Issue and Options 2023

Please find below a response submitted for and on behalf of the Kenilworth History and Archaeology Society in respect of one particular site which has historic significance: Site details: LP 12Nov21 Camp Farm REFID 32 DISTRICT WDC SITENAME Camp Farm ADDRESS Hollis Lane, Kenilworth, 2JY Introduction The Camp Farm site comprises three fields separated by two hedge field boundaries. The eastern field is a remnant of the historic 'Pease-Croft' field and the central and western fields are remnants of the historic 'Hinewelle Siche' field. Both have various spellings in historic documents. The eastern field - a part of the historic 'Pease-Croft' field The hedge boundary between the central field and the eastern field preserves a part the boundary of the Pease-Croft' field, since sub divided, which appears on the 1628 Harding, and 1692 James Fish, Castle Estate maps. The line of the external boundary hedge and adjacent drainage ditch along Hollis Lane is also shown on these maps. These boundaries are also described in the 'Parliamentary Survey of Crown and Ecclesiastical land for houses and land of the 'late dissolved monastery within the honour of Kenelworth alias Killingworth" dated 1650, and S.G. Wallsgrove's book 'Kenilworth 1086 - 1756' indicates that the Pease-Croft name and field boundaries date back to the medieval period. The central and westerns fields - a part of the historic 'Hinewelle siche' field and location of the disappeared Conduit House shown on the 1628 Harding map The historic field name 'Hinewelle siche' has two latter elements that are understood, being well + sitch, meaning a ditch or sike, however the first element is uncertain. It could be that 'Hine' was a personal name, perhaps Huna, which is thought to be the origin of the nearby village of Honiley, according to the English Place Name Society. As the field has the spring and associated stream (now diverted through a buried pipe), the well + sitch in the early field name could indicate that the name dates at least from the time when Old English was being spoken. Within the central field, a disappeared feature with links to both Kenilworth Castle and the priory has been considered to be of sufficient importance to warrant an appendix in the 2017 English Heritage book 'The Archaeology of Kenilworth Castle's Elizabethan Garden - Excavation and Investigation 2004 - 2008'. This appendix identifies a Cundit (Conduit House which channels a spring water source into a pipe) marked on the 1628 Harding map as the likely source of the water that fed Robert Dudley's fountain, built to impress Queen Elizabeth I on her visit to Kenilworth Castle. Such Conduit Houses are usually associated with monasteries and it is unlikely to be coincidence that Dudley had acquired the castle and the adjacent dissolved priory and former monastic lands. A new entry for this feature has recently been added to the Warwickshire Historic Environment Record (HER). The route of the presumed lead pipe connecting the two is not known, likewise the location of a 'lane across the fields' shown on the 1692 map. The hedge separating the western field and the central field appears to be post enclosure, so is not considered to have historic interest. Given the history associated with the above features, it is worrying to see that it may be developed as a housing estate. If it is to be developed, please will consideration be given to making an archaeological examination of the spring and investigation of heritage potential? Drainage challenges The area within and to north of the Camp Farm plot appears to have active springs and land drains, and all the fields have slopes. Pease-Crofts Rain falling onto the Pease-Croft field, together with water from springs and/or land drains, goes into the Hollis Lane ditch, which is rarely completely dry, even in summer. Taking advantage of the ground water in this area, just to the south of the eastern field, is a Severn Trent water abstraction facility. The ditch on the Pease-Croft eastern boundary (Hollis Lane) carries water south alongside the lane towards the junction with Beehive Hill, where it disappears into the ground into underground infrastructure that neither Severn Trent or WCC appears to have records of. The Harding map indicates that in 1628, from this point, a continuation of the Hollis Lane ditch ran across then open ground in a ditch following the line of the shallow valley heading toward the ford at Finham Brook in Abbey Fields. With the development of housing on much of its route, many sections of the former ditch have been replaced with Severn Trent underground water drain pipes, but some remnant sections of the 1628 ditches, now in the rear gardens of a number of houses on Amherst Road remain. Another ditch, possibly in a diverted position, runs alongside the Clarendon Arms. As for the section now believed to flow under Beehive Hill, historic newspapers indicate that a new culvert was constructed as a part of a council road widening scheme along with new kerbing in 1921. A 1911 newspaper described a blockage in a culvert immediately downstream of it. When asked, Severn Trent and WCC responded that they have no records of any such culverts. The 'Hollis Lane to Finham Brook' water course is unusual in that in the summer it dries up almost completely, but after heavy rain it has a strong flow and can cause localised flooding. The most problematic areas are the road above the presumed culvert under Beehive Hill and the ditches mentioned above. Hinewelle Siche Water from the west slope runs towards the A452 and appears to go under the road to a culverted section of Finham Brook running parallel to the A452. The English Heritage book describes the now disappeared stream that ran from the Conduit House to the A452 and the land drain that replaced it. The culverted section of Finham Brook is understood to be the responsibility of Warwickshire County Council (WCC). Sources/Further reading/References 'Kenilworth 1086 - 1756" S.G.Wallsgrove 1991 Warwick Printing Co. Chapter 3. '[the Abbey] Confirmations and the early 13th Century" The plot forming the site is shown on Fig. 4 '12th and 13th Century features' as being part of the field then known as 'Hinewellesiche' Chapter 6. 'The Dissolution' Figure 7 shows the 'Hennelsiche' Chapter 9. 'A Changing Society' Figure 10 'Common Lands + Fields Enclosed 1756' shows the Pease-Croft western boundary, with the land to the west identified as part of the enclosed Prior's Field Chapter 11. 'The Odibournes' Figure 12 'The Odibournes Based on the 1628 Map' shows the Hollis Lane boundary with the southern 'Pease-croft' field National Archives Harding Estate Map 1628 This map, cited and reproduced in part in S.G. Wallsgrove Chapter 11, Figure 12, shows two lines marking the Hollis Lane ditches which exist today. The map shows the northern section of the original route that the water took, via what appears to be a man-made ditch, due to its straightness, in its journey to Finham Brook (see Lidar below). This map also shows the Cundit [Conduit] House described in the English Heritage book and a related Historic Environment Record. Warwickshire County Record Office documents Parliamentary Survey of Crown and Ecclesiastical land for houses and land of the 'late dissolved monastery within the honour of Kenelworth alias Killingworth' 1650 ref: CR 5162 This identifies the 'Paes Croft' field west of Hollis Lane, with Prior's Field to the south and west, as being former monastic land. The area of the plot is recorded as 41:02:24 Kenilworth Castle Estate Map by James Fish 1692 ref CR 143A Kenilworth Castle Estate Survey 1692 by James Fish ref. CR 0143/1 Kenilworth Castle Estate Survey 1722 by James Fish ref. CR 311/36 Ordnance Survey maps Some early maps show a water course from the site of the disappeared Conduit House to Birmingham Road/Finham Brook. English Heritage book 'The Archaeology of Kenilworth Castle's Elizabethan Garden - Excavation and Investigation 2004 - 2008' 2017 Brian Dix, Stephen Parry and Claire Finn, English Heritage Appendix 2 'The water supply to Leicester's Fountain' has a modern os map of the fields, showing the location of the 'Cundit House' shown on the 1628 Harding Estate Map, along with a reproduction of the section of that map, plus modern photographs and narrative. Warwickshire Historic Environment Record (HER) Warwickshire County Council have recently updated the HER to add a Monument for the Conduit head/ water supply to Leicester's Fountain. For reference this is MWA32462. It may not be on the Online version of the HER yet, but will be included in any data sent out for HER searches, and available to be viewed on the HER. Lidar data Identifies the natural valley, that before the area was built up and drains laid, took the surface water from the fields adjacent to Hollis Lane, and around the area within the valley, to Finham Brook Warwick Council website Flood Map Flood evidence along the Lidar valley route. Newspaper Articles Leamington Spa Courier - Friday 13 January 1911: blockage to culvert under land south of Beehive Hill. Leamington Spa Courier - Friday 17 June 1921: new culvert across the road, and kerbing round Fieldgate House