Manor House, 4 High Street
Sherington, Milton Keynes
Archaeological Watching Brief
MKHER event number: EMK1250
for
Mr M Fletcher
CA Project: 660125
CA Report: 14464
October 2014
Manor House, 4 High Street
Sherington, Milton Keynes
Archaeological Watching Brief
CA Project: 660125
CA Report: 14464
prepared by
date
checked by
date
approved by
Dan Stone, Project Supervisor
10 October 2014
Derek Evans, Project Manager
13 October 2014
John Dillon, Office Head
signed
date
13 October 2014
issue
01
This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third
party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely
at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission.
© Cotswold Archaeology
Cirencester
Building 11
Kemble Enterprise Park
Kemble, Cirencester
Gloucestershire, GL7 6BQ
t. 01285 771022
f. 01285 771033
Milton Keynes
Unit 4
Cromwell Business Centre
Howard Way, Newport Pagnell
MK16 9QS
t. 01908 218320
e. [email protected]
Andover
Stanley House
Walworth Road
Andover, Hampshire
SP10 5LH
t. 01264 347630
© Cotswold Archaeology
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes: Archaeological Watching Brief
CONTENTS
SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 2
1.
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................ 3
The site .............................................................................................................. 3
Archaeological background ................................................................................ 3
Archaeological objectives ................................................................................... 4
Methodology....................................................................................................... 4
2.
RESULTS .......................................................................................................... 5
3.
DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 5
4.
CA PROJECT TEAM.......................................................................................... 6
5.
REFERENCES................................................................................................... 6
APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS .................................................................... 7
APPENDIX B: OASIS REPORT FORM........................................................................... 8
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig. 1
Site location plan (1:25,000)
Fig. 2
Site location plan, showing location of monitored groundworks (1:500)
Fig. 3
The site prior to monitored groundworks, looking north-east (photo)
Fig. 4
West-facing representative section of foundation trench (photo)
1
© Cotswold Archaeology
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes: Archaeological Watching Brief
SUMMARY
Project Name:
Manor House, 4 High Street
Location:
Sherington, Milton Keynes
NGR:
SP 8890 4623
Type:
Watching brief
Date:
23 October 2013–13 August 2014 (intermittent)
Planning Reference:
12/01498/FUL
Location of Archive:
To be deposited with the Buckinghamshire County Museum Service
Accession Number:
AYBCM: 2013.37
Site Code:
SHI 13
MKHER event number: EMK1250
Between October 2013 and August 2014, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an intermittent
archaeological watching brief at Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes.
The watching brief was maintained during groundworks associated with the construction of a
new dwelling at the site.
The site is within the grounds of the Manor House, a Grade II-listed building constructed c.
1770. This house replaced the original medieval moated manor house, the moat of which
was retained in the landscaped gardens of the 18th-century building. This moat lies to the
immediate west of the watching brief site, and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The watching brief identified no archaeological remains within the area of observed
groundworks. The presence of a post-medieval “made ground” layer immediately overlying
the geological substrate indicates that the ground level at the site has been truncated,
presumably during the development of the formal gardens associated with the 18th-century
Manor House. Any earlier archaeological remains which may once have been present at the
site are likely to have been removed during this process.
2
© Cotswold Archaeology
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes: Archaeological Watching Brief
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Between October 2013 and August 2014, Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an
intermittent archaeological watching brief for Mr M Fletcher at Manor House, 4 High
Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes (centred on NGR: SP 8890 4623; Fig. 1).
1.2
Planning permission for the construction of a single-storey dwelling within the
grounds of the Manor House was granted by Milton Keynes Council (MKC; the local
planning authority), conditional on a programme of archaeological work (planning
ref: 12/01498/FUL; condition 4). The scope of this watching brief was defined in
subsequent discussions with Nick Crank, the MKC Senior Archaeological Officer.
1.3
The watching brief was carried out in accordance with a detailed written scheme of
investigation (WSI) produced by CA (2013) and approved by MKC acting on the
advice of Nick Crank. The fieldwork also followed the Standard and Guidance for an
Archaeological Watching Brief (IfA 2009), the Management of Archaeological
Projects 2 (English Heritage 1991) and the Management of Research Projects in the
Historic Environment (MORPHE): Project Manager’s Guide (English Heritage 2006).
The site
1.4
The site encloses an area of approximately 620m² and lies at the southern extent of
Sherington Village, on the southern side of the Crofts End road. The site is entirely
within the eastern extent of the Manor House grounds. The ground level in the area
slopes gently downwards to the south-west, with the site lying close to the 66m
Ordnance Survey contour.
1.5
In terms of bedrock geology, the site lies at the boundary of Peterborough Member
mudstone and Kellaways Sand Member sandstone and siltstone. No superficial
deposits are recorded (BGS 2014).
Archaeological background
1.6
Iron Age and Roman pottery has been found in the churchyard of St Laud the
Martyr’s Church, which lies some 500m north-east of the watching brief site. An
3
© Cotswold Archaeology
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes: Archaeological Watching Brief
undated, poorly-preserved curvilinear earthwork lies in the field to the north of the
churchyard.
1.7
The original moated manor house at Sherington was constructed by the Carun
family, who acquired the fief in the early 12th century. This building passed through
a variety of hands until it was demolished c. 1770 and the extant Manor House was
constructed to the immediate west. The moat from the old building was retained in
the landscaped gardens for the new Manor House; this moat is a Scheduled Ancient
Monument (List entry Number: 1019138; Scheduled Ancient Monument no. 29471),
and lies to the immediate west of the present watching brief site.
1.8
The extant Manor House is Grade II listed (List entry number: 1115873).
1.9
In 2009, an archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Archaeological Services &
Consultancy Ltd within the grounds of the Manor House, immediately adjacent to the
current watching brief site (ASC 2009). A single trench excavated to the south-west
of the moat revealed a stony layer. This contained animal bone and fragments of
building material, and was probably associated with the construction of the current
manor in the 18th century.
Archaeological objectives
1.10
The objectives of the archaeological works were:
•
to monitor the development groundworks, and to identify, investigate and record
any significant buried archaeological deposits thus revealed; and
•
at the conclusion of the project, to produce an integrated project archive and a
report setting out the results of the watching brief and the archaeological
conclusions that can be drawn from the recorded data.
Methodology
1.11
The fieldwork followed the methodology set out within the WSI (CA 2013). An
archaeologist was present during intrusive groundworks, which comprised the
excavation of wall foundation trenches and trenches for a new heating system (Fig.
2).
4
© Cotswold Archaeology
1.12
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes: Archaeological Watching Brief
Written, graphic and photographic records were compiled in accordance with CA
Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual (2013).
1.13
The evaluation archive is currently held by CA at their offices in Milton Keynes. CA
will make arrangements for the deposition of the archive with the Buckinghamshire
County Museum Service under accession number AYBCM: 2013.37. A summary of
information from this project, as set out within Appendix B, will be entered onto the
OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain.
2.
RESULTS
2.1
This section provides an overview of the watching brief results. Detailed summaries
of the recorded contexts are to be found in Appendix A. See Figures 3 and 4 for
photographs of the site.
2.2
Geological substrate 103 comprised yellow-brown sandy clay (revealed at an
average depth of 0.95m below the pre-development ground level (BGL)), giving way
to blue-grey clay 104 at an average depth of 1.25m BGL. The natural was overlain
by 0.4m of silty clay “made ground” deposit 102, which contained fragments of brick
and sandstone rubble. This layer was covered in turn by 0.4m of silty clay subsoil
101, and the sequence was sealed by 0.15m of garden soil 100.
2.3
No features or deposits of archaeological interest were observed during
groundworks and, despite visual scanning of spoil, no artefactual material pre-dating
the modern period was recovered.
3.
DISCUSSION
3.1
Despite the archaeological potential of the application area (see Archaeological
background, above), the watching brief identified no archaeological remains within
the area of observed groundworks. The presence of a post-medieval “made ground”
layer immediately overlying the natural geological substrate indicates that the
ground level at the site has been truncated, presumably during the development of
the formal gardens associated with the 18th-century Manor House. Any earlier
archaeological remains which may once have been present at the site are likely to
have been removed during this process.
5
© Cotswold Archaeology
4.
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes: Archaeological Watching Brief
CA PROJECT TEAM
Fieldwork was undertaken by Peter James, Mark Patenall and Paulo Clemente. This
report was written by Dan Stone. The illustrations were prepared by Dan Bashford.
The archive has been compiled by Emily Evans and prepared for deposition by
Hazel O'Neill. The project was managed for CA by Derek Evans.
5.
REFERENCES
ASC (Archaeological Services & Consultancy) 2009 Archaeological Evaluation: Sherington
Manor, High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes ASC typescript report 1166/SHM/2
BGS
(British
Geological
Survey)
2014
Geology
of
Britain
Viewer http://maps.bgs.ac.uk/geology viewer_google/googleviewer.html Accessed
13 October 2014
CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2013 Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes:
Written Scheme of Investigation for an Archaeological Watching Brief
6
© Cotswold Archaeology
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes: Archaeological Watching Brief
APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS
Context
No.
Type
Context
interpretation
Description
Depth/
thickness
(m)
100
layer
garden soil
Dark grey-brown silty clay
0.15
101
layer
Dark grey-brown silty clay
0.4
102
layer
buried garden
soil
made ground
0.4
103
geology
natural
Dark grey-brown silty clay with
fragments of brick and limestone
Yellow-brown sandy clay
104
geology
natural
Medium blue-grey clay
0.4
200
layer
same as 100
Same as 100
0.15
201
layer
same as 101
Same as 101
0.4
202
layer
same as 102
Same as 102
0.4
203
geology
same as 103
Same as 103
0.3
204
geology
same as 104
Same as 104
0.4
300
layer
same as 100
Same as 100
0.15
301
layer
same as 101
Same as 101
0.4
302
layer
same as 102
Same as 102
0.4
303
geology
same as 103
Same as 103
0.3
304
geology
same as 104
Same as 104
0.4
0.3
7
© Cotswold Archaeology
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes: Archaeological Watching Brief
APPENDIX B: OASIS REPORT FORM
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Name
Short description (250 words maximum)
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes:
Archaeological Watching Brief
Between October 2013 and August 2014, Cotswold Archaeology
carried out an intermittent archaeological watching brief at Manor
House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes. The watching
brief was maintained during groundworks associated with the
construction of a new dwelling at the site.
The site is within the grounds of the Manor House, a Grade II-listed
building constructed c. 1770. This house replaced the original
medieval moated manor house, the moat of which was retained in
the landscaped gardens of the 18th-century building. This moat lies
to the immediate west of the watching brief site, and is a Scheduled
Ancient Monument.
OASIS ref.
HER event no.
Planning app. ref.
CA Project no.
Report no.
CA site code
Accession no.
Site status
NHLE no.
Project dates
Project type
(e.g. desk-based, field evaluation, etc.)
Previous work
Future work
PROJECT LOCATION
Site Location
2
Study area (M /ha)
Site co-ordinates (8 Fig Grid Reference)
PROJECT CREATORS
Name of organisation
Project Brief originator
Project Design (WSI) originator
Project Manager
Project Supervisor
MONUMENT TYPE
SIGNIFICANT FINDS
PROJECT ARCHIVES
Physical
Paper
Digital
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The watching brief identified no archaeological remains within the
area of observed groundworks. The presence of a post-medieval
“made ground” layer immediately overlying the geological substrate
indicates that the ground level at the site has been truncated,
presumably during the development of the formal gardens
associated with the 18th-century Manor House. Any earlier
archaeological remains which may once have been present at the
site are likely to have been removed during this process.
TBC
EMK1250
12/01498/FUL
660125
14464
SHI 13
AYBCM: 2013.37
Grade II listed
1115873
23 October 2013–13 August 2014
Watching brief
None
Unknown
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington, Milton Keynes
620m²
SP 8890 4623
Cotswold Archaeology
Milton Keynes Council
Cotswold Archaeology
Derek Evans
Peter James, Mark Patenall, Paulo Clemente
None
None
Intended final location of archive Content (e.g. pottery,
(museum/Accession no.)
animal bone, etc.)
N/A
N/A
Buckinghamshire County Museum Context sheets, trench
Service
sheets, registers, etc.
Buckinghamshire County Museum Database, digital photos
Service
Cotswold Archaeology 2014 Manor House, 4 High Street,
Sherington, Milton Keynes : Archaeological Watching Brief CA
typescript report 14464
8
Site
N
Cirencester 01285 771022
Cotswold
Archaeology
Milton Keynes 01908 218320
Andover 01264 347630
w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk
e [email protected]
Bu
PROJECT TITLE
am
gh
n
cki
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington,
Milton Keynes
FIGURE TITLE
sh
ire
Site location plan
0
1km
Reproduced from the 2006 Ordnance Survey Explorer map with
the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller
of Her Majesty's Stationery Office c Crown copyright
Cotswold Archaeology Ltd 100002109
PROJECT NO. 660125
DJB
DRAWN BY
APPROVED BY LM
DATE
02-10-2014
00
REVISION
SCALE@A4 1:25,000
FIGURE NO.
1
3
4
Cirencester 01285 771022
3
4
Cotswold
Archaeology
The site prior to monitored groundworks, looking
north-east
West-facing representative section of foundation
trench (scale 1m)
Milton Keynes 01908 218320
Andover 01264 347630
w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk
e [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE
Manor House, 4 High Street, Sherington,
Milton Keynes
FIGURE TITLE
Photographs
PROJECT NO. 660125
DJB
DRAWN BY
APPROVED BY LM
DATE
02-10-2014
REVISION
00
SCALE@A4 N/A
FIGURE NO.
3&4