Information for record number MWA4221:
Withybrook Shrunken Medieval Settlement

Summary The site of the Medieval shrunken village of Withybrook. Remains of the village survive as earthworks.
What Is It?  
Type: Shrunken Village, Farmstead, Farmyard, Feature, Pit, Beam Slot?
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Withybrook
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 43 84
(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 Withybrook has shrunk and expanded at intervals, earthworks mirroring its fluctuations in prosperity and changing farming techniques. It is not recorded until the 12th century. By 1327 it had grown larger than Hopsford. The fields around the church are seamed with ditches marking former hedgerows.
2 Abandoned crofts and house platforms were surveyed.
3 Plan.
4 OS Card.
5 Air photograph.
6 The excavation of a two trial trenches, at Hilltop Cottage, Withybrook (SP43398449), recorded the remains of a possible farmstead. These remains were found in association with 13th-15th century pottery and included a possible farmyard surface, terracing and a possible structure or fence line. This occupation appeared to have ceased in the late medieval/early post-medieval period until the area was built on in the 19th century.
 
Sources
Source No: 5
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title:
Author/originator: J Pickering
Date: 1962
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP4489 C/D/E/X
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Archaeological Evaluation at Hilltop Cottage, Withybrook, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Coutts C & Jones C
Date: 2004
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report No 0431
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 48NW7
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1978
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 48NW7
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 88
Author/originator: various
Date: 1978
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMANS no 18 (1975)
Author/originator: Crickmore, J (ed)
Date: 1975
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 18
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMANS no 18 (1975)
Author/originator: Crickmore, J (ed)
Date: 1975
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 18
   
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 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
source WMANS West Midlands Archaeological News Sheet, a publication that was produced each year, this later became West Midlands Archaeology. The West Midlands Arcaheological News Sheet contains reports about archaeological work that was carried out in the West Midlands region in the previous year. It includes information about sites dating from the Prehistoric to the Post Medieval periods. It was produced the Department of Extramural Studies at Birmingham University. Copies are held at 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 excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
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technique Trial Trench A small regular hole that is usually square or rectangular in shape. Archaeologists dig trial trenches to discover if there are any archaeological remains at a particular location. See also excavation. 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 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 SHRUNKEN VILLAGE * A settlement where previous house sites are now unoccupied, but often visible as earthworks, crop or soil marks. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument BEAM SLOT * A trench dug to contain a sill beam, a horizontal timber beam used as a foundation for the wall of a building. Use wider site type where known. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FARMSTEAD * The homestead of a farm consisting of a farmhouse and working farm buildings, with yards, other working areas and usually a garden to the house. back
monument FARMYARD * A yard or enclosure attached to a farmhouse, usually surrounded by other farm buildings. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. 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 CROFT * An enclosed piece of land adjoining a house. back
monument HOUSE PLATFORM * An area of ground on which a house is built. A platform is often the sole surviving evidence for a house. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument FENCE * A construction of wood or metal used to enclose an area of land, a building, etc. 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