Information for record number MWA734:
Site of Deserted Medieval Settlement 400m SE of the Asps, Bishops Tachbrook

Summary Cropmarks and documantary evidence suggest that there is a Medieval deserted settlement 400m south east of the Asps. The settlement may have been called Naspes, and in 2013 an evaluation confirmed that there was a Medieval settlement on the site.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement, Enclosure, Trackway, Pit, Post Hole?, Building?
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Bishops Tachbrook
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 29 62
(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 Naspes 'which hath not now above four houses in it, but anciently it was more populous.'
2 Rous names this village as destroyed. I identify this village as 'The Aspes', two fields E of the point where the Barford road leaves the Warwick-Banbury main road. The PNMS map has 'Great Township Close' here. In 1581 (Waller, Deeds, Shire Hall) a Naspis Close was sold.
3 Naspes - depopulated place.
4 Mentioned as a hamlet in 1316. Occurs as Aspes or Naspes as a place name from 1195 onwards. References to common waste and field of Naspes in deeds of the time of Henry VI (1422-61), but it is now only a farm.
5 Site indicated by field names 'Great and Little Township Close' on 1843 Tithe Award map. fields at present under crop - nothing visible.
7 Cropmarks of possible hollow ways, enclosures and linear features show on air photos.
8 Nothing to be seen at all (D). Period of desertion known, but documentary evidence inferior in quantity (1).
9 Portable Antiquities Scheme find provenance information: Date found: 1999-01-01T00:00:00Z Methods of discovery: Metal detector
10 Geophysical survey identified a series of enclosures in this location, perhaps indicative of the deserted medieval settlement.
11 In 2013 an evaluation on the Site excavated a number of the enclosures identified by a Geophysical survey and confirmed they were of a medieval date. The main enclosure was found to comprise of a complex arrangement of ditches over at least two phases of construction. Within the enclosure was a series of pits or truncated postholes which could sugest the presence of structures. A number of pits on the outside of the enclosure included within the fills contained daub and hearth lining which would suggest domestic activity in the vicinity.
 
Sources

Source No: 6
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP2097
Author/originator: JP
Date: 1977
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP2097 A-E, I-J
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 5, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1965
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 5
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Land at The Asps, Warwick: Archaeological Evaluation
Author/originator: Luke Craddock-Bennett & Annie Partridge
Date: 2013
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: HAS no.: 1010
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Geophysical Survey Report
Title: The Asps, Warwick, Warwickshire: Geophysical Survey
Author/originator: Harrison, S.
Date: 2013
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) Database
Author/originator: British Museum
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: Warwickshire, Beighton, 1725
Author/originator: Beighton H
Date: 1725
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 26NE2
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1961
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 26NE2
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR card : text
Author/originator: JMG
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 66
Author/originator: Beresford M W
Date: 1945
Page Number: 99
Volume/Sheet: 66
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Medieval Villages Research Group
Author/originator:
Date: 1958
Page Number: 3
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Antiq of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Dugdale W
Date: 1730
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
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 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 Geophysical Survey The measuring and recording of electrical resistivity or magnetism in order to determine the existence and outline of buried features such as walls and ditches. Geophysical techniques include resistivity survey, magnetometer survey and ground penetrating radar. View Image back
technique Cropmark Cropmarks appear as light and dark marks in growing and ripening crops. These marks relate to differences in the soil below. For example, parched lines of grass may indicate stone walls. Crops that grow over stone features often ripen more quickly and are shorter than the surrounding crop. This is because there is less moisture in the soil where the wall lies.

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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 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 ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. 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 HEARTH * The slab or place on which a fire is made. back
monument DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument LINEAR FEATURE * A length of straight, curved or angled earthwork or cropmark of uncertain date or function. back
monument TOWNSHIP * Cluster of dwellings of medieval or later date (Scots) 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 DITCH * A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument TRACKWAY * A pathway, not necessarily designed as such, beaten down by the feet of travellers. back
monument SHIRE HALL * A county judicial building where the Quarter Session and the Assizes for the County were held. 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 POST HOLE * A hole dug to provide a firm base for an upright post, often with stone packing. Use broader monument 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