Information for record number MWA3071:
Medieval earthwork bank

Summary The site of an earthwork bank, possibly of Medieval date. The bank might form a defensive earthwork. Alternatively, it might be associated with a nearby moat. The bank is situated 100m south west of the church at Willoughby.
What Is It?  
Type: Bank (Earthwork), Earthwork
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Willoughby
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 51 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
Description

  
Source Number  

1 On the footway from Willoughby to Grandborough about a furlong W of the church is a long bank of earth, seemingly thrown up for the purpose of fortification.
2 There are two banks which run parallel along the edges of a field which contains a moat (PRN 3055). If these banks are those recorded in reference
1 they are probably Medieval in origin and connected with the moat.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: History of Willoughby
Author/originator: Deacon T
Date: 1828
Page Number: 39
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Pehrson B
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 3081
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MOAT * A wide ditch surrounding a building, usually filled with water. Use for moated sites, not defensive moats. Use with relevant site type where known, eg. MANOR HOUSE, GARDEN, etc. back
monument FORTIFICATION * A usually permanent defensive work. Use specific type where known. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record