Information for record number MWA6124:
Site of Fishponds at Wishaw Hall Farm

Summary The site of several fishponds which were used for breeding and storing fish. They date to the Medieval period and were located to the east and south east of Wishaw Hall Farm.
What Is It?  
Type: Fishpond
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Wishaw
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 17 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 Part of an extensive series of fishponds to the E and SE of Wishaw Hall Farm. At least three fishponds may be represented. Leat features may run off the pond network. Later, Bond postulated that a square shallow pond on the site might provide a shallow water habitat for ducks. He considered that the earthworks most closely resembled fishponds at Washford, Redditch on the Warwickshire-Worcestershire border, a parish that coincidentally also contained land that had been owned by the Kinghts Templar.
3 Filled in in 1973.
4 In c1973 all that remained was an L-shaped hollow of the (?) moat. This was filled in by the Farmer.
5 Evaluation undertaken: the 13th century pottery recovered from the primary fills of the fishpond and the moat suggest the two are contemporary. Environmental fills from the pond contained large quantities of mollusc shells from a species of snail that lives in stagnant water. The fill also contained remains of fresh water shell fish. Unopened oyster shells suggested that the ponds were being used to store oysters.
6 Several elements relating to the fishponds, including the L-shaped pond/moat, were uncovered: a series of water channels supplying the ponds and nearby 2 wooden stakes and a plank, a "stew" (distribution/storage pond) sited next to the possible moat and a fragment of timber that may have been part of a timber frontage or a sluice, and several other ponds or stews, one of which had timbers that may have sported nets to keep herons and other predators at bay.
7 The site of the earthwork complex at Wishaw, was subject to excavation and recording during consturction of the M6 toll. The fishpond complex was recorded; the valley pond (growing pond and reservoir), dams, a rearing pond and subsidary channel. The fish pond system was abandoned in the 14th century, representing a design that is very much as it was laid out. A hitherto unrecorded medieval building foundation was recorded on the site, potnetially as the house of the fish-keeper. It is postlated that the fishpond complex may be associated with a medieval centre of some importance at Wishaw Hall Farm, possibly associated with the Knight's Templar. It appears to have been in use for a relatively short period of time, spanning the mid-13th-early 14th centuries when the Knight's Templar were at their most successful; it is likely that its subsequent abandonment was a result of a lack of labour and funds to run it effectively. There is discussion of the complex in context of medieval fishponds in North Warwickshire. Also features pottery reports and specialist environmental reports.
 
Sources
Source No: 7
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Archaeology of the M6 Toll 2000-2003
Author/originator: A Powell, B Powell, P Booth, A P Fitzpatrick and A D Crockett
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: BNNR,Wishaw Hall Farm
Author/originator: OAU
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Plan
Title: Earthworks at Wishaw Hall Farm
Author/originator: Bond C J
Date: 1969
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Plan
Title:
Author/originator:
Date: 1843
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Estate Map and Aucti
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: MSRG
Author/originator: Clark J E
Date: 1985
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Card
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Willams S E
Date: 1977
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Birmingham Northern Relief Road
Author/originator: Oxford-Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture
Date: 2001
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source MSRG The annual report of the Moated Site Research Group, containing reports about field survey and excavation of sites throughout Britain. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. 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.
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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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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 HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. 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 BORDER * A strip of ground forming a fringe to a garden. Use more specific type where known. 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 KEEP * The major tower of a fortification, often acting as its last defence. 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 MOAT * A wide ditch surrounding a building, usually filled with water. Use for moated sites, not defensive moats. Use with relevant site type where known, eg. MANOR HOUSE, GARDEN, etc. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument LEAT * Artificial water channel, usually leading to a mill. 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 SLUICE * A dam which can be raised or lowered to regulate the flow of water. back
monument WATER CHANNEL * An artificial watercourse for the conveyance of water. 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 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
monument RESERVOIR * A large natural or artificial body of water, sometimes covered, used to collect and store water for a particular function, eg. industrial or public use. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record