Information for record number MWA6093:
Church of St Mary (Church of Our Lady), Merevale

Summary The Parish Church of St Mary which is Medieval in origin and originally the chapel of Our Lady At the Date, a remnant of Merevale Abbey. It is situated 200m south west of Abbey Farm.
What Is It?  
Type: Church
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Merevale
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 29 97
(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: )
Listed Building (Grade: I)
Sites & Monuments Record
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Large chancel with aisles and short nave minus aisles, modern porches occupying the site of the S aisle. The existing building was the gatehouse chapel of the Abbey and is perhaps the best existing example of this kind of chapel. The chancel is part C14 and partly rebuilt c1500, with arcades of that date. The nave is C13 with arcades of that date, later filled in to provide the walls of the existing nave. There is a modern bell turret. A rood screen with enriched gallery, now at the W end, is probably C15 and may have come from the Abbey church. Monuments and good Medieval glass, including a C14 Tree of Jesse (restored).
2 Details in the chapel of the gatehouse were evidently removed from the Abbey church, including a curious wooden loft. Some ancient painted glass and a number of monuments.
3 Description.
4 Nave with aisles, & prob chancel, mid 13th century - ? temporary church for monks would account for small nave. S chancel aisle 14th century. c1850 - vestries added on site of S aisle. Nave aisles demolished ?18th century. Heating ducts - ?N aisle. Internal graves - 15th century brass slab at E end of chancel - vault on S side of chancel. 13th century effigy in nave, grave slab in nave. Re-set Medieval floor tiles - inlaid 14th century type - in chancel and chancel aisles - ?from Abbey. External drains - whole exterior. Earthworks in fields to E and SE - ?monastic. Poss. fishpond/millpond to SE? Probably much grave disturbance of below-floor deposits. Possibly good survival of early floor deposits on sites of nave aisles. Good survival of Earthworks adjacent to churchyard.
5 Archaeological observation during the construction of a new toilet at the church of our Lady, Merevale, revealed stone footings below the south west corner of the vestry which may belong to the original 13th century aisle.
 
Sources
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Buildings of England: Warwickshire
Author/originator: Pevsner N and Wedgwood A
Date: 1966
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Warwicks
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 4, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1947
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 4
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: LAS
Author/originator: Bloxam M H
Date: 1904
Page Number: 331
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Descriptive Text
Title: LBL
Author/originator: DoE
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: Archaeological Observation at the Church of our Lady, Merevale
Author/originator: Coutts C
Date: 1998
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
The Church of Our Lady, Merevale
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1900s
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
designation Listed Building Buildings and structures, such as bridges, that are of architectural or historical importance are placed on a statutory list. These buildings are protected by planning and conservation acts that ensure that their special features of interest are considered before any alterations are made to them.

Depending on how important the buildings are they are classed as Grade I, Grade II* or Grade II. Grade I buildings are those of exceptional interest. Grade II* are particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Those listed as Grade II are those buildings that are regarded of special interest.
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source LBL Listed Building List. Buildings and structures, such as bridges, that are of architectural or historical importance are placed on a list. Buildings placed on the list are protected through various planning and conservation acts which ensure that their special features of interest are considered before any alterations are made to them. The Listed Buildings List is compiled and maintained by English Heritage. It includes details of where the building is, when it was built, a description of its appearance, and any other special features. 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 Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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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 modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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monument TOILET * A small room or building containing a lavatory and, in more recent times, washing facilities. 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 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 TURRET * A small tower or bartizan, which was often placed at the angles of a castle, to increase the flanking ability, some only serving as corner buttresses. Also used to describe the small rectangular towers situated between the milecastles along Hadrians Wall. back
monument FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument GRAVE * A place of burial. Use more specific type where known. back
monument VAULT * An underground room or building with an arched roof, often used as a burial chamber. Use wider site type where known. back
monument PARISH CHURCH * The foremost church within a parish. back
monument DRAIN * An artificial channel for draining water or carrying it off. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument VESTRY * A room or part of a church where the vestments, vessels and records are kept. back
monument GATEHOUSE * A gateway with one or more chambers over the entrance arch; the flanking towers housing stairs and additional rooms. Use with wider site type where known. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument GRAVE SLAB * A stone used to cover a grave. back
monument EFFIGY * A sculptured likeness, portrait or image, often found on a tomb or other memorial. back
monument CHURCHYARD * An area of ground belonging to a church, often used as a burial ground. back
monument CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. 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 WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record