Information for record number MWA6466:
Poss Extent of Medieval Settlement, Monks Kirby

Summary The possible extent of the Medieval settlement at Monks Kirby. It was planned, partly as a result of the market charter given to the monks by Henry III in 1266. The extent of the settlement is suggested by documentary evidence and is partially visible as an earthwork.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Monks Kirby
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 46 83
(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 Possible extent of Medieval settlement of Monks Kirby as suggested by earthworks. These have been plotted on the ridge and furrow plot for Monks Kirby Parish (PRN 6465).
3 Air photographs.
5 At Monks Kirby, an alien Norman priory had supplanted an earlier minster church by 1077 and the monks there gained a market charter from Henry III in 1266. The settlement plan is composed of three plan-units, focused on the priory precinct and former minster church, which form one plan-unit. Adjecent to this, another plan-unit, containing a small triangular green, presumably represents the earlier settlement nucleus. The narrow plots around the green suggest intensive property development and it does not seem too unlikely that a market was being held on this open space before the monks obtained their charter. markets are associated with pre-Conquest minster churches at Thame and Bampton in Oxfordshire. The regular series of large plots north of the green is indicative of a planned extension, perhaps associated with the prior's promotion of Monks Kirby as a market centre.
6 and
7 The Medieval settlement of Monks Kirby can be traced on Ordnance Survey 1st edition maps of 1886.
8 A resistivity survey was carried out at no. 3 main street with inconclusive results. 17th century and later pottery was recovered from a 1m square test pit.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: NMR
Author/originator:
Date: 1945
Page Number: 7028
Volume/Sheet: 106G UK 1345
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: NMR
Author/originator:
Date: 1949
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 106G UK 636
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: NMR
Author/originator:
Date: 1949
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 106G UK 636
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph Transcript
Title: Monks Kirby parish
Author/originator: ARI
Date: 1992
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Monks Kirby Parish
   
Source No:
Source Type: Excavation archive
Title: Archive of an archaeological interventation at 3 Main Street, Monks Kirby
Author/originator: Mr P Wroe
Date: 2000
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Excavation archive
Title: Archive of an archaeological interventation at 3 Main Street, Monks Kirby
Author/originator: Mr P Wroe
Date: 2000
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Map
Title: 23NW 1:10560 1886
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1886
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: WARKS 23NW
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Map
Title: 18SW 1:10560 1886
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1886
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: WARKS 18SW
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Bridging the Gap: Recent Research on Rural and Urban Settlement Forms in Medieval Warwickshire
Author/originator: Lilley K
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Documentary Evidence Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts. When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey. back
technique Resistivity Survey A resistivity survey measures the electrical resistance of the soil and any buried features within it. Where there are buried pits and ditches, there is less resistance to the flow of electricity. Where there are archaeological remains made from stone, for example a wall, the resistance is greater. These differences in resistance are measured and recorded by archaeologists using a resistivity meter. The measurements can then be used to plot features that exist below the ground. See also geophysical survey. 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 Test Pit A small, exploratory excavation that helps archaeologists to find out how deep below the ground surface the archaeological layers extend. They are also dug to discover whether the topsoil contains particular concentrations of artefacts. Test pits are dug before a large excavation to determine a site's depth and contents. 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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monument PRECINCT * The ground immediately surrounding a place, particularly a religious building. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument MINSTER * A complex of buildings, often within an enclosure, housing a pre-Benedictine Reform secular religious community. Now commonly used to describe the main church within such a complex, which over time attained higher status. 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 MARKET * An open space or covered building in which cattle, goods, etc, are displayed for sale. 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 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 EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record