Information for record number MWA1594:
'Chinese Temple' at Alscot Park

Summary The site of a garden temple, one of a number of Post Medieval garden buildings associated with the Alscot park. It was situated 600m south of the church at Atherstone on Stour.
What Is It?  
Type: Garden Temple
Period: Imperial - Industrial (1751 AD - 1764 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 A 'Chinese temple' surmounted by an acorn, which stood at the top of a flight of stairs leading up from the river, not far S of the rotunda mound (PRN 1593).
2 Earthworks near the mound (PRN 1593) are probably related to terracing and may indicate where the temple stood. A dry valley from here to the river may indicate the location of the steps.
3 Designs for a Chinese temple survive in the family papers and these show a hexagonal design. It is not certain that this design was executed, but there are 18th century references to Chinese spires at Alscot.
4 Designed in the 1760s.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Preston upon Stour
Author/originator: Bloom J H
Date: 1896
Page Number: 13
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Register Review Report & Recommendations
Author/originator: Lovie, Jonathan
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No:
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Register Review Data Tables (Stratford on Avon)
Author/originator: Lovie, Jonathan
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: SMW
Date: 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1726
   
Images:  
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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 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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period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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monument ROTUNDA * An isolated building, circular in plan, generally consisting of one apartment with a domed roof, eg. Mausoleum at Castle Howard, Yorkshire. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. 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 GARDEN TEMPLE * A garden building, usually in the Gothic or classical style. The term can be applied to many types of garden building with an interior space in which to stand or sit. Use specific type where known. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument GARDEN BUILDING * Includes some structures that are not strictly buildings. Use a more specific term where possible. back
monument STEPS * A series of flat-topped structures, usually made of stone or wood, used to facilitate a person's movement from one level to another. 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
monument TEMPLE * Use for places of worship. For later landscape features use, eg. GARDEN TEMPLE. 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