Information for record number MWA2959:
Fishponds 300m SE of Baginton Castle

Summary Three fishponds, used for breeding and storing fish, are visible as earthworks. They date back to at least the Imperial period. The fishponds are situated 300m south east of Baginton Castle.
What Is It?  
Type: Fishpond
Period: Imperial - Industrial (1751 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Baginton
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 34 74
(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 Fishponds marked.
2 Fishponds marked.
3 The area centred in the above grid reference contains a series of three Fishponds on the hillslope just above the river. Presumably they belonged to the Hall.
4 Approximately 230m south of the tower keep at Baginton Castle are the earthwork remains of three dry ponds, their retaining banks and the site of a watermill. The ponds were formed by damming the small stream within its narrow, steep valley. The dam for the eastern pond measures upto 50m in length and a sample section of the floor of this pond to the east is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM 21540). This dam has been partly rebuilt in recent times. Immediately to the north west of the dam for the eastern pond are the lower courses of a brick structure which represents the final phases of the watermill and is included as a SAM. There is no surface evidence for the wheel-pit which will survive as a buried feature.
5 Images of the lower pond taken from the footpath to the south of the site (24/03/2016).
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Map
Title: 6" OS Sht 22SW CRO
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1886
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: Warwickshire
Author/originator: Greenwood
Date: 1822
Page Number: MA1822:2:1
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Photograph
Title: Photographs of site of Scheduled Fishponds S of Baginton Castle
Author/originator: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 2016
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Baginton Castle, associated settlement remains, ponds and mill stes
Author/originator: EH
Date: 1994
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  
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 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 Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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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 FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. 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 TOWER KEEP * A fortified keep in the form of a tower, used as a last refuge or defence. If a component of a larger site, use KEEP. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument CASTLE * A fortress and dwelling, usually medieval in origin, and often consisting of a keep, curtain wall and towers etc. 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 STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument WATERMILL * A mill whose machinery is driven by water. back
monument STREAM * A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source. back
monument FOOTPATH * A path for pedestrians only. 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