Information for record number MWA5077:
Possible Site of Pond 800m SE of Bentley Common

Summary A series of ponds and dam which survive as earthworks and date to the Post Medieval period. They are situated 800m south east of Bentley Common.
What Is It?  
Type: Pond, Dam
Period: Post-medieval (1540 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Bentley
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 29 95
(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 Eastwood records iron smelting in this area.
2 The stream was followed through the woods but no signs of furnace remains were found. There were, however, a number of dams and ponds (see also PRN 5075 and 5076). Earthworks in the area around this grid reference, where two streams merge together, may indicate dams. A search of the area below this dam revealed no slag. Slag would be present in large quantities if the dam was connected with a water-powered blast furnace.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Geol of Coventry
Author/originator: Eastwood T
Date: 1923
Page Number: 50
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Monks Park Wood
Author/originator: JLP
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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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.
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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).
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monument BLAST FURNACE * Smelting furnace into which compressed hot air is driven. back
monument PARK * An enclosed piece of land, generally large in area, used for hunting, the cultivation of trees, for grazing sheep and cattle or visual enjoyment. Use more specific type where known. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument FURNACE * A chamber in which minerals, metals, etc, are subjected to the continuous action of intense heat. Use specific type where known. back
monument WOOD * A tract of land with trees, sometimes acting as a boundary or barrier, usually smaller and less wild than a forest. back
monument SIGN * A board, wall painting or other structure displaying advice, giving information or directions back
monument STREAM * A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source. 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