Information for record number MWA1981:
Site of Myton Deserted Medieval Village

Summary The site of the Medieval deserted settlement of Myton. During an archaeological excavation, pottery was recovered from what would have been the front of house plots. The site lies in fields north of Holioak Drive and Ashley Cresent, Warwick.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Warwick
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 29 65
(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
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 At Myton there was anciently a hamlet with a chapel, of which Dugdale records that there is now no more left of it than a grove of elms in the place where the village stood. The remains of this grove of elms exist in a field termed Earl's Meadow, where about 1853 an old well was discovered, which no doubt supplied the villagers (PRN 5523).
2 Listed by Rous.
3 Location unknown (U), period of desertion known, but documentary evidence inferior in quantity.
4 Myton is first recorded in a boundary charter of 1033. The Domesday Book records it as a large village. The village survived until the late 15th century and nine 'tofts' were recorded in 1482. The site of the village was clearly marked on estate maps of 1690 and 1806. The site has subsequently been affected by a railway, landscaping and cultivation. A watching brief was conducted during house construction. Seventeen 12th to 13th century sherds were recorded.
5 A large number of finds were made during the watching brief. These include 12th to 14th century finds and wattle and daub.
6 Enclosures on the 1690 and 1760 estate maps and 1773 Inclosure Award map probably represent the village site. Finds were recorded within house plots. Five finds were 11th to 12th century, 86 were 12th century, 36 12th to 13th century, 228 13th century, 657 13th to 14th century, thirteen 14th century, nine 14th to 15th century, one 15th century, one 15th to 16th century. The distribution indicates that a number of properties were occupied between the 12th century and the 14th century. The finds were made at the front of house plots, where the dwellings would have been.
7 Letter from 1960.
8 Letter from 1979.
9 WCC enquiry about land at Myton fields.
10 AP.
11 Brief report on watching brief ahead of development by Leamington Archaeological Group. Finds from construction trenches included 12th- amd 13th-century pottery.
 
Sources
Source No: 10
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: Myton
Author/originator: Wallsgrove S
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Medieval Archaeology: Medieval Britain in 1980
Author/originator: S M Youngs and J Clark
Date: 1981
Page Number: 166-228
Volume/Sheet: 25
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Shakespeare's Land
Author/originator: Ribton-Turner C
Date: 1914
Page Number: 5
Volume/Sheet: Shakespeare's Land
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Myton DMV
Author/originator: WM
Date: 1960
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Myton DMV
Author/originator: Wallsgrove S
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Land at Myton Fields
Author/originator: WCC
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 23
Author/originator: Wallsgrove S
Date: 1980
Page Number: 104
Volume/Sheet: 23
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 27
Author/originator: Wallsgrove S
Date: 1984
Page Number: 69
Volume/Sheet: 27
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 66
Author/originator: Beresford M W
Date: 1945
Page Number: 99
Volume/Sheet: 66
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: DMVRG vol 6 1958
Author/originator:
Date: 1958
Page Number: Appendix B
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Myton:The Salvage Recording of a Depopulated Medieval Village
Author/originator: Wallsgrove, S. for the Leamington Archaeology Group.
Date: 1986
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
A plan of the earthworks at Myton medieval deserted settlement
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1982
Click here for larger image  
 
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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 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 WMA West Midlands Archaeology. This publication contains a short description for each of the sites where archaeological work has taken place in the previous year. It covers Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. Some of these descriptions include photographs, plans and drawings of the sites and/or the finds that have been discovered. The publication is produced by the Council For British Archaeology (CBA) West Midlands and is published annually. Copies are held at 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.
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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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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 TOFT * The place where a house stood or had once stood, often adjoining a garth or croft. back
monument HAMLET * Small settlement with no ecclesiastical or lay administrative 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 DWELLING * Places of residence. back
monument DRIVE * A road/carriage way giving access from the main road to the house, stables. 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 FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MEADOW * A piece of grassland, often near a river, permanently covered with grass which is mown for use as hay. 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 CONSTRUCTION TRENCH * A trench dug in order to receive the foundations of a structure such as a stone wall etc. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record