Information for record number MWA861:
Shrunken Medieval Settlement at Lower Shuckburgh

Summary The possible site of a Medieval shrunken village at Lower Shuckburgh. The village is known to have existed from documentary evidence. The remains of the village are visible as earthworks in some areas.
What Is It?  
Type: Shrunken Village
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Lower and Upper Shuckburgh
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: 00
(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
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The 1517 Inquiry found depopulation. Lower Shuckburgh was depopulated in 1492 and 1508. There is a small group of houses close to the church, but they may well be modern. There was a population of 39 at Lower Shuckburgh in 1730.
2 Field name Town Field. Earthworks with 2 deep hollow ways.
3 The village still centres about the church and comprises both new and old houses.
4 2 definite linear depressions which could be holloways were seen. These lie in an E-W direction and run down to a stream. There are other Earthworks in this Field, but they appear too irregular to be house platforms. There is another possible hollow way in the Field to the SE. It leads from the stream to the farm buildings. There is much unevenness in the Field to the S of Town Field, but this is probably natural.
5 A list of miscellaneous references relating to the depopulation of villages, starting with Domesday and ending in 1779.
6 Listed in Domesday in Marton Hundred. The Phillimore edition gives a grid ref of 48,62 which tallies with Lower, not Upper, Shuckburgh. Ref 16,32 (Land of the Count of Meulan) in Shuckburgh 4 hides. Herlwin holds from him. Land for 4 ploughs. In lordship 2, 2 slaves; 8 villagers and 6 smallholders with 3 1/2 ploughs. Meadow 6 acres. The value was 40w; later 30; now 50s. Ref 17,39 (Land of Thorkell of Warwick) Alwin holds 1/2 virgate of land in Shuckburgh. Land for 1/2 plough. It is in lordship with 2 smallholders. Meadow 2 acres. The value was and is 5s. Ref 44,4 (Land of Richard the Forester) Richard also holds 1/2 hide in Shuckburgh. Land for 1 plough. It is there with 5 villagers. The value was 10s; now 20s. Edric held it freely.
7 The settlement is first recorded in the Domesday survey along with the adjacent settlement of Upper Shuckburgh. By the 13th century the hundred rolls identified 31 households in the settlement. However, these had dropped to only five by the 1330's and in 1564 the settlement was so small it was assessed with two other neighbouring villages. The settlement survived but underwent several phases of depopulation and reorganisation. It began its recovery in the mid-17th century, and by 1664 there were 31 houses, and 39 by 1730.
 
Sources
Source No: 6
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Domesday Book Warwickshire incl Birmingham
Author/originator: Phillimore and Co Ltd
Date: 1976
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Descriptive Text
Title: Shuckburgh collection CR1248
Author/originator: Various
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: CR1248
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: JMG
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1319
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: Lower Shuckburgh
Author/originator: Usher H
Date: undated
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: 7
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Medieval Settlement immediately north and 170m south of St John the Baptists Church Lower Shuckburgh
Author/originator: English Heritage
Date: 2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
Earthworks revealing the shrunken village of Lower Shuckburgh
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1992
Click here for larger image  
 
The possible shrunken village at Lower Shuckburgh
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1993
Click here for larger image  
 
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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 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 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 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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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.
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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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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.
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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 SHRUNKEN VILLAGE * A settlement where previous house sites are now unoccupied, but often visible as earthworks, crop or soil marks. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument HIDE * A shelter, sometimes camouflaged, for the observation of birds and animals at close quarters. 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 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 STREAM * A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. 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