Information for record number MWA6215:
Medieval Building 50m S of Chapel Green Farm

Summary The remains of a Medieval building were found during the excavation at this multi-period site. It was situated at Chapel Green, Napton on the Hill.
What Is It?  
Type: Building, Pit
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Napton on the Hill
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 46 60
(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 hollow way in Bays Green (PRN 6213) bifurcates, and at the N bifurcation earthworks indicate a courtyard type of building; this was confirmed by a strong parch mark in 1976. The N end extends into Chapel Green Orchard, where it appears as a simple raised platform, 20 by 10m. An area 13 by 10m was stripped by Southam District Local History Society from 1973-7. Iron Age and Roman occupation was found (PRN 6161-6162). In the Medieval period a building about 4m square was erected. There was no sign of a hearth and it could have been a barn with stone foundations. The building was destroyed and one wall robbed in the Post Medieval period (PRN 6216). The demolition left a rubble platform which was used in the 17th/18th century as an area of hard standing. Medieval pottery, a bone needle, two spindle whorls were found.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: Napton on the Hill
Author/originator: Usher H
Date: 1977
Page Number: 1
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Plan
Title: Napton-on-the-Hill
Author/originator: Usher H
Date: 1977
Page Number: Fig 3
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 46SE10
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1974
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 46SE10
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMANS no 16 1973
Author/originator: Usher H
Date: 1973
Page Number: 22-3
Volume/Sheet: 16
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMANS no 17 1974
Author/originator: Usher H
Date: 1974
Page Number: 63
Volume/Sheet: 17
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
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 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.
 		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.
more -> 		back
period Iron Age About 800 BC to 43 AD

The Iron Age comes after the Bronze Age and before the Roman period. It is a time when people developed the skills and knowledge to work and use iron, hence the name ‘Iron Age’ which is given to this period. Iron is a much tougher and more durable metal than bronze but it also requires more skill to make objects from it. People continued to use bronze during this period.
more -> 		back
period Roman About 43 AD to 409 AD (the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD)

The Roman period comes after the Iron Age and before the Saxon period.

The Roman period in Britain began in 43 AD when a Roman commander called Aulus Plautius invaded the south coast, near Kent. There were a series of skirmishes with the native Britons, who were defeated. In the months that followed, more Roman troops arrived and slowly moved westwards and northwards.
more -> 		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.
more -> 		back
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).
more -> 		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 STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. 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 HEARTH * The slab or place on which a fire is made. back
monument COURTYARD * An uncovered area, surrounded or partially surrounded by buildings. back
monument PLATFORM * Unspecified. Use specific type where known. back
monument CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SQUARE * An open space or area, usually square in plan, in a town or city, enclosed by residential and/or commercial buildings, frequently containing a garden or laid out with trees. back
monument BARN * A building for the storage and processing of grain crops and for housing straw, farm equipment and occasionally livestock and their fodder. Use more specific type where known. back
monument HARD STANDING * A purpose-built area of hard material of indeterminate use. back
monument ORCHARD * An enclosure used for the cultivation of fruit trees. back
monument SIGN * A board, wall painting or other structure displaying advice, giving information or directions back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument HOLLOW WAY * A way, path or road through a cutting. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record