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garrison was withdrawn.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.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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construction may be referred to in contemporary historical documents.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.

Source: Historic England

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)

Source: Historic England