Information for record number MWA1656:
Weddington Deserted Medieval Settlement

Summary The site of the Medieval deserted settlement of Weddington. It was situated 400m west of The Oaks.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Nuneaton and Bedworth
District: Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 35 93
(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 hamlet, now in Nuneaton, was destroyed when the first Marquis of Dorset enclosed the whole manor, turning it to pasture in 1491. Ten houses are reported pulled down in the 1517 Inquiry and 60 persons expelled. Dugdale adds that later one of the lessees from the Crown, a Mr Trye, rebuilt the village and made habitations fit for husbandry. This must have been before 1561. The church still stands and a modern housing estate has recently grown up here.
2 Nothing was seen to indicate the site of the village.
3 Archaeology poor (C), excellent documentary evidence (1*).
4 In 1990 three pieces of red-brown tile, burnt bone, burnt timber and plant remains were recovered from a borehole and trial pit at this location.
5 Domesday Book entry : "in Weddington 3 hides. Hereward holds from him; he also held it before 1066; he was free. Land for 7 ploughs. In lordship 1.5; 4 slaves; 12 villagers and 5 smallholders with 4 ploughs. Meadow, 20 acres; woodland 2 furlongs long and 1 furlong wide. Value 30s." Said by A.Cook to have a medieval road running through its eastern boundary.
6 Plan.
7 This site has been researched and a possible extent of settlement has been identified from maps, air photographs and field walking.
8 Plan associated with the above reference.
9 Four evaluation trenches were excavated in 1997 in the field north and east of the church. One trench contained a thin spread of stone which the excavator associates with possible land drainage. The other trenches contained no archaeological features, and only one sherd of medieval pottery was recovered.
10 Letter to a member of the public in 1966.
11 Letter from The Ministry of Works about the site.
12 Photographs of the site.
13 Trial pit in 1971.
14 Correspondence about a possible change of use of land adjacent to the church.
15 Letter with annotated map showing a possible area of RB activity approx 400m to the SE of the church.
16 Letter from EH about possible scheduling.
17 Letter detailing lack of ploughing over the area of the DMV
18 Bibliography of sources for the study of Weddington DMV
19 'Meulan was succeeded by his brother Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick. After the Conquest William gave the manor of Weddington to Count Meulan, one of the heroes of the Battle of Hastings, but the land was left in the possession of Hereward, the original English occupier. He became tenant of Count Meulan' The land drains located by excavation in 1997 are noted as of a type similar to designs from Dugdale's 17th century monograph on land drainage.
 
Sources
Source No: 18
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Weddington Archaeological Supplementary Data Sources
Author/originator: Cook A
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Weddington DMV
Author/originator: WM
Date: 1960
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Weddington DMV
Author/originator: Ministry of Works
Date: 1960
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 14
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Weddington
Author/originator: Cook A et al.
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 15
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Weddington
Author/originator: Cook A
Date: 1996
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 16
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Weddington
Author/originator: EH
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Weddington and Nuneaton
Author/originator: Cook A F
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Weddington DMS
Author/originator: Cook A F
Date: 1996
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Weddington DMV
Author/originator: Cook A F
Date: 1990
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 13
Source Type: Excavation archive
Title: Weddington
Author/originator:
Date: 1971
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: St James Church Development, Weddington
Author/originator: Scott, K
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Photograph
Title: Weddington DMV
Author/originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Plan
Title: Weddington
Author/originator: Cook A F
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Plan
Title: Weddington
Author/originator: Cook A F
Date: 1996
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 39SE2
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1951
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 39SE2
   
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: 17
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Letter and response regarding historic land use at Weddington DMV
Author/originator: Cook A
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 19
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Weddington data passed to Warwickshire County Council Museum Service - Archaeology 1990 onwards, to SMR/NMR and HER
Author/originator: Cook, Alan
Date: 2011
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Deserted Medieval Villages Research Group
Author/originator:
Date: 1958
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source Domesday Book The Domesday Book was commissioned in December 1085 by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. It contains records for about 13,000 medieval settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time). The Domesday Book is a detailed record of the lands and their resources that belonged to the king. It also records the identity of the landholders and their tenants. back
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
technique Documentary Evidence Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts. When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey. back
technique excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
more -> 		back
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 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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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.
more -> 		back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. 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 ARCHAEOLOGICAL FEATURE * Use only for features assumed to be archaeological but which cannot be identified more precisely without further investigation .Use more specific term where known back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument HAMLET * Small settlement with no ecclesiastical or lay administrative function. back
monument HOUSING ESTATE * A residential district planned as a unit. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. 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 DRAIN * An artificial channel for draining water or carrying it off. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. 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 PASTURE * A field covered with herbage for the grazing of livestock. back
monument DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. 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 TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. back
monument HIDE * A shelter, sometimes camouflaged, for the observation of birds and animals at close quarters. back
monument MEADOW * A piece of grassland, often near a river, permanently covered with grass which is mown for use as hay. back
monument WORKS * Usually a complex of buildings for the processing of raw materials. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record