Information for record number MWA3205:
Medieval Watermill at the Brays, Kenilworth Castle

Summary The site of a watermill at the Brays, Kenilworth Castle, for which there is documentary evidence from the Medieval to the Post Medieval period. Remains of the watermill are still visible as earthworks. The location is at the southern end of the Castle.
What Is It?  
Type: Watermill, Mill
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Kenilworth
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 28 71
(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 There was a mill attached to the Castle in 1296. This was on the Finham Brook and its bays, or pond-head, apparently gave the name of 'the Bayes' (later 'Brays') to the S outworks of the Castle defences. In 1361 the manor had two mills, the second being about half a mile to the S on a tributary of the Finham Brook (PRN 3208).
3 The estate map of 1692 depicts an artificial channel on the S side of the Castle lake or Mere (PRN 3225) and taken from the Inchford Brook. The channel is still visible in places, particularly nearer the Brays where the cutting is over 2m deep. It skirted round the Brays, where the estate map shows an area of ponding back, presumably held by a dam, as there is a drop of about 6m even to this day. A building is marked here, and there can be little doubt that this was a mill. A wall remains to this day. These works are probably of a date late in the history of the Castle. Tradition asserts that there was another mill W of the buildings marked on the estate map.
4 A watching brief at the Brays found evidence of ditches that formed part of the moat surrounding the Brays, banks that correspond with the extant earthworks, a sandstone wall that may be related to flood or water control either for the Mere or the Brays area and finally a sandstone bank that has been suggested was a ramp used for the transportation of sandstone blocks from the quarries to the Castle.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
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: 2
Source Type: Map
Title: Map
Author/originator: James Fish
Date: 1692
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 81
Author/originator: Drew J H
Date: 1966
Page Number: 74-5
Volume/Sheet: 81
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Watching Brief Report
Title: The Brays Car Park, Kenilworth Castle
Author/originator: Mould, C and Sterenberg, J
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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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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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. 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 LAKE * A large body of water surrounded by land. 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 RAMP * An inclined plane connecting two different levels, used to accomodate the movement of vehicles, wheeled apparatus,livestock etc. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. 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 CASTLE * A fortress and dwelling, usually medieval in origin, and often consisting of a keep, curtain wall and towers etc. back
monument DEFENCE * This is the top term for the class. See DEFENCE Class List for narrow terms. back
monument MANOR * An area of land consisting of the lord's demesne and of lands from whose holders he may exact certain fees, etc. back
monument CAR PARK * A place where cars and other road vehicles may be parked and left. back
monument DITCH * A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year. back
monument ROUND * A small, Iron Age/Romano-British enclosed settlement found in South West England. back
monument WATERMILL * A mill whose machinery is driven by water. 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
monument WORKS * Usually a complex of buildings for the processing of raw materials. Use specific type where known. 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