Information for record number MWA6296:
Site of Deer Park, Middleton

Summary The site of a deer park in which deer were kept for hunting. It dates to the Imperial period and is visible as a crop mark. The site is situated to the north west of Newhouse Farm.
What Is It?  
Type: Deer Park
Period: Medieval - Industrial (1066 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Middleton
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 19 98
(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  

2 A large circular enclosure with internal pits and six straight trackways radiating from the enclosure show on air photographs. This overlies an undated enclosure complex (PRN 315).
3 De Hamel records an area of about 21ha, which was carefully planted and arranged for harborage and furnished with winter sheds. This part of the park or deer drive had a central clump of trees enclosed in an embanked circle 98m across from which radiate 6 arms each 19.7m wide and extending to an outer boundary. One of these avenues faced the deer sheds, another led to the Staffordshire corner, the next to a deer leap 11.8m wide and trenched 3m broad. The fourth faced a second deer leap, the remaining two finished by the brook. The spaces between these avenues were planted with willows, hazel etc, to form cover for the deer.
4 Ref
3 suggests that the park was constructed by Philip Marmion in the 13th century (see PRN 120), but its regularity and survival into the early 20th century suggests a Post Medieval or Imperial date.
5 The circular feature, internal pits (possible remains of the trees shown on early maps), radiating trackways and the underlying enclosure complex were mapped from aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage national Mapping Project. Ridge and furrow ploughing is evident in the same field as the deer park but the temporal relationship between the two features is not clear from the aerial photographs.
 
Sources
Source No: 5
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP1998 Frame 4 (CUCAP Ref YK4)
Author/originator: CUCAP
Date: 18/5/59
Page Number: Frame 4
Volume/Sheet: SP1998
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP2661 and SP2662
Author/originator: Various
Date: Various
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP2661AB-AC SP2662A-
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Hingley R C
Date: 1988
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 3124
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 2
Author/originator: de Hamel E
Date: 1901
Page Number: 16-28
Volume/Sheet: 2
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: R.C. Hingley personal comments
Author/originator: R C Hingley
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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
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
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 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 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 CIRCULAR ENCLOSURE * A circular shaped area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier. 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 DEER PARK * A large park for keeping deer. In medieval times the prime purpose was for hunting. back
monument PARK * An enclosed piece of land, generally large in area, used for hunting, the cultivation of trees, for grazing sheep and cattle or visual enjoyment. Use more specific type where known. back
monument BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument DRIVE * A road/carriage way giving access from the main road to the house, stables. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument DEER LEAP * Bank to let deer cross ditches, fences or roads, into, but not out of, a deer park. 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 FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument DEER SHED * A building used to store fodder for deer. back
monument SHED * A slight structure built for shelter or storage, or for use as a workshop, either attached as a lean-to to a permanent building or separate. Use more specific type where known. back
monument TRACKWAY * A pathway, not necessarily designed as such, beaten down by the feet of travellers. 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

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record