Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd
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T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S Windlemere Golf Course, Windlesham Road, West End, Woking, Surrey Archaeological Evaluation by Kyle Beaverstock and Andy Taylor Site Code: WGS16/180 (SU 9432 6178) Windlemere Golf Course, Windlesham Road, West End, Woking, Surrey An Archaeological Evaluation for Dariston Land and Development by Kyle Beaverstock and Andy Taylor Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code WGS19/180 August 2019 Summary Site name: Windlemere Golf Course, Windlesham Road, West End, Woking, Surrey Grid reference: SU 9432 6178 Site activity: Evaluation Date and duration of project: 1st and 5th of August 2019 Project coordinator: Danielle Milbank Site supervisor: Kyle Beaverstock Site code: WGS16/180 Area of site: c.0.65 hectares Summary of results: The evaluation was carried out as intended and six trenches were dug. No artefacts of archaeological interest were recovered but two of the trenches recorded the presence of two ditches, neither of which contained dating evidence. The lack of artefacts suggests that they might be field boundaries located away from any settled areas but their significance is uncertain Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Farnham 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 All TVAS unpublished fieldwork reports are available on our website: www.tvas.co.uk/reports/reports.asp.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 07.08.19 Steve Preston 07.08.19 i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) 926 0552; email [email protected]; website: www.tvas.co.uk Windlemere Golf Course, An Archaeological Evaluation by Kyle Beaverstock and Andy Taylor Report 16/180b Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological field evaluation carried out at Windlemere Golf Course, Windlesham Road, West End, Woking, Surrey (SU 9436 6173) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr. David Nott of Dariston Land and Development, 1 and 2 Studley Court Mews, Studley Court, Guildford Road, Chobham, Surrey, GU24 8EB. Planning permission (17/1207) has been gained from Surrey Heath Borough Council for the construction of three detached dwellings with associated parking and landscaping following demolition of the existing golf club. The consent is subject to a condition (15) relating to archaeology. The proposal area lies to the east of the wider site, with the remainder of the land proposed as suitable alternative natural green space (SANGS). This is in accordance with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF 2018), and the Borough Council’s policies on archaeology. The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Ms Alexandra Eggington, Archaeological Officer with Surrey County Council advisers to the Borough on matters relating to archaeology. The fieldwork was undertaken by Kyle Beaverstock and Richard Dewhurst between the 1st and 5th August 2019 and the site code is WGS 16/180. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Farnham Museum in due course. Location, topography and geology The site is located at the eastern edge of Windlemere Golf Course, Windlesham Road, in a rural area north of the village of West End in north-west Surrey. (Fig. 1). The site comprises an irregular parcel of land covering an area of approximately 1.2ha and is bounded by Windlesham Road and Blackstroud Lane East, to the east, Windlemere Golf Course to the north and west, and to the south by woodland, beyond which are the grounds of Gordon’s School. The site comprised a combination of gravelled parking areas and landscaped greens with mature trees The underlying geology is mapped as Bracklesham Beds (BGS 1981), which was observed across the trenches. The site is relatively level and lies at a height of approximately 45m above Ordnance Datum. 1 Archaeological background The archaeological potential of the wider site has been highlighted in a desk-based assessment (McNamara 2016), In summary, the proposed development site is located in an area with little known archaeological evidence. There are no recorded heritage assets on the site or in a position to be affected by its development. A number of presumably Bronze Age barrows occupy a ridge within 1km of the site, but no other pre-medieval monuments are known in the vicinity. Several medieval and post-medieval farmsteads are known from cartographic evidence in the area, which has remained rural agricultural land until relatively recently. In particular the site of an 18th century or earlier farmstead may lie immediately adjacent to the south-western edge of the proposal site. It is not known if the current use of the site as a driving range required extensive landscaping which has possibly damaged or removed the archaeologically relevant level on the site. Objectives and methodology The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the presence/absence, extent, condition, character, quality and date of any archaeological deposits within the area of development. Specific aims of the project were; To determine if archaeologically relevant levels have survived on this site. To determine if archaeological deposits of any period are present. To allow the preparation of a mitigation strategy if necessary. It was proposed that three longer trenches measuring 20m long and between 1.60 and 1.80m wide would be dug. An additional three shorter trenches(5m long) would examine areas of proposed garages and driveways. A sufficient amount of any identified archaeological features would be examined. These trenches were to be dug using a JCB-type machine fitted with a toothless ditching bucket under constant archaeological supervision. All spoilheaps were to be monitored for finds. Results All trenches were dug as close as possible to their intended locations and measured 1.60m wide, between 5.10m and 20.20m long and between 0.40m and 0.90m deep. A complete list of trenches giving lengths, breadths, depths and a description of sections and geology is given in Appendix 1. 2 Trench 1 (Fig. 2) This trench was aligned approximately NE-SW and measured 20.10m long and 0.40m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.15m of topsoil overlying 0.23m of subsoil overlying silty sand and gravel natural geology. Trench 2 (Fig. 2) This trench was aligned N-S and measured 5.25m long and 0.58m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.29m of topsoil overlying 0.21m of subsoil overlying silty sand natural geology. Trench 3 (Figs 2 and 3; Pls. 1 and 3) This trench was aligned approximately E-W and measured 9.60m long and 0.88m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.31m of topsoil overlying 0.51m of subsoil overlying silty sand and gravel natural geology. A ditch was located between 4.50m and 7.70m into which a slot was dug which determined it to have a re-cut. Ditch 1 measured 0.37m deep and had a fill of mid brown grey silty sand (52). This was re-cut by [2], which had a fill of dark grey brown silty sand (53) and measured 0.55m wide and 0.37m deep. Neither of these produced any dating evidence despite excavating the remainder of the feature within the trench after recording. Trench 4 (Figs 2 and 3: Pls. 2 and 4) This trench was aligned approximately NW-SE and measured 19.60m long and 0.48m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.12m of topsoil overlying 0.30m of subsoil overlying silty sand and gravel natural geology. A ditch was located between 5.30m and 9m into which a slot [3] was dug measuring 1.30m wide and 0.23m deep. Its dark grey brown silty sand fill (54) did not contain any dating evidence despite excavating the remainder of the feature within the trench after recording. Trench 5 (Fig. 2) This trench was aligned N-S and measured 20.20m long and 0.58m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.20m of topsoil overlying 0.52m of subsoil overlying silty sand and gravel natural geology. Trench 6 (Fig. 2) This trench was aligned approximately NW-SE and measured 5.10m long and 0.90m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.10m of tarmac overlying 0.20m of topsoil. This overlay 0.33m of subsoil overlying sand and gravel natural geology. 3 Finds No finds of archaeological interest were recovered. Conclusion The evaluation was completed as intended and identified two linear features in trenches 3 and 4. However neither of these were dated despite fully excavating the features within the trenches. It is unclear whether these represent field boundaries or form part of an enclosure, which is possible from their positioning within the trenches. References BGS, 1981, British Geological Survey, 1:50,000, Sheet 269, Solid and Drift Edition, Keyworth McNamara, M, 2016, Windlemere Golf Course, Windlesham Road, West End, Woking, Surrey, an archaeological desk-based assessment, Thames Valley Archaeological Services report 16/180, Reading NPPF, 2019, National Planning Policy Framework (revised), Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, London 4 APPENDIX 1: Trench details 0m at S or W end Trench Length (m) Breadth (m) Depth (m) Comment 1 20.10 1.60 0.42 0-0.15m topsoil; 0.15m-0.38m subsoil; 0.38m-0.42m+ silty sand and gravel natural geology. 2 5.25 1.60 0.58 0-0.29m topsoil; 0.29m-0.50m subsoil; 0.50m-0.58m+ silty sand natural geology.