Information for record number MWA6145:
Site of Manor House at Orig. Site of Cookhill Prior, Spernall.

Summary The site of a Post Medieval manor house. All that remains is a platform, possibly surrounded by a moat. The site can be identified from aerial photographs, and remains visible as an earthwork. It is situated 350m north west of Morgrove Coppice, Spernall.
What Is It?  
Type: Manor House, Moat, Ridge And Furrow, House
Period: Post-medieval (1540 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Spernall
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 09 63
(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: )
Scheduled Monument (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The chapel of St Giles, which may have been the original church of the Priory, was granted with others of its lands, to Thomas Broke in 1541 and to Nicholas Fortescue in the following year. It had probably by then been converted into a farmhouse, since in 1547 Thomas Broke was occupying the 'messuage or chapel of St Giles called Saint gyles chapel in Sparnall'... John Fortescue received a grant of the 'messuage and chapel called St Giles's' in 1663. The present farm-house of that name is modern.
2 Earthworks are visible on air photographs.
4 The Priory was moved to Cookhill in Worcestershire by 1400. By 1547 the buildings had been replaced by a farmhouse and this farm is also refered to in the 17th century. An estate map of 1695 shows the farmhouse standing on the edge of a moated platform some distance away from the present house of St Giles. Earthwork features are well preserved on this site. The most prominent is a raised platform which may once have been moated, the moat represented by a wide ditched feature preserved on the S and E of the platform. This was dry in the 17th century. The platform is about 60m across and bears traces of ridge and furrow. The 16th century house, which appears from the map evidence to have been substantial, stood on the W edge of the platform. Charcoal and stone rubble have been located on the site. Additional Earthworks may represent other Priory buildings.
6 This site has now been scheduled (SAM 21509).
 
Sources
Source No: 5
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP0963
Author/originator: WMB
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP0963A-C
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 3, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1945
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 3
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Spernall Parish Survey
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1980
Page Number: 22-25a
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Plan
Title: OS Card, 35NE5
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 35NE5
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Scheduled Monument Description
Author/originator: English Heritage
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
Earthworks marking the site of a Manor House, Spernall
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1990
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Scheduled Monument Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs) are those archaeological sites which are legally recognised as being of national importance. They can range in date from prehistoric times to the Cold War period. They can take many different forms, including disused buildings or sites surviving as earthworks or cropmarks.

SAMs are protected by law from unlicensed disturbance and metal detecting. Written consent from the Secretary of State must be obtained before any sort of work can begin, including archaeological work such as geophysical survey or archaeological excavation. There are nearly 200 SAMs in Warwickshire.
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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
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 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 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 Post Medieval About 1540 AD to 1750 AD (the 16th century AD to the 18th century AD)

The Post Medieval period comes after the medieval period and before the Imperial period.

This period covers the second half of the reign of the Tudors (1485 – 1603), the reign of the Stuarts (1603 – 1702) and the beginning of the reign of the Hannoverians (1714 – 1836).
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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 HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
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 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 MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument FARMHOUSE * The main dwelling-house of a farm, it can be either detached from or attached to the working buildings. back
monument PRIORY * A monastery governed by a prior or prioress. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, FRIARY, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific 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 WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument PLATFORM * Unspecified. Use specific type where known. 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 COPPICE * A managed small wood or thicket of underwood grown to be periodically cut to encourage new growth providing smaller timber. 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 MESSUAGE * A dwelling-house with outbuildings and land assigned to its use. 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