Information for record number MWA7024:
Newnham Medieval Settlement

Summary Site of the Medieval deserted settlement of Newnham. The Site is known from documentary evidence and the likely Site has been surveyed by Chris Dyer.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Whitchurch
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 20 47
(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 The lost settlement of Newnham is unlocated, there are several likely sites taken from a charter of 1190 and a survey of 1355. The most reliable source, from 1844, records the site to the south of Sweet Knowle in Whitchurch parish.
2 The shape of the site is unusual but it appears to have been a hamlet of 3 or 4 houses. There is both Medieval and Roman pottery lying on the surface, and a good deal of building stone. The documentary evidence from Admington suggests that the site was inhabited in c1200, but deserted by 1355. A Richard de Newnham is mentioned in Whitchurch in 1280. In 1616 the field was called Parson's Noon.
3 The field - Noon Furlong - still contains well preserved ridge and furrow which ends in a bank running from NW to S, but which is cut by a holloway which probably defined toft boundaries. As they are running in the same direction as the ridge and furrow, it is possible that the site was formed out of part of a former arable field.
4 Plan.
 
Sources
Source No: 4
Source Type: Plan
Title: Admington Survey
Author/originator: Dyer C
Date: 94-5
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Admington Survey
Author/originator: Dyer C
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Admington Survey 1994-5
Author/originator: Dyer C
Date: 1994-5
Page Number: 7-8
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Admington Survey 1994-5
Author/originator: Dyer C
Date: 1994-5
Page Number: 7
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
period Roman About 43 AD to 409 AD (the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD)

The Roman period comes after the Iron Age and before the Saxon period.

The Roman period in Britain began in 43 AD when a Roman commander called Aulus Plautius invaded the south coast, near Kent. There were a series of skirmishes with the native Britons, who were defeated. In the months that followed, more Roman troops arrived and slowly moved westwards and northwards.
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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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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 SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument TOFT * The place where a house stood or had once stood, often adjoining a garth or croft. back
monument HAMLET * Small settlement with no ecclesiastical or lay administrative function. 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 DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record