Information for record number MWA8949:
Avon Dassett Medieval Settlement

Summary The probable extent of settlement at Avon Dassett during the Medieval period which has been identified on the Ordnance Survey map of 1886.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Avon Dassett
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 40 50
(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
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The probable extent of the Medieval settlement based on the first edition 6" Ordnance Survey map, 52NE 1886.
2 Listed in Domesday in Hunsbury Hundred. Grid ref: 4150. Ref 16,5:- (land of the Count of Meulan) in (Avon) Dassett 10 hides. 3 thanes held it; they were free.Land for 12 ploughs. In lordship 3 ploughs; 10 slaves. 12 villagers with a priest and 5 smallholders have 7 ploughs. Meadow 50 acres. Value now £8.
3 The ridge and furrow plotting for the parish shows extensive survival, particularly to the south and west. There is a featureless area between the edge of the ridge and furrow and the settlement, both to the northwest and the southeast.
4 The possible extent of the medeival village was very considerably increased in size (more than doubled) to include settlement earthworks visible on air photos held by Warwickshire HER (SP 4049 D, SP 4050 C) and Google Earth images (1999, 2006, 2007). Many of these lie on the west side of the main street but some less clear features survive on the east side. None of these were mapped by the SE Warwickshire and Cotswolds HLS Target NMP but surrounding ridge and furrow was.
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Aerial Photograph Transcript
Title: Avon Dassett parish
Author/originator: AI
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Domesday Book Warwickshire incl Birmingham
Author/originator: Phillimore and Co Ltd
Date: 1976
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 1st edition 6" maps. Medieval settlement evaluation.
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1880s
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 52NE 1:10560 1886
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1886
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 52NE
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
The extent of Medieval settlement at Avon Dassett
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1989
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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
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 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 FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument HIDE * A shelter, sometimes camouflaged, for the observation of birds and animals at close quarters. back
monument MEADOW * A piece of grassland, often near a river, permanently covered with grass which is mown for use as hay. 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

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record