Information for record number MWA9062:
Medieval Shrunken Settlement Remains, Harborough Magna

Summary The site of the remains of the Medieval shrunken village at Harborough Magna. The remains are visible on aerial photographs. The site is located to the west of Pailton Road.
What Is It?  
Type: Shrunken Village
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Harborough Magna
District: Rugby, 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: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Picture(s) attached

 
Description

 
Source Number  

1
2 Settlement remains identified from aerial photographs.
3 An archaeological watching brief on land at the rear of Church Farm (just adjacent to the earthworks) recorded no archaeological features or finds.
4 There are 2 entries for Harborough in Domesday under Brinklow Hundred. The Phillimore edition gives a grid reference of 4779. Ref 44,1 Richard the Forester holds Harborough from the King. 4 1/2 hides. Land for as many ploughs. 4 villagers and 4 smallholders with 1 plough. Meadow, 20 acres. The value was 10s; now 20s. 4 thanes held it freely. Ref 44,16 Ansegis holds 4 hides in Harborough from the King. Land for 4 ploughs. Now in lordship 1 plough. 8 villagers with a priest and 7 smallholders have 2 ploughs. A mill at 16d. The value was 10s; now 20s. Browning held it freely before 1066.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP4779
Author/originator: NMR
Date: 1974
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP4779
Author/originator: N Palmer (Warwickshire Museum)
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Domesday Book Warwickshire incl Birmingham
Author/originator: Phillimore and Co Ltd
Date: 1976
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
The shrunken Medieval village of Harborough Magna
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1994
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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technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. 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.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument ARCHAEOLOGICAL FEATURE * Use only for features assumed to be archaeological but which cannot be identified more precisely without further investigation .Use more specific term where known 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 MILL * A factory used for processing raw materials. Use more specific mill type where known. See also TEXTILE MILL, for more narrow terms. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. 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 FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. 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