Kiln site

Summary

Part of a medieval pottery 310m SSE of Dairy Farm.

Reasons for Designation

Medieval potteries were industrial sites where ceramic wares were formed and fired. Some potteries were small scale enterprises worked by a single potter, while others were much larger concerns. They usually survive in the form of below ground archaeological remains situated in rural areas close to sources of clay, water and wood, although the earliest, pre-12th century medieval potteries were often located within towns. Kilns for firing the clay vessels are usually the most prominent and easily recognised surviving components. Investigations have revealed that medieval kilns developed from the simple clamp, or bonfire type, in use during the early part of the period and leaving few recognisable traces, to more substantial structures with clay- lined walls, partly excavated into the bedrock or subsoil. These kilns had a firing chamber, a sunken circular or oval pit up to around 3m in diameter, into which the unfired clay wares were placed. Leading from the firing chamber were one or more flues with stoke-pits containing the fires for firing the pottery and drawing air through the kiln. The larger, later kilns could have as many as six flues. Kiln roofs are believed to have been temporary structures, dismantled after each firing, and traces of these rarely survive. Some kilns had surrounding walls or windbreaks, and a few had sheltering roofed structures. Situated close to the kilns were pottery waster heaps, workshops or drying sheds, storage buildings, yards and hard-standing, clay pits and drains. The whole pottery complex was sometimes enclosed by a boundary ditch or fence. There was some regional diversity in kiln form and construction. During the medieval period, pottery vessels were a low status, everyday item. Although each pottery produced plain, decorated and/or glazed wares for local or regional markets, the most commonly manufactured items such as cooking pots, jugs and bowls, were similar in form throughout the country. Medieval potteries are distributed over most of England, in areas where suitable potting clay was available. Despite past cultivation the part of a medieval pottery 310m SSE of Dairy Farm survives comparatively well and will contain further archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, development, longevity, extent, economic and social significance and overall landscape context.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 21 May 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records. As such they do not yet have the full descriptions of their modernised counterparts available. Please contact us if you would like further information.

This monument includes part of a medieval pottery situated on the east facing slopes of the prominent Windmill Knapp hill in the settlement of Weobley. The site of a kiln was discovered during pipe laying work and produced around 100 sherds of glazed pottery and wasters of 13th century date. It remains as buried deposits, structures and features the presence of which was confirmed by a magnetometer survey undertaken in 1981. It is one of a very small number of medieval pottery production sites currently known in Herefordshire.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

HE 208

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape 108359

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