Information for record number MWA6312:
Earthworks to SE of Nuneaton Priory Church

Summary The site of buildings of Medieval date that were associated with Nuneaton Priory and which may be the remains of the infirmary. The remains of the buildings are visible as earthworks which are located to the south east of Nuneaton Priory Church.
What Is It?  
Type: Building, Infirmary
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Nuneaton and Bedworth
District: Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 35 92
(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: )
Scheduled Monument (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

 
Source Number  

1 In the fields S and E of the churchyard and vicarage gardens there are disturbed mounds and banks suggesting the site of the Infirmary, etc, but no masonry is exposed.
2 Scheduled as Warwickshire Monument No 105.
3 Rescheduled as Scheduled Monument No 17005.
4 The extensive but not very substantial earthworks E of the church were surveyed and a contour survey was made. An auger and geophysical survey were also conducted. The N and S parts of the field are divided by a ridge. Various features in the N of the field are almost certainly formed of rubble and are the result of collapse, destruction and robbing. Slight traces of possible buildings can be defined. To the S of the ridge are a number of ditched enclosures of uncertain significance and two possible fishponds (MWA6317). One of the features in the N area and a second feature in the S area probably represent buildings and the latter may have a courtyard or cloister attached, which could suggest that it was the Infirmary.
5 Plan included in above article.
6 Revision of scheduling.
 
Sources

Source No: 5
Source Type: Plan
Title: TBAS vol 91
Author/originator: D. Andrews
Date: 1981
Page Number: Fig 3
Volume/Sheet: 91
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 29NE1
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1967
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 29NE1
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 91
Author/originator: E.A. Veasey
Date: 1981
Page Number: 58
Volume/Sheet: 91
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Priory of St Mary, Nuneaton
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1954
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: SAM list
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1985
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Priory of St Mary, Nuneaton
Author/originator: English Heritage
Date: 1991
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Scheduled Monument Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs) are those archaeological sites which are legally recognised as being of national importance. They can range in date from prehistoric times to the Cold War period. They can take many different forms, including disused buildings or sites surviving as earthworks or cropmarks.

SAMs are protected by law from unlicensed disturbance and metal detecting. Written consent from the Secretary of State must be obtained before any sort of work can begin, including archaeological work such as geophysical survey or archaeological excavation. There are nearly 200 SAMs in Warwickshire.
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source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
source SAM List Scheduled Ancient Monument List. A list or schedule of archaelogical and historic monuments that are considered to be of national importance. The list contains a detailed description of each Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) and a map showing their location and extent. By being placed on the schedule, SAMs are protected by law from any unauthorised distrubance. The list has been compiled and is maintained by English Heritage. It is updated periodically. 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 Geophysical Survey The measuring and recording of electrical resistivity or magnetism in order to determine the existence and outline of buried features such as walls and ditches. Geophysical techniques include resistivity survey, magnetometer survey and ground penetrating radar. View Image 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 FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. back
monument VICARAGE * The residence of a vicar, parson or rector. 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 FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument DITCHED ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by one or several boundary ditches. Double index with a term to indicate the shape of the enclosure where known. back
monument PRIORY * A monastery governed by a prior or prioress. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, FRIARY, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CLOISTER * A covered walk, walled on one side and usually arcaded on the other, surrounding or partly surrounding an open area in a monastery or similar complex of Christian buildings. back
monument COURTYARD * An uncovered area, surrounded or partially surrounded by buildings. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument CHURCHYARD * An area of ground belonging to a church, often used as a burial ground. back
monument GARDEN * An enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit or vegetables and/or recreational purposes. Use more specific type where known. back
monument INFIRMARY * A building used for the care of the sick. Only to be used where part of a complex, eg. a workhouse. In such cases use with appropriate monument type. back
monument MOUND * A natural or artificial elevation of earth or stones, such as the earth heaped upon a grave. Use more specific type where known. 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