Information for record number MWA1486:
Site of Whitnash/Radford Semele Mill

Summary The site of Whitnash/Radford Semele Watermill which was built during the Medieval period. Traces of earthworks remain visible. It was situated 1km west of Radford Semele.
What Is It?  
Type: Watermill, Mill Pond
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Whitnash
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 33 64
(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 mill is recorded in 1086 and was conveyed to Kenilworth Priory in 1325. The mill was mentioned again in 1653. On Beighton's map of 1725 there is a site marked 'Old mill' at the above grid reference and this is probably the mill in question.
2 The mill is also recorded in 1279, when it was held by Geoffrey de Simely.
3 site of Mill Dam Field illustrated on Tithe Map, atlhough the mill is not named.
4 There is no indication of a mill pond or any buildings.
5 A site visit to Mill Dam Field showed fairly substantial earthwork remains situated next to the brook roughly halfway up the Field. The earthworks represent the remains of a watermill and mill pond.
6 History of the mill.
7 Plan of the earthworks.
8 Plan of possible mill site and extent of the great pool and leat. There appears to be an ancient watercourse leaving the brook a short distance north of the bridge. This feature is present as a shallow depression, running northwards until it is cut off by the dam. This site appears unusual in that development ceased over 300 years ago.
9 An archaeological evaluation of land on the site of Whitnash Medieval mill pool comprising trial pits and an auger core survey demonstrated that a proposed stormwater storage pond associated with a new housing development is unlikely to damage sensitive archaeological deposits associated with the mill or its pool. Thick flood deposits were found, and these may be protecting archaeological remains of the mill race.
10 Articles in the press about the proposal for a nature reserve by the Whitnash Society.
11 Plans produced by the Whitnash Society.
12 Photograph.
13 Information of the Mill Dam area from documentary sources.
14 Correspondence from 1994.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Watermills
Author/originator: Booth D T N
Date: 1978
Page Number: 83-4
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 6, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1951
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: VI
   
Source No: 14
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Whitnash
Author/originator: Whitnash Society
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 13
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: Whitnash
Author/originator: Field J
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: The Whitnash/Radford Semele Watermill
Author/originator: Field J
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Archaeological Evaluation at Whitnash Mill Pool, Whitnash, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Palmer, S
Date: 1998
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: Tithe Awards: Whitnash
Author/originator:
Date: 1843
Page Number: 569:263
Volume/Sheet: Whitnash
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Newspaper/Magazine Article
Title: Whitnash
Author/originator: Leamington Spa Courrier and Leamington Observer
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Photograph
Title: Whitnash
Author/originator:
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Plan
Title: Whitnash
Author/originator: Whitnash Society
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Plan
Title: The earthworks, Whitnash/Radford Semele Watermill.
Author/originator: Cox I
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: Whitnash Mill
Author/originator: Booth D T N
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: MDT
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1486
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Information from Site Visit
Author/originator: EJJ
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
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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 POOL * A small body of water, either natural or artificial. back
monument MILL RACE * The channel of water that provides a current of water to drive a millwheel. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument WATERCOURSE * A channel used for or formed by the conveyance of water. Can be natural, eg. a river or artificial eg. an aqueduct. Use more 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 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 MILL POND * The area of water retained above a mill dam for driving a mill. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument PRIORY * A monastery governed by a prior or prioress. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, FRIARY, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument NATURE RESERVE * Area of land set aside and managed for the preservation of flora, fauna, their natural habitats and physical features. 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 LEAT * Artificial water channel, usually leading to a mill. back
monument MILL DAM * A dam constructed across a stream to raise its water-level and make it available to power a mill wheel. back
monument WATERMILL * A mill whose machinery is driven by water. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument DAM * A barrier of concrete or earth, etc, built across a river to create a reservoir of water for domestic and/or industrial usage. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record