Information for record number MWA591:
Ford (?Byda's Ford)

Summary The possible site of a ford, a shallow point in a river where people and vehicles crossed. The ford would have served the Roman Ryknield Street, known in the Early Medieval period as Byda's ford. The site was located south of the church at Bidford on Avon.
What Is It?  
Type: Ford
Period: Romano-British - Medieval (43 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Bidford on Avon
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 10 51
(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 Ryknild Street crossed the Avon by the ford at Bidford 'where the original pavement still exists under the turf in the meadow adjoining the river.'
2 Severn River Board reports that when working on channel improvement in the summer of 1955, there was still paving from the old ford on the N bank (S bank had until then been an osier bed), but no evidence of ford within river channel when it was deepened. Nearer present bridge the excavator noted harder bed, but this may have been compacted gravel. The channel must have been dredged before and this may have removed the evidence of the ford.
3 The S bank of the river has been reclaimed and is now pasture. No remains of paving seen on the N bank.
4 Referred to as Budiford or Bedeford in charters of the 11th and 12th century.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Archaeologia
Author/originator: Humphreys J
Date: 1923
Page Number: 89
Volume/Sheet: 73
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card, 15SW13
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1956
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 15SW13
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 57NW18
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1956
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 57NW18
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Historic Landscape Assessment
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1999
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source Archaeologia Archaeologia, a journal published by the Society of Antiquaries of London. The journals contain articles relating to the archaeology of Britain and Europe. Recent copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
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
period Roman About 43 AD to 409 AD (the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD)

The Roman period comes after the Iron Age and before the Saxon period.

The Roman period in Britain began in 43 AD when a Roman commander called Aulus Plautius invaded the south coast, near Kent. There were a series of skirmishes with the native Britons, who were defeated. In the months that followed, more Roman troops arrived and slowly moved westwards and northwards.
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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 PAVEMENT * A path or road for pedestrians, laid or beaten in with stones or other materials. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument PASTURE * A field covered with herbage for the grazing of livestock. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument OSIER BED * A place where osiers (willows) are grown for basket-making. back
monument MEADOW * A piece of grassland, often near a river, permanently covered with grass which is mown for use as hay. back
monument FORD * A shallow place in a river or other stretch of water, where people, animals and vehicles may cross. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record