Information for record number MWA579:
Site of Morton Mill, Morton Bagot.

Summary The site of Morton Mill, a watermill. Documentary evidence suggests the Mill was in use between the Medieval and the Imperial periods. It may have been used as a needle mill in the early 19th century. Some earthworks survive. It stood 500m south west of Morton Plantation.
What Is It?  
Type: Watermill, Mill, Needle Mill
Period: Imperial - Industrial (1751 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Morton Bagot
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 10 64
(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 Thomas Bullocke was miller here in 1680. It may well have been a needle mill in the early 19th century. By 1854 it had been converted into a corn mill. Further information exists for ownership in the 19th century.
2 A very large and reliable water supply is available. The water is conveyed from a stream to a linear pond which provides a head of water at its SE end. Remains of masonry walling at this point indicate the location of some of the mill buildings. Laid bricks are also still in place near the intake to the linear pond and timbers may represent the remains of a dam across the stream diverting the water at this point. A large linear earthen bank formerly held water within the linear pond. It is now breached and the pond is dry. Two mills called Moreton mills are recorded in 1757, this could refer to two mill-stones on the same site. The position of one waterwheel can be ascertained - at the SE end of the linear leat/pond. The mill was still in existence in 1820. A mill is recorded in 1290 and appears regularly in a series of deeds from 1294 onwards. The mill continued to be occupied until 1861, but after 1871 the mill house stood empty. The date at which the mill ceased to function is uncertain.
6 Morton mill has a tenuous link with needlemaking. It is based mainly on the evidence of its ownership in the early 19th century by Thomas Holyoake, a Redditch needlemaker.
7 Photo.
8 Plans.
 
Sources
Source No: 6
Source Type: Archaeological Report
Title: Survey of Arrow Valley Needle Industry
Author/originator: Collins P
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Watermills
Author/originator: Booth D T N
Date: 1978
Page Number: 83-4
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Morton Mill
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Morton Mill
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Morton Mill
Author/originator: McGowan M
Date: 1971
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Drawing
Title: Survey of Arrow Valley Needle Mills
Author/originator: Collins P
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: Morton Mill
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 30
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1987
Page Number: 48
Volume/Sheet: 30
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source WMA West Midlands Archaeology. This publication contains a short description for each of the sites where archaeological work has taken place in the previous year. It covers Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. Some of these descriptions include photographs, plans and drawings of the sites and/or the finds that have been discovered. The publication is produced by the Council For British Archaeology (CBA) West Midlands and is published annually. Copies are held at 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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period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. 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 POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument MILL HOUSE * The residence of a miller, often attached to a mill. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument NEEDLE MILL * A mill or works where needles were manufactured. back
monument LEAT * Artificial water channel, usually leading to a mill. back
monument CORN MILL * A mill for grinding corn. Use with power type where known. back
monument PLANTATION * A group of planted trees or shrubs, generally of uniform age and of a single species. back
monument WATERMILL * A mill whose machinery is driven by water. 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