Information for record number MWA8773:
Hay Wood

Summary Hay Wood, the heavily coniferised remains of a Medieval Wood. The Woodland comprises Woodbanks and evidence of ancient coppicing.
What Is It?  
Type: Managed Woodland, Wood Bank
Period: Medieval - Modern (1066 AD - 2050 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Baddesley Clinton
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 21 71
(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 Although it is a large wood of 103ha, most of Hay wood is now conifer plantation. Around much of the edge of the wood is a large woodbank with external ditch. The shape of the wood, with large re-entrants, is typical of many ancient woods (see Oliver Rackham, Trees and woodland in the British Landscape, 1990). Within the wood and largely inaccessible because of the conifers are a number of banks and ditches of varying sizes, including a large double-banked deer park-type bank. These have not yet been recorded in detail. Patches of ancient small leaved lime Tilia cordata coppice survive in places throughout the wood. The National Trust at Baddesley Clinton have a number of documents referring to what is probably Hay wood as far back as 1200 AD (observed at a 1994 exhibition there).
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Research on the Ancient Woodlands of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Morfitt D Dr
Date: 1985-
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 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 DEER PARK * A large park for keeping deer. In medieval times the prime purpose was for hunting. back
monument WOOD * A tract of land with trees, sometimes acting as a boundary or barrier, usually smaller and less wild than a forest. 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 PLANTATION * A group of planted trees or shrubs, generally of uniform age and of a single species. back
monument COPPICE * A managed small wood or thicket of underwood grown to be periodically cut to encourage new growth providing smaller timber. back
monument MANAGED WOODLAND * An area of cultivated, managed woodland producing wood which is used for a variety of purposes. back
monument WOOD BANK * An earthen bank indicating the limit of a wood or coppice back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record