Information for record number MWA9665:
Post-medieval cistern at Coombe Abbey.

Summary The remains of a post-medieval circular, brick-built cistern were identified during the excavation of trial trenches. The site lay west of the Abbeygate buildings at Coombe Abbey. This was originally interpreted as an icehouse.
What Is It?  
Type: Icehouse?, Cistern, Culvert
Period: Post-medieval (1540 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Combe Fields
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 40 79
(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 remains of a post-medieval circular, brick-built icehouse were identified during the excavation of trial trenches prior to the proposed new extension to the hotel. The walls were constructed in a concave shape, bowed outwards and at its widest surviving course the structure measured 3.50m in diameter. The wall had survived to 10 courses, a height of 0.80m. The roof structure, which would have been domed, had been robbed out.
2This area was excavated between 2007 and 2008 (Area A). The postulated icehouse was found to be a circular brick cistern with a sloping wall decreasing in diameter towards the base, with a series of inlet and outlet culverts. The cistern seems to have been short-lived. It was infilled with a loam that contained pottery from the 1820s and 1830s, and brick and mortar fragments.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: Coombe Abbey Hotel, Warwickshire: The Archaeology of the Bedroom Block, Conservatory Extension and South car Park, 2007-8
Author/originator: Palmer S C, Gethin B, Jones C, Rann C and Ratkai S
Date: 2009
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 0947
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Geophysical Survey, Trial Trenching and Desk-Based Assessment at Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Thorne A & Fisher I
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Geophysical Survey The measuring and recording of electrical resistivity or magnetism in order to determine the existence and outline of buried features such as walls and ditches. Geophysical techniques include resistivity survey, magnetometer survey and ground penetrating radar. View Image 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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technique Trial Trench A small regular hole that is usually square or rectangular in shape. Archaeologists dig trial trenches to discover if there are any archaeological remains at a particular location. See also excavation. 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 HOTEL * A large building used for the accommodation of paying travellers and guests. back
monument ICEHOUSE * A structure, partly underground, for the preservation of ice for use during warmer weather. back
monument CONSERVATORY * A glasshouse used to grow and display tender decorative plants. May be either an extension to a house or freestanding. back
monument CISTERN * A covered tank in which rainwater is stored for use when required. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. 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 CULVERT * A drainage structure that extends across and beneath roadways, canals or embankments. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument CAR PARK * A place where cars and other road vehicles may be parked and left. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument GATE * A movable stucture which enables or prevents entrance to be gained. Usually situated in a wall or similar barrier and supported by gate posts. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record