Information for record number MWA1093:
Deserted Medieval Settlement at Nuthurst

Summary The site of a deserted settlement of Medieval or Post Medieval date and known from documentary evidence and finds of pottery. The earthworks visible include house platforms, hollow ways and ridge and furrow. The site is located 600m north east of Kemps Green.
What Is It?  
Type: Deserted Settlement, House Platform, Ridge And Furrow, Hollow Way
Period: Medieval - Post-Medieval (1066 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Tanworth in Arden
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 14 70
(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 field name 'Town Close' indicates possible site of deserted settlement. Further investigation revealed possible house platforms. Various documents exist relating to the history of the manor.
2 The earthworks include house crofts, with associated ridge and furrow. The field is called 'Bencrofts' and this is alongside a field called 'Town Close'. Old Nuthurst is recorded in 1360 and the earthworks could represent the site of this village. A resistivity survey and small scale excavation were conducted to assess the suggestion. A section was cut through a roadside croft perimeter bank. This produced 14th century to 17th century pottery. The earthworks are probably the remains of a late Medieval and Post Medieval settlement rather than an Early Medieval one and it may be necessary to look for the site of 'Old Nuthurst' elsewhere.
4 The earthworks are fairly extensive and comprise large raised platforms connected by a series of hollow ways and upon which some house platforms may be discerned. The limited evidence of excavation is not sufficient to discount the possibility that this is the deserted village of Old Nuthurst.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: SAG
Author/originator: EAP
Date: 1971
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 2
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: SAG
Author/originator: Smith L
Date: 1973
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 3
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Plan
Title: SAG
Author/originator: Smith L
Date: 1973
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 3
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 Resistivity Survey A resistivity survey measures the electrical resistance of the soil and any buried features within it. Where there are buried pits and ditches, there is less resistance to the flow of electricity. Where there are archaeological remains made from stone, for example a wall, the resistance is greater. These differences in resistance are measured and recorded by archaeologists using a resistivity meter. The measurements can then be used to plot features that exist below the ground. See also geophysical 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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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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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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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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. 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 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 PLATFORM * Unspecified. Use specific type where known. back
monument MANOR * An area of land consisting of the lord's demesne and of lands from whose holders he may exact certain fees, etc. back
monument CROFT * An enclosed piece of land adjoining a house. back
monument HOUSE PLATFORM * An area of ground on which a house is built. A platform is often the sole surviving evidence for a house. 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
monument HOLLOW WAY * A way, path or road through a cutting. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record