Information for record number MWA3595:
Post Medieval punishment place, Wolvey Heath

Summary The possible site of a Post Medieval punishment place where Lady Smyth was burnt at the stake. The site is suggested by documentary evidence and is situated to the south of Wolvey Heath.
What Is It?  
Type: Execution Site
Period: Post-medieval (1540 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Wolvey
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 43 88
(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 Lady Smyth was burnt at a stake near the Hermitage on Wolvey Heath. The country people to this day show the place. About 100 yards S of the Hermitage is a circle of raised ground where the Lady Smyth was burnt.
2 The scene of a public execution in 1555, when Lady Smyth was burnt to death for the murder of her husband Sir Walter Smyth of Sherford.
3 This circle of raised ground was not identified.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Antiquities of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Dugdale W
Date: 1730
Page Number: 1056
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
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: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 48NW5
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1960
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 48NW5
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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
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
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 YARD * A paved area, generally found at the back of a house. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument PUNISHMENT PLACE * A site where acts of corporal and capital punishment were carried out. back
monument EXECUTION SITE * A place where people were put to death. Use narrower monument type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record