Information for record number MWA5438:
Fishponds at Budbrooke Shrunken Medieval Settlement

Summary The site of Medieval fishponds, used for the breeding and storage of fish. They are partly visible as earthworks, and are situated south west of St Michael's church, Budbrooke.
What Is It?  
Type: Fishpond
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Budbrooke
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 25 65
(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 quite considerable bank used to run parallel to, and N of, the road. Bed shows two banks which were suggested to be mill-weirs?
2 1951: At the S end of the field are what appear to be three mill-basins, or possibly fishponds. The stream which once filled them has been diverted to the S side of the field boundary, but its former course can be traced through the centre of the basins. 1961: The so-called mill-bays are obviously three fishponds and are comparable to others found in Warwickshire. The dams are far too weak to have served any other purpose.
3 Plan.
4 The fishponds have been preserved and are deep, flat bottomed, subrectangular in shape, with retaining banks still standing to 2m in height.
5 Photograph.
6 The two E most of the fishponds have been filled in, though the larger still exists.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 44NE
Author/originator: JMM
Date:
Page Number: 44NE
Volume/Sheet: Annotated Map
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Photograph
Title: Medieval fishponds
Author/originator: GC
Date: 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1755
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Plan
Title: OS Card. 26NE9
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1961
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 26NE9
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 26NE2
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1961
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 26NE2
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: IRM
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1755
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: GC
Date: 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1822
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 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
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
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.
more ->
back
monument WEIR * A dam constructed on the reaches of a canal or river designed to retain the water and to regulate its flow. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. 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 CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument FIELD BOUNDARY * The limit line of a field. 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