Information for record number MWA6185:
Possible Site of Gibbet on Gibbet Hill

Summary The possible site of a gibbet, a wooden post from which the body of a criminal would be hung after they had been executed. gibbets were in use during the Medieval period. This particular gibbet may have been located on gibbet Hill, to the north of Burton Dassett.
What Is It?  
Type: Gibbet
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Burton Dassett
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 39 52
(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 About the year 1850, a number of skeletons were brought to light in a stone pit at the S end of the Burton Dassett ridge, on an elevation known as 'Gallows Hill' or 'Gibbet Hill', and situated not far from the crossroads (PRN 648). On account of the locality in which they were found it was, at that time, concluded that they must be the remains of criminals who had been Gibbeted. This spot, once a hill but now a pit, is at the top end of the cable way which conveyed ironstone to the railway at the bottom of the hill.
2 OS Card.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: TBAS vol 50
Author/originator: Westacott E C
Date: 1924
Page Number: 58
Volume/Sheet: 50
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
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 TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. 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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument CROSSROADS * A road junction where two (or occasionally more) roads cross each other. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument GIBBET * An upright post with projecting arm from which the body of a criminal would be hung in chains after execution. back
monument GALLOWS * A structure used for execution by hanging. Usually two uprights and a cross-piece, from which the offender is suspended by the neck. back
monument RAILWAY * A line or track consisting of iron or steel rails, on which passenger carriages or goods wagons are moved, usually by a locomotive engine. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record