Information for record number MWA9518:
Hillmorton Medieval Settlement

Summary The probable extent of the medieval settlement at Hillmorton based on the Ordnance Survey map of 1887.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement, Plough Marks
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Rugby
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 53 73
(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 probable extent of the medieval settlements based on the OS first edition map of 1887, 28NE and the second edition of 1887, 28SE.
2 Domesday has 5 entries for Hillmorton under Marton Hundred. The Phillimore ed. gives a grid ref of 5373. Ref 16,35 in (Hill) Morton 1 1/2 hides. Merwin holds from him. Land for 6 ploughs. In lordship 1; 1 slave; 5 villagers and 6 smallholders with 3 ploughs. Meadow, 12 acres. The value was 30s; later 25s; now 30s. Merwin, Scroti and Waltheof held it freely. Ref 16,36 in the same village 1 hide and 1 virgate of land. Waltheof holds from him. Land for 6 ploughs. In lordship 1 with 1 slave; 10 villagers and 7 smallholders with 4 ploughs. Meadow, 12 acres. The value was 50s; later and now 45s. Scroti held it freely before 1066. Ref 16,37 in (Hill)Morton 1/2 hide. Waltheof holds from him. Land for 2 ploughs. 3 villagers with 1 smallholder and 1 slave have 1 plough. Meadow, 6 acres. The value was 15s; now 10s. Waltheof also held it freely before 1066. Ref 18,1 Hugh of Grandmesnil holds in charge from the King 1 hide and the sixth part of 1 hide in (Hill)Morton and in Willoughby. Land for 2 ploughs. 5 villagers with 1 smallholder who have 2 ploughs. The value was 20s; now 30s. Grimkelland Swein held it. Ref 44,5 Richard (the Forester) also holds 1 hide in (Hill)Morton. Land for 2 ploughs. In lordship 1/2 plough; 3 villagers and 3 smallholders with 1 plough. Meadow, 10 acres. The value was and is 20s. Wicking held it freely.
3 Aerial photograph.
5 The 1887 maps show a poly-focal village with centres around the church, the manor house, Lower Street and Higher Street. The fields to the south of Higher Street look like strip fields. The railway severs the church from the rest of the village. Patchy survival of ridge and furrow can be seen on the RAF aerial photo of 1947, and in some places it abuts the settlements. Domesday indicates a complicated pattern of ownership, and The VCH notes that it is derived from the 2 townships of Hull and Morton. The church [WA3370] dates from the medieval period; there is an area of known shrunken settlement to the north of the church [WA3357], the manor house [WA3352] was originally medieval with an associated moat [WA5641]. A medieval cross [WA3356] survives in Higher Street.
6 Archaeological Observation (Salvage recording) of foundation trenches of five houses and topsoil stripping for new driveway at 44-46 High Street, Hillmorton (EWA 7250, SP53187355). Two curving ditches containing 13-15th century pottery and late medieval/post medieval furrows along with some undated features were recorded.
7 Archaeological observation of the excavation of foundation trenches for three houses (EWA7322) at 42 High Street, Hillmorton, Rugby (SP53147357), recorded the possible remains of a medieval furrow. No medieval dating material was recovered from the excavations.
8 An evaluation at 56 Lower Street, Hillmorton located a medieval boundary ditch of significant size (3m wide, 1m deep) running parallel to Lower Street and with 13th-14th century pottery sherds in it.
9 19 sherds of 13th century pottery were found during a watching brief in advance of development at 81 High Street.
10 Event associated with
9 noted.
 
Sources

Source No: 3
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP57SW
Author/originator: RAF
Date: 1947
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Domesday Book Warwickshire incl Birmingham
Author/originator: Phillimore and Co Ltd
Date: 1976
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 6, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1951
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: VI
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: Comments on villages and towns in the Medieval Settlement study.
Author/originator: Hester Hawkes.
Date: 2002/3
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 1st edition 6" maps. Medieval settlement evaluation.
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1880s
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 28NE 1:10560 1887
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1887
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 28NE
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 28SE 1:10560 1887 2nd edition
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1887
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 28SE
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: 44-46 High Street Hillmorton Rugby
Author/originator: Coutts C
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report No 0116
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: Archaeological Recording at 42 High Street, Hillmorton, Rugby, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Coutts C
Date: 2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report No 0323
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Serial
Title: Medieval Settlement Research Group Annual Report 21, 2006
Author/originator: MSRG
Date: 2006
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Archaeological Evaluation at 56 Lower Street, Hillmorton, Rugby, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Gethin, B
Date: 2005
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report No 0541
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Watching Brief Report
Title: Land Rear of 81 High Street, Hillmorton, Rugby
Author/originator: Rob Jones
Date: 2006
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source Domesday Book The Domesday Book was commissioned in December 1085 by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. It contains records for about 13,000 medieval settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time). The Domesday Book is a detailed record of the lands and their resources that belonged to the king. It also records the identity of the landholders and their tenants. back
source VCH The Victoria County History of the Counties of England. This publication covers the history of each county in England. For Warwickshire, seven volumes were published between 1904 and 1964. They comprise a comprehensive account of the history of each town and village in the county, and important families connected to local history. Each volume is organised by 'hundred', an Anglo-Saxon unit of land division. The Victoria County History also contains general chapters about Warwickshire's prehistory, ecclesiastical and economic history. A copy of each volume is held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
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 HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument VILLAGE * A collection of dwelling-houses and other buildings, usually larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a simpler organisation and administration than the latter. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. 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 MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument HULL * Underground passage with storage chambers found in South West England. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more 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 PLOUGH MARKS * The subsoil traces of cultivation, presumed to have been caused by the use of a plough to till the soil. back
monument BOUNDARY DITCH * A ditch that indicates the limit of an area or a piece of land. back
monument TOWNSHIP * Cluster of dwellings of medieval or later date (Scots) back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. 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 HIDE * A shelter, sometimes camouflaged, for the observation of birds and animals at close quarters. back
monument STRIP FIELD * An area of agriculturally used land, which is divided into small, elongated, rectangular fields running parallel to each other. back
monument MEADOW * A piece of grassland, often near a river, permanently covered with grass which is mown for use as hay. back
monument CROSS * A free-standing structure, in the form of a cross (+), symbolizing the structure on which Jesus Christ was crucified and sacred to the Christian faith. Use specific type where known. back
monument RAILWAY * A line or track consisting of iron or steel rails, on which passenger carriages or goods wagons are moved, usually by a locomotive engine. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record