Chessington World of Adventures Leatherhead Road, Chessington Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames

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Chessington World of Adventures Leatherhead Road, Chessington Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Archaeological Watching Brief

for Chessington World of Adventures Resort

CA Project: 770339 CA Report: 16177 Site Code: CWA16

April 2016

Chessington World of Adventures Leatherhead Road, Chessington Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Archaeological Watching Brief

CA Project: 770339 CA Report: 16177 Site Code: CWA16

Document Control Grid Version Date Author Checked by Status Reasons for Approved revision by Draft 11-4-16 JN SRJ Draft Internal review SCC Final 25-5-16 Final GLAAS approved SCC

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.

CONTENTS

SUMMARY ...... 2

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 3

2. SITE BACKGROUND ...... 3

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ...... 5

4. METHODOLOGY ...... 5

5. FIELDWORK RESULTS...... 6

6. DISCUSSION ...... 6

7. CA PROJECT TEAM ...... 6

8. REFERENCES ...... 7

APPENDIX A: OASIS REPORT FORM...... 8

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan, 1:25,000 Fig. 2 Site plan showing areas of archaeological observation, 1:1250 Fig. 3 General view of footings excavated for reception area, looking south-west Fig. 4 General view of soil profile, facing east

1 © Cotswold Archaeology Chessington World of Adventures, Chessington: Archaeological Watching Brief

SUMMARY

Site Location: Chessington World of Adventures, Chessington, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames NGR: TQ 1678 6217 Type: Watching Brief Date: 12th-19th March 2016 Location of Archive: London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre Site Code: CWA16

In March 2016, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological watching brief at Chessington World of Adventures, Chessington, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The watching brief, which was commissioned by Chessington World of Adventures Resort, a company forming part of Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd, was maintained during groundworks associated with the construction of a new high ropes course and associated facilities/infrastructure within the resort’s grounds.

Despite the archaeological potential of the application area, which is situated in Six Acre Wood Hill Archaeological Priority Area and in a designated area of Ancient Woodland, no features or deposits of archaeological interest were encountered during groundworks and, despite visual scanning of spoil, no artefactual material pre-dating the modern period was recovered.

2 © Cotswold Archaeology Chessington World of Adventures, Chessington: Archaeological Watching Brief

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 In March 2016, Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological watching brief at Chessington World of Adventures, Chessington, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (site centred on NGR: TQ 1678 6217; Fig. 1). The watching brief, which was commissioned by Chessington World of Adventures Resort, a company forming part of Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd, was maintained during groundworks associated with the construction of a new high ropes course and associated facilities/infrastructure within the resort’s grounds.

1.2 The requirement for the watching brief was based on advice received by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBKUT), the local planning authority, from their archaeological advisors, the Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service (GLAAS). They advised that an archaeological condition should be attached to planning consent for the development as the site is situated in Six Acre Wood Hill Archaeological Priority Area and in a designated area of Ancient Woodland. The scope of the project was outlined in a detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) prepared by CA (2016) and approved by Laura O’Gorman, Archaeological Advisor, GLAAS.

1.3 The project was carried out in accordance with the WSI (ibid.) and abided by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists’ Standard and Guidance for an Archaeological Watching Brief (CIfA 2014) and the Historic England (formerly English Heritage) procedural documents Management of Archaeological Projects 2 (EH 1991) and Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment (MoRPHE): Project Manager’s Guide (HE 2015).

2. SITE BACKGROUND

Site location, topography and geology 2.1 The development site, which covers an area of approximately 2.4ha, is located within the grounds of Chessington World of Adventure, c. 2km to the south-west of Chessington, in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (Fig. 1). The site is bisected by a track that leads north-east from Fairoak Lane (B280), with a grass field to the east and established woodland to the west. The field occupies the highest point of the site, formed by a north-east to south-west aligned ridge of high ground at c. 71m above Ordnance Datum (aOD). The woodland to the west of the track lies on

3 © Cotswold Archaeology Chessington World of Adventures, Chessington: Archaeological Watching Brief

the north-west facing slope below the hill, with the ground descending relatively steeply to c. 60m aOD at the western boundary.

2.2 The geology of the site comprises Lower Eocene clay and silt of the London Clay Formation, with an outcrop of sands, silts and clays of the Claygate Member occurring on the ridge of higher ground in the centre of the site (BGS 2016). No superficial deposits are mapped within the site.

Archaeological and historical background 2.3 There are no known archaeological sites within the development area and little is known about the archaeological potential of the site, although it is situated in Six Acre Wood Hill Archaeological Priority Area and in a designated area of Ancient Woodland.

2.4 Reference to the Greater London Historic Environment Record (HER) has identified several archaeological sites in the wider area (HER nos. in parenthesis). The earliest evidence for human activity in the locality is a Neolithic polished flint axe or adze, found on allotments c. 1.2km to the north-east of the site (032021). At Barwell Court Farm, approximately 1.2km to the north-north-east of the site, excavations in the 1970s recovered sherds of Bronze Age pottery and revealed the remains of a Roman settlement (031836 and 022149); it has been suggested by the Ordnance Survey that there may have been a Roman villa in this location. Apart from two WWII Type 22 pillboxes on Leatherhead Road, near Malden Rushett, there are no other archaeological sites within the study area.

2.5 In 2011, an archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Surrey County Archaeological Unit during redevelopment work at Barwell Court Farm (SCAU 2011); no archaeological remains predating the post-medieval/modern periods were encountered.

4 © Cotswold Archaeology Chessington World of Adventures, Chessington: Archaeological Watching Brief

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

3.1 The objectives of the archaeological works, as stated in the WSI (CA 2016), were:

• to monitor groundworks, and to identify, investigate and record all significant buried archaeological deposits revealed on the site during the course of the development groundworks; • establish the context of any archaeological remains and place these in their wider archaeological setting; • undertake appropriate sampling to determine the past environments of previous periods of human activity at the site; • at the conclusion of the project, to produce an integrated archive for the project work and a report setting out the results of the project and the archaeological conclusions that can be drawn from the recorded data.

3.2 The information gathered will enable GLAAS, archaeological advisors to RBKUT, to assess the significance of the potential heritage resource within the site, consider the impact of the proposed development upon that significance, and avoid or minimise any conflict between heritage resource conservation and the proposed development, in line with the National Planning Policy Framework (DCLG 2012, Section 12) and the London Plan (GLA 2015, Policy 7.8).

4. METHODOLOGY

4.1 The fieldwork followed the methodology set out within the WSI (CA 2016). An archaeologist was present during all intrusive groundworks, including the excavation of the footprint of the reception building, the tower to the north and associated service trenches (Fig. 2). Non-archaeologically significant deposits were removed by the contractors under archaeological supervision. Where mechanical excavators were used, these were equipped with a toothless bucket.

4.2 The deposits encountered by the watching brief were recorded in accordance with Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual (CA 2007). A photographic record of the project was maintained in high resolution digital images and included photographs of the general site and working shots. There were no finds and no deposits were encountered that were suitable for palaeoenvironmental analysis.

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4.3 The archive and artefacts from the evaluation are currently held by CA at their offices in Milton Keynes. Subject to the agreement of the legal landowner site archive will be deposited with London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre (LAARC). A summary of information from this project, as set out within Appendix A, will be entered onto the OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain.

5. FIELDWORK RESULTS

5.1 The geological substrate (101), consisting of mid brownish-yellow silty clay, was revealed at depths of between 0.28m–0.45m below current ground level, with greater depths recorded in the eastern part of the site. This was overlain by topsoil (100), comprising mid greyish-brown silty loam (Figs 3 & 4).

5.2 No features or deposits of archaeological interest were encountered during groundworks and, despite visual scanning of spoil, no artefactual material pre-dating the modern period was recovered.

6. DISCUSSION

6.1 Despite the archaeological potential of the application area, which is situated in Six Acre Wood Hill Archaeological Priority Area and in a designated area of Ancient Woodland, the archaeological investigation encountered no archaeological features or deposits during groundworks. With the exception of tree rooting the site was relatively undisturbed and there was no evidence for quarrying or other truncation.

7. CA PROJECT TEAM

7.1 The fieldwork was undertaken by Ralph Brown and Edwin Pearson and the report was written by Julian Newman, with illustrations prepared by Rosanna Price. The archive has been compiled by Emily Evans and prepared for deposition by Hazel O’Neill. The project was managed for CA by Simon Carlyle.

8. REFERENCES

BGS (British Geological Survey) 2016 Geology of Britain Viewer http://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html Accessed April 2016

CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2016 Chessington World of Adventures, Leatherhead Road, Chessington Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames: Written Scheme of Investigation for an Archaeological Watching Brief, unpublished document

DCLG (Department of Communities and Local Government) 2012 National Planning Policy Framework

GLA (Greater London Authority) 2015 The London Plan: The Spatial Development Strategy For London, Consolidated With Alterations since 2011

SCAU (Surrey County Archaeological Unit) 2011 An Archaeological Watching Brief of Groundworks for the Redevelopment of the Brick Stables at Barwell Court Farm, Chessington, Surrey

APPENDIX A: OASIS REPORT FORM

PROJECT DETAILS Project name Chessington World of Adventures, Leatherhead Road, Chessington, Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames Short description The fieldwork was carried out over five days during the excavation of foundations, a service trench and topsoil removal for an access road. No features or deposits of archaeological interest were observed during groundworks for the development and there were no finds pre-dating the modern period in the excavated deposits. Project dates 12th-19th March Project type Watching brief Previous work None Future work Unknown Monument type None Significant finds None PROJECT LOCATION Site location Chessington World of Adventures, Leatherhead Road, Chessington, Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames Study area 2.4ha Site co-ordinates TQ 1678 6217 PROJECT CREATORS Name of organisation Cotswold Archaeology (CA) Project Brief originator Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service (GLAAS) Project Design (WSI) originator CA Project Manager Simon Carlyle (CA) Project Supervisor Ralph Brown (CA) PROJECT ARCHIVE Content Physical London Archaeological Archive None Paper and Research Centre Site records Digital GLAAS HER Report, digital photos BIBLIOGRAPHY

CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2016 Chessington World of Adventures, Leatherhead Road, Chessington Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames: Archaeological Watching Brief.CA typescript report 16177

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Andover 01264 347630 Hertfordshire N Essex Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]

PROJECT TITLE London Chessington World of Adventures Chessington, Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames FIGURE TITLE Site location plan Royal Borough of 0 1km Kingston Upon Thames Kent FIGURE NO. Reproduced from the 2004 Ordnance Survey Explorer map with DRAWN BY RP PROJECT NO. 770339 the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller CHECKED BY DJB DATE 07.04.16 Surrey of Her Majesty's Stationery Office c Crown copyright Cotswold Archaeology Ltd 100002109 APPROVED BY SCC SCALE@A4 1:25,000 1

Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 3 General view of footings excavated for reception area, Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk looking south-west e [email protected]

PROJECT TITLE 4 General view of soil profile, looking east (1m scale) Chessington World of Adventures Chessington, Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames FIGURE TITLE Photographs

DRAWN BY RP PROJECT NO. 770339 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 07.04.16 APPROVED BY SCC SCALE@A4 N/A 3 & 4