Information for record number MWA2704:
Possible Civil War Gun Battery, Nebsworth, Lark Stoke

Summary The possible site of a Post Medieval gun battery which was used during the English Civil War. The remains of the battery are visible as an earthwork. The site is located 200m east of Nebsworth Coppice, Lark Stoke.
What Is It?  
Type: Battery
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Ilmington
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 19 42
(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 A small earthwork with perfectly square-cut corners of uncertain date and function. The monument is about 34m square and covered in rough grass. The banks stand about 0.6m to 0.9m above the surrounding ground. The central area is hollowed out below ground level in some places and there is a hollowed area about 3m across in the NE side.
2 It has been suggested that it is a Civil War gun emplacement of the same type as that excavated at Skipton. 1968. The external scarp has been ploughed out.
3 OS Plan.
4 The condition of the interior is sound, but the outer bank is being encroached upon by ploughing.
5 Described in 1954 as " A small earthwork with perfectly square cut corners, of uncertain date and purpose".
6 See MWA9199 and MWA9200 for alternative interpretations of this site.
7 Correspondence from English Heritage, following a field visit in 2013, notes that the site is no longer at risk from the surrounding arable cultivation of the ground. The site, however, is at risk from ground disturbance as the setts and burrows of badgers and rabbits respectively.
 
Sources
Source No: 7
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Ilmington Site
Author/originator: I Sambrook
Date: 2013
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Plan
Title: Plan
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 14SE1
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Rectangular earthwork on Nebsworth
Author/originator: Ministry of Works/DoE
Date: 1954
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: SAM List 1983
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1983
Page Number: 3
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: TY
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 2775
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Personal Comment
Author/originator: Keith Elliott
Date: 2016
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
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 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
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
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 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 CIVIL * This is the top term for the class. See CIVIL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument GUN EMPLACEMENT * A fortified site in which a gun, mortar or cannon is positioned. 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 COPPICE * A managed small wood or thicket of underwood grown to be periodically cut to encourage new growth providing smaller timber. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument SCARP * A steep bank or slope. In fortifications, the bank or wall immediately in front of and below the rampart. back
monument BATTERY * A site where guns, mortars or searchlights are mounted. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record