JOHN MOOREHERITAGE SERVICES LITTLEMORE PRIORY, GRENOBLE ROAD, LITTLEMORE, OXFORD (NGR SP 5455 0231): ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION REPORT On behalf of The Firoka Group AUGUST 2016 John Moore HERITAGE SERVICES Littlemore Priory, Grenoble Road, Oxford. OXGR 14 Archaeological Excavation Report. REPORT FOR The Firoka Group c/o CgMs Consulting Ltd Burlington House Lypiatt Road Cheltenham GL50 2SY PREPARED BY Stephen Yeates and Paul Murray with contrbutions by Sharon Clough, David Gilbert, Cynthia Pool, Jane Timby and Paul Blinkhorn ILLUSTRATION BY Autumn Robson EDITED BY John Moore FIELDWORK 27th March 2014 – 20th December 2015 REPORT ISSUED 16th August 2016 ENQUIRES TO John Moore Heritage Services Hill View Woodperry Road Beckley Oxfordshire OX3 9UZ Tel/Fax 01865 358300 Email: [email protected] Site Code: OXGR 14 JMHS Project No: 1963 Oasis No: johnmoor1- 209325 Archive Location The archive is currently held at JMHS and will be deposited with the Oxfordshire Museums Service under accession number OXCMS: 2014.114 John Moore HERITAGE SERVICES Littlemore Priory, Grenoble Road, Oxford. OXGR 14 Archaeological Excavation Report. CONTENTS Page SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Site Location 1 1.2 Project Background 1 1.3 Archaeological and Historical Background 3 2 AIMS OF THE INVESTIGATION 32 3 STRATEGY 33 4 RESULTS 34 4.1 Prehistoric 34 4.2 Roman 34 4.3 Medieval 34 4.4 Post-medieval 57 4.5 Imperial and later 67 4.6 Minchery Farm Buildings 76 5 HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS (By Sharon Clough) 82 5.1 Results 85 5.2 Physical Appearance of the Population 89 5.3 Pathology 95 5.3.1 Infection 97 5.3.2 Metabolic Disease 99 5.3.3 Joint Disease 102 5.3.4 Joint Disease (Spinal) 104 5.4 Conclusions 106 5.5 Non-metric Analysis of knee and feet (By Branka Franičević) 108 5.6 Preliminary Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Analysis 110 5.7 (Diet and Lifestyle) (By Charlotte Scull) Radiocarbon dating and chronological modelling assessment 118 5.8 (By Peter Marshall) 119 Further Work 6 FINDS 121 6.1 Prehistoric Flint (By David Gilbert) 121 6.2 Pottery 121 6.2.1 Roman Pottery (By Jane Timby) 121 6.2.2 Medieval Pottery (By Paul Blinkhorn) 123 6.3 Tiles (By Cynthia Pool) 125 6.3.1 Date and Nature of the Assemblage 129 6.3.2 Conclusions 141 6.3.3 Worked Stone (By Stephen Yeates) 141 6.3.4 Mortar (By Cynthia Pool) 143 6.4 Metal Objects (By Simona Denis) 144 6.4.1 Gold (By Simona Denis) 144 6.4.2 Silver (By Simona Denis) 147 John Moore HERITAGE SERVICES Littlemore Priory, Grenoble Road, Oxford. OXGR 14 Archaeological Excavation Report. 6.4.3 Copper Alloy Jeton(By A ndrej Čelovský) 147 6.4.4 Copper Alloy(By Simona Denis) 148 6.4.5 Lead 151 6.4.6 Iron 151 6.5 Animal Bone (By Simona Denis and Stephen Yeates) 155 7 DISCUSION (By Stephen Yeates) 158 8 BIBLIOGRAPHY 171 APPENDIX A (Skeleton Catalogue) 184 APPENDIX B (Platymetric and Platycnemic Indices) 198 APPENDIX C (Context Inventory) 200 John Moore HERITAGE SERVICES Littlemore Priory, Grenoble Road, Oxford. OXGR 14 Archaeological Excavation Report. ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 Site Location 2 Figure 2 Jefferys’s Map of 1767 21 Figure 3 Davies of Lewknor’s Map of 1797 22 Figure 4 Ordnance Survey Map of c. 1830 22 Figure 5 First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1876 23 Figure 6 Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1899 24 Figure 7 Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1913 24 Figure 8 Pantin’s interpretation of Littlemore Priory 27 Figure 9 Pantin’s phasing of the Minchery Farmhouse 28 Figure 10 Evaluation trenches west of site location 29 Figure 11 Phases 1-4 and associated burials - east 36 Figure 12 Phases 1-2 and associated burials - west 37 Figure 13 Phases 3-4 and associated burials - west 46 Figure 14 Phase 5 55 Figure 15 Phase 5 56 Figure 16 Phases 6-7 61 Figure 17 Phases 6-7 62 Figure 18 Phases 8-10 68 Figure 19 Phases 8-10 69 Figure 20 Sections 02-21 70 Figure 21 Sections 22-36 71 Figure 22 Sections 37-68 72 Figure 23 Location of study building 77 Figure 24 Elevations 78 Figure 25 Elevations 79 Figure 26 Number of individual by percentage of the skeleton available for examination 85 Figure 27 Number of individuals by bone surface condition 86 Figure 28 Overall score for the individual of preservation 86 Figure 29 Number of individual per age catergory 87 Figure 30 Number of Adult Individuals devided by sex 88 Figure 31 Pooled sex estimation of the adults 88 Figure 32 Combined age and sex data for adult individuals 89 Figure 33 Showing principle of anke dorsiflexion 109 Figure 34 Littlemore Priory whole population data 113 Figure 35 Littlemore Priory status based diet 115 Figure 36 Stimulated radiocarbon determinations from Littlemore Priory 118 Figure 37 Radiocarbon calibration curve and archaeologically derived estimates for the dates of the main medieval burial phases from Littlemore 119 Figure 38 Percentage of floor tile designs basd on fragment count 133 Figure 39 Roof and Floor Tiles 138 Figure 40 Floor Tiles 139 Figure 41 Mortar types 144 Figure 42 Church phases 161 Figure 43 Priory complex 162 Figure 44 Burials 184 John Moore HERITAGE SERVICES Littlemore Priory, Grenoble Road, Oxford. OXGR 14 Archaeological Excavation Report. PLATES Plate 1 Hearne illustration of the Littlemore Farm 1722 19 Plate 2 Skeleton 2 within stone cist 44 Plate 3 Intercutting graves to the east of the choir 50 Plate 4 Female buried in a prone position in nave with neonate Grave truncating her kegs 52 Plate 5 Surviving east gable end (Wall 266) 76 Plate 6 Surviving west gable end (Wall 824) 80 Plate 7 Surviving west end of north extension (Wall 256) 81 Plate 8 Building between east to west orienetated building and priory public house 81 Plate 9 Floor Tile SF 171 127 Plate 10 Floor Tile SF 128 128 Plate 6 Gold ring SF 40 147 Plate 7 Silver ring SF 156 147 Plate 8 Nuremberg Jeton SF 26 147 Plate 9 A.A. Percy Patent No.521,864 150 John Moore HERITAGE SERVICES Littlemore Priory, Grenoble Road, Oxford. OXGR 14 Archaeological Excavation Report. TABLES Table 1 Macroscopic techniques used 83 Table 2 Age categories 83 Table 3 Femoral stature estimate 90 Table 4 Meric index for the Littlemore assemblage 90 Table 5 Littlemore assemblage platycnemic index male and female combined 91 Table 6 Cranial indices of the assemblage 91 Table 7 Cranial non-metric traits 92 Table 8 Post-cranial non-metrical traits 92 Table 9 Dentition results and pathology 93 Table 10 True Prevalence Rate of fractures observed 95 Table 11 MSM by side and grade of expression 101 Table 12 Skeletons with joint changes 103 Table 13 Skeletons with Osteoarthritis 103 Table 14 True prevalence of osteoarthritis 104 Table 15 Number of vertebrae affected by joint disease 105 Table 16 Talus non-metric traits 110 Table 17 Littlemore entire population ” 13 C and ” 15N means and standard deviations 113 Table 18 Littlemore status based groupings ” 13 C and ” 15N means and standard deviations 115 Table 19 Estimated number of medieval burials by phase 118 Table 20 Flint 121 Table 21 Roman Pottery 122 Table 22 Medieval Pottery occurrence by number and weight (in g) of sherds per context by fabric type 124 Table 23 Summary quantification tabulated by form and fabric 126 Table 24 CBM Fabrics as percentages and their date range 127 Table 25 Roof tile types and quantities 129 Table 26 Roof tile categories quantified in relation to fabric and date 131 Table 27 ‘Stabbed Wessex’ inlaid and Penn/Chiltern printed floor tile designs and parallels 134 Table 28 Summary of stone roofing sizes and shapes 143 Table 29 Metal finds 145 Table 30 Numerberg Jeton description and dimensions 148 Table 31 Copper alloy shroud pins 149 Table 28 Iron coffin nails 152 Table 29 Iron nails 153 Table 30 Iron mounts for casket 154 Table 31 Animal bones 155 John Moore HERITAGE SERVICES Littlemore Priory, Grenoble Road, Oxford. OXGR 14 Archaeological Excavation Report. SUMMARY A series of Archaeological Investigations were carried out at the site of Littlemore Priory, later known as Minchery Farm, located at Littlemore in the City of Oxford (NGR SP 545 023). These took place over a number of years and culminated in the excavations and watching brief across the site in 2014 and 2015. The site was located in an area of Oxford that is now set aside for industrial and commercial development. Planning consent was given for the errection of a hotel on the site and the archaeological work was carried out as a means of mitigation. Scant history was known about the Priory although as a small nunnery it had through the documentary evidence gained some notoriety in the alleged behaviour of its nuns. The Priory was known to have been founded by a Robert de Sandford, and is considered to have seen initial construction in the reign of King Stephen. The major phase of development is known to have occurred in the 13th century about 1245-1247. After this point there is little information available on the subject, until a number of visitations occur under the office of the Bishop of Lincoln towards the end of the 15th century and early in the 16th century. The priory was suppressed and dissolved 1524- 1525. Initially the Priory was sold to Cardinal Wolsey and his establishment of Cardinal College, later Christ Church. With Wolsey’s demise the Manor of Sandford, and Littlemore Priory, which formed a part of that manor passed into ley hands.