NASNEWS Newsletter of the Northamptonshire Archaeological Society Website: www.northants-archaeology.org.uk April 2021 A Message from the Chair partners. The stability of this project, Welcome to this Spring newsletter. Like many especially with regards to the future funding others, I find that time just seems to pass by of the new county archaeological resource in lockdown and it is hard to conceive that centre (now called NARC), has been one year ago I had just arrived in Crete to something of concern for some time, and this organise a conference on coastal archaeology. part of the project is especially important It was a journey that was to be short-lived, since so much of the county’s rich and a conference that has yet to be held, as I archaeological heritage is currently scattered was soon recalled back to the UK, leaving the from one end of the country to the other, or island on one of the last flights before the even lies outside Northamptonshire. I am Greek lockdown. sure that NAS members will join with me in wishing the management team well in their I wanted to open this Spring newsletter with work as we all look forward to the public the welcome news of progress on what used opening of the Chester House complex later to be known as the Chester Farm project. As in the year. many of you are probably aware, this Northamptonshire County Council project has This is normally a time of year when we would been in a start-stop mode for several years set out information on the various community and many, like NAS, have been concerned projects running in the summer months. With that the plans would not reach completion. In so much uncertainty as to how our summer recent months, and in time for the change in may look it is hardly surprising that we have the county’s political landscape, the entire little news to share with you as yet. I know project has been rebranded and is now called from my conversations with NAS members The Chester House Estate that many are keen to get back in the field, (https://chesterhouseestate.org/). whether it is to research or to participate in The rebranding has been accompanied by an fieldwork, and I hope that the relaxation of ambitious business plan which has featured the restrictions will allow some events to take widely in the media in recent weeks. The plan, place during the remainder of the year. We and the proposed organisation structure, will certainly endeavour to keep you informed reflect a significant change in the direction when we hear of these activities as the year of this project and represent a far more progresses. commercial approach, utilising the historical Stay safe and well. setting of the old farmhouse and its Michael J Curtis. Chair associated buildings to generate the needed Northamptonshire Archaeology, 41 financial funds to manage and run the operation. Coming at a time when there is Work on the long promised Medieval likely to be even more pressure on public Northampton special edition of the journal is finances, without the disruption resulting continuing, and my aim is to have it printed from the move to new unitary councils or and available later this year, by around Covid, it is good to see that the project is October/November. This should be in time well advanced in attracting collaborative for our AGM, although plans for that meeting

______NASNEWS, April 2021 - 1 - Northamptonshire Archaeological Society ______can only be made as the route out of the Overstone Gate, Northampton pandemic becomes clearer over the coming A Northamptonshire archaeological site made months. both the local and national news recently. MOLA’s excavations at Overstone Gate, on behalf of developers David Wilson Homes, revealed the largest Anglo-Saxon cemetery ever found in the county. Although the inhumations, with their extensive grave goods, made the headlines, the archaeological significance of the site perhaps lies with the fact that the cemetery was associated with a settlement of 22 structures, a mixture of sunken-feature buildings and post-built structures. A further 20 structures were found dispersed across the site, associated with field systems. This Andy Chapman, Journal editor conjunction of domestic with funerary is again unique for the county (at least on this Developing a Programme of NAS online scale) and has the potential to enhance our talks understanding of the period. One of the more positive sides of lockdown Based on initial inspection of the grave-goods this past year has been the opening up of it seems that the cemetery is largely access to online talks and presentations on a (although not exclusively) 6th century in date. range of subjects, including local history and However, more detailed analysis of the finds archaeology. It seems odd to think that one is now under way and this, along with year ago many people, myself included, would scientific dating, will be able to confirm and not have heard about online conference and refine this view. The grave goods comprised meeting platforms like Zoom, but these have nearly 3,000 artefacts. Jewellery was the gone from being business tools to platforms most prevalent and included roughly 150 that some of us are now using every day. brooches, 15 rings, 75 wrist clasps, 15 As part of our planning for the forthcoming chatelaines, and over 2,000 beads. Weapons year, the NAS Committee have been were also common discoveries with 25 spears, discussing setting up a programme of online and 15 shield bosses recovered, along with 40 talks. Whilst we have many ideas on this, we knives. More everyday items were also thought it would be useful if we could invite discovered such as cosmetic kits and bone you to put forward some suggestions on the combs, and, most excitingly, some rare bits of topics and people that you would be textile survived, mineralised next to metal interested to see included in our programme. objects. As this is a new direction for NAS it would A range of domestic items, including a also be helpful if you could also guide us on pottery assemblage which may prove to be any preferences that you have for days of one of the most important of this period the week and the evenings that would be from the county, were also recovered. more convenient to you. In addition to the Anglo-Saxon discoveries, So, please send me your ideas and we will prehistoric features were also present, certainly consider them. Email the chair: including three Bronze Age round barrows [email protected] and 46 prehistoric burials (radiocarbon dating

NASNEWS April 2021 - 3 - Northamptonshire Archaeological Society ______shows that the earliest dates to 2000-1900 other potential volunteers. BAG's Facebook BC) within four Bronze Age timber group (see below) would be the best place for structures. On their own, these prehistoric non-members to keep an eye on what's discoveries would be of great interest, but upcoming and there should be some new posts combined with the Anglo-Saxon finds they going up over the next couple of weeks. They offer the opportunity to study the use of a are keen to run a ‘Big Dig’ event in the future, Northamptonshire landscape over millennia. when conditions allow. Recently, however, BAG has mostly been Council for British Archaeology focused on securing permissions for South Midlands Group fieldwalking, working around the needs/ There is no plan as yet to reschedule the two priorities of local farmers/landowners. The annual conferences CBA South Midlands had hope is that BAG might be able to begin a been organising up to the outbreak of the programme of surveying in late summer or pandemic, although there is an outside chance early autumn 2021. that the autumn conference (planned for https://www.facebook.com/Brigstock- Northamptonshire) might go ahead. More Archaeological-Group-897625083913727/ likely, is that the conferences will start again Community Landscape Archaeology & Survey in spring 2022 with the first based in Project Oxfordshire and the Northamptonshire conference following in the autumn. CLASP is optimistic that they will be able to Last year’s South Midlands Archaeology has have a programme of work in 2021. Rob Close, been published and is available now. Chair of CLASP Trustees said: “We are in the Information for this year’s journal should be early stages of planning two excavations at sent to Nick Crank: nacrank01@gmail.com previously visited sites, one to be held in Further details of CBA activities are on their August and one in September. Both will website: depend, of course, on meeting all COVID https://www.archaeologyuk.org/cbasm/ safeguarding requirements. We should know more by the end of April. Please look at the Local Society News CLASP website at the end April or early May As Mike has said, community projects have for information”: https://claspweb.org.uk/ been hard hit by Covid and there is naturally Rob continued, “We will make anyone new to little in the way of fieldwork to report. CLASP very welcome and are keen to attract However, it is good to see that all local new members, whether experienced archaeological societies are resolutely Archaeologists or simply enthusiastic about keeping going one way or another. We archaeology. Training will be provided.” To contacted eight societies to see what they participate in these excavations, or any other were proposing to do in 2021. Five responded CLASP activity, non-members must join and information for the others was obtained CLASP at a cost of £10 per annum. from their websites or Facebook pages. Membership can be taken out on the CLASP Brigstock Archaeological Group (BAG) website. Peter Walker wrote to say that BAG is a new Nene Valley Archaeological Trust group formed in 2019, and they had only been Dr Stephen Upex wrote that he had been going a couple of months when the pandemic hoping to get back into a second season of hit - so it is still very early days for them. excavation at Durobrivae this year, but the BAG is a core of interested volunteers who current crisis had limited their planning for would certainly be interested in hearing from this. Stephen is much more optimistic about

NASNEWS April 2021 - 4 - Northamptonshire Archaeological Society ______next year which he states will be a better bet Email: [email protected] for an excavation. It will be worth keeping an Middle Nene Archaeological Group eye on the website to see what is happening: MidNAG cancelled its 2020 excavations which https://www.nenevalleyarchaeology.co.uk it had hoped to run 15 - 28 August 2020. No Upper Nene Archaeological Society events are, as yet, proposed for 2021 but any The Upper Nene Archaeological Society are details about forthcoming work will be not going to have an excavation at Easter this published on their website: year. However, there will possibly be some https://www.midnag.org.uk/ more geophysical surveys undertaken in the Between 1 March - 30 October 2020 Oundle summer or autumn. Diana Friendship-Taylor Museum displayed a small exhibition of some says that Piddington Museum will hopefully be artefacts found during MidNAG’s 2016-2019 open by mid-May, if regulations permit. excavations at Nassington. Please visit the society’s website: http://www.unas.org.uk Northampton Museum and Art Gallery The newly refurbished and extended Higham Ferrers Archaeology and Research Northampton Museum and Art Gallery was Society due to reopen last year, but this was, of HiFARS was founded in July 2008. Its course, sabotaged by the pandemic and Facebook page states: HiFARS offers its lockdowns. members the opportunity to get involved in In preparation for the rescheduled opening, archaeology at their small training dig in they have launched a new website, which is Higham Ferrers. Members can either get worth having a look at: down in the dirt and dig or work with our https://www.northamptonmuseums.com/. committee and volunteers in other ways, such The major new display will be an enlarged as organizing events, developing the HiFARS shoe gallery. The History of Northampton will archive or helping with projects such as the be a refreshed version of the old display, Moat clearance we have been helping with at where the prehistoric to medieval section was the Castle Field in Higham Ferrers. created in the mid-1980s with money from HiFARS was one of 12 local Community groups the Northampton Development Corporation, in 2020 to get a share of £7,500 raised by when it closed down. There will also be a new Higham Ferrers' former mayor. extension into more recent times. Visit their website: http://www.hifars.org.uk/ However, there is a scheme to add some more And their Facebook group: up to date archaeological information to the https://m.facebook.com/HiFars- old displays, and hopefully we can provide 253981924704946/about/ more details in the next newsletter. Irthlingbourough Archaeological Society Archaeology at Chester House Estate The Irthlingborough Archaeological Society As our Chair has pointed out in his website says that the society is planning for a introduction, there has been extensive further geophysical magnetometer survey at activity at Irchester/Chester Farm over their Tannery Cottages site. “This will be recent months. Possibly of special interest to combined with the existing results to provide NAS members are the excavations of the a better understanding of the extent of Roman town and the opening of the ARC. archaeological remains present to help target Here are updates on both: future fieldwork.”

Website: http://irthlingboroughas.co.uk

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Excavations community in everything we do. We have the The Chester House Estate near opportunity to create a legacy for many years Wellingborough is a £14.5m project funded to come. The future is positive and is, in by Northamptonshire County Council (now itself, history in the making.” East Northamptonshire) and the National Dr Scott added: “The experience and Lottery Heritage Fund. The first building due expertise of both partners will inform the to open in spring is the Archaeological development of a bespoke educational Resource Centre – The ARC – which will programme for all ages that combines catalogue more than 10,000 years of archaeology, social and economic history, Northamptonshire’s history, see the update landscape history, and the study of human below. With the site itself within the Roman communities and their impact. It will benefit town at Irchester, the Estate has partnered the health, education and wellbeing of diverse with the University of Leicester School of communities in Northamptonshire and Archaeology and Ancient History (SAAH) surrounding counties by facilitating and which will hold annual digs that members of encouraging access to archaeological the public can join as volunteers. research, heritage, education and The 2021 excavation is provisionally volunteering opportunities.” scheduled for 14 -25 June. To register interest in volunteering visit: Dr Sarah Scott, Deputy Head of the SAAH https://chesterhouseestate.org/about/volunt at the University of Leicester said: “The eering/ Chester House Estate lies at the heart of one Archaeological Resource Centre of the best preserved walled Roman small Archaeological Archives Curator Ben towns in Britain. Past and present survey and Donnelly-Symes has been at The Chester excavation has focused not only on the core House Estate since August last year. He will of the walled town with its houses, workshops be overseeing the transferring and and temples, but its suburbs and cemeteries, cataloguing of 1,600 boxes of important allowing us to better understand the lives of historical material which will be arriving at its inhabitants. the new Archaeological Resource Centre this This exciting project will reveal more of the spring. Local volunteers will be invited to get town’s origins, development and people, and hands on with archiving and with this year’s will provide an exceptional range of planned summer dig, visitors will be able to excavation and practical training enjoy a timeline walk in the Roman walled opportunities for University of Leicester town and explore a large indoor museum when students, local schools and community it opens in October. Here is what Ben says: volunteers.” “We have some great news to report: builders Business manager, Jack Pishhorn said: “At are back on site again! We hope to have the present much of this heritage is buried or ARC building signed over in April as the work kept in unsuitable conditions; our challenge is remaining on the ARC is relatively minor. to preserve it, bring it to life and tell its Once this has taken place, we will be spending stories. the next few months moving archives to the The partnership with the University of ARC from the various legacy stores around Leicester’s School of Archaeology and the UK. By the end of 2021 I anticipate that Ancient History is really exciting because the we will have over 20,000 boxes of digs on site will be accessible to the public, Northamptonshire’s archaeological archives, who can also come and volunteer. including associated documentary archives, Part of the process will be to involve the local within the store.

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We hope to be able to open the store to Further details and a full list of awardees researchers and volunteers from late June to from this round can be found at: early July 2021 (exact date TBD) after the www.gov.uk/government/news/more-than-18- majority of the archives are moved to the million-awarded-in-final-grants-from-first- store. It will be a large long-term project to round-of-culture-recovery-fund make the archives more accessible as none of Culture Recovery Grants through the the archive has been properly catalogued and AHF over half of the collection needs re-packing. If you are interested in volunteering to help Last week, the Architectural Heritage Fund with this project or would like to access any (AHF) announced the recipients from its of our collections for research, then please Culture Recovery Grants funding package, do not hesitate to get in touch.” which formed part of the wider Culture Recovery efforts funded by DCMS and administered by Historic England. Grant awards will support 44 historic sites across England, listed in full at: http://ahfund.org.uk/news- source/2021/2/18/culture-recovery-grants One organisation receiving a grant is Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust, Northampton. Information on the latter’s website posted on 19th February states that: ”Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust has been awarded £19,250 by the Architectural The new Northamptonshire Archaeological Heritage Fund’s £1 million grants programme Resource Centre to support charities and social enterprises “Finally, we are building our library collection occupying historic buildings affected by the from scratch so if anyone would like to pandemic. The grant – funded by the donate any books relating to Government’s Culture Recovery Fund and Northamptonshire’s archaeology then let us managed through partnership with Historic know and we’d be happy to accept them.” England – will enable Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust to develop plans to Cultural Recovery Awards protect the heritage of the Abbey’s 19th Edition 437 of The Heritage Alliance’s Century Stables and support the development Heritage Update (dated 25 February 2021) of a new fundraising strategy.” provided updates on recipients of two strands www.delapreabbey.org of the Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund: Heritage Update also highlighted that The Culture Recovery Fund–Round One Awardees Government recently confirmed that The ‘Over £18 million has been awarded in the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme will final grants from the first round of the be renewed for this year, on the same terms Culture Recovery Fund, with £13.5 million as previous years. The Scheme, which allows awarded to 22 heritage organisations through listed places of worship to claim back VAT the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage.’ paid on repairs and alterations, was due to Amongst the awardees are two sites in finish at the end of this financial year.’ Northamptonshire, Chester House receiving £719,700 and Wicksteed Park £302,700.

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Rockingham Castle reference to Northamptonshire, the course In addition, in the most recent edition of the examines the organisation of the region in Castle Studies Group Bulletin, 33, January the Roman period and considers the 2021, p2-3), Therron Welstead, in an article archaeological evidence from some of the on the Culture Recovery Fund said that: many sites within the county and in the “Rockingham Castle (Northamptonshire) was bordering counties. awarded £273,400 from the ‘Culture Course: UZZ1DA14 Recovery Fund’. A significant proportion is to Roman Art and Archaeology cover the running costs and other overheads. Starting: Monday 3 May 2021. The remainder would be used to implement Start Time: 19.00. 7 Sessions. changes to allow events to go ahead and Course Tutors: general opening in 2021. This includes Michael J Curtis and Caroline Hawkins creating a larger space for staff in the ticket This course focuses on Roman art and office, a modernisation and refurbishment of material culture from c.200 BC to AD 400. the toilet facilities, and to cover the cost of We will explore how the development of appropriate PPE for the staff working at the architecture, sculpture, painting, ceramics, castle.” and minor arts across the Roman Empire can Northants Adult Learning Courses offer us insight into everyday life of these past times. With a focus on the skills and role of the craftsmen, we will discuss urban life, religious beliefs and funerary practices, political ideology, and cultural identity. Information on these, and other courses on offer, can be found on the Northants Adult With lockdown restrictions likely to be in Learning website: place for some time to come, why not catch https://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/council up on some of the online archaeology courses services/children-families-education/adult- that are being offered by Northants Adult learning/Pages/default.aspx Learning: [email protected] Course: UZZ2BA32 Research Project on Public Benefit The Archaeology of the Catuvellauni needs Your Help Starting: Tuesday 20 April 2021. An important research project is looking at Start Time: 19.00. 7 sessions. public benefit (social value) in developer led Course tutor: Michael J Curtis BA(Hons), MA archaeology and wants to hear the thoughts The Catuvellauni were a late Iron Age tribe of people in the heritage sector. Kate Faccia whose territory included present day and Dr Sadie Watson write: Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, “We are a UKRI-funded research project Bedfordshire, and Northamptonshire. This focussing on public benefit in developer-led course looks at the archaeological evidence of archaeology. Our ultimate goal is to create an this tribe from its origin in the late Iron Age industry toolkit, and contribute to policy and on into the Roman period. It looks at the papers, that improve the public benefit that tribal territory, the establishment of its we generate for the communities affected by tribal and later regional centre at St Albans, our work. However, there is no participation urban and rural settlement, communications, requirement that your group or organisation religion, industry, and the economy. With excavates or uses archaeological assets in its

NASNEWS April 2021 - 8 - Northamptonshire Archaeological Society ______work. In fact, we welcome feedback from a Overviews of the history and archaeology of range of professions within our sector.” Northampton do not come along all that There is a short video explaining their often, so this volume warrants a lengthy interest in the public benefit of developer- review, especially when parts of the content led archaeology: https://youtu.be/288sdXA- make it quite a difficult to review without xPc. And a survey link: providing some quite detailed comments. https://mola.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV _7ODym3v3EWGIWQ6 As a thank you for participating, at the end of completed surveys, you have an opportunity to win a £100 in voucher (for yourself or a nominated charity). The survey will be available for approximately one month, and may take up to about 20 minutes, depending on your experience in engaging with archaeology and whether you choose to enter more detailed information/explanations. Please contact either Kate Faccia ([email protected]) or

Sadie Watson (Principal Investigator, If you want 1000 years of Northampton [email protected]), if you have any history, from the Norman Conquest onward questions or concerns. If you’d like to follow complete with details of visiting medieval this project, there is a blog: kings and their battles then go ahead, at over https://www.mola.org.uk/blog/archaeology- 300 pages and relatively few illustrations it and-public-benefit-project-update-1-moving- provides plenty of good historical reading debate-forward matter. There are also pleasing aspects for LinkedIn: the more recent history of the town, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sadie-watson- especially the extensive coverage of the 976ba5143/ radical past of Northampton, now sadly https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-faccia- totally in the past, in both a broad overview 21402115/ chapter on radicalism and a chapter devoted Twitter: to the life of Charles Bradlaugh, our most Sadie Watson (@DrSadieWatson) Kate Faccia famous radical MP. (@FacciaKate) However, from an archaeological perspective, And YouTube: if you are hoping for a sensible account of https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtGu6wI the first 80% of those claimed 5000 years of zb0rPqQ_jlzQdFcg history, you will be sadly disappointed in Kate Faccia and Sadie Watson” every respect. The first 3500 years of that Book Reviews history fly by in an opening chapter of six pages, including a half page illustration. The Northampton: 5000 Years of History next 500 years, from the end of the Romans Mike Ingram, 316 pages, 44 illustrations to the Norman Conquest takes only a little Northampton Tours Publications, 2020 longer, a whole nine pages. Printed by Amazon, £19.99 And the half page illustration to Chapter 1 is a view of Chalk Lane car park, claiming that

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“this is where Northampton began”, with the medieval defences. The placing of a wooden introduction telling us that “Northampton is palisade on top in the text appears to be over 5,520 years old…older than purely an assumption by the author that this Stonehenge…it began as a small Neolithic is what he thinks it should have looked like. farm or settlement on what is now There is also a major issue that I must Northampton’s Chalk Lane car park”. consider in some detail, and that is the claim This is taking local chauvinism to a ludicrous that Castle Hill, which stood to the north- extreme. The truth is that the sizeable east of the castle, as mapped and recorded worked flint assemblage from Chalk Lane is through the 18th and 19th centuries, was not an indicator of a settlement specifically actually an original castle motte with a shell at that location, but a product of chance keep on top. The archaeological evidence from survival and excavation. Most archaeological the excavations of 1962, due to be published sites in Northampton are, of course, a in the next issue of the journal, had palimpsest of the past 1000+ years of pit demonstrated that the mound in fact dates digging, wall foundations, cellars and drains, to the Civil War refurbishment of the castle with the earliest deposits usually cut to defences. Lacking this publication, I can pieces and surviving on only small isolated accept that the motte interpretation can still islands. At Chalk Lane the presence of the be proposed as a theory. What I find bailey bank of the castle had prevented this unacceptable is to produce a map of the from happening, so all the underlying pre- medieval town, repeated several times (fig 6, Conquest soils were in relatively pristine page 23; fig 9, page 55 and fig 11, page 63), condition for an urban site. There was also where fictitious walls have been drawn in to the time, in those pre-commercial link the castle to Castle Hill. archaeology days, to investigate more of Also, the ‘mound to the immediate north of those early buried soils, while on surrounding the Chalk Lane car park’, is not one of the sites, such as St Peters Street, the worked towns ‘muckhills’, it is an archaeological spoil flints only come as scattered and sparse heap. It is Castle Hill that later became a residual finds in later deposits. town muckhill. To keep the review relatively short I will I must also take exception to Mike’s comment focus on only a few of the many other issues on page 8 that “many of these important with the archaeological coverage. But firstly, [archaeological sites have] not been made on the positive side, I will say that most of public, [as] they lie behind expensive paywalls the significant archaeological sites do at or in some cases, not even written yet.” While least get a mention, which must be unique for commercial archaeology has many faults, and a publication by an historian. developers will often block publicity during There are a number of small but annoying excavations through fear of delays to the inaccuracies, of which I will mention just one, development or night-time visits from metal as it relates to a site that I excavated. The detectorists, the majority of field claim that the pre-Conquest defensive bank, archaeologists are keen to bring their work to as excavated at Green Street was “faced the public. But taking a complex with wood or stone and topped with a wooden archaeological site to publication is a much palisade” (page 14). Yes, the clay bank had a harder task than excavating the site in the wooden revetment along the front, later first place, and the pace of development replaced by a stone revetment, but the only throughout my career always meant that new surviving thing that sat on top of the bank fieldwork had to take precedence over was the post-Conquest stone wall of the analysis and report writing, which is why I’m

NASNEWS April 2021 - 10 - Northamptonshire Archaeological Society ______now spending my retirement catching up with the famous and most useful phrase from my accumulated backlog. It also requires Science Fiction author Douglas Adams as, money, and in some unfortunate cases there ‘mostly harmless’. are sites that deserve publication but now You can always quibble about the odd have no budget to pay for the necessary omissions in such a publication, I would have work, and a commercial archaeological unit liked to see a few of the more recent does have to be run as a viable business, or buildings, even though now lost, such as the goes out of business. In my experience many, old Art Deco Fish Market and also the although I have to note not all, of my fellow Greyfriars Bus Station, which for all its commercial archaeologists have gone beyond failings played a significant part in the lives their own working hours and personal “pay of all older Northamptonians, rather than it walls”, putting in extra hours to see sites getting just a passing superficial reference through to publication. as the “mouth of hell”. This is just trotting It is not part of some conspiracy to hide out a description invented to help justify its archaeology from the public. There is also demolition following decades of council much online through the Archaeology Data neglect, and its replacement by a station too Service, and you can always get in touch with small to serve the entire town, and which the archaeologists themselves, we are pollutes the air around the too narrow and generally keen to provide information when it constricted street access, while the old bus is asked for. station site sits empty and derelict. Finally, I must also note that for a work of history it is remarkable that the volume contains no bibliographic referencing at all, so you can only accept the story told at face value and have no direct means of finding any of the source material, either archaeological, and there is much that is evidently from the pages of Northamptonshire Archaeology, or historical, despite the history sections containing numerous direct quotations. This is a particular failing when the text is presented without any evident qualification between factual records and the authors own flights of fancy. In his introduction, Mike But to return to the book, it does cover a states that, “a number of myths have crept wide range of buildings, and while public and into the town’s popular history, this book will corporate buildings feature highly it does hopefully set them all straight”. I’m afraid include some little gems, such as the ‘Swiss that ambitious claim has not been fulfilled. chalet’ of No 1 Victoria Gardens. The photography of the buildings is competent Andy Chapman but given the turnover of the series it is not Northampton in 50 Buildings top quality architectural photography, with Lorna Talbott, 96 pages, numerous colour many stretched perspectives and leaning photos walls. But for anyone who wants a broad Amberley Publishing, 2020, £14.99 overview of the major buildings of This is part of an Amberley series, Xtown/ Northampton ranging in date from the castle city in 50 buildings, and can be described in to the new International Academy, which

NASNEWS April 2021 - 11 - Northamptonshire Archaeological Society ______opened in 2018 (and I haven’t yet seen it), it and its successor MOLA. Excavation at is a good starting point. Stanground South 2007-2009 on the south- However, as you might expect in a wide- eastern outskirts of Peterborough, alongside ranging series aimed at a popular market, the the Fen edge, examined a multi-period research has been less than comprehensive, landscape of 70ha in advance of housing so don’t treat the accompanying text as the development. The earliest features comprised gospel truth. From an archaeological four burnt mounds of the early Bronze Age, viewpoint, the middle Saxon timber ‘palace’, and a small group of up to six cremations. In flanked by the original churches of St Peter the middle Bronze Age there was an and St Gregory, should be the starting point unenclosed urnfield cemetery, with 78 for significant buildings of Northampton, and cremations. In the late Bronze Age/early the true creation of the town, but here Iron Age a substantial droveway, up to 65m credit goes to the Danes in the 9th century. wide, led northwards from the Fen edge to And, of course, we have the old chestnut higher ground, and in the middle Iron Age a rolled out yet again that the castle was not series of rectangular fields/paddocks were only built by Simon de Senlis, but as a attached to a settlement adjacent to the Fen ‘fortified dwelling in 1084’. It amazes me how edge. In the late Iron Age there was an undocumented events can acquire such enclosed settlement, and in the Roman period precise attribution and dating. But as I said (2nd and late 4th centuries AD) small at the beginning, as a poplar production it is a enclosures abuuted the eastern side of the good buy and ‘mostly harmless’. late Iron Age enclosed settlement. Andy Chapman The economy from the later Bronze Age onwards was focussed on pastoralism, with Recent publications limited evidence for grain cultivation. During the Roman period this seems to have further specialised towards dairy farming. The local environment seems to have undergone little change from the later Bronze Age, being largely open with areas of woodland and wetter areas. Peat growth during the Iron Age covered the lowest lying Bronze Age features. East Midlands Historic Environment Research Framework The East Midlands Historic Environment Excavations at Stanground South, Research Framework (EMHERF) is being Peterborough: prehistoric, Roman, and post- updated after 15 years. The first and last full medieval settlement along the margins of the overview for the East Midlands region, fens, Boismier, WA, Taylor, E and Wolframm- recording specific important sites/finds, was Murray, Y, 2021 the now slightly outdated, but still useful, Archaeopress, 291 pages; paperback £55, 2006 volume: The archaeology of the East Epublication £16 Midlands: an archaeological resource This is another in the growing series of assessment and research agenda, Nick Cooper Archaeopress monographs catching up with (ed), Leicester Archaeology Monograph, 13. the past of Northamptonshire Archaeology Historic England are funding an update for

NASNEWS April 2021 - 12 - Northamptonshire Archaeological Society ______two of the periods: the Palaeolithic and the bringing archaeology back into the local late Bronze Age to Iron Age. The results will planning process. Over a number of years, be online, and will be regularly updated. It is Lesley-Ann and her assistant, Liz Mordue, anticipated that work on these two chapters re-established Northamptonshire as a place will provide a template for future updates for of sound archaeological practice. the other periods. David Knight of Trent and She instigated the first version of the Peak Archaeology is co-ordinating the deposition guidelines in 2014 for the future programme. He is an honorary research Northamptonshire Archaeological Resource fellow in the University of Nottingham’s Centre (NARC), and she would have been Department of Classics and Archaeology, delighted that after more than 20 years and can be contacted at Northamptonshire is about to have a new [email protected]. Mark Holmes, of dedicated archive repository at Chester MOLA and NAS, is on the committee. House. Archaeology has lost, far too young, a staunch and unstinting advocate, but above all Obituaries a nice and genuine person. Lesley-Ann Mather (1965-2020), the Rob Atkins Archaeological Advisor for Northamptonshire Adrian Challands (1944-2020), who has County Council, died in December 2020, at died at the age of 76, was the Archaeological the age of only 53, from bowel cancer. Officer for Peterborough Development After graduation, Lesley-Ann joined Corporation, working from the Field Centre of Northamptonshire Archaeology in 1993 and the Nene Valley Research Committee, which over the next two years worked on a series of was established during the development of sites, mostly in the county. She also the city from 1969. He was one of its experienced Field Archaeology with several longest-serving members. He was also a different units after leaving Northampton in member of both NAS and the Middle Nene 1996; working for Albion Archaeology, Archaeological Group (MidNAG). Following the Bedford; followed by Edinburgh and then winding up of the Peterborough Development BUFAU (Birmingham University Field Corporation, Adrian became an archaeological Archaeology Unit) from 1997. consultant: he surveyed many sites and She subsequently moved into Development produced specialist reports for Cambridge Control Archaeology, firstly for Archaeological Unit. Leicestershire in 2000 before moving to Summarised from a full obituary on the Bedfordshire. In 2009, she became website of the Nene Valley Archaeological Northamptonshire County Council Trust: Archaeological Advisor, a post she stayed in https://www.nenevalleyarchaeology.co.uk/pos until her untimely death. She took over at a t/obituary-adrian-challands time when the county had not had a Development Control Archaeologist for a And finally … number of years, so she came into post after If you have any items for the Facebook page, a period in which Northamptonshire had contact: Andy Chapman, NAS secretary and become notorious in the archaeological world journal editor: [email protected] for setting a precedent that, if had become If you have any news or information for the an example followed by other planning next NAS newsletter contact: authorities, could have endangered the whole Mark Holmes, NASNEWS editor process of commercial archaeology. [email protected] Lesley-Ann therefore had the tricky task of

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