Information for record number MWA4975:
Site of Medieval Watermill at Wimpstone

Summary The site of a Medieval watermill, for which there is documentary evidence. Stonework and earthworks of the mill pond survive. The location is west of the Stour in Wimpstone.
What Is It?  
Type: Watermill, Mill, Mill Pond
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Whitchurch
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 21 48
(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 In 1086 there were two mills at Whitchurch. One mill is mentioned with the manor in 1555 and two in 1584, the second being that at Crimscote.
2 A small back-lane in Wimpstone is known as 'mill Lane'. An earthwork by the side of the Stour at at the bottom of the lane is possibly the site of the mill.
3 The mill pond and stonework are still visible and a cottage on the site is named on a historic map as having been built on the site of the mill.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Watermill at Wimpstone
Author/originator: Hingley R C
Date: 1986
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
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: 3
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Unpublished document
Author/originator: Howe, Robert
Date: 1998
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
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 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 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 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 WATERMILL * A mill whose machinery is driven by water. 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