Information for record number MWA7310:
Possible Medieval/Post Medieval Settlement at Hawkeswell Farm

Summary A possible settlement dating to the Medieval or Post-Medieval period. The site is located 500m south west of Hawkeswell Farm.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement, Garden Wall, Pit, Boundary Ditch
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Coleshill
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 21 86
(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 An archaeological evaluation recovered evidence for occupation between the 12th and 14th centuries. The evidence was suggestive of property boundaries rather than settlement features; however domestic activity is suggested by the finds of pottery and tile in the area. There is also evidence for activity from 1600 to 1800 but no evidence was found relating to the enclosure seen on the OS first edition map.
2 A series of features dating from the medieval period to the present were uncovered during excavation of the southern part of this area in connection with the BNNR work in 2001. Two groups of medieval pits were uncovered, one of which was associated with a boundary ditch. The remains of a substantial garden wall, the north end of which appears to form a square turret, was observed in the eastern part of the site. A similar structure, though severly damaged, reflects this in plan with a westerly aligned wall between the two. The western wall appears to flank a path ending in an ornamental entrance-way that would have given good views over the nearby ruined priory. These structures belonged to a Post Medieval manor house. Four long hedge boundaries delineating areas of land to the north and to the south west are interpreted as former land divisions associated with the old village of Hawkswell that lay south of the site. A small section is also visible to the west on the site plan. A north-south hollow way was observed over the full length of the eastern part of the site.
3 At least two phases of medieval activity were identified. Heavy human and animal traffic was identified in phase 1, possibly in the location of a building. This was followed by activity involving burning, with deposits of burnt clay and charcoal-rich soil being dumped in and around a number of pits. The phase 2 features are interpreted as relating to the creation of a formal garden on the site, perhaps associated with a large house predating Hawkeswell Hall. They consist of a range of stone or stone-lined features, including a garden wall with a substantial gateway and water feature. The site was extensively landscaped in the early post-medieval period.
4 Watkins reports that the settlement of Hawkeswell in the upper Blythe valley in the Arden is an example of a shrunken, rather than deserted, settlement where the well-established medieval settlement is now replaced by a single farm. Watkins states that the main decline was due to engrossing by the Blythe family, first recorded in 16th century. The first record of the medieval settlement was in the 13th century. Watkins suggests that the origins are probably earlier as the place name is Old English. Hawkeswell was never very large even in the 14th century, with a maximum of upto 10 holdings suggesting 50 inhabitants. It was not a separate manor. Hawkeswell was owned by the Lord of Coleshill and was one of the tithings of the Coleshill view of frankpledge. By the early 14th century it had its own field system. Watkins states the extent of arable was considerable as surviving ridge and furrow suggests that at some point most of the fields that now comprise Hawkeswell farm were ploughed. From the mid 14th century onwards there are increasing references to pastureland. Later fortunes of the hamlet were tied up with the Blythe family who rebuilt Hawkeswell Hall in 1618. By 1634 most of the family were in Fillongly or Allesley. The present Hawkesewell farm was built in 1860 to replace the crumbling Hall, which was demolished in 1966.
 
Sources
Source No: 4
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Warwickshire History Tvo. XIV.2
Author/originator: Robert Bearman (Ed)
Date: 2009
Page Number: 58-73
Volume/Sheet: 14
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Archaeology of the M6 Toll 2000-2003
Author/originator: A Powell, B Powell, P Booth, A P Fitzpatrick and A D Crockett
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: BNNR, Hawkeswell Farm
Author/originator: OAU
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Birmingham Northern Relief Road
Author/originator: Oxford-Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture
Date: 2001
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
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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 HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument VILLAGE * A collection of dwelling-houses and other buildings, usually larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a simpler organisation and administration than the latter. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. 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 MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument FORMAL GARDEN * A garden of regular, linear or geometrical design, often associated with the traditional Italian, French and Dutch styles. back
monument TURRET * A small tower or bartizan, which was often placed at the angles of a castle, to increase the flanking ability, some only serving as corner buttresses. Also used to describe the small rectangular towers situated between the milecastles along Hadrians Wall. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument PRIORY * A monastery governed by a prior or prioress. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, FRIARY, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument PATH * A way made for pedestrians, especially one merely made by walking (often not specially constructed). back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument BOUNDARY DITCH * A ditch that indicates the limit of an area or a piece of land. back
monument WATER FEATURE * A body of water, building or structure found in a park or garden used as a water supply or ornament. Use more specific type where known. 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 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
monument FIELD SYSTEM * A group or complex of fields which appear to form a coherent whole. Use more specific type where known. 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 MANOR * An area of land consisting of the lord's demesne and of lands from whose holders he may exact certain fees, etc. back
monument GATEWAY * A substantial structure supporting or surrounding a gate. May be ornate or monumental, and have associated structures such as lodges, tollbooths, guard houses etc. 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 STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument HEDGE * Usually a row of bushes or small trees planted closely together to form a boundary between pieces of land or at the sides of a road. back
monument GARDEN WALL * A stone or brick wall either in, or enclosing, a garden. 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
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument DOMESTIC * This is the top term for the class. See DOMESTIC Class List for narrow terms. back
monument HOLLOW WAY * A way, path or road through a cutting. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record