Information for record number MWA2558:
Site of Goodrest Lodge

Summary The site of Goodrest Lodge, a Medieval/Post Medieval manor house with double moat, bridge, fishponds and well. Remains of these features are visible as earthworks. On excavating the site, walls and floors were revealed. It is situated at Leek Wootton.
What Is It?  
Type: Manor House, Moat, Bridge, Fishpond, Well, Building, House
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Leek Wootton and Guys Cliffe
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 27 68
(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
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Excavation inside the moat revealed the foundations of a number of walls, usually about 0.23m below the surface. Several of these were followed, but insufficient work was done to enable any idea of the plan of the buildings to be formed. Portions of a tiled floor were found - mostly of red tiles with a green glaze. A number of patterned tiles similar to 15th century examples from Kenilworth Abbey were unearthed. In addition traces of a gravel path, a stone drain and a well were uncovered. The well was excavated to 4.6m and glass, pottery and nails found. The pottery dates from the 16th - 18th century. The Excavation suggested that the site was a moated house of Tudor or later times.
2 The house was built by Thomas Beauchamp the Younger, who had an oratory here in 1375 (PRN 5283). Dugdale supposed that it was called Goodrest because some of the Countesses of Warwick retired here when they were near the time of childbirth. A bill of 1437 for repairs clearly indicates a timber-framed structure. Records exist of the repair of a timber-framed house in 1597. The house is recorded in 1609, 1615 and 1644, but by 1784 a new house had been built outside the moat.
3 Scheduled Ancient Monument Warwicks No 158.
6 The house probably fell into disrepair soon after the end of the 17th century, as it ceases to appear on estate maps after 1696. A map of 1682 shows a three-storey building with a path leading from the bridge over the moat to the front door. A garden area exists on the platform.
7 There are three cartographic representations of the moat and house. On maps of 1750 and 1788 only the W wing of the lodge survives.
9 Re-scheduled as SAM 21581.
10 Extension of the scheduled area made in 1977.
11 Correspondence from 1978.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 8, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Pugh R B (ed)
Date: 1969
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 8
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Wedgnock Park
Author/originator: Jones C A
Date: 1981
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: MSRG
Author/originator: Mytum H
Date: 1981
Page Number: 26
Volume/Sheet: 8
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: TBAS vol 91
Author/originator: Mytum H
Date: 1981
Page Number: 132-7
Volume/Sheet: 91
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Goodrest Farm moat
Author/originator: Mytum H
Date: 1978
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 23NE3
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 23NE3
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 49
Author/originator: Major Godsal
Date: 1923
Page Number: 62-3
Volume/Sheet: 49
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Goodrest Lodge: a double moated site with fishponds
Author/originator: EH
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Moated site at Goodrest Manor Farm oated site at Goodrest Manor Farm
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1977
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: SAM list
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1985
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Goodrest moated site
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1971
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
A Medieval moat on the 1886 Ordnance Survey map near Leek Wootton
Copyright: Open
Date: 1886
Click here for larger image  
 
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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 MSRG The annual report of the Moated Site Research Group, containing reports about field survey and excavation of sites throughout Britain. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. 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 SAM List Scheduled Ancient Monument List. A list or schedule of archaelogical and historic monuments that are considered to be of national importance. The list contains a detailed description of each Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) and a map showing their location and extent. By being placed on the schedule, SAMs are protected by law from any unauthorised distrubance. The list has been compiled and is maintained by English Heritage. It is updated periodically. 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 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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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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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 MANOR FARM * A farm on the estate of a manor. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. back
monument LODGE * A small building, often inhabited by a gatekeeper, gamekeeper or similar. Use specific type where known. 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 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 PARK * An enclosed piece of land, generally large in area, used for hunting, the cultivation of trees, for grazing sheep and cattle or visual enjoyment. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument DRAIN * An artificial channel for draining water or carrying it off. 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 ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument PATH * A way made for pedestrians, especially one merely made by walking (often not specially constructed). back
monument GRAVEL PATH * A path covered in a layer of water-worn or pounded stones. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument PLATFORM * Unspecified. Use specific type where known. back
monument GARDEN * An enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit or vegetables and/or recreational purposes. Use more specific type where known. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. 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 EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record