Information for record number MWA3475:
Deserted Medieval Village East of Little Lawford

Summary The site of a Medieval deserted settlement which survives as an earthwork. The site is surrounded by ridge and furrow cultivation. It is located to the east of Little Lawford.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement, Field System, Ridge And Furrow
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Little Lawford
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 47 77
(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 Mentioned in Beresford and Hurst's gazetteer.
2 A site visit showed that this field, on either side of the stream, has small scale earthworks in it, and is surrounded by ridge and furrow. There were no obvious house platforms, but the earthworks appeared to be distinctly man-made. The OS place the site of the original Little Lawford Hall in this field, but that is contentious. Two glass bottles were found in this field, but they may be associated with the hall; they were of early 18th century date.
3 Aerial photograph.
4 Domesday lists Little Lawford in Brinklow Hundred. The Phillimore ed. Has a grid ref. Of 4677. Ref 17,47 Leofeva holds 2 hides in (Little) Lawford. Land for 1 1/2 ploughs. 6 villagers with a plough and 1 slave. A mill at 4s; meadow 1 1/2 acres. The value was 20s; now 10s 8d. Alwin held it freely before 1066.
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP4777
Author/originator:
Date: 1990
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP4777/A
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Domesday Book Warwickshire incl Birmingham
Author/originator: Phillimore and Co Ltd
Date: 1976
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Darkes G
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 3134
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Deserted Medieval Villages
Author/originator: Beresford M and Hurst J G (ed)
Date: 1971
Page Number: 205
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source Domesday Book The Domesday Book was commissioned in December 1085 by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. It contains records for about 13,000 medieval settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time). The Domesday Book is a detailed record of the lands and their resources that belonged to the king. It also records the identity of the landholders and their tenants. 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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technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. back
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 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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument RIDGE AND FURROW * A series of long, raised ridges separated by ditches used to prepare the ground for arable cultivation. This was a technique, characteristic of the medieval period. 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 DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument FIELD SYSTEM * A group or complex of fields which appear to form a coherent whole. Use more specific type where known. back
monument HIDE * A shelter, sometimes camouflaged, for the observation of birds and animals at close quarters. 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 MEADOW * A piece of grassland, often near a river, permanently covered with grass which is mown for use as hay. 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

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record