Coleshill Manor
Excavations on the HS2 site at Coleshill in Warwickshire have revealed one of the best preserved late 16th century gardens ever discovered in this country. Additionally, the remains of Coleshill Manor and a moat were picked up by aerial photography.
Uncovering the site
The house was owned by Sir Robert Digby, and experts now believe that after marrying an Irish heiress, he built his home in the modern style, along with huge formal gardens measuring 300 metres from end to end, to show off his new wealth and status.
Entirely unknown before, the preservation of the gardens is exceptional, with well-preserved gravel paths, planting beds, garden pavilion foundations and ornaments organised in a geometric pattern. The site has parallels to the impressive ornamental gardens at Kenilworth Castle and Hampton Court Palace.
Evidence of particularly fine and expansive formal gardens hints of connections to Elizabeth I, and the English Civil War provides us with a fascinating insight into the importance of Coleshill and its surrounding landscape.
Coleshill is a historic market town on the east side of Birmingham. The documentary evidence of the manor, known as Coleshill Hall, and its previous occupants points towards a great feud between the de Montfort and Digby families. The Hall came into the hands of Simon Digby in the late 15th century and the change of ownership set in motion huge alterations to the landscape around Coleshill and the development of the Hall, including a deer park and the formal gardens in the 1600s.
Excavations have revealed structures dating to the late medieval period, with structural evidence attributed to the large gatehouse in the forecourt of the Hall with its style and size alluding to a possible 14th or 15th century date. In a detailed inventory of the house undertaken in 1628, the gatehouse is specifically mentioned, further historical sources suggest that it was not long after this that the gatehouse was pulled down.
HS2 archaeologists also uncovered evidence of what could be one of the first battles of the English Civil War in the 17th century. The team were astonished at the striking signs that the heavily fortified gatehouse found on site had come under fire, with around 200 impact marks from pistol shots and musket balls on its outer side. Over 40 musket balls were removed from the nearby soil, which would have been a moat around the manor’s gatehouse, further suggesting that a skirmish had taken place. Other artefacts found include Samian pottery and smoking pipes.
Slide 1 of 15: Archaeologists marking out a medieval enclosure.
Slide 2 of 15: Remains of Coleshill gatehouse towers during excavation.
Slide 3 of 15: Aerial view showing the remains of two Iron Age roundhouses and a pit alignment.
Slide 4 of 15: Excavated pits that form an Iron Age pit alignment across the Coleshill site.
Slide 5 of 15: Musket ball impact on Coleshill gatehouse and musket ball shot found.
Slide 6 of 15: Site hand excavation by Wessex Archaeology at the Coleshill site.
Slide 7 of 15: Aerial view of the well preserved remains of the 16th century ornamental gardens at Coleshill Manor. The geometric patterns are the remains of the flower beds and gravel pathways of the gardens.
Slide 8 of 15: 3D reconstruction of the Coleshill great hall during the Elizabethan period.
Slide 9 of 15: Aerial view of the Iron Age field system that encloses an Iron Age settlement.
Slide 10 of 15: 13th century coin found within the moat on the site of Coleshill Hall.
Slide 11 of 15: The remains of a Bronze Age burnt mound.
Slide 12 of 15: Archaeologists use trowels to expose the remains of walls and foundations associated to Coleshill Hall.
Slide 13 of 15: Jeton found in the moat of the Coleshill manor. Jetons from the French 'jeter' meaning to throw, were used as counters for merchants similar to beads on an abacus. This jeton is from Nuremburg.
Slide 14 of 15: A Roman structure found during the excavations.
Slide 15 of 15: Remains of an Iron Age roundhouse. The roundhouse was part of the settlement revealed during excavations.
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