Information for record number MWA1570:
Site of Row Ditch

Summary A linear earthwork that is possibly a boundary ditch. It is of unknown date. The feature is located 900m west of Shelfield Green.
What Is It?  
Type: Linear Earthwork, Boundary Ditch, Linear Feature
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Great Alne
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 11 61
(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 There are various references from the 13th century to the 17th century to an earthwork known as Roueditch or Row ditch. It was first so-called in a grant of land of 1247-82. It is also recorded in a deed of 1282-1314, when a plot called Newlands at the Roue ditch is recorded. There are now two fields called Newlands in the parish, respectively N and S of Alne Wood, and these indications might be made to fit either of them. Near the former, however, along the E end of a Wood called Burnet's Brake, are possible traces of the ditch. About one quarter of a mile further N, according to deeds of 1676, the Row ditch crossed Burford's Lane, W of the farm. Here its course can still be made out running up to the top of Round Hill. It is identical with the modern parish boundary between Great Alne and Spernall. A deed of 1184 mentions the Old and the New ditch. The latter was perhaps the Row ditch, which may actually have been cut to mark this boundary.
2 The owner/farmer of Round Hill remembers a ditch going over the summit but states that it was ploughed out during the 1939-45 war. A small ditch (probably drainage) can be seen at SP1062. No trace of a ditch elsewhere on the course suggested by reference
1.
3 Noted in Parish Survey.
4 Probably the same site as WA 3769.
 
Sources

Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Studley Parish Survey
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1980
Page Number: 70-1
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 3, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1945
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 3
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Unpublished document
Author/originator: Haughton B
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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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
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 Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument BOUNDARY DITCH * A ditch that indicates the limit of an area or a piece of land. back
monument PARISH BOUNDARY * The limit line of a parish. back
monument LINEAR FEATURE * A length of straight, curved or angled earthwork or cropmark of uncertain date or function. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument WOOD * A tract of land with trees, sometimes acting as a boundary or barrier, usually smaller and less wild than a forest. back
monument LINEAR EARTHWORK * A substantial bank and ditch forming a major boundary between two adjacent landholdings. Most date from the late Bronze Age and Iron Age. back
monument DITCH * A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year. back
monument ROW * A row of buildings built during different periods, as opposed to a TERRACE. back
monument ROUND * A small, Iron Age/Romano-British enclosed settlement found in South West England. back
monument FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. 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