to farm rabbits. back
monument KENNELS * A house or range of buildings in which dogs are kept, eg. hunting hounds. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument FARM BUILDING * A building or structure of unknown function found on a farm. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MONASTERY * Houses specifically of monks, canons or religious men but not friars. back
monument MOUND * A natural or artificial elevation of earth or stones, such as the earth heaped upon a grave. Use more specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record