Information for record number MWA3500:
Cestersover Deserted Medieval Settlement

Summary The Medieval deserted settlement of Cestersover. The settlement is known from documentary evidence. It was situated 1km north west of Churchover.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Monks Kirby
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 50 81
(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 In 1460 and 1467 patents were granted to a London draper named Henry Waver. He appears to have been a native of this village, which had twelve messuages in 1385. He enclosed 500 acres and Dugdale saw the manor house reduced to a mean condition (PRN 4247-8) and the grounds for the most part converted to sheep pasture. In 1776 Stukeley saw a ditch, a chapel converted into a barn (PRN 4249) and, across the valley, fishponds (PRN 3501). 'Old Town Field' and 'Town Meadow' are on the Tithe Award map. The site is under plough and most clearly seen on aerial photographs.
2 Very good pattern of roads and crofts, but no house sites visible. Now ploughed (AP). Excellent documentary evidence for former existence with period of desertion known (1*).
3 This site has been ploughed for many years. In 1955 the earthworks were still plainly visible. They have now almost completely disappeared.
4 A pipeline across the site surprisingly did not produce any evidence for the Medieval village.
6 The former village occupied the summit of the hill and foundations have been found in ploughing. 1960: No surface traces.
7 aerial photographs show an area of somewhat indistinct earthworks surrounding the site of the manor house and chapel. S from this nucleus a single street runs in a dead straight line, with crofts regularly spaced to either side. It is clear that some of these crofts were superimposed on earlier arable Fields. William de Waver was granted a market here in 1257 and this planned expansion may have been the result of this commercial activity. By 1332, however, there were only seven taxpayers.
10 Scheduling information.
11 Descheduled 17/04/2001.
12 The English Heritage statement for the reason for descheduling noted that the earthworks of the site were reported to have almost completely disappeared by 1959, that intensive arable cultivation took place until 1967,that the moated site nearby was destroyed in the 1970s and that field drains, grass resowing, telegraph poles and a piped water supply have all contributed to the continuing destruction of the site with no surviving archaeological deposits from archaeological investigation relating to these works. In summary English Heritage considered all archaeological remains to have been destroyed by continuing arable cultivation and that the site should no longer be considered of national importance.
13 Despite the site being de-scheduled due to 'total' destruction the HER lidar layer shows that it is still tolerably well preserved, despite ploughing, and that the decision to de-schedule may have been made without all of the facts. The earthworks are good enough to improve on Bond's plan of the settlement (note 7), often re-produced in articles on Medieval village plans. A small triangular widening of the main street, just south of the moat (which can also be seen) could even be the market place for the market granted to either here or Churchover in 1257.
 
Sources
Source No: 9
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title:
Author/originator: J Pickering
Date: 1962
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP4489 C/D/E/X
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: DMVRG vol 11 1963
Author/originator:
Date: 1963
Page Number: 6
Volume/Sheet: 11
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: DMVRG vol 7 1959
Author/originator:
Date: 1959
Page Number: 6
Volume/Sheet: 7
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: TBAS vol 86
Author/originator: Bond C J
Date: 1974
Page Number: 94
Volume/Sheet: 86
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Plan
Title: TBAS vol 86
Author/originator: Bond C J
Date: 1974
Page Number: Fig 6
Volume/Sheet: 86
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 22NE21
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1977
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 22NE21
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: DMVRG vol 6 1958
Author/originator:
Date: 1958
Page Number: Appendix B
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 66
Author/originator: Beresford M W
Date: 1945
Page Number: 99
Volume/Sheet: 66
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: SAM List 1983
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: SAM list
Author/originator: DoE
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Site of Deserted Village of Cesterover
Author/originator: English Heritage
Date: 2001
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Statement of reason for descheduling of the site of Cestersover Deserted Medieval Village
Author/originator: English Heritage
Date: 2001?
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 13
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 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 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 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 LAYER * An archaeological unit of soil in a horizontal plane which may seal features or be cut through by other features. back
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 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 COMMERCIAL * This is the top term for the class. See COMMERCIAL Class list for narrow terms. back
monument MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument MARKET * An open space or covered building in which cattle, goods, etc, are displayed for sale. 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 ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument PASTURE * A field covered with herbage for the grazing of livestock. back
monument DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument TELEGRAPH POLE * A tall wooden pole used to support telegraph wires. 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 CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CROFT * An enclosed piece of land adjoining a house. back
monument BARN * A building for the storage and processing of grain crops and for housing straw, farm equipment and occasionally livestock and their fodder. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FIELD DRAIN * An unsocketed earthenware or porous concrete pipe laid end to end unjointed so as to drain the ground. back
monument PIPELINE * A conduit or pipes, used primarily for conveying petroleum from oil wells to a refinery, or for supplying water to a town or district, etc. back
monument MEADOW * A piece of grassland, often near a river, permanently covered with grass which is mown for use as hay. back
monument MARKET PLACE * An area, often consisting of widened streets or a town square, where booths and stalls may be erected for public sales. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back
monument MESSUAGE * A dwelling-house with outbuildings and land assigned to its use. 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

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record