Information for record number MWA791:
Chesterton House (Post Medieval manor house)

Summary The site of a manor house built in the Post Medieval period to replace an earlier hall. It was demolished in 1802. The site of the manor house is visible on aerial photographs. It stood 350m north of the church, Chesterton.
What Is It?  
Type: Manor House, House
Period: Post-medieval (1540 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Chesterton and Kingston
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 35 58
(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 The old Peyto mansion formerly stood on an eminence in a field called 'Image Hill' to the NW of the church. The manor house was built by John Peyto and was altered and enlarged by Sir Edward Peyto in 1632 from the design of Inigo Jones. It was demolished in 1802.
2 The manor house replaced a Medieval hall towards the end of the 17th century and was a classical building of three storeys, said to have been designed by Inigo Jones.
3 The site falls in a field that has been ploughed and returned to grass.
4 In 1650-60 the Medieval moated manor was replaced by a Classical mansion of three storeys, with a facade of eleven bays. Said to have been built by Inigo Jones, more likely John Stone.
5 Various air photographs.
6 Air photos show remains of a large rectangular building with probable corner projections on the site of the manor house.
7 The manor house is shown on the 1849 tithe map.
8 Architecturally significant house by John Stone in Jonesian style c1657.
9 The appearance of the house is recorded in an illustration in the Aylesford Collection, and its plan is shown on an 18th century estate plan (reproduced in source).
10 The resistance survey clearly defines the foundations of the mansion, and surrounding wall enclosure with a number of entrances to and from the mansion. Traces of a large circle can be seen in front of the house with possible garden features in the centre, this is probably the driveway and seen on the drawing of the house. Cultivation over the years has remoived large areas of cobbling that surrounded the mansion, the cobbling can be seen in front of the three cottages and has been cut by later pathways. Small trial excavations revealed large areas of coupling that still survive where the cultivation could not reach, up against the wall garden and hedgerows. A substantial early water pipe was also located. excavation work work within the walled garden revealed sandstone steps adjacent to the standing wall today. The excavation also revealed evidence of construction work having taken place before the walled garden was built, possibly for storing materials for the mansion. Dozens of fragments of sandstone were found during the trial excavation, along with oyster shells and clay smoking pipes. The sandstone chippings were probably the remains from the carving of sandstone blocks used in the facing of the mansion.
11 A series of tree-planting pits are visible on aerial photography. These correspond with an area of tree-planting shown on a Willoughby de Broke estate map of 1697 just to the west of the 17th-century mansion.
12 The house platform shows clearly on HER lidar information and icludes a large rectangular area in front of (to the SW) of the house which almost certainly represnets part of a formal wall garden.
13 The site of a Stuart period country house is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. A number of rooms and wings are visible, as well as the remains of the portico and maculae indicating a number of fireplaces. Probable elements of the formal garden are visible as cropmarks to the north (NMR monument number 1546313). This site has been mapped from aerial photographs as part of the South East Warwickshire and Cotswolds HLS Target Areas National Mapping Programme.
 
Sources

Source No: 5
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP2854
Author/originator: Pickering J
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP2854 A-D, J-S
   
Source No: 2
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: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Chesterton Magna
Author/originator: Bond C J
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Shakespeare's Land
Author/originator: Ribton-Turner C J
Date: 1893
Page Number: 184
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Register Review Data Tables (Stratford on Avon)
Author/originator: Lovie, Jonathan
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Register Review Report & Recommendations
Author/originator: Lovie, Jonathan
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Correspondance on cropmarks to west of Peyto Mansion
Author/originator: R Pitt
Date: 2010
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 13
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: 10
Source Type: Geophysical Survey Report
Title: Geophysical Survey Peyto Mansion, Demolished 1802, Chesterton, Warwickshire 1650-1802
Author/originator: D Adams
Date: 2004
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Map
Title: Copy of 1849 Tithe Map
Author/originator: Bond C J
Date: 1849
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: R.C. Hingley personal comments
Author/originator: R C Hingley
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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
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 Cropmark Cropmarks appear as light and dark marks in growing and ripening crops. These marks relate to differences in the soil below. For example, parched lines of grass may indicate stone walls. Crops that grow over stone features often ripen more quickly and are shorter than the surrounding crop. This is because there is less moisture in the soil where the wall lies.

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technique excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
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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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period Post Medieval About 1540 AD to 1750 AD (the 16th century AD to the 18th century AD)

The Post Medieval period comes after the medieval period and before the Imperial period.

This period covers the second half of the reign of the Tudors (1485 – 1603), the reign of the Stuarts (1603 – 1702) and the beginning of the reign of the Hannoverians (1714 – 1836).
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monument COUNTRY HOUSE * The rural residence of a country gentleman. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. 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 STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument FORMAL GARDEN * A garden of regular, linear or geometrical design, often associated with the traditional Italian, French and Dutch styles. back
monument GARDEN FEATURE * Unspecified landscape feature. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FACADE * Use wider site type where known. Only use term where no other part of original building survives. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument CARVING * A carved figure or design. 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 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 WATER PIPE * A pipe through which water is conducted. 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 HOUSE PLATFORM * An area of ground on which a house is built. A platform is often the sole surviving evidence for a house. back
monument WALLED GARDEN * A garden surrounded by a substantial wall. back
monument STEPS * A series of flat-topped structures, usually made of stone or wood, used to facilitate a person's movement from one level to another. back
monument TARGET * Any structure or object, used for the purpose of practice shooting by aerial, seaborne or land mounted weapons. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record