Information for record number MWA4223:
Medieval Watermill to E of Church, Withybrook

Summary The site of a Medieval watermill and a dam that held back the water that powered the mill. The site is known from documentary evidence. The dam survives as an earthwork. It was situated east of the church at Withybrook.
What Is It?  
Type: Watermill, Dam
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 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: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

 
Source Number  

1 A mill and mill pool belonging to Nicholas son of Liulf is recorded between 1188 and 1191. The mill pond is recorded again in 1229 as belonging to Nicholas of Coventry, son of Nicholas son of Liulf.
2 A mill still existed in the parish in 1594 when it was conveyed to Sir John Spencer. Earthworks survive E of the church. A dam, now breached, has left earthen banks, in places 2.4m high, traceable in an arc in a field still known as 'dam Style'. Parallel broad channels run downhill from the direction of Home Farm towards the dam and their alignment with the furlongs of the ridge and furrow suggests a Medieval origin, while the name damestile is recorded in 1613. This would seem to be the site of the former millpool.
3 The above explanation seems the most plausible, and the dam now is as reported then, with no alteration in its state of preservation.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
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: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 88
Author/originator: various
Date: 1978
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Thomson D J
Date: 1983
Page Number: WMB
Volume/Sheet: PRN 4223
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. 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 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 POOL * A small body of water, either natural or artificial. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument RIDGE AND FURROW * A series of long, raised ridges separated by ditches used to prepare the ground for arable cultivation. This was a technique, characteristic of the medieval period. back
monument MILL * A factory used for processing raw materials. Use more specific mill type where known. See also TEXTILE MILL, for more narrow terms. back
monument MILL POND * The area of water retained above a mill dam for driving a mill. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. 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 WATERMILL * A mill whose machinery is driven by water. 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 DAM * A barrier of concrete or earth, etc, built across a river to create a reservoir of water for domestic and/or industrial usage. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record