6A St John s Road, Wallingford Oxfordshire

Transcription

1 6A St John s Road, Wallingford Oxfordshire An Archaeological Evaluation Stage 2 for Spearcliff Estates Ltd by Steve Ford Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site SJW03/116 January 2004

2 Summary Site name: 6A St John s Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire Grid reference: SU Site activity: Evaluation- Second stage Date and duration of project: 22nd January Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: Steve Ford Site code: SJW 03/116-2 Area of site: 0.06ha Summary of results: A single trench was dug which again revealed a dump of clay, possibly a bank, and a ditch aligned east-west. Monuments identified: Ditch; possible bank, medieval or later date Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Oxfordshire Museum Service in due course. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder Report edited/checked by: Jennifer Lowe Steve Preston i

3 6A St John s Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire An Archaeological Evaluation- Stage 2 by Steve Ford Report 03/116-2 Introduction This report documents the results of a second stage of archaeological field evaluation carried out at 6A St John s Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire (SU ) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Nick Crowley of Spearcliff Estates Ltd, Northways, Woodperry Road, Beckley, Oxford, OX3 9UZ. Planning permission (PO2/WO740/CA and PO2/WO739) has been obtained from South Oxfordshire District Council to redevelop the site for residential purposes. The site lies within the Wallingford Conservation Area, and Conservation Area Consent has been obtained for the demolition of the current building occupying the site. As it was possible that archaeological deposits may be damaged or destroyed by groundworks, a field observation had been requested. This is in accordance with Archaeology and Planning (PPG ) and the District Council policies on archaeology. The original field investigation (Lowe 2003b) was carried out to a specification approved by Mr Paul Smith, County Archaeological Officer. However, that evaluation took place prior to demolition of existing structures on the site and trench location was severely constrained. The fieldwork described below was an extension to this agreed scheme and was carried out to clarify the nature of the earlier evaluation findings. It took place post-demolition when access to the whole of the site was then possible. The fieldwork was undertaken by Steve Ford and Danielle Colls on 22nd January The site code is unchanged (SJW 03/116). The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Oxfordshire Museum Service in due course. Location, topography and geology The site is located at the southern end of the town and comprises a 600 sq m parcel of land located on the north side of St John s Road (Fig. 3). The site lies immediately outside the southern limits of the Saxon burh, which was enclosed by a defensive ditch and bank (Scheduled Ancient Monument Oxon 234). The ditch still survives as Mill Brook ditch, which forms the northern perimeter of the site. The site lies at a height of approximately 47m above Ordnance Datum. The underlying geology is recorded as first (flood plain) terrace deposits of the younger river gravels (BGS 1980). 1

4 Archaeological background King Alfred founded the town as a burh in the late Saxon period (Fig. 2). The defensive bank and ditch, which are still visible enclosing the town, were erected in the late 9th century as part of the Alfredan system of defences against the Danes (Airs et al. 1975). Though the town was burnt by the Danes in AD 1009, the settlement survived and by the time of Domesday Book (1086), housed a mint, a market and merchant s guild, and shortly after the Norman Conquest a castle and priory were constructed (Airs et al. 1975). However by the 13th century the castle was no longer in use as a royal residence, and the town began to decline, this decline continued into the later medieval periods (Airs et al. 1975). Several archaeological investigations in the town have identified stratified Saxon and medieval deposits. Work carried out to the north of the site at 51 3 St Mary s Street identified a complex stratigraphic sequence dating from the 11th century to the present day (Pine 2003a and forthcoming). An evaluation carried out at Church Lane also identified medieval deposits, 12th 13th century in date (Pine 2003b). Closer to the site, a watching brief carried out at 5 St John s Road located a ditch, possibly medieval or pre-medieval in date. This appeared to be orientated east-west, parallel with both St John s Road and the Saxon defences, and was recorded as approximately 3m wide (Mudd and Durham 1990). A watching brief to the rear of the site at 36 St Mary s Street, failed to identify deposits relating to the Saxon burh but noted that the site had undergone some truncation during the late post medieval period (Lowe 2003a). Also within the vicinity of the site is the proposed site of the South Gate (SMR ) and on the opposite side of St John s Road is the site of the medieval St John s Hospital (SMR 8775). Objectives and methodology The purpose of the second stage evaluation was twofold: To clarify the nature and date of a clay dump or bank located in the previous evaluation and which could not be further examined at that time; To determine if a probable ditch observed just to the east extended into the site and if so what was its nature and date. A single trench was to be excavated, located perpendicular to St Johns Road and as close to the southern site boundary as possible. The trench was excavated by a machine fitted with a toothed 1.2m wide bucket operated under continuous archaeological supervision. 2

5 Results (Figs. 4 and 5) Trench 6 (Plate 1) The trench was aligned north-south and was 5m in length. Demolition debris and other made ground was removed to reveal a brown-grey clay (150) at the northern end of the trench and a compact red gravel (151) towards the southern end. It became clear from the presence of tile fragments (not retained) that the red gravel was not a natural deposit and it was subsequently removed to reveal a continuation of the clay layer with gravel patches (153) and an infilled ditch (100). The ditch had a shallow profile with a flat base and was about 2.2m across at the level at which it had been buried, which was that of the level of the natural gravel. The lower fill of the ditch (155) was waterlogged with peat formation and preservation of wood (roots?) intermixed with sand lenses. Two animal bone fragments and mussel shells were recovered from this layer. Above this was a humic sandy clay (154) from which a fragment of tile was recovered. The ditch had an asymmetric profile with the southern side being infilled with fine gravel and clay lenses (156). The higher part of the ditch had been backfilled with gravel (152) which also incorporated lumps of grey clay. Partly overlying the infilled ditch was the grey clay (150), thought originally to be forming a bank and previously identified in trench 1 (57). However, the profile of this clay dump is not now readily interpretable as bank or mound material. It includes patches of gravel (e.g. 153) and is interleaved with the red gravel (151). A fragment of tile was recorded from the grey clay. The burial of the ditch by gravel was also noted in the adjacent watching brief (Mudd and Durham 1990). No close dating evidence was recovered from the ditch but the securely stratified single fragment of roof tile from fill 154 suggests that the ditch is no earlier than medieval. Similarly, the clay deposit also includes a fragment of tile (not recovered), and overlies the ditch indicating both that it is of later date and that it and the ditch did not function as a single bank-ditch earthwork combination. The function of the ditch is not known though its small size suggests that it is not of a defensive nature. Finds Tile by Steve Ford A fragment of roof tile weighing 60g was retrieved from ditch 100 (154). This is of medieval or later date. 3

6 Animal Bone by Sian Anthony Two fragments of animal bone were recovered from the lower fill of ditch 100 (155). These comprised the unfused distal end of a cattle metapodial and a cow-sized scapula fragment. The bones are in good condition without evidence of gnawing. Conclusion The second stage evaluation trench has achieved the objectives of the project. Firstly, it has located and examined a ditch aligned east-west adjacent to the St John s Street frontage anticipated from an earlier watching brief. Although not closely dated, the presence of a medieval (or later) tile fragment from the lower fill indicates that it is more likely to be of medieval or later date though this does not preclude an earlier ditch which had been thoroughly cleaned out on frequent occasions. Secondly, the trench has clarified the nature of the dump of clay observed in the earlier evaluation and established a chronology relative to the ditch. The clay appears to represent dumping after the ditch had gone out of use and is interleaved with dumps of gravel. The profile lacks features such as tip lines or turves, though whether clay would reveal these is debatable. Nevertheless its character does not readily suggest an interpretation as a bank, though it is conceivable that it could reflect a massive earthwork which has subsequently been truncated. Similarly, it may just represent late post-medieval dumping either to raise level prior to residential use of the site or simply to dispose of unwanted spoil. Confirmation of the presence of the ditch and its approximate date is a small but useful contribution to the topography of the medieval and later town. References Airs, K, Rodwell, K, Turner, H, 1975, Wallingford in K Rodwell (ed) Historic Towns in Oxfordshire, Oxford Archaeol Unit Survey no 3, Oxford. BGS, 1980, British Geological Survey, 1:50 000, Sheet 254, Solid and Drift Edition, Keyworth Lowe, J, 2003a, 36 St Mary s Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, An Archaeological Watching Brief, Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Report 03/103, Reading Lowe, J, 2003b, 6a St John s Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, An Archaeological Evaluation Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Report 03/116, Reading Mudd, A and Durham, B, 1990, Sewage Pumping Station, St John s Road, Wallingford, Archaeological Watching Brief Report Oxford Archaeological Unit, Oxford Pine, J, 2003a, 51, 52 and 53 St Mary s Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, An Archaeological Watching brief and Evaluation Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Report 03/03, Reading Pine, J, 2003b, Land to rear of Old Post Office, Church Lane, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, An Archaeological Evaluation. Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Report 03/91, Reading Pine J, forthcoming, Medieval occupation at 51-3 St Mary s Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, (Oxoniensia) PPG16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning, Dept of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance 16, HMSO 4

7 92000 SITE SITE SU A St John s Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2004 Archaeological evaluation stage 2 Figure 1. Location of site within Wallingford and Oxfordshire. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Pathfinders 1136 SU49/ SU69/ SU48/ SU68/78 1:25000 at 1:12500 Ordnance Survey Licence AL52324A0001 SJW03/116-2

8 N Rear of 18-20/21 Market Place Hull 1999 Castle Farm Ford 1995, Saunders The Lamb Garage Pine St Mary s Pine b and 22 St Mary s Street Croney Harris Garage Ford 1991 Church Lane, Pine 2003 Site A St John s Road Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2004 Archaeological Evaluation Stage m SU SJW03/116-2 Figure 2. Location of site showing Wallingford s archaeology, after Airs et al with additions.

9 6A St John's Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2004 N St Bualds Close Mill Brook St John's Road Paddock Road SU m Figure 3. Location of site SJW03/116-2

10 6A St John's Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2004 N 2 3a 3b Demolished building edge of clay dump 6 not dug to natural gravel Projected line of ditch 100 Pumping station (watching brief 1990) St John's Road SU m Figure 4. Location of trench 6. SJW03/116-2

11 6A St John's Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, 2004 N Trench 6 S Madeground/Demolition debris stepped Madeground 47.86m AOD grey clay 150 Gravel overcut-gravel Sand overcut m Figure 5. Section of trench 6. SJW03/116-2

12 Plate 1. Trench 6. Ditch 100 East Facing Section. SJW03/116-2