Information for record number MWA7424:
Shrunken Settlement Remains, Pillerton Priors

Summary The remains of the Medieval shrunken village of Pillerton Priors. Remains of the village are visible as earthworks. During an excavation in an area of the shrunken village, Medieval gullies and post holes were found.
What Is It?  
Type: Shrunken Village, Linear Earthwork, Gully
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Pillerton Priors
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 29 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  

3 The extent of the shrunken settlement shows on air photographs.
4 An archaeological evaluation carried out in 1996 by Warwickshire Museum revealed evidence for Medieval occupation. The earliest and densest period of Medieval occupation dated to the 10th-12th centuries. Features dated to this phase included an number of boundary gullies and ditches mainly on north east-south west and north west-south east alignments. Towards the south west corner of the site post holes of a timber structure or building were identified. A number of Post Medieval Features were found, but the density of activity was less after the 12th century. A limited topographic survey of the site was carried out prior to trial trenching. Low subrectangular earthworks were recorded, which might have been Medieval house platforms.
5 Archaeological recording during the excavation of foundation trenches for a single dwelling at Homestalls Meadow, Pillerton Priors (SP29384755) recovered a few sherds of Medieval pottery dating from the 13th to 15th centuries.
6 Further to the evaluation described in
4, excavation at Sandpit Farm further investigated Features dating to the 11th to 13th centuries. None of the remains indicated domestic settlement, but evidence for small-scale iron working in the form of slag and clinker recovered from a large number of large ditches and pits in the eastern part of the site (see MWA7852). A probable infilled pond was recorded in the centre of the site, and 17th-18th century levelling deposits were seen in the south and east. The remains of a post-Medieval farm building with a cobbled floor was probably formerly associated with Sandpit Farm to the south (see MWA2036). The excavation managed to find less than the evaluation, draw your own conclusions..
7 Medieval boundary ditches and ponds were visible as earthworks on aerial photographs around the village of Pillerton Priors and were mapped as part of the SE Warwickshire and Cotswolds HLS NMP project. The boundary ditches are centred at SP 29198 47521 to the south of the village and at SP 29213 47748, SP 29331 47899 and SP29422 47793 to the north of the village and shows the extent of the Medieval village. Most of the ditches at SP29422 47793, north of Chapel and Priory Lanes have been built over by modern housing as have some to the northwest and southwest.
8 The HER monument boundaty has been slightly altered to fit the NMP mapping which itself gives a good impression of surviving earthworks.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: Pillerton Priors
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1971
Page Number: 187
Volume/Sheet: OS/71/060
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP2947
Author/originator: Hodgson J C
Date: 1992
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP2947J
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: SE Warwickshire and Cotswolds NMP Project
Author/originator: Amanda Dickson
Date: 2010-2012
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: An Archaeological Excavation at Sandpit Farm, Pillerton Priors, Warwickshire
Author/originator: John Samuels Archaeological Consultants
Date: 1998
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Evaluation at Sandpit Farm, Pillerton Priors
Author/originator: Jones, G C
Date: 1996
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: Archaeological Observation at Homestalls Meadow, Pillerton Priors, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Gethin B
Date: 2004
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report No 0414
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Unpublished Document
Author/originator: Jones E J
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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
technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. back
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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
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).
more -> 		back
period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		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 BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known. back
monument SHRUNKEN VILLAGE * A settlement where previous house sites are now unoccupied, but often visible as earthworks, crop or soil marks. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument DWELLING * Places of residence. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument PRIORY * A monastery governed by a prior or prioress. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, FRIARY, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument GULLY * A deep gutter, drain or sink. back
monument BOUNDARY DITCH * A ditch that indicates the limit of an area or a piece of land. 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 MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. back
monument LINEAR EARTHWORK * A substantial bank and ditch forming a major boundary between two adjacent landholdings. Most date from the late Bronze Age and Iron Age. 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 CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. back
monument HOUSE PLATFORM * An area of ground on which a house is built. A platform is often the sole surviving evidence for a house. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument FARM BUILDING * A building or structure of unknown function found on a farm. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MEADOW * A piece of grassland, often near a river, permanently covered with grass which is mown for use as hay. 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 EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record