Coberley Court Barn Coberley

Archaeological Evaluation

for Verity and Beverley Ltd. on behalf of Sir and Lady Rhys-Williams

CA Project: 4001 CA Report: 12326

November 2012

Coberley Court Barn Coberley Gloucestershire

Archaeological Evaluation

CA Project: 4001 CA Report: 12326

prepared by Christopher Leonard, Project Supervisor

date 6 November 2012

checked by Richard Young, Project Manager

date 9 November 2012

approved by Simon Cox, Head of Fieldwork

signed

date 15 November 2012

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 Building 11, Kemble Enterprise Park, Kemble, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6BQ t. 01285 771022 f. 01285 771033 e. [email protected] © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

CONTENTS

SUMMARY...... 2

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 3

2. RESULTS (FIGS 2-3) ...... 5

3. DISCUSSION...... 7

4. CA PROJECT TEAM ...... 8

5. REFERENCES ...... 8

APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS...... 9 APPENDIX B: THE FINDS...... 10 APPENDIX C: OASIS REPORT FORM ...... 11

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig. 2 Trench location plan, showing archaeological features (1:500) Fig.3 Trench 2, section AA (1:20)

1 © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

SUMMARY

Project Name: Coberley Court Barn Location: Coberley, Gloucestershire. NGR: SO 9650 1586 Type: Evaluation Date: 22 October 2012 Location of Archive: To be deposited with Museum and Art Gallery Site Code: TCB 12

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in October 2012 at Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire. Two trenches were excavated.

Two medieval ditches were identified during the evaluation, one on an east/west alignment and the other orientated north-east/south-west.

2 © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 In October 2012 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological evaluation for Verity and Beverley Ltd. on behalf of Sir and Lady Rhys-Williams at Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire (centred on NGR: SO 9650 1586; Fig. 1). The evaluation was undertaken to accompany a planning application for the construction of a proposed tennis court within the garden of Coberley Court Barn.

1.2 The evaluation was carried out in accordance with a Brief for archaeological evaluation (GCC 2012) prepared by Charles Parry, Senior Archaeological Officer, Gloucestershire County Council (GCC), the archaeological advisor to Council (CDC), and with a subsequent detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) produced by CA (2012) and approved by Charles Parry. The fieldwork also followed the Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Field Evaluation (IfA 2008), the Statement of Standards and Practices Appropriate for Archaeological Fieldwork in Gloucestershire (GCC 1995), the Management of Archaeological Projects (English Heritage 1991) and the Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment (MORPHE): Project Manager’s Guide (English Heritage 2006).

The site

1.3 The proposed development area comprises an area of approximately 0.2ha of gardens enclosed by high dry stone walls, immediately to the west of the current Coberley Court Barn residence (Fig. 2). The site is bordered to the west by trees and open grassland associated with the floodplain of the . The site lies at approximately 187m AOD.

1.4 The underlying solid geology of the area is mapped as mudstone of the Whitby Mudstone Formation of the Jurassic Period, overlain by superficial deposits of alluvial gravels and clays of the Quaternary Period (BGS 2012). Alluvial gravels were encountered at a depth of between 0.15-0.38m below present ground level.

3 © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

Archaeological background

1.5 The site of the proposed tennis court lies immediately to the west of Coberley Court Barn. This is a Grade II listed building with parts that may date to the 17th century or earlier (English Heritage List Entry Summary, List Entry Number 1152691). An engraving by Kip shows a barn on the same alignment c. 1712 (Verey and Brooks 1999, 288). The engraving also recorded that another barn or outbuilding and formal gardens stood close to the site of the proposed tennis court. The site also lies to the north-west of St Giles Church. St Giles is Norman in origin and was rebuilt in c. 1347 (op. cit, 287). Immediately to the south-east of the church stood the medieval manor of Coberley Court (also shown in the Kip engraving), which was demolished in 1790. The site of the proposed development is therefore in an area where medieval structures and features associated with the church and the medieval manor complex could have been present.

Archaeological objectives

1.6 The objectives of the evaluation were to establish the character, quality, date and extent of any archaeological remains or deposits surviving within the site. This information will assist CDC in making an informed judgement on the significance of the archaeological resource, and the likely impact upon it of the proposed development.

Methodology

1.7 The fieldwork comprised the excavation of two trenches in the locations shown on the attached plan (Fig. 2). The proposed trench location was for one 30m by 1.5m trench orientated north-east/south-west across the area of the tennis court. This was altered to avoid the location of a foul water service pipe trench and encroachment into the root protection area of a tree. Trench 1 measured 11m by 1.5m and was orientated north/south and Trench 2 measured 19m by 1.5m and was orientated north-east/south-west. Trenches were surveyed in using a Leica 1200 series SmartRover GPS accordance with CA Technical Manual 4 Survey Manual (2009).

1.8 All trenches were excavated by mechanical excavator equipped with a toothless grading bucket. All machine excavation was undertaken under constant archaeological supervision to the top of the first significant archaeological horizon or

4 © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

the natural substrate, whichever was encountered first. Where archaeological deposits were encountered they were excavated by hand in accordance with CA Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual (2007).

1.9 Deposits were assessed for their palaeoenvironmental potential in accordance with CA Technical Manual 2: The Taking and Processing of Environmental and Other Samples from Archaeological Sites (2003) and no deposits were identified that required sampling. All artefacts recovered were processed in accordance with Technical Manual 3 Treatment of Finds Immediately after Excavation (2010).

1.10 The archive and artefacts from the evaluation are currently held by CA at their offices in Kemble. Subject to the agreement of the legal landowner the artefacts will be deposited with Cheltenham Museum and Art Gallery, along with the site archive. A summary of information from this project, set out within Appendix C, will be entered onto the OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain.

2. RESULTS (FIGS 2-3)

2.1 This section provides an overview of the evaluation results; detailed summaries of the recorded contexts and finds are to be found in Appendices A and B respectively.

2.2 Trench 1 contained the remnants of a modern cobbled path (102) and a tree-throw pit containing fragments of modern pottery and glass. Trench 2 contained two medieval ditches.

Trench 2 (Figs 2 & 3)

2.3 The natural alluvial gravels (211) were encountered at 0.28m below the present ground level in this trench. All archaeological features were cut into the natural substrate and were sealed by subsoil 201. It should be noted that no subsoil was present within Trench 1.

2.4 Ditch 203 was orientated east/west and contained two fills, both of which contained 11th-13th century green glazed pottery and animal bone. Lower fill 204 also

5 © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

contained a fragment of partially glazed tile. The orientation of this ditch does not appear to respect any of the known elements of Coberley Court.

2.5 Ditch 206 was orientated north-east/south-west and contained four fills, the upper two of which, 209 and 210 both contained medieval pottery and animal bone. Ditch 206 was located to the west of the assumed extent of the northern courtyard of the medieval Coberley Court and may represent a boundary, or sub-division, of the gardens recorded in this area on the Kip engraving.

The Finds Evidence

2.6 The finds retrieved from the evaluation are summarised in Appendix B. The pottery assemblage consisted of five sherds of pottery weighing 70g. In addition iron work, ceramic building material and animal bone was recovered. The assemblage was retrieved from four stratified contexts and could be dated to the medieval period. The level of preservation was good, with the pottery displaying limited levels of abrasion.

Pottery 2.7 The five sherds of pottery recorded from the assemblage were all datable to the medieval period. Two sherds of Cotswold oolitic limestone tempered ware, recovered from deposits 204 and 210, where unfeatured and could be broadly dated from the 12th to 14th century. A partial green glazed jug handle, with stab decoration, from deposit 210 was identified as a Worcester-type sandy glazed ware vessel of likely 13th century date. A glazed sherd from deposit 205 was substantially burnt and could only be identified as a medieval sherd of probable 13th to 14th century date. A sherd in a sandy oxidised fabric, from deposit 210, was likely of similar date range.

Animal Bone 2.8 A total of 1,2kg of animal bones were recovered from four deposits, and amounted to a total of 53 fragments. Of these, ten were identified as cattle (Bos taurus), thirteen as caprovine (Ovis aries/Capra hircus), four as pig (Sus sp.), two as horse (Equus caballus) and five as fowl (Gallus gallus). The bones were well preserved, and appear to represent general domestic waste as both meat rich and meat poor elements were present. A noteworthy observation was a case of healed trauma to a

6 © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

pig bone; proliferation of new bone at the interosseous portion of a distal tibia had resulted in an ankylosis with the adjacent fibula.

Other finds 2.9 Ceramic building material, from deposit 204, included pieces of medieval glazed ridge tile, including a crested fragment, as well as a residual fragment of Roman tegula (roof-tile). Other small fragments of ceramic roof tile were recovered from deposits 205, 209 and 210 but could not be identified further.

2.10 Fragments of iron work were recorded with nails from deposits 205 and 210, pieces of strapping, or similar, from deposit 210, and possible knife blade fragments from deposit 210. All of the iron-work was of likely medieval date.

3. DISCUSSION

3.1 Two medieval ditches were identified in Trench 2. As Ditch 206 was aligned on a similar axis to the courtyards of Coberley Court depicted on the 18th-century Kip drawing it could relate to a boundary or sub-division of the gardens shown in this area on the drawing, although it is possible that it pre-dates the garden completely. Ditch 203 was located in close proximity to ditch 206, but on a different alignment. As the ditches shared broadly similar depths and profiles it is possible that they represented successive phases of the same boundary, with a change of alignment to match other alterations to the Coberley Court complex. However, it was not possible to determine which ditch was dug first and the possibility they are contemporary and/or not related to the gardens remains.

3.2 Despite the potential for structural elements of 18th-century Coberley Court lying within the evaluation area (see archaeological background above) there was no evidence of any remains of this nature. This could be a result of inherent inaccuracies in Kip’s engravings and may indicate that caution should be taken when interpreting the site of Coberley Court based on his depiction. The landowner has noted that the evaluation area has undergone some landscaping in the past (Lady Rhys-Williams, pers. comm.). The absence of a subsoil layer in trench 1 could reflect this landscaping and point to truncation of archaeological features or deposits in this area.

7 © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

4. CA PROJECT TEAM

Fieldwork was undertaken by Christopher Leonard, assisted by Roy Poulter. The report was written by Christopher Leonard. The illustrations were prepared by Ian Atkins. The archive has been compiled by Christopher Leonard, and prepared for deposition by James Johnson. The project was managed for CA by Richard Young.

5. REFERENCES

BGS (British Geological Survey) http://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html accessed 23 October 2012.

CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2012 Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Written Scheme of Investigation for an Archaeological Evaluation.

GCC (Gloucestershire County Council) 2012 Brief for an Archaeological Field Evaluation.

Verey, D. and Brooks, A. 1999 The Buildings of : Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds

8 © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS

Trench 1 (ground level 183.5m)

No. Type Description Length Width Depth Spot-date (m) (m) (m) 100 Layer Topsoil. Mid yellowish brown sandy silt with 30 1.5 0.15- Modern moderately frequent small stones and gravel. 0.17. 101 Layer Natural. Light orange yellow alluvial gravel. 30 1.5 - - 102 Deposit Modern cobbled path surface 0.8+ 0.76 0.04 Modern

Trench 2 (ground level 183.5m)

No. Type Description Length Width Depth Spot-date (m) (m) (m) 200 Layer Topsoil. Dark greyish brown silty sand. 30 1.5 0.12 Modern 201 Layer Subsoil. Mid orange brown sandy silt with frequent 9 1.5 0.16 Modern small stones and gravel. 202 Layer Buried garden soil. Dark brownish grey sandy silt. 11 1.5 0.26 Post - Replaces subsoil in northern 11m of trench. Medieval 203 Cut Cut of east/west ditch. 1.5+ 1.42 0.6 C11-C13 204 Fill Lower fill of 203. Loose mid yellowish brown sandy 1.5+ 1.42 0.38 C11-C13 silt. Medieval pottery, CBM and animal bone recovered. 205 Fill Upper fill of 203. Loose mid greyish brown silty 1.5+ 1.42 0.2 Medieval sand. Medieval pottery, CBM and animal bone recovered. 206 Cut Cut of north-east/south-west ditch 1.5+ 2.2 0.66 Medieval 207 Fill Lower fill of 206. Loose dark greyish brown sandy 1.5+ 1.12 0.08 Medieval silt. 208 Fill Fill of 206. Loose dark yellowish brown sandy silt. 1.5+ 1.8 0.16 Medieval 209 Fill Fill of 206. Loose mid yellowish brown sandy silt. 1.5+ 2 0.4 Medieval Medieval CBM and animal bone recovered. 210 Fill Upper fill of 206. Loose dark greyish brown sandy 1.5+ 1.64 0.32 C13 silt. Medieval pottery, CBM, Fe fragment and animal bone recovered. 211 Layer Natural. Same as 101. 30 1.5 - -

9 © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

APPENDIX B: THE FINDS

The finds

Context Description Ct. Wt.(g) Date 204 Medieval pottery: Cotswold oolitic limestone tempered ware 1 5 C11-C13 Ceramic building material: medieval ridge tile and tegula 5 885 Bone: animal 3 43 205 Medieval pottery: Glazed sandy ware (burnt) 1 15 medieval Ceramic building material: fragment 1 11 Iron: nail 1 3 Bone: animal 9 71 209 Ceramic building material: fragments 2 8 Bone: animal 12 71 210 Medieval pottery: oxidised glazed sandy ware; Cotswold 3 50 C13 oolitic limestone tempered ware; Worcester-type sandy glazed ware Iron: nail; strapping; knife fragments? 5 29 Ceramic building material: fragment 1 15 Bone: animal 37 1045

The animal bone

Identified animal species by fragment count (NISP) and context. BOS = cattle; S/G = caprovine; SUS = pig; EQU = horse; GAL = fowl; LM = large sized mammal; MM = medium sized mammal.

Context no BOS S/G SUS EQU GAL LM MM Total Weight (g) 204 - - 2 - - - 1 3 43.34 205 5 ------5 70.50 209 2 2 - - 4 - 2 10 70.96 210 3 11 2 2 1 13 3 35 1,031.23

Total 10 13 4 2 5 13 6 53 1,216.03

10 © Cotswold Archaeology Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

APPENDIX C: OASIS REPORT FORM PROJECT DETAILS

Project Name Coberley Court Barns, Coberley, Gloucestershire. Short description (250 words maximum) An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in October at Coberley Court Barn, Coberley, Gloucestershire. Two trenches were excavated.

Two medieval ditches were identified during the evaluation, one on an east/west alignment and the other orientated north-east/south- west.

Project dates 22 Oct 2012 Project type Field evaluation (e.g. desk-based, field evaluation etc)

Previous work No (reference to organisation or SMR numbers etc)

Future work Unknown PROJECT LOCATION Site Location Coberley Court Barns, Coberley, Gloucestershire. Study area (M2/ha) 0.2ha Site co-ordinates (8 Fig Grid Reference) SO 9650 1586

PROJECT CREATORS Name of organisation Cotswold Archaeology Project Brief originator Gloucestershire County Council Project Design (WSI) originator Cotswold Archaeology

Project Manager Richard Young Project Supervisor Christopher Leonard MONUMENT TYPE None SIGNIFICANT FINDS None PROJECT ARCHIVES Intended final location of archive Content (e.g. pottery, (museum/Accession no.) animal bone etc)

Physical Cheltenham Museum and Art Gallery ceramics, animal bone Paper Cheltenham Museum and Art Gallery context sheets, registers. Digital Cheltenham Museum and Art Gallery digital photos BIBLIOGRAPHY

CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 20012 Proposed Tennis Court, Coberley Court Barns, Coberley, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation. CA typescript report 12326.

11 site

N Cirencester 01285 771022 Milton Keynes 01908 218320 Cotswold Andover 01264 326549 Archaeology w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]

PROJECT TITLE Gloucestershire Coberley Court Barn, Coberley Gloucestershire

FIGURE TITLE Site location plan

0 1km

FIGURE NO. Reproduced from the 2005 Ordnance Survey Explorer map with PROJECT NO. 4001 DATE 26-10-2012 the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller DRAWN BY IA REVISION 00 of Her Majesty's Stationery Office c Crown copyright Cotswold Archaeology Ltd 100002109 APPROVED BY PJM SCALE@A4 1:25,000 1

Section AA

SW NE 183.5m AOD

topsoi 200

subsoil 202

205 210

209 204

ditch ditch 206 203 208 207

01m

Cirencester 01285 771022 Milton Keynes 01908 218320 Cotswold Andover 01264 326549 Archaeology w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]

PROJECT TITLE Coberley Court Barn, Coberley Gloucestershire

FIGURE TITLE Trench 2; section AA

PROJECT NO. 4001 DATE 26-10-2012 FIGURE NO. DRAWN BY IA REVISION 00 APPROVED BY PJM SCALE@A3 1:20 3