Information for record number MWA4218:
Hopsford Deserted Medieval Settlement

Summary Hopsford, a deserted settlement which was established during the Medieval period. It was deserted during the Post Medieval period. Documentary evidence exists for the settlement. Some remains are visible as earthworks. It is situated 1km south west of Withybrook.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Withybrook
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 42 83
(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 A hamlet in Withybrook parish. In the Lay Subsidy six persons were listed. It is also in Domesday Book. When Dugdale wrote it was 'now little better than a depopulated place, there being nothing left but the skeleton of the manor house (PRN 4219) and two mean cottages.' The site can be seen on the ground within the angle of a road bend to the W and N of Old Hall Farm. The ford with a street leading down is quite clear.
2 Very good pattern of roads and crofts, but no house sites visible (A). Excellent documentary evidence for the former existence of a village, with its period of desertion known.
3 Scheduled as Warwickshire Monument No 110.
4 The village contains a fine sunken road going down to cross a stream. The Rugby District Council have been dumping waste in the streambed for the last fifteen years. Eventually the ford and sunken road will be covered up. The actual village is not threatened.
5 Earthworks typifying desertion. They fall on either side of the modern road.
6 It is not known who was directly responsible for the depopulation. It was apparently not deserted by 1631. Today the village site appears merely as raised platforms, with no indication of individual houses. A deep hollow way leads to a ford, now hidden by a Rugby District Council tip.
7 Plan.
8 Air photograph.
9 Scheduled Monument Description.
 
Sources
Source No: 8
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title:
Author/originator: J Pickering
Date: 1962
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP4489 C/D/E/X
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: AM7
Author/originator: DoE
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Plan
Title: TBAS vol 88
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1976
Page Number: Fig 5
Volume/Sheet: 88
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 29NE1
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1967
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 29NE1
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Serial
Title: DMVRG vol 3 1955 (Deserted Medieval Villages Research Group)
Author/originator:
Date: 1955
Page Number: 8
Volume/Sheet: 3
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: DMVRG vol 6 1958
Author/originator:
Date: 1958
Page Number: Appendix B
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 88
Author/originator: various
Date: 1978
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
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: 9
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: SAM list
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1985
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 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 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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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.
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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).
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 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 SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument HAMLET * Small settlement with no ecclesiastical or lay administrative function. back
monument MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument PLATFORM * Unspecified. Use specific type where known. back
monument CROFT * An enclosed piece of land adjoining a house. back
monument CROSS * A free-standing structure, in the form of a cross (+), symbolizing the structure on which Jesus Christ was crucified and sacred to the Christian faith. Use specific type where known. back
monument STREAM * A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source. 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
monument FORD * A shallow place in a river or other stretch of water, where people, animals and vehicles may cross. back
monument HOLLOW WAY * A way, path or road through a cutting. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record