Information for record number MWA807:
Hodnell Deserted Medieval Settlement

Summary The site of the Medieval deserted settlement of Hodnell. The remains of the settlement are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and extensive documentary evidence survives. It is located 800m north east of Chapel Ascote.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Combe Fields
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 42 57
(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: )
Scheduled Monument (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Documentary evidence is extremely full, although it is not certain who depopulated the village. In its heyday the parish included Hodnell, Chapel Ascote, Watergall and Wills Pastures. The Chapel of St Helen was at Ascote, but there is some suggestion of a church at Hodnell also. The site of the village appears clearly in air photographs around and to the SW of Hodnell Manor Farm.
2 There was only one church in Hodnell parish. The churches in Hodnell, Ascote and Watergall are in fact three names for the same building (PRN 817).
3 Excellent Documentary evidence (1*), poor archaeological evidence (C).
4 At Domesday there were 31 customary tenants, representing a population of c150. In 1332 there were sixteen persons contributing to the subsidy, which would indicate that the population had not fallen noticeably. In 1428 there were only four househoulders. By the end of the 16th century the whole parish was enclosed and converted to Pasture.
5 There are no visible remains of desertion except a few almost indiscernable disturbances in the field NE of Manor Farm. From aerial photographs it appears that the major part of the village was in the field immediately SW of the farm.
6 There are a number of deserted villages in the area. The drift-capped hill at Hodnell farm is probably the site of the earliest, referred to here as Hodnell. The earthworks here are not particularly extensive and from the field evidence the main centre of population was at Watergall.
9 A fine hill top site with well preserved earthworks. Revised area, originally the scheduling excluded a series of earthworks and ploughing has subsequently obliterated all traces of the monument over the area left clear on the map.
10 Population approximately 150 people at Domesday. By 1332 16 householders, 1428 only 4 householders recorded. Enclosed by 16th century. Hodnell is believed ot be the earliest site of a group of settlemments and the location of the manor. The settlment is visible as a series of earthworks including a long and deep hollow way orientated north east ot south west. Several small east to west subdivisions represent at least six enclosures or building sites. An irregular hollow way runs at right angles to the main hollow way and a series of low level irregular earthworks lying to the west of the main hollow way are believed to represent further building remains.
11 Plan from 1973 showing earthworks to the north of Manor Farm.
12 Letter from 1978 about a proposed barn within the site.
13 Letter from EH in 1985 about management agreements for various sites including Hodnell DMV.
14 An area of Medieval deserted settlement is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1946 and 1956, although parts of the site have been levelled on aerial photographs taken in 2005. The site is centred on SP 4241 5746 and extends over an area which measures 215 metres east-west and 130 metres north-south. The site comprises two or possibly three crofts, and building platform, three hollow ways and five blocks of ridge and furrow. The crofts measure 45 metres by 26 metres and circa 110 metres by 35 metres, and are defined by a mixture of boundary banks and hollow ways. ridge and furrow, mostly levelled, is visible within most of the crofts. This site has been mapped from aerial photographs as part of the South East Warwickshire and Cotswolds HLS Target Areas National Mapping Programme .
15 HER polygon redrawn to match the NMP earthwork plot and the lidar imagery, which agree.
 
Sources
Source No: 8
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title:
Author/originator: J Pickering
Date: 1962
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP4489 C/D/E/X
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 6, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1951
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: VI
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 6, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1951
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: VI
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: TBAS vol 86
Author/originator: Bond C J
Date: 1974
Page Number: 94
Volume/Sheet: 86
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Site of Deserted Medieval Village, Hodnell
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1978
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 13
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Management Agreements for Warwickshire sites
Author/originator: Armstrong L, EH
Date: 1985
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 14
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: SE Warwickshire and Cotswolds NMP Project
Author/originator: Russell Priest
Date: 2010-2012
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Plan
Title: Hodnell
Author/originator: Usher, H.
Date: 1973
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 66
Author/originator: Beresford M W
Date: 1945
Page Number: 99
Volume/Sheet: 66
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Hodnell DMS
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1983
Page Number: 3
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Site of Deserted Medieval village at Hodnell
Author/originator: DoE
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Medieval Settlement Remains at Hodnell Manor
Author/originator: DCMS / English Heritage
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Deserted Medieval Villages Research Group
Author/originator:
Date: 1958
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Source No: 13
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.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Scheduled Monument Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs) are those archaeological sites which are legally recognised as being of national importance. They can range in date from prehistoric times to the Cold War period. They can take many different forms, including disused buildings or sites surviving as earthworks or cropmarks.

SAMs are protected by law from unlicensed disturbance and metal detecting. Written consent from the Secretary of State must be obtained before any sort of work can begin, including archaeological work such as geophysical survey or archaeological excavation. There are nearly 200 SAMs in Warwickshire.
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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 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 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.
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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 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 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 MANOR FARM * A farm on the estate of a manor. 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 BOUNDARY BANK * An earthen bank that indicates the limit of an area or a piece of land. 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 CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument PASTURE * A field covered with herbage for the grazing of livestock. 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 BUILDING PLATFORM * A site where a building once stood as identified by a level area of ground, often compacted or made from man-made materials. Use only where specific function is unknown, otherwise use more specific term. 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 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 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 DRIFT * A straight mine entrance, driven on a constant downwards slope. back
monument CROFT * An enclosed piece of land adjoining a house. back
monument BARN * A building for the storage and processing of grain crops and for housing straw, farm equipment and occasionally livestock and their fodder. Use more specific type where known. 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 TARGET * Any structure or object, used for the purpose of practice shooting by aerial, seaborne or land mounted weapons. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument HOLLOW WAY * A way, path or road through a cutting. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record