Information for record number MWA156:
Site of Possible Shrunken Settlement at Church End

Summary The site of a possible Medieval shrunken village at Church End. The remains of the village are visible as earthworks.
What Is It?  
Type: Shrunken Village
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Ansley
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 29 92
(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 site is recognised by the Village Research Group. In the fields W of the church are considerable earthworks, indicating the former settlement site. The source of the comment to the site being recognised by the Village Research Group is unclear and I can find no reference to shrunken settlement.
2Greenwood's Map of 1822 has the settlement of Ansley marked here and not further south where the present day Ansley lies.
3 Beighton's Map of 1725 has the settlement of Ansley marked here and not further south where the present day Ansley lies.
4 It is very likely that the medieval settlement of Ansley lies here and not further south as MWA9483 has recorded.
 
Sources

Source No: 2
Source Type: Map
Title: Greenwood's Map of the County of Warwick 1822
Author/originator: Greenwood C & J
Date: 1822
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Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: Beighton's Map of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Beighton
Date: 1725
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Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR card : text
Author/originator: JMG
Date:
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Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Personal Comment
Author/originator: Ben Wallace
Date:
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Source No: 4
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Personal Comment
Author/originator: Gareth Severs
Date: 2013
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 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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument SHRUNKEN VILLAGE * A settlement where previous house sites are now unoccupied, but often visible as earthworks, crop or soil marks. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. 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 EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record