Archaeology Wales Land off Heol Pentre Bach Gorseinon, Swansea Archaeological Desk Based Assessment By Philip Poucher Report No. 1634 Archaeology Wales Limited The Reading Room, Town Hall, Llanidloes, SY18 6BN Tel: +44 (0) 1686 440371 Email: [email protected] Web: arch-wales.co.uk Archaeology Wales Land off Heol Pentre Bach, Gorseinon, Swansea Archaeological Desk Based Assessment Prepared For: V & C Properties Ltd Edited by: Rowena Hart Authorised by: Mark Houliston Signed: Signed: Position: Regional Director Position: Managing Director Date : 13/12/17 Date : 02/01/18 By Philip Poucher Report No. 1634 December 2017 Archaeology Wales Limited The Reading Room, Town Hall, Llanidloes, SY18 6BN Tel: +44 (0) 1686 440371 Email: [email protected] Web: arch-wales.co.uk CONTENTS Non-Technical Summary 1 1. Introduction 2 2. Site Description 2 3. Methodology 3 4. Archaeological and Historical Background 4 4.1 Previous Archaeological Studies 4 4.2 The Historic Landscape 5 4.3 Scheduled Ancient Monuments 6 4.4 Listed Buildings 6 4.5 Known Archaeological Remains and Historical Development 6 5. Map Regression 9 6. Aerial Photographs and Lidar 12 7. Site Visit 13 8. Impact Assessment 14 8.1 Assessment of Archaeological Potential and Importance 14 8.2 Previous Impacts 15 8.3 Potential Impacts of the Proposed Development 15 9. Conclusions 17 9.1 Impacts on Designated Assets 17 9.2 Impacts on Non-designated Assets 17 9.3 Mitigation 18 10. Sources 19 Appendix I: Gazetteer of Sites recorded on the Regional HER Appendix II: Archive Cover Sheet List of Tables 1 Sites of archaeological interest affected by the proposed development List of Figures 1 Location map 2 Site plan 3 Draft development plan 4 Designated archaeological sites within 1km 5 Non-designated archaeological sites within 1km 6 Extract from the tithe maps of 1839 7 Extract from the Ordnance Survey map of 1877-9 i 8 1946 aerial photo List of Photos 1-2 General views of northern field 3-6 General views of southern field 7-10 General views of quarrying activity (HPB01) 11-12 Views of Pentre-bach cottage ruins (HPB02) 13 Adjacent farmhouse Pentre-bach 14 Site of 19th century quarry associated with HPB01 Copyright Notice: Archaeology Wales Ltd. retain copyright of this report under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, and have granted a licence to JCR Planning and V & C Properties Ltd, to use and reproduce the material contained within. The Ordnance Survey has granted Archaeology Wales Ltd a Copyright Licence (No. 100055111) to reproduce map information; Copyright remains otherwise with the Ordnance Survey. ii Non – Technical Summary In November 2017, Archaeology Wales was commissioned by JCR Planning, on behalf of their clients V & C Properties Ltd to carry out an Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment and site visit to determine the archaeological potential of land off Heol Pentre Bach, Gorseinon, Swansea (NGR SS 57637 98959). The assessment has been undertaken in advance of the submission of a planning application for residential development. No registered Historic Landscape, Conservation Area, registered Historic Park & Garden, Scheduled Ancient Monument or Listed Building, will be directly or indirectly affected by the proposed development. The site lies within the Landmap historic landscape area of Lower Loughor and Lliw Valleys (SWNSHL571). The value of this landscape is currently unassessed. The proposed development will change part of the agricultural element of this landscape, but this will be a small percentage on the fringes of this area, which is considered to be a relatively minor impact. The site also lies adjacent to the Landmap Historic Landscape of Loughor, Gorseinon and Penllergaer (SWNSHL254), the value of which is also currently unassessed. The proposed development will effectively extend the boundaries of this landscape, but the scale of this is considered to be a relatively minor impact. The recorded route of a Roman Road (RR60d-05), considered to be of Medium archaeological value, may run through or lie in close proximity to the proposed development site. However, research would suggest the potential for remains to exist within the proposed development area is low, and therefore the potential impact is considered to be Negligible to Minor. Research has also highlighted the presence of remains associated with 19th century quarrying or mining activity (HPB01) within the proposed development site, considered to be of Low archaeological value. These remains would be removed through development, considered to be a Major impact. The potential for remains associated with a post-medieval cottage has also been highlighted within the proposed development site (the cottage itself lying outside the proposed development area), of Low archaeological value. The proposed development is considered to have a Minor to Moderate impact on these potential remains. It is recommended that an archaeological watching brief be maintained on development works in order to identify and record any evidence of the potential Roman Road, the 19th century quarrying activity and potential features associated with the post-medieval cottage. 1 1 Introduction 1.1 In November 2017 Archaeology Wales (AW) was commissioned by JCR Planning, on behalf of their clients V & C Properties Ltd, to carry out an archaeological Desk-Based Assessment of a proposed residential development on land off Heol Pentre Bach, Gorseinon, Swansea (NGR SS 57637 98959, Figures 1 - 2, AW Project Number 2394). 1.2 This assessment has been prepared prior to the submission of a planning application. The purpose of the Desk-Based Assessment, which is detailed in the following report, is to provide the local planning authority, the City and County of Swansea (CCS) with the information they are likely to request in respect of the proposed development, the requirements for which are set out in Planning Policy (revised edition 9, 2016), Section 6.5 and Technical Advice Note (TAN) 24: The Historic Environment (2017). The work is to highlight and assess the impact upon standing and buried remains of potential archaeological interest and to ensure that they are fully investigated and recorded if they are disturbed or revealed as a result of subsequent activities associated with the development. 1.3 Draft development details have been provided by the client, and it is understood that planning permission will be sought to develop the site for a total of 31 residential units, comprising a mix of open market and affordable house units (Figure 3). The boundary of the proposed development area is presented in Figure 2, and the development site as a whole comprises approximately 1.77 hectares. 2 Site Description 2.1 The site is located between Heol Pentre Bach and Gwynfre Road on the west side of Gorseinon, centred on SS 57637 98959. Loughor lies circa 1.3km to the southwest, with the centre of Swansea lying approximately 9km to the southeast. 2.2 The site currently comprises an area of pasture, enclosed by mature hedgerows and subdivided into two fields by a mature hedgerow running along a distinct east – west orientated break of slope. Generally the ground falls from approximately 22mOD in the southeast corner to 9mOD along the northern edge, with the pasture becoming poorer and wetter as the ground falls below circa 13mOD. Scrub has developed along the northern boundaries of the site and in the southwest corner. The site area covers approximately 1.77 hectares. 2.3 The site is bounded to the west and south by further pastoral agricultural land, and the to the east by new residential development (in development at the time of writing), beyond which lies the modern urban development of Penyrhoel on the west side of Gorseinon. To the north the site is bounded by the property and grounds of Pentre Bach and a stream running along the northern boundary. This stream feeds the Afon Loughor 600m to the west of the site, which itself empties into the Burry Inlet and Bristol Channel beyond some 6-7km to the southwest. The mean high water level lies within 150m of the western edge of the site. 2.4 The geology of the area proposed for development forms part of the Grovesend Formation composed of a mixture of mudstone, siltstones and sandstones. This is overlain by Devensian till (BGS 2017). 2 3 Methodology 3.1 The primary objective of this desk-based assessment is to assess the impact of the development proposals on the historic environment. This will help inform future decision making, design solutions and potential mitigation strategies. The aim is to make full and effective use of existing information in establishing the archaeological significance of the site, to elucidate the presence or absence of archaeological material, its character, distribution, extent, condition and relative significance. 3.2 The work includes a comprehensive assessment of regional context within which the archaeological evidence rests and aims to highlight any relevant research issues within national and regional research frameworks. 3.3 This report provides information of sufficient detail to allow informed planning decisions to be made which can safeguard the archaeological resource. Preservation in situ has been advocated where at all possible, but where engineering or other factors could result in the loss of archaeological deposits, preservation by record has been recommended. 3.4 This assessment considers the following: a) The nature, extent and degree of survival of archaeological sites, structures, deposits and landscapes within the study area through assessment of various readily available primary sources: Collation and assessment of all relevant information held in the regional HER at GGAT within a 1km radius of the development site; Collation and assessment of all Designated archaeological sites within a 1km radius of the development site; Assessment of all available excavation reports and archives including unpublished and unprocessed material affecting the site and its setting.