T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S

Former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, Newbury, West

Building Recording

by Danielle Milbank and Jamie Williams

Site Code: MFC18/213

(SU5275 6471) Former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, Newbury,

Building Recording

For Mr Carl Everingham

By Danielle Milbank and Jamie Williams

Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd

Site Code MCF 18-213

March 2019 Summary

Site name: Former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, Newbury, West Berkshire

Grid reference: SU5275 6471

Site activity: Building Recording

Date and duration of project: 25th January and 15th February 2019

Project coordinator: Danielle Milbank

Site code: MFC 18/213

Summary of results: The building recording was carried out successfully on the former Mink Farm prior to refurbishment. The building was found to be in a moderate to poor state and was recorded to a Level 2 standard. The building dates to the mid 20th century and comprises a rectangular timber and weatherboard structure, with concrete floors and opposing breeze-block built mink pens throughout the structure. The surviving concrete bases associated with the Prisoner of War camp were also recorded.

Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at TVAS Reading and will be deposited at West Berkshire museum 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 All TVAS unpublished fieldwork reports are available on our website: www.tvas.co.uk/reports/reports.asp.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  04.03.19 Steve Preston  04.03.19

i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email [email protected]; website: www.tvas.co.uk Former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, West Berkshire Building Recording

by Danielle Milbank and Jamie Williams

Report 18/213

Introduction

This report documents the results of building recording at the former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, Newbury,

West Berkshire (SU 5275 6471). The work was commissioned by Mr Carl Everingham of Cre8, Brooklands,

Front Street, , Berkshire, RG17 7EU.

Planning consent (app 18/00422/FULD) has been gained from for the refurbishment and conversion of the existing structures to form new dwellings at the former Mink Farm. The consent is subject to a condition (8) which requires a programme of building recording prior to refurbishment in order that the historic fabric of the structure can be preserved by record. This is in accordance with the Department for

Ministry for Housing and Local Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF 2018), and the

Council’s policies on the historic environment. This report documents the results of the building recording. The fieldwork was undertaken by Danielle Milbank and Jamie Williams on 25th January and 15th February 2019 and the site code is MFC 18/213.

The archive is presently held at TVAS Reading and will be deposited at West Berkshire Museum and a copy sent to the National Archaeological Record in due course.

Location, topography and geology

The site lies to the south-east of , 1km south of the (Fig. 1), on the north side of

Crookham Common Road and c. 1km north-west of the village centre. The site is part of a complex of buildings dispersed across a former farm, which is bordered by fields and paddocks. The mink farm building is at the southern end of an access road, and is located between the stable buildings and the woodland at the site’s eastern margin (Fig. 2). The site lies on ground that slightly slopes at the eastern end of the structure at a height of 114m above Ordnance Datum. The underlying geology comprises Silchester gravel (BGS 2012).

Historical Background

The area of the Kennet Valley around Thatcham, close to the confluence of the Rivers and Kennet, is a particularly rich and well-studied archaeological landscape, with Mesolithic sites of national importance and

1 fieldwalking survey elsewhere in the middle section of the Kennet Valley (Lobb and Rose 1996). Evidence for

Neolithic and earlier Bronze Age occupation largely comprises burial monuments (round barrows and their lev- elled counterparts, ring ditches) and Middle and later Bronze Age material has also been extensively recorded in the Kennet Valley. Middle Bronze Age occupation sites are few and ephemeral with most evidence for this period is represented by cremation cemeteries, such as at Sulhampstead (Lobb 1992). Occupation deposits have been recorded on the valley floor as at (Lobb 1990), Pingewood (Johnston 1985) and Knight’s Farm,

Burghfield (Bradley et al. 1980).

The route of the Roman road (Ermin Street) from Silchester to Cirencester passes near Thatcham (Margary

1955), and a small section of this route was recorded at Brimpton and (Lobb 1978). Along the road route, extensive Roman occupation is recorded (Harris 1937; Ford 1992; Taylor 2002; Ford and Pine 2010; Pine

2010a; Lobb and Rose 1996, 86–7; Rivet and Smith 1981). There is less recorded archaeology for the medieval period, largely because medieval settlements in the area are still occupied today; but evidence does come to light occasionally (Pine 2010b), and stray finds of the period are common. Small areas of ridge and furrow

(earthworks created by medieval or early post-medieval ploughing) survive along the valley.

The site’s primary significance stems from its use during the Second World War and after. The site lies to the east of RAF Common, one of the most significant Air Force stations in Britain from the 1940s to the 1990s. At the time of its construction, the Air Force station had the longest runway in Europe, and was used extensively for successive troop carrier groups from the USAAF Ninth Air Force. Some of its buildings remain

(missile stores and bunkers) though the majority of the runway surfaces have been broken up and the site as a whole returned to common land, as it was prior to 1941.

The Mink Farm site lies to the immediate east and is listed as Prisoner of War Camp 1001 (HER 1475749), with the text describing it as a German working company camp, and originally classified as ‘partially remaining’, though elsewhere in the descriptive text of the HER it is noted that it has ‘since been removed’.

Although there is a numeric sequence of 1026 PoW Camps, not every number appears to have been used, and a total of 370 recorded sites are listed in . Of these, the total number of ‘standard’ sites in England is

71, and of these 49 have been demolished and 10 partially surviving; only 17% have survived as complete or near-complete. However it is unclear if this site is included in the ‘standard’ sites as it is noted in the gazetteer is

‘Former RAF camp’ (Thomas 2003).

2 A historic maps regression was carried out and shows the pre-20th century land use as arable land (1808

Map of Berkshire and 1842 tithe map, and Ordnance Survey maps up to 1932) and the earliest map showing buildings on the site is the 1961 OS map (Fig. 3).

Here, the buildings on the site are shown as three thin rectangular buildings end to end on an east-north-east to west-south-west axis, and to the south of this, a larger thin rectangular building on the same axis, a little to the west of the location of the surviving Mink Farm building. The range of buildings is not labelled and the surviving building does not appear to be shown.

The 1970-71 map (Fig. 4) shows a total of 12 additional thin rectangular buildings, all to the south of the earlier four. They are on the same axis as the previous buildings, arranged parallel to each other in two rows with a central north-south track between them, and the range is now labelled as ‘Mink Farm’. The surviving building which is the subject of this report is shown at the east of the long rectangular building shown on the 1961 map. A nearby Nissen-type structure (which is also extant at the time of the building recording) is shown on the plot to the east of the site.

Although according to this cartographic evidence, the Mink Farm building subject to recording in this report appears only after 1970-71, there is always some uncertainty around the completeness of the mapping of features which relate to military installations. It may be that some buildings were omitted from the 1960s mapping for tactical reasons, due to the site’s association with RAF Greenham Common.

The date of demolition of the rest of the structures is uncertain but occurred most likely in the 1980s or

1990s, leaving a long barn building (which appears to be agricultural and not representing POW accommodation) to the south of the recorded building, and the recorded Mink Farm building itself.

Methodology

The building recording was carried out in accordance with guidelines set out by the Royal Commission on

Historic Monuments for a Level 2 Record (RCHME 1996; HE 2016).

The building is orientated with its ends facing West-North-West and East-South-East, however for ease of description within this report, the building will be described as if on an east-west axis. The location and orientation of each of the photographs in the photographic catalogue are shown on Figures 5 (exterior) and 6

(interior) and are detailed in the Appendix.

3 Description

Exterior

The building is set within a plot which is largely bare earth (no grass or Tarmac) (Pls 1 and 2), and is approached by a grassed access road via a Tarmac access road and car park, with two single-storey stable buildings to the

North (part of the range of buildings forming the farm complex). A dilapidated barn structure is situated just south of the structure, with a disused and collapsed corrugated iron structure to the north. The land around the building is relatively flat, beyond which is a gentle slope down to the Eastern part of the structure. To the immediate north of the building is another rectangular structure being used as a site cabin by the developers at the time of the building recording.

The form of the building in plan is a simple rectangle. The structure is timber-framed, with weatherboard cladding, and a plasterboard lining in places. Again, the east end (Pls 3 and 4) is in a poorer condition than the west. The building has a single-pitch roof sloping shallowly from north down to south, comprised of corrugated iron sheets, which are in a moderate to poor condition on the east side and a reasonably sound condition at the west side of the building (Pl. 5).

The Western end of the structure has a timber door to the south and a wider timber door on the northern elevation (Pl. 6), with two further narrow doorways with simple plank doors on the northern elevation, at the eastern end of the structure.

The windows are predominately of one type, comprising a tall rectangular side-hung casement alongside three small rectangular panes arranged vertically, with the top being a top-hung casement (Pl. 7). These are at regular intervals along each side (one per bay) located on the north side of the structure. Either side of the doors are versions consisting only of three panes including the top-hung casement. On the east end wall and on the south side are three-over-three fixed pane windows. On the north side are two windows of different proportions, which each comprise a pair of large rectangular panes and are both possibly later insertions. The condition of the windows ranges from good to poor, with several missing glass (Pl. 8).

Interior (Fig 6).

According to the floor plans it used to contain additional dividing walls in the western side of the structure, though the dividing walls have been removed to create one internal space at the east end (Pl. 9). The main door on the north side gives access to the main space which occupies the western end of the structure (the western

4 four bays) (Pl. 10). Evidence of previous dividing walls within this open area can be seen on the floors. The timbers forming the bays each have a small timber brace between the post and the beam (Pl. 11).

The remaining space is divided, with a central corridor between the rows of mink pens along the north and south sides (Pl.12). These are 0.9m high and are of unfinished single-skin breeze-block construction (Pl. 13). At the eastern end, several of the pens are further enclosed with timber and iron bars (Pl. 14). The pens each have a small timber shelf, presumably forming a nesting area containing straw bedding, and these have survived in varying states.

The eastern end of the building is overgrown, with plants and the timber structure is in a poor condition, with missing and broken weatherboarding (Pl. 15).

To the south and southwest of the recorded building, clearance of undergrowth and debris exposed the surviving concrete bases which represent the buildings shown on the 1970-71 map (Pl. 16). It is not clear when they were demolished, however their presence and extent, including a small brick soakaway and a brick built rectangular structure, possibly a storage tank or inspection pit, and a photographic record of these was made as part of the building’s setting.

Conclusion

The building recording was carried out successfully and has documented the important features of the building both externally and internally. The former mink farm was found to be in a disused state with the original internal walls in the open area having been removed.

The building itself is slight, and has no evidence of phasing or rebuilding of the main structure overall. It fit the typical format of a structure built to accommodate prisoners of war in the mid and late 1940s. The layout, with several bays and opposing windows in alternate bays, seems to follow the typical pattern for accommodation of this type, with weatherboard cladding and internal plasterboard, although it is noted that the doors were typically double doors on the short ends of the structure, rather than on the long sides.

The insertion of additional windows appears to be the only significant change to the exterior of the structure, and internally, the change of use to a Mink Farm is shown primarily by the insertion of the mink enclosures. This is fairly typical of the re-use of such buildings, with Thomas (2003) noting that where such

Prisoner of War camps were abandoned, their reuse tended to be of low-grade agricultural type, and structures were often repurposed with the minimum of maintenance. The result is that while the form of the structures is often well-preserved, the fabric is much less so, due to poor maintenance, as seen here, with only the concrete

5 base surviving completely intact. Little was observed (for example surviving fittings and fixtures, or wall art) that relates directly to the structure’s use as a prisoner of war camp. After the site passed out of use as a POW camp in 1948 (according to the Historic Environment Record), it is not clear whether it was repurposed immediately for agricultural use or if it stood empty at any point, though by the 1970s it was mapped as in use as a Mink Farm. The building’s setting included further structures shown on the Ordnance Survey maps (though the date for these is uncertain). These were demolished at some point in the later 20th century, and survive as a series of concrete bases and associates concrete surfaces which have been recorded photographically as part of the building recording.

References HE, 2016, Understanding Historic Buildings, Historic England, London NPPF, 2018, National Planning Policy Framework (revised), Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, London Thomas, R J C, 2003, Twentieth Century Military Recording Project - Prisoner of War Camps (1939-1948) Camp No 1001. [Unpublished doc SWB14554] https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/prisoner- of-war-camps (Accessed 25/2/2019) RCHME, 1996, Recording Historic Buildings: a descriptive specification, 3rd edn, Roy Comm Hist Monuments (England), London

6 APPENDIX 1: Photographic Catalogue

Cat. No. Scales Location Direction Description 1 1x1m Exterior SE View of WNW end of structure (Pl. 1) 2 1x1m Exterior NE View of WNW end of structure (Pl. 2) 3 1x1m Exterior N View of SSW side of structure (Pl. 3) 4 1x1m Exterior SW View of ESE and NNE side of structure (Pl. 4) 5 1x1m Exterior ESE Close up view of WNW end of structure (Pl. 5) 6 1x1m Exterior SSW Close up view of NNE view of structure 7 1x1m Exterior SSW Close up view of NNE view of structure (Pl. 6) 8 1x1m Exterior SSW Close up view of NNE view of structure 9 1x1m Exterior SSW Close up view of NNE view of structure (Pl. 7) 10 1x1m Exterior SSW Close up view of NNE view of structure 11 1x1m Exterior SSW Close up view of NNE view of structure (Pl. 8) 12 1x1m Exterior WNW Close up view of ESE view of structure 13 1x1m Exterior NNE Close up view of SSW view of structure 14 1x1m Exterior NNE Close up view of SSW view of structure 15 1x1m Exterior NNE Close up view of SSW view of structure 16 1x1m Exterior NNE Close up view of SSW view of structure 17 1x1m Exterior NNE Close up view of SSW view of structure 18 1x1m Interior SSW View of doorway (Pl. 9) 19 1x1m Interior W View of interior open area 20 1x1m Interior WSW View of interior open area (Pl. 10) 21 1x1m Interior SW View of interior open area (Pl. 11) 22 1x1m Interior ESE View looking down the structure 23 1x1m Interior ESE View looking down the mink pens (Pl. 12) 24 1x1m Interior SSW Example of mink pen (Pl. 13) 25 1x1m Interior SSW Example of mink pen 26 1x1m Interior SSW Example of mink pen 27 1x1m Interior SSW Example of mink pen 28 1x1m Interior ESE View looking down the mink pens (Pl. 14) 29 1x1m Interior SSW Example of mink pen 30 1x1m Interior SSW Example of mink pen 31 1x1m Interior SSW Example of mink pen (Pl. 15) 32 1x1m Interior N Example of mink pen and mini entrance way 33 1x1m Interior WNW View looking down the mink pens 34 1x1m Interior N Example of mink pen 35 1x1m Interior WNW Example of mink pen 36 1x1m Interior NE Example of mink pen 37 1x1m Interior N Example of mink pen 38 1x1m Interior NNE Example of mink pen 39 1x1m Interior NNE Example of mink pen 40 1x1m Interior NNE Example of mink pen and entrance way 41 1x1m Interior NNE View looking out of entrance way 42 1x1m Interior SSW View of wall structure 43 1x1m Exterior ESE Barn structure 44 1x1m Exterior ENE Barn structure 45 1x1m Exterior NW Concrete surface 46 1x1m Exterior SW Concrete surface 47 1x1m Exterior W Concrete surface 48 1x1m Exterior E Concrete surface with brick soakaway (Pl. 16) 49 1x1m Exterior ESE Concrete surface 50 1x1m Exterior ESE Concrete surface 51 1x1m Exterior ESE Concrete surface 52 1x1m Exterior WNW Concrete surface

7 OS 1:25k HD Great Britain 2016. Copyright © 2016 Crown Copyrigh 52t; OS, Licence Number 100034184 53 www.memory-map.co 54 m

Slough

READING

Windsor

Hungerford

Thatcham 66

66 66000 Newbury SITE

SITE 65

65 65000

SITE 64

64 64000

SU52000 53000 MFC18/213 Former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, Newbury, West Berkshire 2019, Building Recording Figure 1. Location of site within Crookham Common and relative to its position within West Berkshire. Reproduced under licence from Ordnance Survey Explorer Digital mapping at 1:12500 Crown Copyright reserved 63 63

52 53 54 SITE

100m

MFC18/213 The Former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, Newbury, West Berkshire 2019 Building Recording Figure 2. Site layout

Crown Copyright reserved Scale, 1:500 SITE

MFC18/213 The Former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, Newbury, West Berkshire 2019 Building Recording Figure 3. Ordnance SurveyOS mapPla n1961 1:10,560 1961 © Crown Copyright and Landmark Information Group Limited 2019 all rights reserved. This map may not be reproduced without permission. 157520979

Crown Copyright reserved Scale, 1:500 SITE

MFC18/213 The Former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, Newbury, West Berkshire 2019 Building Recording Figure 4. Ordnance Survey map 1971

Crown Copyright reserved Scale, 1:500

© Crown Copyright and Landmark Information Group Limited 2019 all rights reserved. This map may not be reproduced without permission. 520149647 OS Plan 1:2,500 1970-1971 SITE 49

47 50 1 46 6 48 7 8 9 43 10 5 11 4 51 2 17 12 16 15 14 44 13

3 45 52

50m

MFC18/213 The Former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, Newbury, West Berkshire 2019 Building Recording Figure 5. Site layout showing exterior photograph directions.

Crown Copyright reserved Scale, 1:500 18 22 42 41 21 20 24 23 25 19 40 26 27 29 28 30 36 39 34 37 38 33 31 32 35

MFC18/213 The Former Mink Farm, Church Crookham, Newbury, West Berkshire 2019 Building Recording Figure 6. Mink Farm building showing interior photograph directions and orientations.

Crown Copyright reserved Scale, 1:500 Plate 1. Exterior, Mink Farm building, looking east, Plate 2. Exterior, Mink Farm building, looking northeast, Scales: 2 x 1m. Scales: 2 x 1m

Plate 3. Exterior, Mink Farm building, looking north- Plate 4. Exterior, Mink Farm building, looking southwest, northwest, Scales: 2 x 1m Scales: 2 x 1m.

MFC 18/213 Former Mink Farm, Crookham Common, Newbury, West Berkshire, 2019 Building Recording Plates 1 to 4. Plate 5. Exterior, Mink Farm buiding, west elevation, Plate 6. Exterior, Mink Farm building, north elevation, Scales: 2 x 1m. Scales: 2 x 1m.

Plate 7. Exterior, Mink Farm building, north elevation, Plate 8. Exterior, Mink Farm building, northwest Scales: 2 x 1m. elevation, west end, Scales: 2 x 1m.

MFC 18/213 Former Mink Farm, Crookham Common, Newbury, West Berkshire, 2019 Building Recording Plates 5 to 8. Plate 9. Interior, main room, Plate 10. Interior, main room, Scales: 2 x 1m. Scales: 2 x 1m.

Plate 11. Interior, main room, Plate 12. Interior, pens, Scales: 2 x 1m . Scales: 2 x 1m.

MFC 18/213 Former Mink Farm, Crookham Common, Newbury, West Berkshire, 2019 Building Recording Plates 9 to 12. Plate 13. Interior, pens, Scales: 2 x 1m.

Plate 14. Interior, east end corridor, Scales: 1mx2.

Plate 15. Interior, mink pens, east end Scales: 2 x 1m. Plate 16. Exterior, concrete bases, Scales: 2 x 1m.

MFC 18/213 Former Mink Farm, Crookham Common, Newbury, West Berkshire, 2019 Building Recording Plates 13 to 16. 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 Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47-49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR

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