Information for record number MWA773:
Possible Moated Site 300m NE of Holt Farm

Summary The site of a possible moat, a wide ditch usually surrounding a building. It would have dated to the Medieval period, and some traces remain as an earthwork. An Estate Map of 1775 marks it as 'The Courtyard'. It is 1.5km south east of Southam..
What Is It?  
Type: Moat
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Southam
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 42 60
(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 This earthwork does not appear to have been noted in print. It occurs in Southam Holt and is called 'The Courtyard' on the Palmer Estate Map of 1775 with what may be a building in the NW corner. It is also named as an enclosure in the Southam enclosure agreement of 1625. Locally it is said to have been thrown up by Parliamentary troops in the Civil War. It is about 70m square with a pool in the NW corner. In 1971 there was a bank c30 cm high, surrounded by a very shallow ditch, with an entrance midway along its W side. A quantity of building rubble lay on the surface, together with 17th to 18th century pottery. Two clay pipe bowls were picked up, one was Broseley c1670. Hedges in the area have subsequently been pulled out and the earthwork is now barely discernible.
4 A subrectangular enclosure with a wide bank. No obvious indication of any internal buildings. The entrance appears to be in the E rather than W side. A parch mark in the NE of the enclosure could represent the site of the buildings mentioned in reference
1.
5 This moat is marked as The Courtyard on the Palmer Estate Map of 1775 (Ref
3), with what may be building in the north west corner.
6 Information and plans from 1973.
7The platform within the moat is visible on lidar imagery, boundary adjusted to fit.
 
Sources
Source No: 4
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP2854
Author/originator: Pickering J
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP2854 A-D, J-S
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: Moated Sites in the Southam Holt
Author/originator: Usher H
Date: 1977
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Descriptive Text
Title: The Courtyard, Southam
Author/originator: Usher, H.
Date: 1973
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: Palmer Estate
Author/originator:
Date: 1775
Page Number: 927:1
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Plan
Title: Southam
Author/originator: Usher H
Date: 1977
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Moated Sites Research Group
Author/originator: HJU
Date: 1979
Page Number: 24
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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.
 		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.
more -> 		back
monument POOL * A small body of water, either natural or artificial. back
monument CIVIL * This is the top term for the class. See CIVIL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. 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 BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use 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 COURTYARD * An uncovered area, surrounded or partially surrounded by buildings. back
monument PLATFORM * Unspecified. 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 SQUARE * An open space or area, usually square in plan, in a town or city, enclosed by residential and/or commercial buildings, frequently containing a garden or laid out with trees. back
monument HEDGE * Usually a row of bushes or small trees planted closely together to form a boundary between pieces of land or at the sides of a road. back
monument SUBRECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE * A monument consisting of an area enclosed by a ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier, where the barrier follows an almost rectangular course. 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