Possible location of Saxon Defences for Warwick

Description of this historic site

Documentary and place name evidence suggests that the line of the Early Medieval defences of the Saxon burgh follow the line of the later Medieval walls in Warwick.

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Notes about this historic site

1 The Saxon burgh at Warwick was established by Ethelfleda in 914 to defend Mercia against the Danes. The site commanded the river valley and a natural crossing of the Avon, and was strategically well-placed to control the Fosse Way.
2 It has previously been assumed that the Medieval line followed the Saxon ramparts. However this has not been confirmed by archaeological investigation. At Barrack Street (WA 2188) the earliest evidence is late 11th – 12th century, and the evidence from Market Street is unconvincing for Saxon material (WA 1988). The defences must have enclosed the area of the Castle to the south, since the Norman work involved demolishing 4 existing houses, and included the Saxon minster in its precincts. E.Klingelhofer suggests that a line, based on street patterns, might have run along Brook Street, The Butts, and the now buried Back Hills.
3 Observations during the laying of a new water main in Market Place, Market Street and Bowling Green Street (WA 8216) failed to locate any evidence of the suggested Saxon defences at the corner of Brook Street and Market Place, though this was not regarded by the observers as conclusive.
4 Undated slide and photograph.
5 Possible extent of the Saxon town.
6 Letter from 1975.