Information for record number MWA1718:
Fishponds 100m S of Billesley Hall

Summary Fishponds which were used for breeding and storing fish. They are Post Medieval in date and are visible as earthworks. The fish ponds lie 100m to the south of Billesley Hall.
What Is It?  
Type: Fishpond, Earthwork
Period: Post-medieval (1540 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Billesley
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 14 56
(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  
Earthworks of Post Medieval fishponds.
1 In the lawn S of the house is a circular fishpond, and away to the S are the remains of a former moat.
2 The 'moat' consists of four square ponds so that a cross-shaped wedge of land is left dividing them. Each pond is interconnected by streams below the dividing banks, the whole being fed by the main stream flowing E-W. The SW pond contains a stone-built dam. It is more likely these ponds served as ornamental fishponds and their construction is probably contemporary with the house, ie early C17.
 
Sources

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Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: SMW
Date: 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1726
   
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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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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monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument MOAT * A wide ditch surrounding a building, usually filled with water. Use for moated sites, not defensive moats. Use with relevant site type where known, eg. MANOR HOUSE, GARDEN, etc. back
monument SQUARE * An open space or area, usually square in plan, in a town or city, enclosed by residential and/or commercial buildings, frequently containing a garden or laid out with trees. back
monument CROSS * A free-standing structure, in the form of a cross (+), symbolizing the structure on which Jesus Christ was crucified and sacred to the Christian faith. Use specific type where known. back
monument LAWN * A flat, and usually level area of mown and cultivated grass, attached to a house. back
monument STREAM * A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument DAM * A barrier of concrete or earth, etc, built across a river to create a reservoir of water for domestic and/or industrial usage. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record