The Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels, Edgcott,

An Archaeological Watching Brief

for the Parish of Edgcott

by Sarah Coles

Thames Valley Archaeological Services

Ltd

Site Code ECB01/32

May 2001

Summary

Site name: The Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels, Edgcott, Buckinghamshire

Grid reference: SP 6800 2280

Site activity: Watching brief

Date and duration of project: 10th April and 1st May 2001

Site code: ECB01/32

Area of site: - Deleted: xxxxxxxxxx

Summary of results: The watching brief did not locate any archaeological features. No finds were collected.

Monuments identified: None

Location and reference of archive: The archive is currently held by Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5NR. It will be deposited with Buckinghamshire Museum Service in due course. Deleted: ?

This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder Deleted: ¶ ¶

Report edited/checked by: S Preston 29/05/01 Deleted: 11 S Ford 29/05/01 Deleted: M Hall-Torrance Deleted: xxxxxx

i The Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels, Edgcott, Buckinghamshire An Archaeological Watching Brief

by Sarah Coles

Report 01/32

Introduction

This report documents the results of an archaeological watching brief carried out at the Parish Church of St

Michael and All Angels, Church Lane, Edgcott, Buckinghamshire (SP 6800 2280) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Ms Janet Frost, Chartered Architect, Windmill House, , ,

Buckinghamshire HP22 4PD, on behalf of the Parish of Edgcott.

A faculty has been granted by the Oxford Diocese for the digging of a new drain and soakaways and other Deleted: -ground non-invasive groundworks around the church. As a condition of the faculty an archaeological watching brief was Deleted: w to take place during groundworks.

The fieldwork was undertaken by Sarah Coles on the 20th April and 1st May 2001. The site code is

ECB01/32. The archive is currently held by Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir

Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5NR. It will be deposited with Buckinghamshire Museum Service in due course. Formatted

Location, topography and geology

The Parish of Edgcott is located to the north-east of and lies between the river Ray to its south and

Gubbinshole Ditch to its west. St Michael and All Angels is located on top of a hill at a height of 85m above Deleted: , Ordnance Datum (Fig. 2). The topography of the graveyard is gently sloping from east down to west; however the majority of the area is level due to the constant movement of earth in graveyards. According to geological Deleted: located maps (IGS 1979), the underlying geology is Oxford Clay. The two soakaways are positioned to the north-west and south-west of the church, and the drainage trenches are located against the exterior walls of the entire church Deleted: According to building. geological maps (IGS 1979), the underlying geology is Oxford Clay.

Archaeological background Deleted: highlighted The archaeological potential of the site is suggested by the fact that village churches usually lie close to the centre of medieval settlements and can often have late Saxon origins. In this case the church itself is of early Deleted: and medieval date, had alterations made to the chancel in the 14th century and was extensively restored in 1604 and

1 Deleted: 1875. The church is first documented in AD 1209, when receiving funds from the lord of the manor (VCH 1927, Deleted: was located 170). It would appear that in the medieval period the main core of the village lay around the church, as evidenced by the presence of Manor Farm, formerly the manor house, with the rest of the village spreading over the lower slopes of Perry Hill. The area surrounding the church has remained relatively free from modern development.

Objectives and methodology

The purpose of the watching brief was to observe, record and excavate any archaeological deposits affected by the digging of the drain trenches and soakaways. All spoilheaps were to be monitored for finds. There was no intention to excavate, record or remove any late post-medieval inhumation burials.

Results

Two soakaways were dug to deal with excess rainwater, one to the south-west of the church tower and the other to the north-west (Fig. 3). Soakaway A was 1.90m x 1.50m and 1.30m deep. It revealed 0.30m of topsoil onto Deleted: grave earth several layers of humic soil, probably infilling a grave. Soakaway B was 1.80m x 1.70m and 1.70m deep. The Deleted: grave earth stratigraphy comprised 0.20m of topsoil onto 0.40m of humic soil, onto 0.50m of mid brown/orange clay, itself Deleted: over 0.60m of pale grey clay, which was the natural geology.

Trenches for drains were dug around the entire church, varying in depths from 0.20m (due to concrete) to Deleted: wide 0.55m. The width of the trenches were mostly 0.50m and up to 1.40m in areas where buttresses were present.

The drainage trenches exposed areas of modern underpinning (Fig. 3). A stone rubble layer, which is believed to be backfill of the existing church’s foundation trenches, was found in all drainage trenches located against the church’s exterior walls.

Human burials and disarticulated bones were observed in the soakaway and western drainage trench. A human skull was exposed in the eastern corner of soakaway A and a skeleton observed in the trench to the west of the Deleted: ¶ doorway of the church tower. No artefacts were found.

Conclusion

No deposits of archaeological interest were observed. The soakaway to the north-west of the church tower Deleted: be exposed the natural geology, where archaeological deposits cutting the bedrock might have been encountered. Deleted: ere However, none was observed, only layers of humic soil that might represent upcast from nearby grave

2 Deleted: earth. excavations. The trenches dug for drainage around the base of the church varied in depth and only revealed a Deleted: , rubble layer which was backfill of the present church’s foundation cut. Areas of modern underpinning were also exposed. No deposits of archaeological interest were noted.

References

IGS, 1979, Geological Map of the , South, 1:50 000, Third Edition, Institute of Geological Sciences VCH, 1927, The Victoria County History of Buckinghamshire, Vol 4, London

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