LAND at BRIDGEMOOR FARM ST. JOHN CORNWALL Results of a Desk-Based Assessment, Geophysical Survey & Historic Visual Impact Assessment
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LAND at BRIDGEMOOR FARM ST. JOHN CORNWALL Results of a Desk-Based Assessment, Geophysical Survey & Historic Visual Impact Assessment The Old Dairy Hacche Lane Business Park Pathfields Business Park South Molton Devon EX36 3LH Tel: 01769 573555 Email: [email protected] Report No.: 150511 Date: 11.05.2015 Authors: E. Wapshott J. Bampton S. Walls Land at Bridgemoor Farm, St. John, Cornwall Land at Bridgemoor Farm, St. John, Cornwall Results of a Desk-Based Assessment, Geophysical Survey & Historic Visual Impact Assessment For Nick Leaney of Aardvark EM Ltd. (the Client) By SWARCH project reference: SBF15 National Grid Reference: SX4069352393 Planning Application Ref: Pre-planning Project Director: Dr. Bryn Morris Project Officer: Dr. Samuel Walls Fieldwork Managers: Dr. Samuel Walls HVIA: Emily Wapshott Walkover Survey: Joe Bampton Geophysical Survey: Joe Bampton Desk Based Assessment: Dr. Samuel Walls; Victoria Hosegood Report: Emily Wapshott; Joe Bampton; Dr. Samuel Walls; Report Editing: Dr. Samuel Walls; Natalie Boyd Graphics: Victoria Hosegood; Joe Bampton June 2015 South West Archaeology Ltd. shall retain the copyright of any commissioned reports, tender documents or other project documents, under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 with all rights reserved, excepting that it hereby provides an exclusive licence to the client for the use of such documents by the client in all matters directly relating to the project as described in the Project Design. South West Archaeology Ltd. 2 Land at Bridgemoor Farm, St. John, Cornwall Summary This report presents the results of a desk-based assessment, walkover survey, geophysical survey and historic visual impact assessment carried out by South West Archaeology Ltd. (SWARCH) on land at Bridgemoor Farm, St. John, Cornwall, in advance of the construction of a 500kW wind turbine (67m to tip). The proposed turbine would be installed on land that belongs to Bridgemoor Farm, within an area Anciently Enclosed Land. The walkover survey and geophysical surveys failed to identify any features of archaeological significance. There are a large number of designated heritage assets in the wider area, although many are located at such a distance as to minimise the impact of the proposed turbine, or else the contribution of setting to overall significance is less important than other factors. The landscape context of many of these buildings and monuments is such that they would be partly or wholly insulated from the effects of the proposed turbine by a combination of local blocking, and the topography, or that other modern intrusions have already impinged upon their settings. However, the presence of a new, modern and visually intrusive vertical element in the landscape would impinge in some way on at least 25 of these heritage assets (negative/minor or negligible to negative/minor), and have a more defined impact on a further 15 assets (negative/moderate or negative/minor to negative/moderate). Withnoe Farmhouse would suffer a more marked level of impact (negative/moderate to negative/substantial). There is clearly an issue of aggregate impact (negligible), although cumulative impact is not a concern. With this in mind, the overall impact of the proposed turbine can be assessed as towards the upper end of negative/moderate, however within such a sensitive landscape there are unlikely to be many better locations. The impact of the development on the buried archaeological resource will be permanent/irreversible. South West Archaeology Ltd. 3 Land at Bridgemoor Farm, St. John, Cornwall Contents Page No. Summary 3 Contents 4 List of Figures 6 List of Tables 6 List of Appendices 6 Acknowledgements 6 1.0 Introduction 7 1.1 Project Background 7 1.2 Topographical and Geological Background 7 1.3 Historical Background 7 1.4 Archaeological Background 7 1.5 Methodology 8 2.0 Desk-Based Assessment and Cartographic Analysis 10 2.1 Historical Background 10 2.2 Early Cartographic sources 10 2.3 St. John Tithe map of 1840 13 2.4 First and Second Edition OS maps 15 3.0 Site Inspection, Archaeological Background and Geophysical Survey 17 3.1 Site Inspection 17 3.2 Archaeological Background 18 3.3 Geophysical Survey 20 3.3.1 Introduction 20 3.3.2 Methodology 21 3.3.3 Results 21 3.3.4 Discussion 23 3.4 Assessment of Impact 23 4.0 Visual Impact Assessment 24 4.1 National Policy 24 4.2 Setting and Views 24 4.2.1 Evidential Value 25 4.2.2 Historical Value 26 South West Archaeology Ltd. 4 Land at Bridgemoor Farm, St. John, Cornwall 4.2.3 Aesthetic Value 26 4.2.4 Communal Value 27 4.2.5 Summary 27 4.3 Likely Impacts of the Proposed Development 27 4.3.1 Types and Scale of Impact 27 4.3.2 Scale and Duration of Impact 28 4.3.3 Statements of Significance of Heritage Assets 29 4.4 Methodology 31 4.4.1 Assessment and Landscape Context 32 4.4.2 The Sinclair-Thomas Matrix 32 4.5 Results of the Viewshed Analysis 35 4.6 Field Verification of ZTV 36 4.7 The Structure of Assessment 37 4.8 Impact by Class of Monument or Structure 37 4.8.1 Farmhouse and Farm Buildings 37 4.8.2 Grand Residences 40 4.8.3 Lesser Gentry Seats 43 4.8.4 Listed cottages and structures within Historic Settlements 47 4.8.5 Churches and pre-Reformation Chapels 55 4.8.6 Nonconformist Chapels 64 4.8.7 Milestones and Guideposts 65 4.8.8 Bridges 65 4.8.9 Industrial Buildings and Infrastructure 66 4.8.10 Military Structures 68 4.8.11 Prehistoric Settlements 74 4.8.12 Medieval Castles and Moated Sites 75 4.8.13 Prehistoric Ritual/Funerary Monuments 77 4.8.14 Registered Parks and Gardens 78 4.8.15 Historic Landscape 82 4.8.16 Aggregate Impact 83 4.8.17 Cumulative Impact 83 4.9 Summary of the Evidence 84 5.0 Conclusions 89 5.1 Discussion and Conclusion 89 6.0 Bibliography & References 90 South West Archaeology Ltd. 5 Land at Bridgemoor Farm, St. John, Cornwall List of Figures Page No. Cover plate: View of the proposed turbine location, from the south-west. Figure 1: Site location. 8 Figure 2: Extract from a map dating to 1539. 11 Figure 3: Extract from the 1699 Gascoyne map of Cornwall. 11 Figure 4: Extract from a map of the area from Seaton to Yealmpton dating to 1780. 12 Figure 5: Extract from the Stuart and Spicer map dating to 1793. 12 Figure 6: Extract from the Ordnance Survey first edition OS, 1809. 13 Figure 7: Extract from the 1840 Tithe map. 14 Figure 8: Extract from the 1887 Fist Edition OS map. 15 Figure 9: Extract from the 1907 2nd Edition OS map. 16 Figure 10: View from the North-West corner of the field, looking south-east (no scale). 17 Figure 11: Nearby HER entries (source CCHES). 18 Figure 12: Above, shade plot of gradiometer data; below, interpretation of data. 22 Figure 13: Distribution of designated heritage assets within the ZTV (to tip). 35 Figure 14: Distribution of heritage assets related to the Sinclair-Thomas Matrix. 36 Figure 15: Cumulative impact: distribution of operational and proposed turbines. 84 List of Tables Table 1: Extract from the tithe apportionment for St. John. 14 Table 2: Local HER records. 20 Table 3: Interpretation of Gradiometer Survey data. 22 Table 4: The modified Sinclair-Thomas Matrix. 33 Table 5: The conceptual model for visual impact assessment. 34 Table 6: Summary of impacts, characterized by Sinclair-Thomas zone. 88 List of Appendices Appendix 1: Project Design 90 Appendix 2: Key Heritage Assets 92 Appendix 3: Geophysical Survey- Additional Figures 137 Appendix 4: Walkover and HVIA Baseline Photographs 139 Acknowledgements Thanks for assistance are due to: Kirsty Gibson of Aardvark EM Ltd. David Turner, the Landowner, for access Phil Copleston, Senior Development Officer, Historic Environment, Cornwall Council Nick Russell of Historic England South West Archaeology Ltd. 6 Land at Bridgemoor Farm, St. John, Cornwall 1.0 Introduction Location: Land at Bridgemoor Farm Parish: St. John County: Cornwall NGR: SX4069352393 1.1 Project Background This report presents the results of a desk-based assessment, geophysical survey and historic visual impact assessment carried out by South West Archaeology Ltd. (SWARCH) at Bridgemoor Farm, St. John, Cornwall (Figure 1). The work was commissioned by Nick Leaney of Aardvark EM Ltd. (the Agent) in order to identify any buried archaeology or heritage assets that might be affected by the installation of a 500kW wind turbine (67m to tip). 1.2 Topographical and Geological Background The proposed turbine would be located on land belonging to Bridgemoor Farm at approximately 89m AOD. It would be situated in a roughly rectangular field on the south east facing slope, which rises to the north towards Millbrook business park and slopes down to the south towards Stone and the coast. The soils of this area are the well drained fine loamy and fine silty soils of the Denbigh 1 association (SSEW 1983); these overlie the mudstone, siltstone and sandstone of the Lower Devonian Rocks Formation (BGS 2015). 1.3 Historical Background The site is located 5km south west of Plymouth and less than 1.5km to the west of Millbrook in the deanery and hundred of East. The site it situated on land which has been worked from at least the medieval period and is surrounded by a number of medieval settlements. Treganhawke is first recorded in 1357, Freathy in 1327 and Withnoe in 1224 (Cornwall HER records). Lysons and Lysons (1814) notes that both Withnoe and Treganhawke were reputed manors which in the early 19th century were owned by the Right Honourable Lord Graves.