Information for record number MWA2656:
Possible Medieval Mill Dam 600m SW of Fernhill Farm

Summary The possible site of a mill dam dating to the Medieval period. It is visible as an earthwork. It is located 300m west of Rouncil Lane.
What Is It?  
Type: Dam, Mill Dam
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Beausale
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 26 70
(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 A probable mill dam was found at the above grid reference.
2 Bank up to 2.1m high on NE side and 2.4m on SW side.
3 A large earthwork straddling the stream, except for a wide breach through which the water runs. It is about 100m long in all, tailing off at each end, and up to 2m high in the centre and 3-4m wide at the base with a narrower flattish top. The ground level behind it to the SW is lower than the surrounding area. No obvious signs of a mill were noticed, although there is a faint earthwork NE of the dam which might represent the position of a mill connected with the dam.
4 Slight earthworks visible on http://local.live.com.
 
Sources

Source No: 4
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: Microsoft Live Search maps (http://maps.live.com)
Author/originator: Microsoft
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Plan
Title: OS Card, 35NE5
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 35NE5
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Thomson D J
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 4402
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 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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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. 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 MILL DAM * A dam constructed across a stream to raise its water-level and make it available to power a mill wheel. back
monument SIGN * A board, wall painting or other structure displaying advice, giving information or directions 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