Information for record number MWA2105:
The probable extent of the medieval settlement of Tidmington

Summary The site of a shrunken village, at Tidmington, dating to the Medieval period. The earthworks are visible on aerial photographs.
What Is It?  
Type: Shrunken Village, Linear Feature, Enclosure
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Tidmington
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 25 38
(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  

2 Earthworks of linear features and enclosures show on air photographs and probably indicate a reduced village.
3 A shrunken medieval settlement is visible as Earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1968, though some parts of the site has been levelled on aerial photographs taken in 1993. The site comprises about a dozen building platforms, circa 3 hollow ways and at least two crofts defined by areas of linear banks. This site has been mapped from aerial photographs as part of the South East Warwickshire and Cotswolds HLS Target Areas National Mapping Programme. Also NRHE 1573960: A probably medieval croft and a building platform (ACTUALLY A WHOLE ROW ALONG THE MAIN ROAD) are visible as Earthworks on aerial photographs. The site comprises a long croft, perhaps two, oriented north-south and parallel to the extant ROAD. A building platform is located to the north of the croft, close against the ROAD. This site has been mapped from aerial photographs as part of the South East Warwickshire and Cotswolds HLS Target Areas National Mapping Programme.
4 HER monument polygon redrawn to fit NMP mapping and lidar evidence. Interestingly there is no obvious trace of settlement around the church.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP1751
Author/originator: CUCAP
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP1751:M
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: SE Warwickshire and Cotswolds NMP Project
Author/originator: Russell Priest
Date: 2010-2012
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: PWF
Date: 1982
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 2272
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
Tidmington shrunken village
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1993
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
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 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 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 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 SHRUNKEN VILLAGE * A settlement where previous house sites are now unoccupied, but often visible as earthworks, crop or soil marks. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument LINEAR FEATURE * A length of straight, curved or angled earthwork or cropmark of uncertain date or function. back
monument BUILDING PLATFORM * A site where a building once stood as identified by a level area of ground, often compacted or made from man-made materials. Use only where specific function is unknown, otherwise use more specific term. 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 CROFT * An enclosed piece of land adjoining a house. back
monument ROW * A row of buildings built during different periods, as opposed to a TERRACE. back
monument TARGET * Any structure or object, used for the purpose of practice shooting by aerial, seaborne or land mounted weapons. 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