Information for record number MWA7362:
Site of Medieval Settlement at Wishaw Hill Farm

Summary The site of a Medieval settlement, fishpond, and moat which are visible as earthworks. It is situated 700m north of St Chad's Church, Wishaw.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Wishaw
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 17 95
(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 In the fields around Wishaw Hall Farm are the remains of a Medieval settlement, including a complex of fishponds (WA 6124) and a possible moated site (WA 55). The largest part of the settlement, including the fishponds and possible moat, lies in the fields opposite Wishaw Hall Farm, east of Grove Lane, but it is likely that the settlement originally also extended west of the Lane, under the Farm and to the south and west. Up until the 1970s the remains east of the lane survived as earthworks. The possible moat is shown as an L-shaped ditch in the northern corner of the field on the 1887 OS 1:10560 map. The earthworks were surveyed in 1969. The moat was interpreted as part of the fishpond complex (WA 6124). The survey also identified a series of rectilinear enclosures to the east and south. In 1972 pottery was observed within the possible moat. The former earthworks were fieldwalked in 1980-1 and a total of 76 sherds of Medieval pottery were collected with concentrations around the possible moat and on the southern of the site (Refs WH 80 1-4, WH 81 5-7). It was suggested that the concentrations represented dwellings.
2 fieldwalking by the OAU in 1992 found further scatters of Medieval pottery on the west side of Grove Lane opposite Well Cottage and north west of Shepherd's Cottage suggesting that the Medieval settlement may also have extended over this area and that of the Farm.
3 An evaluation was carried out by the OAU in 1993 in advance of possible road construction in order to investigate the hypothesis of an extensive planned 13th century settlement around Wishaw Hall Farm. Trial trenching produced relatively little evidence for occupation, and it was clear that severe truncation of the remains east of the fishponds had taken place. The paucity of evidence also suggested that settlement had not actually been developed in all of the possible eastern plots, or in the area opposite Well Cottage. However, the trenches did reveal the fishponds (MWA 6124) and possible moat (MWA 55).
4 Trial trenching carried out as part of the Birmingham Northern Relief road project uncovered something of the layout and functionality of the former fishponds including water supply channels, "stews" - distribution/storage ponds, possible breeding ponds, one of which may have had a netting facility for keeping herons and other predators at bay, remains of timber structures and a building that may have served as an open-fronted shed or workshop. A series of ditches south west of the fishponds may represent tenement boundaries.
5 In Domesday Book, the recorded population of the villa of Wishaw is 3 villani and 4 bordarii. This suggests settlement dispersion by the late 11th century, and possibly the development of hamlets. A priest is mentioned in Domesday Book; they could have ministered in a private chapel in a manor-house complex, or in a church on a different site to the existing one. The manor-house could have been the moated site in the earthworks at Wishaw Hall Farm. The isolated church could have been built in the 13th century to serve a number of scattered settlements.
6 The fishpond complex, field boundaries and a Medieval building were recorded during excavations in advance of construction of the M6 toll. A number of ponds were recorded, as detailed under MWA6124. The foundation trench for a rectangular building aligned north-south was located.There were no postholes at the trench terminals suggesting that it was probably of timber-framed cruck or box-frame construction in a beam slot, with a timber-framed thatched roof.The building was found with relatively large amounts of domestic refuse, and is a similar size range to those at Burton Dassett Southend. The structure is possibly a timber-framed Midlands 'fish house' providing accomadation for both fish-keeper and equipment. A number of field and property boundaries were also recorded. A mid 14th century date is suggested for the dramatic contraction of the settlement at Wishaw.
7 Portable Antiquities Scheme find provenance information: Date found: 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z Methods of discovery: Metal detector
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: BNRR Arch Report, Appendix 3
Author/originator: Oxford Archaeological Unit
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: TBAS vol 97
Author/originator: M Hodder
Date: 1992
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
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: 3
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: BNRR, Wishaw Hall Farm
Author/originator: Oxford Archaeological Unit
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No:
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) Database
Author/originator: British Museum
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Settlement & Land Use in Sutton Chase
Author/originator: Hodder M
Date: 1988
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Birmingham Northern Relief Road
Author/originator: Oxford-Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture
Date: 2001
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source Domesday Book The Domesday Book was commissioned in December 1085 by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. It contains records for about 13,000 medieval settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time). The Domesday Book is a detailed record of the lands and their resources that belonged to the king. It also records the identity of the landholders and their tenants. 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 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.
 		back
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.
more -> 		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.
more -> 		back
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 FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE * A monument consisting of an area of land enclosed by a ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier, where the barrier consists of several straight or near straight sections. 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 ARCH * A structure over an opening usually formed of wedge-shaped blocks of brick or stone held together by mutual pressure and supported at the sides; they can also be formed from moulded concrete/ cast metal. A component; use for free-standing structure only. back
monument DWELLING * Places of residence. back
monument BEAM SLOT * A trench dug to contain a sill beam, a horizontal timber beam used as a foundation for the wall of a building. Use wider site type where known. 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 MOAT * A wide ditch surrounding a building, usually filled with water. Use for moated sites, not defensive moats. Use with relevant site type where known, eg. MANOR HOUSE, GARDEN, etc. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument VILLA * A term for a type of house, with varying definitions according to period. Roman villas were high-status and usually associated with a rural estate, whereas Georgian and later period villas were often semi-detached, town houses. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument TENEMENT * A parcel of land. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument WORKSHOP * A building or room used for small scale manufacture. Use more specific term where possible. 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 TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. 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 SHED * A slight structure built for shelter or storage, or for use as a workshop, either attached as a lean-to to a permanent building or separate. Use more specific type where known. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument FISH HOUSE * A building used for the storage of fish. back
monument PRIVATE CHAPEL * A small private chapel in a church or house, either attached or in a separate building. 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 DOMESTIC * This is the top term for the class. See DOMESTIC Class List for narrow terms. 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