Reasons for Designation
A warren is an area of land set aside for the breeding and management of
rabbits or hares in order to provide a constant supply of fresh meat and
skins. Although the hare is an indigenous species, the tradition of warren
construction and use dates from the 12th century, following the introduction
of rabbits into England from the continent. Warrens usually contain a number
of purpose-built breeding places known as pillow mounds or rabbit buries,
which were intended to centralise the colony and make catching the animals
easier, whether using nets, ferrets or dogs. The mounds vary in design
although rarely exceeding 0.7m in height. Earlier monuments such as burial
mounds, boundary features and mottes were sometimes reused as breeding places.
The mounds are usually surrounded by ditches and contain underlying channels
or are situated on sloping ground to facilitate drainage. The interior of the
mound may also contain nesting places constructed of stone slabs or cut into
the underlying subsoil or bedrock.
A typical warren may contain between one and forty pillow mounds or rabbit
buries and occupy an area up to c.600ha. Many warrens were enclosed by a bank,
hedge or wall intended to contain and protect the stock. Other features
associated with the warren include vermin traps (usually a dead-fall mechanism
within a small tunnel), and more rarely traps for the warren stock (known in
Yorkshire as `types') which could contain the animals unharmed and allow for
selective culling. Larger warrens might include living quarters for the
warrener who kept charge of the site, sometimes surrounded by an enclosed
garden and outbuildings.
Early warrens were mostly associated with the higher levels of society;
however, they gradually spread in popularity so that by the 16th and 17th
centuries they were a common feature on most manors and estates throughout the
country. Warrens continued in use until fairly recent times, finally declining
in the face of 19th and 20th century changes in agricultural practice, and the
onset of myxomatosis. Warrens are found in all parts of England, the earliest
examples lying in the southern part of the country. Approximately 1,000 -
2,000 examples are known nationally with concentrations in upland areas, on
heathland and in coastal zones. The profits from a successfully managed warren
could, however, be considerable and many areas in lowland England were set
aside for warrens at the expense of agricultural land. Although relatively
common, warrens are important for their associations with other classes of
monument, including various forms of settlement, deer parks, field systems and
fishponds. They may also provide evidence of the economy of both secular and
ecclesiastical estates. All well preserved medieval examples are considered
worthy of protection. A sample of well preserved sites of later date will also
merit protection.
The pillow mounds 540m north east of the sea mark survive well and are
integral to the understanding of land use on Ashey Down in the medieval
period. They will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence
relating to the Bronze Age round barrow cemetery and the landscape in which it
was constructed.
Details
The monument includes three of a group of five pillow mounds on the mid-slope
of an east facing hillside on the central upper chalk ridge of the Isle of
Wight.
The pillow mounds in this scheduling are closely grouped and have mounds which
measure between 8.7m and 10m long and are between 4.5m and 9m wide. The mounds
vary in height between 0.25m and 0.5m. Each mound has a ditch on at least one
side from which material was quarried during its construction. These ditches
have become infilled over the years and only the ditch of one of the mounds
can be seen at ground level. The ditches of the other mounds survive as buried
features c.1m wide.
In 1969 Drewett identified, in the south east corner of Ashey Down, a medieval
enclosure which encompassed the five pillow mounds. Near the centre of the
enclosure was a small copse in which were the remains of a post-medieval farm
building. The bricks and tiles indicated a 17th-18th century structure. This
was demolished in 1769. Pottery finds suggest that this site may have had
medieval origins.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
