Cirencester: Town and Landscape
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" COTSWOLD ARCHAEOLOGY CA-W10 1)(Wi-Q%-241 CIRENCESTER: TOWN AND LANDSCAPE AN URBAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT COTSWQLO ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUSTLTD. I _ J v...... -~<, rl~ ;\1"1 ",.;,,,,,. C O'l'-~Nl , 'M """, 4:i:ctnct(\fr . ,"",."",," ,"" ,""~ , """" "," 0' 0_"'",,,w" >, '""""""~'"' in ,'" n~ I\,...lk ,'" li!:>r,lfy. MS l"p .G~" .d .l3) i CIRENCESTER: TOWN AND LANDSCAPE AN URBAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT by Timothy Darvill and Christopher Gerrard with contributions from Linda Viner and Neil Holbrook Illustrations by Alejandra Gutierrez and reconstruction drawings by Casper Johnson Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd Cirencester 1994 © Authors and Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd 1994 Corinium Museum, Park Street, Cirencester, Glos, CL7 2BX, England ISBN 0 952319608 The publication of this volume has been supported by English Heritage. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd. The Cirencester Urban Assessment Project was jointly funded by English Heritage and Cotswold District Council. Produced by Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd., Stroud, Cloucestershire. Printed in Britain by Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Willshire. CONTENTS List of Figures ix List of Tables xi Foreword by Professor Michael Fulford xiii Authors' Preface and Acknowledgements xv Summary xvii Part I Introduction and Methodology 1. Introduction 3 Background 3 The Cirencester Urban Assessment Project 4 The Study Area defined 4 Records, reports and project archive 4 Report structure and content 4 2. Philosophy and methodology 7 Existing records and system needs 7 A theoretical perspective 8 Data 8 Information 9 Knowledge 10 An archaeological perspective 10 Single monuments 10 Urban areas 10 Evaluating monuments and accumulated deposits 11 Single monuments 11 Urban areas 12 From sites to knowledge 13 Data collection 13 Monument definition 13 Characterising the urban forms 13 Zones of archaeological interest 13 Management planning 13 Part II Data Collection 3. Archaeological endeavour and data sources by Christopher Gerrard and Linda Viner 17 History of endeavour 17 The first records 17 Travellers, gentlemen and antiquarians 17 The Victorian age 18 The first professionals 22 Source types 24 vi Con/cnts 4. Background data 26 The Study Area 26 Topography 26 Geology and archaeological deposits 26 Building stone and quarries 29 Hydrology and water supply 30 Land classification 30 Land-use 33 Palaeoenvironment 33 Designations 33 5. Archaeological data 34 Site records 34 Site analysis 36 Accumulation and chronological changes 36 Future trends 40 Part III Data Interpretation and Record Development 6. Monuments and deposits 43 Monuments 43 Accumulated deposits 45 7. The Cirencester area in the prehistoric and early Roman periods by TImothy Darvill and Neil Holbrook 47 Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (to 4000 BC) 47 Neolithic (4000-2000 BC) 47 Bronze Age (2000-700 BC) 49 Iron Age (700 BC-AD 50) 49 Pre-urban Roman (CAD 50-AD 100) 50 The road network 50 The fort and uicus 53 Monument discrimination 56 8. Corinium Dob"nnormn: Roman Civitas Capital and Roman Provincial Capital by Neil Holbrook 57 Roman civitas capital 57 The early development of the town 57 The street pa ttern 60 Public buildings 61 Commerce 62 Housing 63 Defences 65 Little-known, suspected and unlocated monuments 71 Roman provincial capital 74 Accumulated deposits 76 The Roman countryside (CAD 80/100 to early fifth century AD) 78 The urban fringe 78 i) Civic pride and munificence 78 ji) Cemeteries 79 ~~~ M The countryside 85 Monument discrimination 86 Contents vii 9. Cyrnceastre: a Royall Ecclesiastical Centre in the early medieval period by Christopher Gerrard 87 Royallecclesiastical centre 90 The streets 91 Housing 91 Religious buildings 92 Accumulated deposits 93 Early medieval countryside 95 Administrative frameworks 95 Settlement, cemeteries, and industry 95 Environment 97 Monument discrimination 97 10. Cirencestre: a Medium-Sized Market Town in the medieval period by Christopher Gerrard 98 Medium-sized market town (medieval) 98 The streets 98 Public buildings and works 102 Commerce and industry 103 Housing 105 The castle 106 Religious buildings 107 Accumulated deposits 113 Medieval countryside 114 Communications 114 Settlement 115 Religious buildings 115 Economy 117 Industry 118 Monument discrimination 118 11. Cirencester: a Medium-Sized Market Town in the post-medieval period by Christopher Gerrard and Linda Viner 119 Medium-sized market town (post-medieval) 119 Religious and charitable institutions 126 Public buildings and services 129 Hotels, inns and public houses 129 Industry, trade and commerce 130 Battle sites, militia and wartime 131 Accumulated deposits 134 Post-medieval countryside 134 The village communities 134 Roads, canal and railways 134 Agriculture 135 Industry 137 Monument discrimination 137 12. Archaeological sensitivity 138 Survival 138 Potential 139 Group Value (association) 139 Group Value (clustering) 139 Diversity (features) 139 Documentation (archaeological) 140 Documentation (historical) 140 viii COlltellls Amenity Value 140 Archaeological interest in the urban area 141 Archaeological interest in the rural area 141 Part IV Archaeology and Development 13. Frameworks for the future 147 Managing change 147 Why is archaeology important? 148 Use value 148 Option value 148 Existence value 148 Existing measures and policies 149 Scheduled Monuments 149 Areas of Archaeological Importance 149 Guardianship Monuments 152 Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty 152 Conservation Areas 152 Listed Buildings 152 Burial Grounds 152 Parks and Gardens 153 National Planning Legislation and Policy Guidance 153 Environmental Assessment 154 County Planning Policy 155 Local Planning Policy 155 Other legislation 156 Getting the right information 156 Appraisal 156 Archaeological Assessment 158 Field Evaluation 158 Strategy formulation 159 Strategy implementation 160 Management options 160 Preservation 161 Exploitation 165 Recording 165 Monument and deposit importance in Cirencester 166 Dealing with the unexpected 170 Who does what 170 Standards of archaeological service 172 Conclusion 172 Glossary 174 Appendices Appendix A Databases and record structure 179 Appendix B List of defined monuments in the study area 185 AppendixC Research objectives 195 Abbreviations 198 Bibliography 199 Cartographic References 217 1ndex 219 LIST OF FIGURES Frontispiece: The earliest known plan of Cirencester drawn by William Stukeley in 1721 (The Bodleian Library, MS Top.Gen.d.13) Figure 1 Location of the Study Area, showing the principal roads and surrounding parishes Figure 2 A theoretical perspective of urban assessment showing a hierarchy of three levels of perception Figure 3 The lifting of the Hunting Dogs Mosaic, discovered in Dyer Street in 1849 (Illustrated London News 8th September 1849) Figure 4 The Bathurst Museum, built in Tetbury Road by Earl Bathurst for the display of mosaics discovered in Dyer Street in 1849 (Artist unknown, Corinium Museum) Figure 5 Open area excavation at The Beeches revealed a bath-suite within the Winged-corridor house (Cirencester Excavation Committee) Figure 6 Topography of the surrounding area, with sections showing the location of Cirencester Figure 7 Simplified geological map of the surrounding area Figure 8 Quarry working of Oolitic Limestone at Stratton, pre-1900 (Corinium Museum) Figure 9 Simplified land classification for 1945 of the surrounding area Figure 10 Land-use recorded in 1990 within the Study Area Figure 11 Bar-chart showing the number of sites recorded by type Figure 12 Graph showing the number of sites recorded by year in the period 1750-1990 Figure 13 Graph showing the number of modem excavations, recorded observations, and watching briefs in the period 1960-1990 Figure 14 The changing morphology of Cirencester from the Roman period to the present day. The 'built-up' areas are shaded Figure 15 Prehistoric monuments in the Study Area Figure 16 Pre-urban Roman monuments (CAD 50-AD 100) Figure 17 Early ditches behind the rampart of the pre-urban fort, excavated at Leaholme in 1961 (Cirencester Excavation Committee) Figure 18 Monuments in the Roman civitas capital Figure 19 Excavations in 1897-8 by Wilfred Cripps exposed the foundations of the basilica. This view, looking east, shows the south wall of the aisled hall (Corinium Museum) Figure 20 Construction of the Bingham Hall in King Street in 1908 revealed foundations of a winged-eorridor house (Corinium Museum) Figure 21 Excavations by St Clair Baddeley in 1922 on the line of the defences in the grounds of the Union Workhouse (Corinium Museum) x Listof Figures Figure 22 The D-shaped drum-tower of the verutamium Cate excavated in 1960, looking south (Cirencester Excavation Committee) Figure 23 The northern drum-tower of the veruiamium Gate, looking north along the line of the town wall (Cirencester Excavation Committee) Figure 24 Pedestal from the base of a Jupiter column recording the restoration by governor L Sepiintius I ...r discovered in 1891 (Corinium Museum) Figure 25 Imaginative reconstruction of the Roman townscape of the provincial capital (From an original drawing by Casper Johnson) Figure 26 Romano-British monuments in the rural area (see Figure 18 for monuments within the urban form) Figure 27 Aerial view of The Querns, with the amphitheatre centre left, and the Bath Cate cemetery excavation