Information for record number MWA9490:
Austrey Medieval Settlement

Summary The probable extent of the medieval settlement based on the first edition 6" Ordnance Survey map of 1885.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Austrey
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SK 29 06
(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 probable extent of the medieval settlement based on the first edition 6" map of 1885, 3NW.
2 There are 3 entries for Austrey in Domesday; it was in Coleshill Hundred. The Phillimore edition has a grid reference of 29(SK)06. Ref 8,1 Burton Abbey holds 2 1/2 hides in Austrey. Land for 4 ploughs. In lordship 1; 6 villagers and 4 smallholders with 2 ploughs. Value before 1066, 40s; later 10s; now 30s. Ref 19,6 Nigel holds 2 1/2 hides in Austrey. Land for 2 ploughs. 7 villagers and 3 smallholders have 2 ploughs. The value was and is 20s. Ref 41,1 Nigel of Aubigny holds Austry from the King. 5 1/2 hides and 1 virgate of land. Land for 10 ploughs. In lordship 2. 12 villagers with a priest and 8 smallholders have 5 ploughs. Meadow 1 furlong long and another wide. The value was £6; now £3. 8 thanes held it freely before 1066.
3 The 1885 map shows a large dispersed village, possibly two centred, with settlement around the Manor House, and further south, around the church. There are earthworks of shrunken settlement [WA8885], between the two. The northern part looks more planned than the southern.There is no clear boundary hedge, and no ridge and furrow plotting of the parish. Domesday indicates a populous and valuable village, and there are signs of empty plots on the 1885 map, so the population probably contracted.
4 Modern aerial photos show ridge and furrow in the fields just south of Newton Lane, this, coupled with the 1885 OS map, suggests the house plots north of Warton Lane did not extend all the way to Newton Lane.
 
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: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 1st edition 6" maps. Medieval settlement evaluation.
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1880s
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Map
Title: 03NW 1:10560 1885
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1885
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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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 Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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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 modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more ->
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monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
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 MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. 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 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 FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument HIDE * A shelter, sometimes camouflaged, for the observation of birds and animals at close quarters. 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 SIGN * A board, wall painting or other structure displaying advice, giving information or directions back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. 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