St Margaret's Church, Catmore, West Berkshire

ST MARGARET’S CHURCH, CATMORE, WEST BERKSHIRE

ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF

C.A.T JOB: 0864 C.A.T REPORT: 991075

DATE: SEPTEMBER 1999

This report has been researched and compiled with all reasonable skill, care, and attention to detail within the terms of the project as specified by the Client and within the general terms and conditions of Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd. The Trust shall not be liable for any inaccuracy, error or omission in the report or other documents produced as part of the Consultancy and no liability is accepted for any claim, loss or damage howsoever arising from any opinion stated or conclusion or other material contained in this report or other documents supplied as part of the Consultancy.

This report is confidential to the Client. Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd accept no responsibility whatsoever to third parties to whom this report, or any part of it is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk.

St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...... 2

SUMMARY ...... 3

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 4

1.1 Introduction ...... 4 1.2 Geology and topography ...... 4 1.3 Historical background ...... 4 1.4 Methodology ...... 7

2. RESULTS ...... 9

2.1 The trenches ...... 9 Trench 1 ...... 9 Trench 2 ...... 9 Trench 3 ...... 9 Trench 4 ...... 10 Trench 5 ...... 10 Trench 6 ...... 10 2.2 The test-pits ...... 11 Test-pit 1 ...... 11 Test-pit 2 ...... 12 Test-pit 3 ...... 12 Test-pit 4 ...... 12 Test-pit 5 ...... 13 Test-pit 6 ...... 13 2.3 The rendering work ...... 14 General ...... 14 2.4 The church interior ...... 14 General ...... 14

3. CONCLUSIONS ...... 15

3.1 The churchyard ...... 15 3.2 The church ...... 15

4. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... 17

5. REFERENCES ...... 17

Original documentary and cartographic sources ...... 17 Printed and secondary sources ...... 17

APPENDIX ...... 19

Finds List ...... 19

1 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig.1 Location plan ...... 20 Fig.2 Plan of groundworks ...... 21 Plate 1 General view of church from SE ...... 22 Plate 2 SE corner of chancel during repair work ...... 22

2 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

SUMMARY

In March 1999, Cotswold Archaeological Trust was commissioned by Andrew Townsend, Architects, on behalf of the Churches Conservation Trust, to undertake an archaeological watching brief during repair works at St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire. The work involved monitoring the excavation of a number of drainage trenches and test-pits together with the observation of rendering work to parts of the exterior of the building.

Although no archaeological deposits were identified during the course of the groundworks, significant evidence of rebuilding works in the 16th/17th centuries and the Victorian period was obtained during the internal and external repair work to the church itself.

3 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 This report presents the results of an archaeological watching brief conducted in May 1999, at St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire. The site is centred on NGR SU 4538 8017 (Fig.1).

1.2 Geology and topography

1.2.1 The underlying geology of the study area consists of Upper Chalk of the Upper Cretaceous period, containing many flint nodules (Geological Survey of Great Britain (England & Wales), Sheet 267 (1971)). The natural substrate was not encountered during the watching brief.

1.2.2 The church is situated on fairly level ground, apparently terraced into a gentle dipslope of the Berkshire Downs, at approximately 180m OD. It is located adjacent to the farmhouse of Catmore Farm, some 2km to the east of the B4494, Wantage to Newbury road.

1.3 Historical background

1.3.1 St Margaret’s church comprises chancel and nave, with 19th century vestry and south porch. Dated to the second half of the 12th century, the building has been much restored (Page and Ditchfield 1924, 9), but retains two opposed 12th century doorways. The northern is blocked and the southern includes a moulded label, possible head-stops and a beak-head over the centre of the door. Each nave wall has two window openings flanking the doors, which probably reflect the original arrangement, the round-headed examples on the north wall perhaps being original internally (ibid, 10). The chancel east window is 19th century.

4 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

1.3.2 The church is isolated and has a small parish. This may account for its omission from the inventory of church goods in Berkshire taken by Edward VI’s commissioners in 1552. The neighbouring parishes of Brightwalton and East and West Ilsley are included (Money 1879). The nave was re-roofed in 1607 (date carved on some timbers), but more extensive work had to wait until the 19th century.

1.3.3 An early Victorian restoration has been described as “an effort to make a modest Norman church showy Norman” (Pevsner 1966, 110) and included the rebuilding of the chancel arch and redesign of the windows. Further works took place in 1891, for which a specification (Berkshire Records Office D/P 31/7/1) and bills (BRO D/P 31/7/3) survive. These included the re-laying of the tile roof of the nave, erection of a chimney, movement of the font and removal of the plaster ceiling of the chancel. Of particular relevance to this project are the removal of all the plaster from the internal walls of the chancel and the heightening of the chancel floor (presumably in the sanctuary area) by six inches. There was a requirement to “Remove the earth round the church from the north west corner of the nave to the east side of the porch, as shown on plan [unfortunately not surviving], to a depth of 12 inches below the level of the floor in the nave, vestry or chancel, as the case may be, & to a distance of 2 feet from the walls, & form a slope at an angle of 45° from the bottom of the trench to the present level of the ground. Lay 4 inch earth drains with fall from vestry to west & south, at the foot of this slope & connect all the down pipes with these drains. If there should be any graves within the space of this trench they are to be moved, to be covered with a plain stone, to be walled round with brickwork, or to be treated in any way that may be directed by Dr Blackman [the incumbent]”(BRO D/P 31/7/1).

1.3.4 The church contains a tub-shaped 12th century font which has been cut down at some time. It bears carving, too worn to be identifiable in 1924 (Page and Ditchfield, 11), but thought to be “perhaps monster heads and inverted semi- circles” in 1912 (Keyser, 39). The structural works of 1891 formed part of a campaign by the Reverend Blackman which also included a re-furnishing of the

5 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

interior of the church. Receipts or invoices survive for an altar, altar rails, lectern, desks, pulpit and various hangings (BRO D/P 31/7/4). The seating within the church, including that in a gallery (BRO D/P 31/7/3), was also repaired. No signs of a gallery are evident in the church today and this reference may refer to the slightly raised area at the south-east end of the nave where the bench faces north (i.e. towards the pulpit).

1.3.5 Before the Reformation the advowson of the church was held by the Knights Hospitallers. Subsequently, it passed through the Lifford family (1563 - 1693), the Shirleys (1719 - 1756) and the Houblon family and their descendants (Page and Ditchfield, 11).

1.3.6 A possible reference to Catmore occurs in AD 935 (Gelling 1974) and it appears as Catmere in Domesday Book (1086). It is held by Henry of Ferrers, having been held by Edsi in 1065, but the value of the manor had declined substantially in the intervening period, falling from £7 to 40s before recovering to 70s in 1086 (Morgan 1979, 21.1). In 1306 a grant was made for a market at Catmore Manor on Mondays and for a yearly fair on the vigil, feast and morrow of St Margaret (Page and Ditchfield, 9-10). A listed hall house of 14th century origin, with 15th and 16th century extensions and 18th and 20th century alterations (West Berkshire SMR WB4428), is located adjacent to the church and now serves as a farmhouse. The only other buildings in the vicinity are barns and other farm buildings, the majority of the parish’s inhabitants living at Lilley, 2kms to the south-west. This was also the situation in 1846 when the parish was mapped for the Tithe Award (BRO D/P 31/27). No earlier maps have been located.

1.3.7 Page and Ditchfield mention “some masonry foundations which possibly mark the site of the old manor house” near the church, but give no further details (Page and Ditchfield, 9) and Richards noted an earthwork platform close to the church which he interpreted as a possible house platform (West Berkshire SMR WB4425). No traces of the masonry were evident on a recent visit (16.4.99), but to the north of the churchyard is an area of very modified topography, where

6 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

a large terrace has been cut into the natural slope. It’s size suggests that it may have originally have been intended as a tennis court.

1.3.8 The recovery of sherds of 12th and 13th century pottery from ground disturbance in the churchyard (Richards 1978, 22) suggests some form of activity, possibly settlement or associated with the market or fair, in the area now occupied by the churchyard. A rapid search of the relevant aerial photographs held by the National Monuments Record at Swindon failed to reveal any evidence of more extensive settlement remains in the vicinity of the church.

1.4 Methodology

1.4.1 Initially, five lengths of trench were manually excavated around the church, to reveal the existing drain pipework and its connections to the present downpipes (Fig.2).

1.4.2 In addition, six test-pits were manually excavated around the churchyard (Fig.2), in order to test the percolation qualities of the ground surrounding the church.

1.4.3 A further dog-leg shaped length of trench was manually excavated to the south of the building (Fig. 2).

1.4.4 Removal of the render from designated areas of the church exterior was monitored to identify any structural/decorative features that may have been revealed.

1.4.5 The work was carried out in accordance with the ‘Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Watching Briefs’ issued by the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA, 1994).

7 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

1.4.6 All identified deposits were recorded in accordance with the CAT Technical Manual 1 Field Recording Manual (1996).

1.4.7 A full written, drawn and photographic record of the watching brief was compiled in accordance with the archaeological project design.

1.4.8 All artefactual material was bagged and numbered with unique numbers relating to the context record. This was done in accordance with the CAT Technical Manual 3 Treatment of Finds Immediately after Excavation (1995).

1.4.9 The completed site archive and the finds, with the legal landowners’ consent, will be deposited with the West Berkshire Heritage Service, Newbury, Berkshire.

8 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

2. RESULTS

2.1 The trenches

2.1.1 In all, six trenches were excavated, five in order to reveal the existing pipework and one to take a new length of pipework to a soakaway. These trenches were numbered 1-6.

Trench 1

2.1.2 Trench 1 consisted of a T-shaped trench, located adjacent to the south-west corner of the chancel. The main part of the trench had a maximum length of 1.8m and was 0.4m deep. The material excavated from the trench, (001), comprised the backfill to the original pipe-trench and consisted of a dry, loose sandy silt, containing frequent lumps of natural flint and small pieces of natural chalk, as well as numerous fragments of ceramic roof tile. No artefactual material was recovered from this deposit.

Trench 2

2.1.3 Trench 2 comprised a slightly curved length of trench located adjacent to the east of the vestry. It had a maximum length of 1.6m and was 0.35m deep. The material removed from the trench, (002) was identical to (001) in Trench 1, again representing the original pipe-trench backfill. A single iron nail was recovered from this context.

Trench 3

2.1.4 Trench 3 was located adjacent to the western wall of the vestry. It was 2.2m long and excavated to a depth of 0.35m. Again, the excavated material,

9 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

(003), was identical to that in the previous trenches i.e.the original pipe-trench backfill. Here, it produced no artefactual material.

Trench 4

2.1.5 Trench 4, which was at least 1.3m in length, had been partially backfilled by the contractors. It curved from the base of the downpipe situated on the north side of the north-western corner of the nave, around to the western side and was excavated to a depth of 0.35m. The excavated material, (004), was identical in character to that already encountered in the previous trenches, but, it failed to produce any dating evidence.

Trench 5

2.1.6 Trench 5 was 2m long and slightly shallower than the other trenches, at 0.25m deep. It was located adjacent to the north-west corner of the south porch and once more the material excavated from it, (005), was identical to that in the other trenches, again representing the original pipe-trench backfill. Again, no artefactual material was recovered from this trench.

Trench 6

2.1.7 Trench 6 varied from the other trenches in that it was not excavated through pipe-trench backfill. It was to take a new length of pipe from the north-east corner of the south porch to a soakaway situated to the south of the church. A dog-leg shape, the trench had a total length of 5.3m, was 0.38m wide and varied in depth from 0.62m at its northern extent to 0.5m at its southern end.

2.1.8 Excavation of Trench 6 revealed a topsoil layer, (006), which consisted of a mid-brown sandy silt containing many roots, as well as frequent natural flint

10 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

nodules and ceramic roof tile fragments. This layer was between 0.14m-0.2m in depth and overlay a further layer, (007).

2.1.9 Layer (007) was similar in nature to the topsoil layer, but was distinguishable due to its high content of chalk pieces. A ceramic roof tile fragment, an iron nail, and a clay pipe stem fragment were recovered from this layer. A concentration of disarticulated human bone was also recovered from this deposit, comprising recognisable long bones, as well as a lower mandible. These bones probably represent the re-burial of part of a human inhumation disturbed during previous works within the churchyard. They were re-buried close to the place of their discovery.

2.1.10 Deposit (007) probably represents a layer of disturbance relating to previous building works, however its true depth was not determined, as it extended below the limit of excavation.

2.2 The test-pits

2.2.1 A total of six test pits were manually excavated within the churchyard, up to a distance of 11.5m away from the building itself. They were positioned to test the percolation qualities of the ground in certain areas around the churchyard. For the purposes of the project the test-pits were numbered 1-6.

Test-pit 1

2.2.2 Test-pit 1 was situated 5.8m south-south-west of the chancel. It measured 0.3m x 0.4m and was 0.5m deep. Excavation revealed a topsoil layer, (101), which was 0.2m deep. This comprised mid-brown silt with frequent natural flint nodules. It contained frequent ceramic roof tile fragments and it produced a single sherd of post-medieval pottery, as well as a small piece of unidentifiable bone, which was reburied within the test-pit.

11 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

2.2.3 The topsoil layer overlay a grey-brown subsoil layer, (102), the extent of which was lower than the limit of excavation. This layer contained frequent inclusions of small chalk pieces and flint nodules, but produced no artefactual evidence.

Test-pit 2

2.2.4 Test-pit 2 was situated 11.5m south-south-west of the south-eastern corner of the nave. It was 0.3m square and excavated to a depth of 0.5m. Only one deposit was encountered here; a mid-brown topsoil layer, (201), identical to layer (101) in Test-pit 1. A single sherd of post-medieval pottery and three china fragments were recovered from this layer, as well as a single piece of unidentifiable bone which was reburied within the pit.

Test-pit 3

2.2.5 Test-pit 3 was situated 6.4m to the north of the nave. It was 0.3m square and 0.5m deep. Again, only one deposit was encountered within the pit; a topsoil layer, (301), identical in character to the topsoil layers in the previous pits. A single iron nail was recovered from this layer, which also produced a solitary piece of bone, again unidentifiable, which was reburied in the pit.

Test-pit 4

2.2.6 Test-pit 4 was situated close to the churchyard perimeter fence, some 7.5m north-west of the north-western corner of the church. Again, it was 0.3m square and 0.5m in depth. Here also, a single layer, (401), was recorded. This topsoil layer was again identical to the topsoil material encountered elsewhere, but in this test-pit, it contained a concentration of orange ceramic roof tile fragments. Five small unidentifiable pieces of bone were noted and returned to the pit.

12 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

Test-pit 5

2.2.7 Test-pit 5 was excavated through an existing pipe trench, the backfill of which comprised redeposited topsoil, as encountered elsewhere across the site. Again, the pit was 0.3m square and 0.5m deep and the material excavated from it, (501), produced a glass bottle neck fragment.

Test-pit 6

2.2.8 Test-pit 6 was located adjacent to the farmhouse, some 6.4m west-north-west of the south-west corner of the church. Again it was 0.3m square and 0.5m deep.

2.2.9 Excavation of Test-pit 6 showed a layer, (602), extending below the limit of excavation. This layer was identical to the topsoil layers recorded elsewhere across the site, but as in (401), it contained 30%-40% of ceramic roof tile fragments. A small assemblage of artefactual material was recovered from this context, comprising a copper alloy ring, two fragments of china, a single sherd of post-medieval pottery, a clay pipe stem fragment, a glass sherd and a Edward VII half penny, dated 1908.

2.2.10 Layer (602) was overlain by a ‘clean’ layer of brown silt, (601). This deposit was some 0.3m deep and contained many roots, but no other inclusions were apparent.

2.2.11 It was evident that in this south-western corner of the site, layer (602) represented the topsoil horizon present across the rest of the site and that a further deposit, (601), had been dumped onto it.

13 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

2.3 The rendering work

General

2.3.1 Render was stripped from the lower part of the west wall of the nave, parts of the south wall of the nave and chancel, and the east wall of the chancel.

2.3.2 The removal of the sections of render demonstrated the church to have been constructed from flint nodules within a soft mortar matrix.

2.3.3 No significant architectural features, re-used mouldings or architectural fragments were exposed during the works, but the disturbance was quite apparent where the later east and west windows had been inserted.

2.3.4 It was also obvious where the south-east and north-east corners of the chancel had been repaired in brick. At the western end of the church the original ashlar quoins survive intact, to full height at each corner, whilst the opposing corners on the eastern end had been extensively repaired in brick. At the south-eastern corner of the chancel, two courses of the original quoins survive, overlain by at least 17 courses of brickwork. At the north-eastern corner, only one course of the original quoins was present, overlain by at least 21 courses of brickwork.

2.3.5 The bricks themselves were handmade and long, wide and thin. They measured 0.24m x 0.13m x 0.05m and probably date to the 16th or 17th century.

2.4 The church interior

General

2.4.1 A limited amount of work was observed on the interior of the church. This work involved a wall painting conservator, who identified a small area of the

14 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

painted decorative framing of a religious text on the north wall of the nave interior, probably 17th/18th century in date.

3. CONCLUSIONS

3.1 The churchyard

3.1.1 The general lack of penetration of the trenches and the test-pits did not afford a definitive insight into the stratigraphy of the churchyard area. However it was apparent that the present drainage pipework does not appear to have disturbed any earlier features or significant archaeological deposits. In addition, the excavation of a new length of pipe trench (Trench 6) to the south of the church, although producing human bone, did not disturb any significant deposits. The recovered bones were all disarticulated and probably represent a ‘token’, shallow reburial of bones from an inhumation disturbed during previous works.

3.1.2 The Victorian restoration work is quite well documented and we know from bills etc that the nave roof was re-tiled. It is almost certain that the large amount of roof tile fragments present within the topsoil layer originate from this episode, and that the concentration of tile fragments towards the western perimeter of the churchyard may represent pits, dumps or spreads of the broken and replaced original ceramic tiles.

3.2 The church

3.2.1 The removal of substantial areas of render from the exterior walls of the church revealed the disturbed areas where the east and west windows had been inserted. The east window of the chancel is dated to the 19th century and the west window of the nave is almost certainly contemporary.

15 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

3.2.2 Also revealed by the removal of the render, was the undocumented repair work to the eastern corners of the church. This is perhaps significant, given the date of 1607 on the roof timbers (see 1.3.2) and suggests a major rebuilding campaign around this time.

16 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

4. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cotswold Archaeological Trust would like to thank Mr A Townsend of Andrew Townsend Architects, for his assistance during the course of this project.

The fieldwork was carried out by Niall Oakey, Mark Brett and Dan Stansbie. The project was managed by Niall Oakey. This report has been compiled by Mark Brett and the illustration prepared by Rick Morton.

5. REFERENCES

Original documentary and cartographic sources

Berkshire Records Office, Reading (BRO)

BRO D/P 31/7/1 ‘Specification of the various works required to be done on the church of St Margaret, Catmore, for Revd Dr Blackman’

BRO D/P 31/7/3 ‘Two bills for part of above works’

Printed and secondary sources

CAT, 1999 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Project Design for an Archaeological Watching Brief

Gelling, M. 1974 The Place Names of Berkshire II

Geological Survey of Great Britain (England & Wales), 1971 Sheet 267

IFA, 1994 Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Watching Briefs

17 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

Keyser, C.E. ?1912 The Norman Architecture of Berkshire, Newbury

Money, W. 1879 Parish Church Goods in Berkshire AD 1552, Oxford

Morgan, P. (ed.) 1979 Domesday Book 5: Berkshire, Chichester

Page, W. and Ditchfield, P.H. (ed.) 1924 repr. 1972 The Victoria History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 4

Pevsner, N. 1966 The Buildings of England. Berkshire

Richards, J. 1978 The Archaeology of the Berkshire Downs

18 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

APPENDIX

Finds List

Context No. Finds

(002) 1 Fe nail

(007) 1 Fe nail 1 clay pipe stem fragment 1 roof tile fragment (180g) 1 flint (5g)

(101) 1 post-medieval pottery sherd (1g): 1 glazed earthenware

(201) 2 post-medieval pottery sherds (25g): 1 glazed red earthenware, 1 china

(301) 1 Fe nail

(501) 1 glass bottle neck

(602) 3 post-medieval pottery sherds (24g): china 1 vessel glass sherd 1 Cu alloy ring 1 half penny, 1908 1 clay pipe stem fragment

19 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

Fig.1 Location plan

20 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

Fig.2 Plan of groundworks

21 St Margaret’s Church, Catmore, West Berkshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

Plate 1 General view of church from SE

Plate 2 SE corner of chancel during repair work