Civil War redoubt 150m east of Tissington Hall

Reasons for Designation

English Civil War fieldworks are earthworks which were raised during military operations between 1642 and 1645 to provide temporary protection for infantry or to act as gun emplacements. The earthworks, which may have been reinforced with revetting and palisades, consisted of banks and ditches and varied in complexity from simple breastworks to complex systems of banks and inter- connected trenches. They can be recognised today as surviving earthworks or as crop- or soil-marks on aerial photographs. The circumstances and cost of their construction may be referred to in contemporary historical documents. Fieldworks are recorded widely throughout England with concentrations in the main areas of campaigning. Those with a defensive function were often sited to protect settlements or their approaches. Those with an offensive function were designed to dominate defensive positions and to contain the besieged areas. There are some 150 surviving examples of fieldworks recorded nationally. All examples which survive well and/or represent particular forms of construction are identified as nationally important.

The remains of the redoubt at Tissington survive particularly well as a series of substantial earthworks and will retain significant archaeological potential in the form of buried deposits. The archaeological evidence combined with the documentary records will contribute to the understanding of Civil War activity in the area and its effects on the wider landscape.

Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a Civil War redoubt at Tissington. A redoubt is a fieldwork used during military operations to provide temporary protection for infantry or to act as gun emplacements. The monument is situated on the brow of a hill and affords good views of the main, northern approach road into the village, Tissington Hall and the church. The remains include a three sided square enclosure which measures approximately 28m across. The enclosure is defined by an internal bank, or rampart, which measures up to 0.75m high and 5m wide with an external ditch approximately 3m wide. Another bank runs parallel to the western side of the ditch and measures approximately 5m wide. This would have served to enhance the edge of the ditch on the west side where the land slopes steeply away. Tissington Hall was garrisoned for the king by its owner, Colonel Fitzherbert in December 1643. In 1644 the Parliamentarians routed the Royalists hereabouts but following unsuccessful action near Ashbourne in February 1644, the garrison was withdrawn.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

29939

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Lysons, Reverend D, Lysons, S, Magna Britannia. A concise topographical account of several coun, (1817), 63-64

Other
SMR entry: 14314 Tissington shrunken village, (1998)

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