Weddington Deserted Medieval Settlement

1 This hamlet, now in Nuneaton, was destroyed when the first Marquis of Dorset enclosed the whole manor, turning it to pasture in 1491. Ten houses are reported pulled down in the 1517 Inquiry and 60 persons expelled. Dugdale adds that later one of the lessees from the Crown, a Mr Trye, rebuilt the village and made habitations fit for husbandry. This must have been before 1561. The church still stands and a modern housing estate has recently grown up here.
2 Nothing was seen to indicate the site of the village.
3 Archaeology poor (C), excellent documentary evidence (1*).
4 In 1990 three pieces of red-brown tile, burnt bone, burnt timber and plant remains were recovered from a borehole and trial pit at this location.
5 Domesday Book entry : “in Weddington 3 hides. Hereward holds from him; he also held it before 1066; he was free. Land for 7 ploughs. In lordship 1.5; 4 slaves; 12 villagers and 5 smallholders with 4 ploughs. Meadow, 20 acres; woodland 2 furlongs long and 1 furlong wide. Value 30s.” Said by A.Cook to have a medieval road running through its eastern boundary.
6 Plan.
7 This site has been researched and a possible extent of settlement has been identified from maps, air photographs and field walking.
8 Plan associated with the above reference.
9 Four evaluation trenches were excavated in 1997 in the field north and east of the church. One trench contained a thin spread of stone which the excavator associates with possible land drainage. The other trenches contained no archaeological features, and only one sherd of Medieval pottery was recovered.
10 Letter to a member of the public in 1966.
11 Letter from The Ministry of Works about the site.
12 Photographs of the site.
13 Trial pit in 1971.
14 Correspondence about a possible change of use of land adjacent to the church.
15 Letter with annotated map showing a possible area of RB activity approx 400m to the SE of the church.
16 Letter from EH about possible scheduling.
17 Letter detailing lack of ploughing over the area of the DMV
18 Bibliography of sources for the study of Weddington DMV
19 ‘Meulan was succeeded by his brother Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick. After the Conquest William gave the Manor of Weddington to Count Meulan, one of the heroes of the Battle of Hastings, but the land was left in the possession of Hereward, the original English occupier. He became tenant of Count Meulan’
The land drains located by excavation in 1997 are noted as of a type similar to designs from Dugdale’s 17th century monograph on land drainage.