Information for record number MWA1600:
Offord Deserted Medieval Settlement

Summary The site of a deserted settlement at Offord, dating to the Medieval period. Parts of the settlement are still visible as earthworks. It is situated 1km north east of Little Alne.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement, Findspot
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Wootton Wawen
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 14 62
(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 This Domesday vill had nine persons taxed in 1332. Dugdale writes of a vanished manor house and calls it a depopulated place. The vestiges of the manor, he says, can be seen in the mill grounds (near Pennyford).
2 Location unknown (U), excellent evidence for village's former existence, but period of desertion not known (2).
3 No visible evidence for desertion at the published site, nor are there early extant remains in the area of Pennyford.
4 A start was made surveying a Deserted Medieval village which is thought to represent Offord. It has been cut through by the Birmingham-Stratford railway line. In one field a group of at least five building platforms was found fronting onto both sides of a well-formed hollow way, with several lesser hollow ways in the same area. Beyond the settlement there is considerable evidence for Medieval cultivation.
5 Find recorded with a metal detector: a cast bronze/copper object, schematic representation probably of a bull's head. Possibly Medieval.
6 Correspondence from 1972.
7Some earthwork remains of this settlement show on lidar imagery adjacent to the river.
 
Sources

Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Wootton Wawen
Author/originator: Bassett S
Date: 1984
Page Number: 8-9
Volume/Sheet: 2
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Offord DMV
Author/originator: Graham, D.G.
Date: 1972
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Museum Enquiry Form
Title: WMEF 2595
Author/originator: Pickin J
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 2595
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: LIDAR
Title: Environment Agency LIDAR (2008)
Author/originator: Environment Agency
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 66
Author/originator: Beresford M W
Date: 1945
Page Number: 99
Volume/Sheet: 66
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: DMVRG vol 6 1958
Author/originator:
Date: 1958
Page Number: Appendix B
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

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
source TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
source WMEF Warwickshire Museum Enquiry Form. These are forms that are filled in when a person brings an object to Warwickshire Museum to be identified. Amongst the information recorded on the form are details such as a description of the object, where and when it was found, and in some cases a sketch or photographs of it. Copies of the form can be viewed at 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.
back
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.
more ->
back
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 MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. 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 FINDSPOT * The approximate location at which stray finds of artefacts were found. Index with object name. back
monument DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument BUILDING PLATFORM * A site where a building once stood as identified by a level area of ground, often compacted or made from man-made materials. Use only where specific function is unknown, otherwise use more specific term. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument MANOR * An area of land consisting of the lord's demesne and of lands from whose holders he may exact certain fees, etc. back
monument VILL * Small discreet rural settlements which do not provide the commercial, legal or ecclesiastical services typically found within medieval urban areas. back
monument RAILWAY * A line or track consisting of iron or steel rails, on which passenger carriages or goods wagons are moved, usually by a locomotive engine. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument HOLLOW WAY * A way, path or road through a cutting. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record