Information for record number MWA1206:
Botley Mill, Tanworth in Arden.

Summary The site of a Medieval watermill and its associated building, leat, mill pond and fishpond. The mill pond, leat and fishpond are still visible as earthworks. It is situated 400m north of Botley Hill.
What Is It?  
Type: Watermill, Building, Mill Pond, Fishpond, Leat
Period: Medieval - Industrial (1066 AD - 1900 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Tanworth in Arden
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 14 68
(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 This may have been one of the two mills in Tanworth mentioned in 1315. From the 17th century it belonged to the Umberslade Hall estate. Information on ownership exists for the 18th and 19th centuries. The mill ceased to work in the 1870s and was demolished early this century. The mill was a small building which stood on the lane leading to Botley mill Farm. This lane ran along the top of the mill pool dam. The pool had been drained by the 1880s, and no trace of this, or the mill building now remain.
3 The high retaining banks of 2 millponds are clearly visible. The road to Botley mill Farm runs along the top of the S dam, on the other side of which stood the mill beside a leat leading from the millponds. Nothing now remains of the mill site, but the retaining banks of the leat are visible running down the length of the field known as mill Ham field before joining the River Alne. Water from the mill pond flowed through the dam by means of pipes and a sluice gate, the remains of which can still be seen. In the N of the 2 ponds is an island of unknown purpose.
5 2 ponds are visible, the lower one directly feeding the mill, the upper one containing an island and probably intended for fish.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Watermills
Author/originator: Booth D T N
Date: 1978
Page Number: 83-4
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 5, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1965
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 5
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Fishponds
Author/originator: Aston M and Bond J
Date: 1988
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Plan
Title: Field and Forest
Author/originator: Slater TR and Jarvis P
Date: 1982
Page Number: WMB
Volume/Sheet: Fig 11.3.2
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: PJA
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1234
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of 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.
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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 POOL * A small body of water, either natural or artificial. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. 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 SLUICE GATE * The gate of a sluice which can be opened or shut to let out or retain the water. back
monument MILL * A factory used for processing raw materials. Use more specific mill type where known. See also TEXTILE MILL, for more narrow terms. back
monument MILL POND * The area of water retained above a mill dam for driving a mill. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument LEAT * Artificial water channel, usually leading to a mill. back
monument ISLAND * A piece of land, sometimes man-made, completely surrounded by water. back
monument WATERMILL * A mill whose machinery is driven by water. 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 FOREST * A large tract of land covered with trees and interspersed with open areas of land. Traditionally forests were owned by the monarchy and had their own laws. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument DAM * A barrier of concrete or earth, etc, built across a river to create a reservoir of water for domestic and/or industrial usage. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record