Information for record number MWA921:
Site of Deserted Settlement near Burton Farm

Summary The site of a deserted settlement dating to the Medieval period. The remains of the settlement are visible as an earthwork with features including a church site and crofts. It is located 750m south of Bishopton Hill.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Old Stratford and Drayton
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 18 56
(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 Deserted Medieval village, Bishopton. Earthworks were sketch planned in 1976. The original village nucleus seems to have been situated at the end of the present lane, but subsequently encroached onto the strips of the field to the E. The area is very wet and there are a number of possible fishponds (PRN 6264). The church site was also distinguished (PRN 6261). The whole area is under pasture although some of the fields were ploughed during the last war.
2 Plan showing Earthworks, church site, and fishponds.
3 Field survey.
4 Documentary evidence exists from 1016 on. The Medieval village continued to be occupied into the Post Medieval and Imperial periods (PRN 6262, PRN 6263). Traces of the village church (PRN 6261) also survive, as do traces of fishponds (PRN 6264). Since 1976 many of the features on the S side of the site have been filled in or removed. A number of small crofts can, however, still be identified.
5 Plan showing field names.
6 Plan.
 
Sources
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Bishopton, Stratford on Avon
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Plan
Title: WMANS
Author/originator: Ball S
Date: 1976
Page Number: 32
Volume/Sheet: 19
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Plan
Title: Snitterfied
Author/originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Plan
Title: Snitterfield
Author/originator:
Date: 1996
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: Bishopton DMV
Author/originator: Ball S
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMANS no 19 1976
Author/originator: Ball S
Date: 1976
Page Number: 63
Volume/Sheet: 19
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source WMANS West Midlands Archaeological News Sheet, a publication that was produced each year, this later became West Midlands Archaeology. The West Midlands Arcaheological News Sheet contains reports about archaeological work that was carried out in the West Midlands region in the previous year. It includes information about sites dating from the Prehistoric to the Post Medieval periods. It was produced the Department of Extramural Studies at Birmingham University. Copies are held at 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 Field Survey The term ‘field survey’ is used to describe all work that does not disturb archaeological deposits below the ground through an excavation. Field survey techniques involve recording measurements that help archaeologists draw plans or diagrams of archaeological features. There are a variety of different field survey techniques, including geophysical survey, building recording survey, field walking survey, landscape survey and earthwork 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 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 Post Medieval About 1540 AD to 1750 AD (the 16th century AD to the 18th century AD)

The Post Medieval period comes after the medieval period and before the Imperial period.

This period covers the second half of the reign of the Tudors (1485 – 1603), the reign of the Stuarts (1603 – 1702) and the beginning of the reign of the Hannoverians (1714 – 1836).
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period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument PASTURE * A field covered with herbage for the grazing of livestock. back
monument DESERTED SETTLEMENT * An abandoned settlement, usually of the Medieval period, often visible only as earthworks or on aerial photographs. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument CROFT * An enclosed piece of land adjoining a house. 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