Information for record number MWA1829:
Site of Deserted Medieval Settlement at Larkstoke

Summary The site of a Medieval deserted settlement 100m west of Lower Larkstoke. Roads and house platforms are visible as earthworks.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement, House Platform, Road
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Admington
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 19 43
(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: )
Scheduled Monument (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 'The Town'.
2 ?deserted settlement.
3 Medieval pottery and building stone are said to have come from the area during field survey.
4 Earthworks plotted along with Ridge and Furrow in Admington Parish (see PRN 6386).
5 Earthworks planned and described, and fieldwalking survey undertaken.
6 field survey results described. Also a small rectangular Earthwork, possibly a minor moated site, visible on AP in 1947, only traces of this feature now survive.
7 A water pipe trench across the Town field revealed the expected quantity of Medieval pottery, together with pieces of stone indicating that the trench had disturbed the wall foundations of peasant houses. The date range of the pottery seems to lie in the period between the 12th and 15th century, and there was no RB pottery at all. It was discovered that the village of Lark Stoke extended onto the eastern side of the stream that was originally thought to mark its boundary. 4 tofts have been noticed lying on a narrow terrace on the eastern bank of the stream opposite the Town.
8 The site of the manor house at Lark Stoke may well have been at Upper Lark Stoke as there is a well defined platform to the E of the modern house, and at present a lack of any clear evidence of Medieval occupation on the site of Lower Lark Stoke Farm.
9 The deserted settlement is located on the south east facing slopes of a small valley close to Lower Larkstoke Manor in the fields called the 'Town'. A settlement is first recorded at Larkstoke in the Domesday Survey when it already included the households of 9 peasants and 2 slaves. By the mid 14th century the settlement has 12 holdings and there were 11 tax paying households in 1380. The community were probably largely dependant upon arable agriculture, with documentation suggesting that over 400 acres were under plough in a township of 475 acres. There are a number of sites associated with the Medieval settlement: a mill (Bog mill), and a manor house. The settlement was deserted during the 15th century, with only 4 residents recorded in 1464 and 1522. The site is recorded as deserted by Rous in 1486. Larkstoke Deserted Medieval village is in a very good state of preservation with the Earthwork remains of roads, tofts and crofts in evidence.
10 Scheduling record.
11 Correspondence and notes about the site.
 
Sources
Source No: 4
Source Type: Aerial Photograph Transcript
Title: Admington parish
Author/originator: ARI
Date: 1991
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Admington Parish
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Larkstoke DMV
Author/originator: Dyer, C
Date: 1991
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 1:10560 1924 50NE
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1924
Page Number: 50 NE
Volume/Sheet: 10560
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Map
Title: 44NE
Author/originator: JMM
Date:
Page Number: 44NE
Volume/Sheet: Annotated Map
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Medieval settlement at Larkstoke
Author/originator: English Heritage
Date: 1999
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Admington Survey 1994-5
Author/originator: Dyer C
Date: 1994-5
Page Number: 7
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Admington Survey 1993-4
Author/originator: Dyer C
Date: 1993-4
Page Number: 5
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Admington Survey 1992-3
Author/originator: Dyer C
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Larkstoke (Admington Parish)
Author/originator: Dyer C
Date: 1991
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Gardner P J
Date: 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1829
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Scheduled Monument Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs) are those archaeological sites which are legally recognised as being of national importance. They can range in date from prehistoric times to the Cold War period. They can take many different forms, including disused buildings or sites surviving as earthworks or cropmarks.

SAMs are protected by law from unlicensed disturbance and metal detecting. Written consent from the Secretary of State must be obtained before any sort of work can begin, including archaeological work such as geophysical survey or archaeological excavation. There are nearly 200 SAMs in Warwickshire.
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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 Field Survey The term ‘field survey’ is used to describe all work that does not disturb archaeological deposits below the ground through an excavation. Field survey techniques involve recording measurements that help archaeologists draw plans or diagrams of archaeological features. There are a variety of different field survey techniques, including geophysical survey, building recording survey, field walking survey, landscape survey and earthwork survey. 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.
more -> 		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
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 SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument TOFT * The place where a house stood or had once stood, often adjoining a garth or croft. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument RIDGE AND FURROW * A series of long, raised ridges separated by ditches used to prepare the ground for arable cultivation. This was a technique, characteristic of the medieval period. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. 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 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 FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. 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 TOWNSHIP * Cluster of dwellings of medieval or later date (Scots) back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument PLATFORM * Unspecified. Use specific type where known. 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 WATER PIPE * A pipe through which water is conducted. back
monument TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. back
monument CROFT * An enclosed piece of land adjoining a house. back
monument HOUSE PLATFORM * An area of ground on which a house is built. A platform is often the sole surviving evidence for a house. back
monument STREAM * A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source. 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 WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument TERRACE * A row of houses attached to and adjoining one another and planned and built as one unit. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record