Information for record number MWA2762:
Stretton Baskerville Deserted Medieval Settlement

Summary The site of Stretton Baskerville Medieval deserted settlement. The settlement is visible as an earthwork and has been partially excavated. It is situated 1km south west of Sketchley.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement, House Platform, Hollow Way
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Stretton Baskerville
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 41 91
(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 1517 Inquiry records that there had been a substantial settlement. The site lies just N of its fishponds in a field known as Town field. Dugdale's 2nd edition mentions a ground called the Township in which the extent of the old Town with its lanes, streets, churchyard and the site of the manor house is clearly to be seen. A church existed on the site (PRN 5340). An excavation in 1947-8 revealed that the houses were marked by shallow saucer-shaped pits and were built of timber. Pottery was also found. One house was left standing when the others were demolished and may have been used by shepherds. This house was demolished in 1647. In 1489 seven houses were demolished. In 1494 twelve houses were abandoned and eighty people evicted.
2 Medium archaeology (B), excellent documentary evidence for the former existence of the village with its period of desertion known (1*).
3 The Medieval Township constituted a group of twelve or so houses on a ridge which runs parallel with the stream near the SE corner of the parish. The track which formed the village street was cobbled and led to a small plateau on the W, the site of the church. A belt of elms divides this field, 'Little Township', from the field to the E, `The Township', where a series of depressions yielding pottery mark the sites of insubstantial cottages of timber and clay.
5 Earthworks of village surveyed.
8 A medium-quality site with irregular bumps and hollows over it, not making very much sense but obviously a typical site with the usual sunken roads and house platforms.
9 Correspondence from 1972.
10 Correspondence from 1985.
11 Scheduling revision from 1986.
12 This revision is not shown on the EH current map: the yellow area has not been de-scheduled.
 
Sources
Source No: 7
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP4191
Author/originator: CUCAP
Date: 1970
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP4191A
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 6, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1951
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: VI
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: TBAS vol 66
Author/originator: Beresford M W
Date: 1945-6
Page Number: 59-60
Volume/Sheet: 66
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Stretton Baskerville Documents
Author/originator: Pickering (?)
Date: 1972
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Stretton Baskerville
Author/originator: The Inland Revenue
Date: 1985
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Map
Title: OS Card, 49SW13
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1967
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 49SW13
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 29NE1
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1967
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 29NE1
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: MVRG
Author/originator:
Date: 1958
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Stretton Baskerville DMV
Author/originator: EH
Date: 1986
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: SAM List 1983
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Site of deserted village, Stretton Baskerville
Author/originator: Ministry of Works/ DoE
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Comments on SMR entries
Author/originator: Hester Hawkes
Date: 2002 onwards
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 MVRG Reports of the Medieval Village Research Group, (now known as the Medieval Settlement Research Group) comprising reports about research and field work carried out throughout Britain. The report is published once each year. 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 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 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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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 HOLLOW * A hollow, concave formation or place, which has sometimes been dug out. 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 SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. 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 CHURCHYARD * An area of ground belonging to a church, often used as a burial ground. 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 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 HOLLOW WAY * A way, path or road through a cutting. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record