Information for record number MWA8217:
Sealt Stret (Early Med saltway)

Summary The site of a road known as a saltway. It dated to the Early Medieval period and is known from documentary evidence to be called Sealt Stret. It would have run from Droitwich, but this section has been traced running between Bishopton and Salford.
What Is It?  
Type: Road, Trackway
Period: Early medieval (801 AD - 1065 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Old Stratford and Drayton
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 16 54
(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 A hedgerow assessment was carried out in advance of road improvements. Historical section of report traces history of and documentary evidence for the lane at this point, and suggests identifiable as early as 1016 as part of the sealt stret, distributing salt from Droitwich across the Midlands.
2 A major saltway followed the north side of the Avon Valley. Fragments of this route have been identified from charter evidence. The route, later known as the Warwick Way, is referred to in a Bishopton charter of AD 1016 as Sealt Stret, and has been identified with Bishopton Lane at this point. The route has been traced for most of its length between Bishopton and Salford.
3 Maps illustrating course of saltway between Bishopton and Salford, showing which parts of the route are most securely identified.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: Hedges along Bishopton Lane - Historical and Ecological Assessment
Author/originator: Booth, G M D, Slack, L & Palmer, N
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: Historic Landscape Assessment Routeway Maps
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1999
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Historic Landscape Assessment
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1999
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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
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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. 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 TRACKWAY * A pathway, not necessarily designed as such, beaten down by the feet of travellers. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record