Newcombe House & Kensington Church Street Archaeological Evaluation September 2017
Summary Site name: Newcombe House, Kensington Church Street, Notting Hill, London Grid reference: TQ 25318 80372 Site activity: Evaluation Date and duration of project: 12th to 19th October 2015 Project manager: Dr Steve Ford Site supervisor: Kyle Beaverstock Site code: KNO 15 Area of site: 8000m sq. Summary of results: No deposits or finds of archaeological significance were observed over the course of the evaluation although the natural geology was not exposed due to modern disturbance. Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre in due course, with accession code KNO15. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. All TVAS unpublished fieldwork reports are available on our website: www.tvas.co.uk/reports/reports.asp. Report edited/checked by: Genni Elliot 29.10.15 D Milbank 29.10.15 i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47 49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email tvas@tvas.co.uk; website: www.tvas.co.uk
Newcombe House, Kensington Church Street, Notting Hill, London An Archaeological Evaluation by Kyle Beaverstock Report 15/227 Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological field evaluation carried out at Newcombe House, Kensington Church Street, Notting Hill, London (TQ 25318 80372) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Ms Sally Dicks of CgMs Consulting, 140 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5DN on behalf of Notting Hill Gate KCS Ltd. A planning application is to be submitted to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for the construction of a mixed office, retail and residential development. Following the submission of a desk-based assessment (CgMs 2015) the archaeological advisor at Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service recommended that an archaeological evaluation of part of the site would be required prior to the determination of the planning application. This is in accordance with the Department for Communities and Local Government s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF 2012), and the Borough Council s policies on archaeology. The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Miss Gill King, Greater London Archaeological advisor to Ealing. The fieldwork was undertaken by Kyle Beaverstock on the 12th and the 19th of October 2015 and the site code is KNO 15. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre with the accession code KNO15. Location, topography and geology The site is located in west London between Kensington Gardens to its east and Holland park to its west. The site is bounded by Newcombe House to the north, Newcombe Road to the east, the Circle/District Line to the west, and Kensington Place to the south (Fig. 1). The site is a flat parcel of land approximately 25.4m above Ordinance Datum (aod) which is currently being used as a car park. The underlying geology is stated as Lynch Hill Gravel (BGS 1993). 1
Archaeological background The main archaeological potential of the site as outlined by the desk-based assessment (CgMs 2015) appears to relate to the sites proximity to the Roman road that ran from Silchester to Colchester. This follows the alignment of Holland Park Avenue, Notting Hill Gate and Bayswater Road which would put the site to the immediate south of the road. Excavations on the north side of the Roman road in 1841, during the digging of foundations in Victoria Park near the Hippodrome c. 600-700m north-west of the site revealed a Roman burial ground including stone sarcophagi and wooden coffins. However, with the exception of the Roman road no other Roman sites or finds have been discovered within the vicinity of the site. There is also the possibility of post-medieval development including the cut and fill for the Circle/District Line although these are considered to be of modest archaeological interest. Objectives and methodology The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the presence/absence, extent, condition, character, quality and date of any archaeological deposits within the area of development. The specific aims of this project were: To establish the presence or otherwise of any activity pre dating the Medieval period on the site To establish the presence or otherwise of Medieval or Post-Medieval settlement activity on the site. To establish the presence or otherwise of Medieval, Post-Medieval or modern quarrying on the site. Evaluate the likely impact of past land use and development. Provide sufficient information to assess the significance of any remains and to establish the need for preservation in situ and/or the scope of any further work following the grant of planning permission. Four trenches measuring 2m long and 2m wide were to be dug using a JCB-type machine fitted with a toothless ditching bucket under constant archaeological supervision. Any archaeological deposits were to be cleaned using appropriate hand tools and all spoilheaps were to be monitored for finds. Results All trenches were dug as intended and measured approximately 2m long and 2m wide. A complete list of trenches giving lengths, breadths, depths and a description of sections and geology is given in Appendix 1. 2
Trench 1 (Fig 3, Plate 1) Trench 1 was aligned north to south and was 2m long, 2m wide and 1.5m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.16m of concrete, which overlay 1.34m of made ground. The trench was not dug to expose underlying geology due to the presence of concrete footings and services. Within the section was a possible brick wall that may relate to the post-medieval structures outlined in the desk-based assessment (CgMs 2015). No features or finds of archaeological significance were observed. Trench 2 (Fig 3, Plate 2) Trench 2 was aligned north to south and was 2m long, 2m wide and 1.8m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.1m of concrete and made ground which was 1.8m thick. Trench was not dug to natural due to the presence of services and safety concerns. No features or finds of archaeological significance were observed. Trench 3 (Fig 3, Plate 3) Trench 3 was aligned north to south and was 2m long, 2m wide and 1m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.2m of concrete and 0.8m of made ground. Due to the presence of services in the trench, natural geology was not encountered and the trench was terminated at this depth. No features or finds of archaeological significance were observed. Trench 4 (Figs 3 and Plate 4) Trench 4 was aligned north to south and was 2m long, 2m wide and 0.4m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.2m of concrete and 0.2m of made ground. Trench was not dug to natural due to the presence of services. No features or finds of archaeological significance were observed. Conclusion In conclusion, all the trenches were excavated in their intended locations, however neither archaeological deposits nor natural geology was observed due to the density of modern services and truncation. In all trenches made ground layers were exposed. The remains of a possible brick wall probably relating to the post-medieval structures outlined in the desk-based assessment (CgMs 2015) was identified within trench 1. 3
References CgMs, 2015, An Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment; Newcombe House, Notting Hill, London, Unpublished report, London BGS, 1993, British Geological Survey, 1:50,000, Sheet 256, Solid and Drift Edition, Keyworth NPPF, 2012, National Planning Policy Framework, Dept Communities and Local Govt, London 4
APPENDIX 1: Trench details 0m at southern end Trench Length (m) Breadth (m) Depth (m) Comment 1 2 2 1.5 0-0.16m of concrete and 0.16-1.5m+ of made ground c.24.06m aod 2 2 2 1.8 0-0.1m of concrete and 0.1-1.8m+ of made ground c.23.7m aod 3 2 2 1 0-0.2m of concrete and 0.2 1m+ of made ground c.24.4m aod 4 2 2 0.4 0-0.2m of concrete and 0.2 0.4m+ of made ground c.25m aod 5
OASIS FORM - Print view http://oasis.ac.uk/form/print.cfm OASIS DATA COLLECTION FORM: England List of Projects Manage Projects Search Projects New project Change your details HER coverage Change country Log out Printable version OASIS ID: thamesva1-227274 Project details Project name Short description of the project Newcombe House, Kensington Church Street, Notting Hill An archaeological evaluation, no features or finds of archaeological significance were observed. Project dates Start: 12-10-2015 End: 19-10-2015 Previous/future work Type of project Site status Current Land use Monument type Significant Finds Methods & techniques Development type Prompt Position in the planning process No / Not known Field evaluation Area of Archaeological Importance (AAI) Industry and Commerce 2 - Offices NONE None NONE None ''Test Pits'' Landowner pre-sale planning application (outline) National Planning Policy Framework - NPPF Pre-application Project location Country Site location Postcode Study area England GREATER LONDON KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA Newcombe House, Kensington Church Street, Notting Hill W11 3LQ 8000 Square metres Site coordinates TQ 25318 80372 51.507868670496-0.194044176309 51 30 28 N 000 11 38 W Point Lat/Long Datum Unknown 1 of 2 29/10/15 11:33
OASIS FORM - Print view http://oasis.ac.uk/form/print.cfm Project creators Name of Organisation Project brief originator Project design originator Project director/manager Project supervisor Type of sponsor/funding body Name of sponsor/funding body Thames Valley Archaeological Services Consultant CgMs Consulting Steve Ford Kyle Beaverstock Consultant CgMs Consulting Project archives Physical Archive Exists? No Digital Archive recipient London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre Digital Archive ID Digital Contents Digital Media available Paper Archive recipient Paper Archive ID Paper Contents Paper Media available KNO15 ''none'' ''Text'' London Archaeological Archive and Reasearch Centre KNO15 ''none'' ''Unpublished Text'' Entered by Entered on 20 October 2015 Kyle Beaverstock (tvas@tvas.co.uk) OASIS: Please e-mail Historic England for OASIS help and advice ADS 1996-2012 Created by Jo Gilham and Jen Mitcham, email Last modified Wednesday 9 May 2012 Cite only: http://www.oasis.ac.uk/form/print.cfm for this page 2 of 2 29/10/15 11:33
SITE 81000 SITE 80000 TQ25000 35000 Newcombe House, Church Street, Notting Hill, London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, 2015 Archaeological Evaluation Figure 1. Location of site within Notting Hill and Greater London. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Explorer 173 at 1:12500 Ordnance Survey Licence 100025880 KNO 15 (15/227)
SITE 80300 80200 TQ25300 25400 N Newcombe House, Church Street, Notting Hill, London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, 2015 Archaeological Evaluation Figure 2. Detailed location of site. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping under licence. Crown copyright reserved. Scale 1:1250 KNO 15 (15/227)
80400 1 2 3 80350 4 TQ25300 KNO 15 (15/227) N Newcombe House, Church Street, Notting Hill, London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, 2015 Archaeological Evaluation Figure 3. Location of test pits. 0 25m
Plate 1. Test pit 1, looking east. Scales: 1m and 0.5m. Plate 2. Test pit 2, looking east. Scales: 2m and 1m. Newcombe House, Church Street, Notting Hill, London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, 2015 Archaeological Evaluation Plates 1-2. KNO 15 (15/227)
Plate 3. Test pit 3, looking east. Scale: 1m. Plate 4. Test pit 4, looking east. Scales: 1m and 0.3m. Newcombe House, Church Street, Notting Hill, London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, 2015 Archaeological Evaluation Plates 3-4. KNO 15 (15/227)