Information for record number MWA681:
Fishponds 300m W of Lighthorne Church

Summary Medieval/Post Medieval fishponds, used for the breeding and storage of fish. They are still visible as earthworks and are situated 200m west of the church at Lighthorne.
What Is It?  
Type: Fishpond
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Lighthorne
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 33 56
(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
Picture(s) attached

 
Description

 
Source Number  

1 Two fishponds marked.
2 Situated in a small steep-sided valley to the SW of the church. One of these ponds (SP3355) is now silted up and marshy. The other (SP3356) is still waterfilled. Further earthworks can be seen in the vicinity of the ponds. A linear bank starts at SP3355, is cut by the stream and continues in an ENE direction to finish at SP3355. This bank is situated at the SE-most point of the silted-up pond. A further linear bank appears to surround the whole complex. The upper pond (SP3355) was dredged and refilled with water about 1980. Part of the linear bank (SP3355/ SP3355) was levelled at the same time.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 1:10560 1955
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1955
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR card : text
Author/originator: JMG
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
Fishponds west of the church at Lighthorne
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1910
Click here for larger image  
 
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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
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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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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monument FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MARSH * A low lying area of land that is usually waterlogged at all times and is flooded in wet weather. back
monument STREAM * A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source. 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