Information for record number MWA3755:
Squatter Settlement at Morton Common

Summary The site of a deserted settlement dating to the Imperial period. It is visible as an earthwork. The site is located 800m north of Morgrove Coppice.
What Is It?  
Type: Squatter Settlement
Period: Imperial - Industrial (1751 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Morton Bagot
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 09 63
(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 Prior to its enclosure, following the Act of 1806, Morton Common was ringed with settlement, at least fifteen former house sites having disappeared. Some of these had already gone by 1820. The majority appear to have been small mean dwellings which have left little trace on the ground today. Usually the only sign of their existence is the narrow boundary ditch which surrounded each toft. On occasion brick and rubble represent house foundations.
2
3 A series of boundary division earthworks are visible to the west of Morton Common Farm on LiDAR imagery, with possible boundary banks to the north and east visible on 2013 aerial photography.
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: Modern Aerial Photography (High Resolution)
Author/originator: Blue Sky/Warwickshire County Council
Date: 2012-13
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Former Settlement on Morton Common
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: LIDAR
Title: Environment Agency LIDAR (2008)
Author/originator: Environment Agency
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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.
 		back
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 Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
more -> 		back
period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument TOFT * The place where a house stood or had once stood, often adjoining a garth or croft. back
monument BOUNDARY BANK * An earthen bank that indicates the limit of an area or a piece of land. back
monument BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known. back
monument DWELLING * Places of residence. back
monument BOUNDARY DITCH * A ditch that indicates the limit of an area or a piece of land. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument SQUATTER SETTLEMENT * A site occupied by people who have no legal right to the land or buildings on it. back
monument DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument SIGN * A board, wall painting or other structure displaying advice, giving information or directions back
monument COPPICE * A managed small wood or thicket of underwood grown to be periodically cut to encourage new growth providing smaller timber. back
monument FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more 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