East Midlands

TVAS

EAST MIDLANDS

Land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire

Archaeological Watching Brief

by Josh Hargreaves and Eleanor Boot

Site Code: GRB20/140

(SP 9423 8294) Land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire

Archaeological Earthwork Survey and Watching Brief

For Mr Dan Kantorovich

By Joshua Hargreaves and Eleanor Boot

TVAS East Midlands

GRB 20/140

February 2021 Summary

Site name: Land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire

Grid reference: SP 9423 8294

Site activity: Earthwork Survey and Watching Brief

Date and duration of project: 26th – 30th November 2020

Project coordinator: Steve Ford

Site supervisor: Joshua Hargreaves

Site code: GRB 20/140

Event numbers: ENN109995 and ENN109996

Area of site: c. 9860 sq m

Summary of results: The earthwork survey showed evidence of a slight sunken trackway running N-S towards the remains of a medieval dam and post-medieval causeway. It further mapped the slope of natural valley sides. The observation of ground reduction works revealed a bank revetment probably relating to the medieval hunting lodge and its pond (The Great Pond). A large post-medieval quarry pit was also observed and part investigated.

Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at TVAS East Midlands, Wellingborough and will be deposited at the Northamptonshire Archives Store in due course.

This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. All TVAS unpublished fieldwork reports are available on our website: www.tvas.co.uk/reports/reports.asp.

Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford 27.02.21 Steve Preston 27.02.21

i TVAS East Midlands, 4 Bentley Court, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN8 4BQ Tel: (01933) 277 377, Email: [email protected], Website: www.tvas.co.uk/eastmidlands Land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire An Archaeological Earthwork Survey and Watching Brief

By Joshua Hargreaves and Eleanor Boot

Report 20/140

Introduction

This report documents the results of an archaeological earthwork survey and watching brief carried out on land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire (SP 9423 8294) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Dan Kantorovich, Keepers Lodge, Grafton Rd, Brigstock, Kettering NN14 3NA.

Planning permission (19/01241/FUL) has been granted by East Northamptonshire District Council for the construction of a new house at the Keepers Lodge (aka Acwellsyke Lodge) on land at Washpit House, Grafton

Road, Brigstock. The consent is subject to a condition (8) relating to archaeology. Due to the potential disturbance of below ground archaeological features, an earthwork survey was required, to be followed by an archaeological watching brief during any groundwork taking place on the site.

This is in accordance with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s National

Planning Policy Framework (NPPF 2019) and the District’s policies on archaeology. This approach to field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by the District Council as advised by Northamptonshire

County Archaeological Services.

The fieldwork was undertaken by Joshua Hargreaves and Eleanor Boot on the 26th and 30th of November

2020 and the site code is GRB 20/140.

The archive is presently held at TVAS East Midlands, Wellingborough and will be deposited at the

Northamptonshire Archives Store in due course.

Location, topography and geology

The development site encompasses agricultural land located in a shallow valley south-west of Brigstock,

Northamptonshire (Fig. 1). The site lies at approximately 58m above Ordnance Datum and is situated c.200m to the south-west of Keepers Lodge. The ground slopes from lodge gently down towards the site. A small un- named stream is located in a shallow valley at the base of this hill. The Great Pond that was created by damming this stream is overgrown with trees forming an area of wooded marsh land. South of the site, the land rises to a ridge at around 95m before Grafton Park Wood and the village of Grafton Underwood. The underlying geology

1 of the site is mapped as Kellaways Formation and Oxford Clay Formation (BGS 1990): The observed geology was primarily Oxford Clay formations with some mudstone observed to the south.

Archaeological background

The archaeological potential of the site has been highlighted in a brief for the project prepared by Ms Liz

Mordue of Northamptonshire County Archaeological Service drawing on a desk-based heritage assessment

(Dawson 2018). Within a 2km radius of the site several designated heritage assets are known. These include, the

Scheduled Ancient Monument at Slipton Lodge, several listed buildings and houses in Brigstock Village and a moated site. There is potential for evidence of medieval and post-medieval archaeology, based on the site’s location close to the site of a medieval hunting lodge built by Edward I. The lodge burnt down and was rebuilt but remains of the medieval building were observed during construction of an extension in the 1990s. The site also lies on the north side of a historic pond (The Great Pond) created by a dam across a stream which dates before historic mapping of 1603 (Dawson 2018). In the 18th century the dam continued to form a causeway providing access between Brake Hills to the south and Land Ground to the north. This causeway has shaped the natural topography creating evidence of a sunken way. Various earthworks on the site are thought to relate to the dam construction work.

Various metal-detector finds have been made in the area including a late Roman coin, late Medieval scabbard chape and post-medieval strap fitting.

Objectives and methodology

An earthwork survey was to be carried out prior to any groundwork. The purpose of this stage of field work was to determine the extent, form and possible character of any earthworks situated within the area of development, in line with Historic England guidance (HE 2017a), in order to assess the potential archaeological impact of development.

The purpose of the watching brief phase of work was to excavate and record any archaeological deposits affected by the development. This involved continuous monitoring of all areas of intrusive groundworks during any ground invasive part of development. It was to include observation of surface stripping, ground reduction to the top of the relevant archaeological horizon and the excavation of foundation trenches, service trenches, landscaping works and all other invasive work as necessary. After initial ground reduction, observation of

2 foundation trenches was not required, due to a change of development plans with the laying of a piling foundation and piles been put in.

The potential and significance of any deposits located was to be assessed according to the research priorities such as set out in the Historic England Research Agenda (HE 2017b) or local or thematic research priorities as necessary such as the East Midlands research agenda (Cooper 2006; Knight et al. 2012). Any archaeological features observed were to be cleaned and recorded using appropriate hand tools.

Results

Earthwork survey (Fig. 4) A topographical survey of development area was undertaken using a Trimble Geo7x hand-held GNSS system with sub-decimetre accuracy. Recordings were taken of spot heights of any break of slope and bases of slope, along with profiles across any earthworks. Notes were taken regarding site conditions, the earthworks and any other features worthy of comment. Earthworks were surveyed to allow an interpretation plan to be produced.

The development area was situated in a larger field which was seen to slope down from a ridge in the west

(70m aOD) in both a north-eastern (61m) and south-eastern direction (60.19m). The base of this slope is visible in the access road which also slopes gradually south towards the Great Pond, losing 1.3m. The earthwork is part of the natural topography formed by the outcrop of land on which Keepers Lodge sits. In the southern corner of the field, where the development site is situated, this slope becomes suddenly steeper, dropping 3m in a short distance (c. 20m). This is apparently a natural feature of the land dipping off into the valley created by the small stream running through the area of the great pond and beyond.

Beyond the base of this natural slope the ground levels out for a short distance (c. 10m) before dropping away in a gradual slope into the wooded marsh land of the Great Pond (54.90m)(Pl. 4). This slope originally runs west to east before turning to run north-west to south-east following the edge of the pond. The earthwork appears to have been formed to dam the small stream and flood the valley to form the great pond. The ground drops 2.4m into the wooded marshland that now occupies the hollow left behind by this man-made feature.

Along the western edge of the development area was a levelled field, not included within the development.

Its edge made up the western boundary of site and this included an artificial earthwork where the field has been levelled, the ground dropping 2.75m into the development.

A further earthwork was a dam and causeway aligned NNE-SSW across the small stream at the base of the valley with of length of c.110m. Constructed from limestone blocks the earthwork spanned the width of the

3 valley and dammed the small stream creating the great pond. The ground drops away 1.7m to the east and 2m to the west of the dam. Eroded over time the dam is barely visible below the grass and vegetation but remains in use as a causeway over the stream and wooded marsh land where the great pond was once situated.

The final observed earthwork was located in the eastern part of site. Along the eastern boundary of the field and down in line with the dam was evidence of a sunken trackway. The ground level dropped by up to 1.5m with the drop more pronounced towards the remains of the causeway. No evidence of this trackway was observed during following ground reductions.

Watching Brief The groundworks monitored consisted of ground reduction on an access road and the building footprint (Fig. 3,

Pls 3 and 4). The ground reduction was carried out by a machine fitted with a toothless ditching bucket. The ground reduction on the road removed 0.10m of topsoil which was not deep enough to expose any potential archaeological horizons or natural geology. Ground reduction within the building footprint removed 0.12m of topsoil, which overlay 0.09m of subsoil (mid greyish brown, clayey silt), which overlay the natural geology. In the majority of the site this was Oxford clay however in the southern corner of the site the Mudstone bedrock was observed.

Two potential archaeological features were uncovered by the ground reduction within the footprint of the new building.

Revetment (Figs 5 and 6, Pl. 1). A dry-stone revetment (2) was recorded within the house footprint area (Figs 5 and 6; Pl. 1). This was observed from the western side of the area stripped for the house plot. It was aligned north west- south east before turning and continuing on north–south alignment for a further 4.17m. It had a width of 1.5m and a maximum height of

0.17m. The wall followed the natural topography which slopes gently to the SW, c.5m from the base of the slope. The revetment wall (54) consisted of a regular coursing of limestone blocks (average 0.3mx0.2mx0.1m) with occasional fragments of tile present, particularly in the corners. A segment of the revetment was planned in detail (Fig. 6, 54, Pl. 1).

The observed revetment aligned with the previously recorded dam as seen on historic maps of 1603, and used the same limestone construction material. This leads to the conclusion that it was related to the Great Pond and formed part of a bank stabilization. To the south of this revetment wall an organically rich deposit (55) was observed. A dark greyish black peat forming part of the accumulation deposits that silted up the historic great pond, it remained unexcavated as it was below the impact level of the development. A deposit of small mammal

4 animal bones was found in the subsoil (51) above the revetment, these were obviously fairly recent and not retained.

Quarry Pit (Figs 5- 7, Pl. 2) In the north-west corner of the house footprint, a post-medieval quarry pit (1) was recorded (Figs 5, 6, and 7).

This was not fully exposed in the area and what was recorded showed it was over 16.10m E-W and 8.00m N-S and it was excavated to a depth of 1.30m. Its fill was a mid-greyish blue clay (52) and no finds were recovered from this but it was observed to be truncated by a modern land drain.

Conclusion

The earthwork survey identified four features; a dam/causeway, a gentle curved slope, a large sloped area and a small sunken area. A dam and man-made curved slope shaped the valley floor creating the medieval ‘great pond’ part of the little park. The large sloped area appears to be part of the local natural topography, while the smaller sunken area relates to the nearby dam and causeway.

From the monitoring of all invasive ground work in the development area, a post-medieval quarrying pit and a revetment running along the edge of the late medieval pond were discovered and recorded.

References BGS, 1990, British Geological Survey, 1:50000, Sheet 185, Solids and Drift Edition, Keyworth Cooper, N J (ed), 2006, The Archaeology of the East Midlands: an archaeological resource assessment and research agenda, University of Leicester/ English Heritage Dawson, M, 2018, Acwellsyke Lodge, Brigstock, Northamptonshire, Heritage Statement, CgMs/RPS report JAC24142, Kettering HE, 2017a, Understanding the Archaeology of Landscapes: A guide to Good Recording Practices (Second Edition) Historic England HEAG142, London HE, 2017b, Research Agenda, Historic England, Swindon Knight, D, Vyner, B and Allen, C, 2012, East Midlands Heritage: an Updated Research Agenda and Strategy for the Historic Environment of the East Midlands, Nottingham/York NPPF, 2019, National Planning Policy Framework, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, London

Corby

Brigstock Oundle 84

84 84000

Daventry

NORTHAMPTON

SITE

SITE 83

83 83000 82

82 82000

SP93000 94000 GRB 20/140 Land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire Archaeological Watching Brief Figure 1. Location of site within Brigstock and Northamptonshire. Reproduced under licence from Ordnance Survey Explorer Digital mapping at 1:12500 Crown Copyright reserved

93 94 95 4 4 9 9 4 4 2 5 0 0 0 0 m 43 44 m

283300m 283300m

8350032 32

8340031 31

8330030 30

28283200900m 282900m 4 4 9 SP94200 94300 94400 9 4 4

2 43 44 5 0 0 0 0 m m

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

OS MasterMap 1250/2500/10000 scale Wednesday, February 3, 2021, ID: BW1-00935797 GRB 20/140 maps.blackwell.co.uk Land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock,1:2500 scale prin tNorthamptonshireat A4, Centre: 494386 E, 283066 N Archaeological©Crown Copyright Ord nWatchingance Survey. Lic eBriefnce no. 100041041 Figure 2. Detailed location of site Access Road

Building Footprint

Ground Reduction

The Great Pond Medieval Dam/Causeway

GRB 20/140 N Land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire Archaeological Watching Brief Figure 3. Detailed of site components.

Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping under licence. Crown copyright reserved. Scale 1:2500 70m 61.45m 83100

61.08m

60.97m

60.87m

60.27m 83000

60.19m

58.63m 57.37m 60.15m

57.40m

54.90m The Great Pond 54.84m

56.87m

Dam/Causeway 55.13m

56.93m

SP 94200 94300 GRB 20/140

N Land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire Archaeological Watching Brief

Figure 3. Site plan showing earthworks and spot heights.

0 50m 83100

83000

52 1 53 54 Natural Geology 55 2

The Great Pond

82900 SP 94200 94300 GRB 20/140

N Land of Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire Archaeological Watching Brief

Figure 5. Plan of area of ground reduction.

0 50m 52 quarry 82970 1

n ot p lann ed in deta il 54

revetment 2 no t pla nned Natural Geology in d etail 55

revetment

Limit of ground reduction

82950

The Great Pond

SP 94250 94270 GRB 20/140

N Land of Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire Archaeological Watching Brief

Figure 6. Close up plan of ground reduction.

0 10m SE NW 58.68m

Land drain

1 52 Natural geology

base of ground reduction

base of gr Land of Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire Archaeological Watching Brief

Figure 7. Sections at north edge of ground reducton showing land drain.

0 1m Plate 1. Bank revetment 54, looking North West, Scales: 2m and 0.5m.

Plate 2. Section of Pit 1, looking South West, Scales: 2m and 0.5m.

GRB20/140 Land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire Archaeological Watching Brief Plates 1 and 2 Plate 3. General shot of ground reduction, looking South East, Scales: 2m and 1m.

Plate 4. General shot of ground reduction and pond looking South.

GRB20 140 Land at Washpit House, Grafton Road, Brigstock, Northamptonshire Archaeological Watching Brief Plates 3 and 4. TIME CHART

Calendar Years

Modern AD 1901

Victorian AD 1837

Post Medieval AD 1500

Medieval AD 1066

Saxon AD 410

Roman AD 43 AD 0 BC Iron Age 750 BC

Bronze Age: Late 1300 BC

Bronze Age: Middle 1700 BC

Bronze Age: Early 2100 BC

Neolithic: Late 3300 BC

Neolithic: Early 4300 BC

Mesolithic: Late 6000 BC

Mesolithic: Early 10000 BC

Palaeolithic: Upper 30000 BC

Palaeolithic: Middle 70000 BC

Palaeolithic: Lower 2,000,000 BC TVAS (East Midlands), 4 Bentley Court, Wellingborough Northamptonshire, NN8 4BQ

Tel: 01933 277 377 Email: [email protected] Web: www.tvas.co.uk/eastmidlands

Offices in: Reading, Brighton, Taunton and Stoke-on-Trent