Information for record number MWA5404:
Shrunken Medieval Settlement to Northeast of St Michael's Church, Brownsover Lane, Brownsover, Rugby

Summary The site of a shrunken village of Medieval date located to the northeast of St Michael's Church in Brownsover. Fragments of Medieval pottery have also been recovered from the site.
What Is It?  
Type: Shrunken Village, Ridge And Furrow
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Rugby
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 50 77
(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 Possible croft sites exist to Northeast and Southwest of the 'Camp'/Moated site. Just SE of this area two trees had been rooted up and a couple of handfuls of mid 12th century sherds and a red stabbed handle (?13th century) found.
3 Some quite well preserved earthworks can be seen on lidar imagery on the east edge of the village. They are bonded by equally well preserved ridge and furrow, to their east.
4 The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains associated with an area of abandonment caused by the shrinkage of the medieval settlement of Brownsover. Features present at the site include a hollow way, building platforms, areas of ridge and furrow, and linear features surviving as banks and ditches. The site is located to the north-east of the Church of St Michael within a hollow with the land rising gently to the south and west. It extends over an area of about 2.2 hectares. DETAILS The site was the subject of an earthwork survey and targeted archaeological excavation in 2016 which collectively provide considerable information about the form and function of the settlement. A small medieval assemblage was recovered during the excavation, including 10th-14th century pottery, a spindle whorl, animal bone and a fragment of quern stone. Romano-British, late Anglo-Saxon and post-medieval pottery sherds were also recovered. In the south-western half of the site is a terrace running north to south which is subdivided into at least four building platforms or yards of varying sizes. A further, possible platform to the north has been truncated by Brownsover Lane, and there is another platform to the south on a slightly different orientation. They are rectangular in plan, except for the southern platform which is square, and generally have levelled surfaces. Several of the platforms were examined during the excavation, and a post-hole was found between two of the platforms, but no other structural Features were identified. A wooded slope masks the western extent of at least three of the platforms, and to the east, all but the southern platform, are defined by a scarp and a slight linear feature, possibly a hollow way, which runs north-south for some 150m and then appears to turn westwards along the south side of one of the platforms. The excavation of a section across this linear feature also uncovered evidence for several ditches on similar alignments to the east; these have been interpreted as possible field enclosures. They are overlain by an area of ridge and furrow which is orientated roughly west-east and is present across the eastern half of the site. Aerial photographs indicate that the ridge and furrow was part of a much larger field system which originally extended to the south and east, but is no longer extant in these areas. The ridge and furrow is crossed by a shallow, linear feature running north-south that has a bank to either side. The western bank could be a post-medieval field boundary since mid- and late 20th century Aerial photographs show a hedge (not extant) on the line of the bank, but it is also possible that these Features relate to water management since a stream is known to have existed in this area (Warwickshire County Council, 1995). They also align with several small depressions, most likely ponds, in the central part of the site. ridge and furrow is also evident in the northern corner of the site, orientated approximately north to south, with a headland on the south side. These earthworks also form part of a much larger area of ridge and furrow which extended into the parkland of Brownsover House to the north and eastwards into an area that has been built over. In the western corner of the site, and to the south-west of the building platforms, is an area of raised ground that may represent part of an enclosure which is bounded by a ditch of irregular form on its north-east and south-east sides. The ditch abuts the east corner of the churchyard of the Church of St Michael and All Angels, although the relationship between the two cannot be established. In the mid-20th century an excavation of a section of the ditch recovered unstratified deposits of 10th-14th century pottery and animal bone within the fill. To the south and north-west off the enclosure are three hollows which may be the result of quarrying.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Bibliographic reference
Author/originator:
Date: 1960
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Shrunken Medieval Village Brownsover Lane Designation Documents
Author/originator:
Date: 2017
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Plan
Title: Brownsover
Author/originator: Dyer A
Date: 1960
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Earthwork Survey The measuring and plotting of earthworks, such as banks, ditches, mounds and areas of ridge and furrow cultivation, to create a plan of what exists on the ground. Earthwork surveys are sometimes also called topographical surveys. 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.
 		back
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 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 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 YARD * A paved area, generally found at the back of a house. 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 HOLLOW * A hollow, concave formation or place, which has sometimes been dug out. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. 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 STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. 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 POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument LINEAR FEATURE * A length of straight, curved or angled earthwork or cropmark of uncertain date or function. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument BUILDING PLATFORM * A site where a building once stood as identified by a level area of ground, often compacted or made from man-made materials. Use only where specific function is unknown, otherwise use more specific term. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument FIELD SYSTEM * A group or complex of fields which appear to form a coherent whole. Use more specific type where known. back
monument PLATFORM * Unspecified. Use specific type where known. 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 CHURCHYARD * An area of ground belonging to a church, often used as a burial ground. 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 SQUARE * An open space or area, usually square in plan, in a town or city, enclosed by residential and/or commercial buildings, frequently containing a garden or laid out with trees. back
monument FIELD BOUNDARY * The limit line of a field. back
monument CROFT * An enclosed piece of land adjoining a house. back
monument HEDGE * Usually a row of bushes or small trees planted closely together to form a boundary between pieces of land or at the sides of a road. 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 SCARP * A steep bank or slope. In fortifications, the bank or wall immediately in front of and below the rampart. back
monument HOLLOW WAY * A way, path or road through a cutting. back
monument TERRACE * A row of houses attached to and adjoining one another and planned and built as one unit. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record