Information for record number MWA9126:
Medieval ridge and furrow cultivation at Alcester Grammar School, Birmingham Road, Alcester

Summary Medieval ridge and furrow cultivation located 100m west of the ruins of Alcester Abbey.
What Is It?  
Type: Ridge And Furrow, Linear Feature
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Alcester
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 08 57
(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 Two medieval furrow markings uncovered during observation of ground works for a new teaching block.
2 A number of medieval furrows running roughly east-west across the site were recorded during trial trenching at Alcester Grammar School. The area appeared to have lain within the medieval open fields of Alcester from the late medieval period. These were overlain by a ploughsoil from which Romano-British, medieval and post-medieval pottery was recovered. It seemed likely that the area was cultivated up until the creation of the school in the early 20th century.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Archaeological Observations at Alcester Grammar School, Birmingham Road, Alcester
Author/originator: Coutts, C
Date: 2001
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report 0143
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Archaeological Evaluation at Alcester Grammar School, Birmingham Road, Alcester
Author/originator: Coutts C & Jones C
Date: 2004
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report 0407
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 OPEN FIELD * An area of arable land with common rights after harvest or while fallow. Usually without internal divisions (hedges, walls or fences). back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SCHOOL * An establishment in which people, usually children, are taught. back
monument RIDGE AND FURROW * A series of long, raised ridges separated by ditches used to prepare the ground for arable cultivation. This was a technique, characteristic of the medieval period. back
monument GRAMMAR SCHOOL * A school founded in or before the 16th century, for teaching Latin, later becoming a secondary school teaching languages, history, science, etc. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument LINEAR FEATURE * A length of straight, curved or angled earthwork or cropmark of uncertain date or function. back
monument WORKS * Usually a complex of buildings for the processing of raw materials. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record