Information for record number MWA362:
College of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Astley.

Summary The site of the College of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary which was founded in the Medieval period. The site is survives as an earthwork and is situated 100m north west of Astley Castle.
What Is It?  
Type: College
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Astley
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 31 89
(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 Originated as a chantry founded in Astley parish church in 1338 by Sir Thomas Astley. It was intended to maintain 7 chaplains. In 1388 it provided for a dean, 2 secular canons and 3 vicars. For their accomodation Sir Thomas built a 'new church' (see PRN 362). The foundation was surrendered to Henry VIII in 1545.
2 Founded as a chantry in 1338. Converted into a collegiate church, which was built anew in 1343.
3 At a point 74m NW of Astley Castle is a large grass-covered mound 20m in diameter. In the N corner of the same field are a number of artificial ridges. An aerial photograph might reveal the layout of the collegiate buildings.
4 Note, however, that the OS record the mound in reference 2 as a Gazebo mound (PRN 6129) and the banks as the remains of fishponds (PRN 6128).
5 Scheduled as an Ancient Monument in April 1994. The area between the south-west corner of the moat and the north wall of the parish church forms a levelled platform which is thought to be the site of Astley College. In 1338 Sir Thomas de Astley founded a charity served by four secular priests in the Lady Chapel of the parish church. In 1343 the chantry was converted into a collegiate establishment and the Lady Chapel was rebuilt and rededicated. A series of openings and other features in the north wall of the present nave, opening onto the levelled platform, probably indicate where the collegiate buildings were attached. The College itself was dissolved in 1545 although an estate map of of 1664 shows that, at that date, there was still a large building immediately north of the parish church. The buried remains of the collegiate buildings will survive both within and to the north of the present graveyard and are included in the schedule.
 
Sources
Source No: 3
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: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 2, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Page W (ed)
Date: 1908
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 2
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 51
Author/originator: Houghton F T S
Date: 1925
Page Number: 19-28
Volume/Sheet: 51
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Astley Castle moated site, fishponds, garden remains and Astley College
Author/originator: EH
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: R. Hingley personal comment.
Author/originator: Hingley R
Date: 1988
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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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 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 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 COLLEGIATE CHURCH * A church attached to or founded by a college. 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 GAZEBO * A garden house situated to provide a commanding view. 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 LADY CHAPEL * A chapel dedicated to our Blessed Lady, often placed to the east of the High Altar, sometimes in other positions. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument PARISH CHURCH * The foremost church within a parish. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific 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 FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument PLATFORM * Unspecified. Use specific type where known. back
monument COLLEGE * An establishment, often forming part of a university, for higher or tertiary education. back
monument GARDEN * An enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit or vegetables and/or recreational purposes. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MOUND * A natural or artificial elevation of earth or stones, such as the earth heaped upon a grave. Use more specific type where known. 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

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record