Information for record number MWA9482:
Pillerton Priors Medieval Settlement

Summary The possible extent of the Medieval Settlement, based on the first edition Ordnance Survey map.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement, Iron Working Site?
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Pillerton Priors
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 29 47
(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 The possible extent of the medieval settlement based on the first edition OS maps of 1886, 51 NW and 51 SW.
2 Listed in the Domesday survey in Tremlow Hundred. The Phillimore edition has a grid ref of 29,47. Ref 13,1 Earl Hugh holds 1 hide and 3 virgates of land in Pillerton (Priors), and Waleran from him. Land for 2 ploughs. In lordship 1, with 1 slave; 2 villagers and 2 smallholders with 1 plough. The value was 20s; now 30s. Hugh the Chamberlain held it freely. Ref 18,11 St Evroul's Abbey holds 6 hides and 1 virgate of land in Pillerton (Priors). Land for 10 ploughs. In lordship 3; 13 villagers and 23 smallholders with 1 Frenchman and 3 thanes have 8 ploughs. Meadow 12 acres. The value was £6; now £10. 4 thanes held it freely before 1066.
3 The first edition maps show a village with few ordinary plots - the buildings are mostly farms. Trees cover some of the empty areas. In some places there seem to be inner and outer boundary hedges. WA7424 is the shrunken settlement. There is no medieval church. Ridge and furrow plotting has not been done for the parish, but there is survival shown on the database mapping, particularly to the north of the village.
4 Archaeological recording during the excavation of foundation trenches for a single dwelling at Homestalls Meadow, Pillerton Priors (SP29384755) recovered a few sherds of medieval pottery dating from the 13th to 15th centuries.
5 A number of very large ditches and pits dating to the C11th-C13th were recorded during excavations north of Sandpit farm in 1998. Two of these features contained iron-working slag and/or clinker. The heath or furnace bottom slag would indicate that the iron-working had taken place on this site but it was not found in situ. The environmental evidence points towards wheat as the main cereal crop, although sufficient animal bones survived to indicate a mixed agriculture. A single, unstratified stone spindle-whorl suggests that sheep were utilised for their wool. Whilst no evidence for early medieval structures was found, this site was clearly in use in the 11th -13th centuries, possible for agriculture or small scale industrial activities.
 
Sources

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: 3
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: Comments on villages and towns in the Medieval Settlement study.
Author/originator: Hester Hawkes.
Date: 2002/3
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: An Archaeological Excavation at Sandpit Farm, Pillerton Priors, Warwickshire
Author/originator: John Samuels Archaeological Consultants
Date: 1998
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: 51SW 1:10560 1886
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1886
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 51SW
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 51NW 1:10560 1886
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1886
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 51NW
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: Archaeological Observation at Homestalls Meadow, Pillerton Priors, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Gethin B
Date: 2004
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report No 0414
   
Images:  
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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 excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
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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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. 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 STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument DWELLING * Places of residence. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument FURNACE * A chamber in which minerals, metals, etc, are subjected to the continuous action of intense heat. Use specific type where known. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. 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 HIDE * A shelter, sometimes camouflaged, for the observation of birds and animals at close quarters. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument HEDGE * Usually a row of bushes or small trees planted closely together to form a boundary between pieces of land or at the sides of a road. back
monument MEADOW * A piece of grassland, often near a river, permanently covered with grass which is mown for use as hay. back
monument IRON WORKING SITE * A site used for the production and/or working of metallic iron. 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 TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record