Information for record number MWA1648:
Site of Romano-British or Early Medieval Settlement or possible palace at Snowford

Summary The site of a settlement dating to between the Roman and Early Medieval period. It is known from cropmarks of enclosures and linear features which are visible on aerial photographs. The cropmarks are similar to those of Saxon Palaces. It is located 800m north east of Snowford Bridge.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement, Enclosure, Linear Feature, Palace
Period: Anglo-Saxon (410 AD - 1065 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Long Itchington
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 39 67
(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
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Small rectangular buildings and linear features show on air photographs.
2
3 The site has no immediate parallel and is difficult to date because of the paucity of surface finds.
4 It has been suggested that these represent a Romano British villa consisting of a central group of buildings with a SW aspect set around a courtyard and with five or six adjacent buildings. Surface finds are limited to less than twenty fragments of tile 'which suggest that the site is well preserved'.
5 The site is not convincing as a villa and is far more reminiscent of a series of Anglo Saxon timber halls (see Hatton Rock, PRN 960). Crop marks would appear to be positive rather than negative (indicating ditches rather than walls). As at Hatton Rock small timber buildings are set in rows. One of the Snowford buildings is at a right angle to the main alignment and appears to have annexes at one or both ends. The lack of surface finds from Wilson's survey is also significant as, if the site were an extensive villa-complex, ploughing should have produced tile, stone and pot whearas AS sites typically produce very little.
6 Letter from 1959.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP1356
Author/originator: JP
Date: 1965
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP1356: A, C, E;SP14
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Long Itchington Parish Survey
Author/originator: Wilson P R
Date: 1979
Page Number: 38
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: RB site at Snowford, Ashow
Author/originator: University of Birmingham, G. Webster
Date: 1959
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Note
Title: ?Anglo Saxon site at Snowford Bridge
Author/originator: Hingley R C
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Note
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Hingley R C
Date: 1988
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 90
Author/originator: Wilson P R
Date: 1980
Page Number: 80-2
Volume/Sheet: 90
   
Images:  
A Saxon settlement at Long Itchington
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1990
Click here for larger image  
 
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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
source TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique Cropmark Cropmarks appear as light and dark marks in growing and ripening crops. These marks relate to differences in the soil below. For example, parched lines of grass may indicate stone walls. Crops that grow over stone features often ripen more quickly and are shorter than the surrounding crop. This is because there is less moisture in the soil where the wall lies.

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technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. 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.
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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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. 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 PALACE * A substantial house in a town or the country (particularly associated with medieval London). Use more specific monument types where known. back
monument VILLA * A term for a type of house, with varying definitions according to period. Roman villas were high-status and usually associated with a rural estate, whereas Georgian and later period villas were often semi-detached, town houses. back
monument COURTYARD * An uncovered area, surrounded or partially surrounded by buildings. back
monument LINEAR FEATURE * A length of straight, curved or angled earthwork or cropmark of uncertain date or function. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument DITCH * A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year. back
monument ROW * A row of buildings built during different periods, as opposed to a TERRACE. 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