Information for record number MWA8906:
Medieval settlement at Kings Newnham

Summary The Medieval settlement of Kings Newnham. There is evidence to suggest that a high proportion of the inhabitants specialised in crafts.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Kings Newnham
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 44 77
(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 Kings Newnham was a Medieval settlement granted to Kenilworth Priory by 1129. There is evidence to suggest that a high proportion of the inhabitants specialised in crafts. The plan of Kings Newnham, with its church-manor nucleus off-set from the earthwork remains of the village, suggests a decline in population. But once these earthworks are reinstated on the village plan, an L-shaped series of plots becomes apparent, all fronting onto the street running around the Old Park. The northern street-axis is broadened at the south corner and this open space, with its encroachments, could represent a place where goods were gathered before being distributed to local markets. Such undocumented activities involvling trade would obviously explain the high tax assessment of 1334 but, in the absence of a market charter, the only other substantiating evidence for this hypothesis is the settlement plan itself.
2,
3 The plan of the Medieval settlement can be traced from the Ordnance Survey 1st edition maps.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Map
Title: 23SE 1:10560 1886
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1886
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 23SE
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: 23SW 1:10560 1887 2nd edition
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1887
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Warks 23SW
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Bridging the Gap: Recent Research on Rural and Urban Settlement Forms in Medieval Warwickshire
Author/originator: Lilley K
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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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.
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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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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 SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument PARK * An enclosed piece of land, generally large in area, used for hunting, the cultivation of trees, for grazing sheep and cattle or visual enjoyment. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MARKET * An open space or covered building in which cattle, goods, etc, are displayed for sale. back
monument PRIORY * A monastery governed by a prior or prioress. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, FRIARY, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more 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 EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record