BTR Works, Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex

BTR Works, Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex An Archaeological Evaluation for Tesco Stores Ltd by Sarah Coles Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code WABT03 June 2003 Summary Site name: BTR Works Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex Grid reference: TL 3860 0035 Site activity: Evaluation Date and duration of project: 22nd–28th May Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: Sarah Coles Site code: WABT03 Area of site: 3.2 ha Summary of results: No archaeological deposits or artefacts were observed on site. It would appear the entire site was truncated of topsoil prior to the construction of the BTR works. Several areas disturbance were noted. A photographic record was made of the buildings prior to demolition. Monuments identified: None Location and reference of archive: The site archive is currently held by Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47-49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading, Berkshire RG1 5NR and will be deposited with Waltham Abbey Museum in due course. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford9 20.06.03 Steve Preston9 20.06.03 i BTR Works, Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex An Archaeological Evaluation by Sarah Coles Report 01/69b Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological field evaluation carried out at the former BTR Works, Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex (TL 3860 0035) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Mike Ward of Tesco Stores Ltd, PO Box 400, Cirrus Building, Shire Park, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL7 1AB. Planning permission has been granted by Epping Forest District Council to redevelop the site for a retail outlet. The proposed development will include a retail unit, a clinic, parking for 380 vehicles, a petrol filling station and related services, access roads and landscaping. A desktop assessment (Preston 2001) examined the archaeological potential of the site and concluded that due to the proximity of the site to the margins of the historic core of the town, its size and other finds within the area, a field evaluation would need to be implemented. This was to assess the archaeological potential of the site and provide information with which to draw up an appropriate mitigation strategy prior to groundworks if necessary. It was also suggested that a photographic record of the factory structures be made prior to demolition. This is in accordance with the Department of the Environment’s Planning Policy Guidance, Archaeology and Planning (PPG16 1990), and the District policies on archaeology. The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Ms Vanessa Clark, Heritage Group, Planning Department, Essex County Council, County Hall, Chelmsford, CM1 1QH. The fieldwork was undertaken by Sarah Coles and Julie Cassidy on the 22nd-28th May 2003, and the site code is WABT03. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Waltham Abbey Museum in due course. Location, topography and geology The site is located on the east side of Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey (Fig. 2), opposite the fire station. It is bounded by Sewardstone Road (A112) to the west, by the rear gardens of houses fronting Denny Avenue to the south, by a pond to the north-east, and by other buildings on all other sides. The development area (3.2ha) is located on London Clay (BGS 1981). This was observed during the field evaluation. The site lies at a height of c.20m above Ordnance Datum. 1 The entire area around the Waltham Abbey is on the Metropolitan Green Belt and much of the core of the town (although not the area under consideration here) is a Conservation Area. The town has been designated a ‘Historic Town’ by Essex County Council. Prior to the archaeological evaluation all buildings on the Britannica Works site had been demolished to slab level. The site was situated on level ground with elevated factory floor levels and a slight slope from west- east rising up from Sewardstone Road. Archaeological background A desk-based assessment (Preston 2001) detailed the development of Waltham Abbey from a village with a church founded by Earl Tovi in c. AD 1030, to the expansion of the Abbey and lands by Henry II. The Abbey was formally instituted in 1184, and the town was given the right to hold markets and fairs by Richard I. The Abbey was the last to succumb to Dissolution. Archaeological investigations on the Abbey site show its origins are much earlier than documentary sources suggest as evidenced by the finding of a 7th century timber church on the site. The town itself is poorly documented by historical records, but it is well represented in the archaeological record as documented by the Sites and Monuments Record. Excavations and evaluations undertaken within the historic core of the town produced features and artefacts dating predominantly from the Saxon and Medieval period with the occasional Roman feature and persistent traces of Roman stray finds. Significant prehistoric finds have also been recorded in the town and nearby. The closest archaeological find to the development site was a stray Roman coin from the west side of Sewardstone Road. Cartographic sources indicate that the core of the early post-medieval town lay immediately to the north- west of the site and documentary records make no reference to the medieval town having stretched out as far as the site. Prior to 1935 and the construction of the BTR works the site was fields. 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, and the specific research aims were: To determine if any Roman occupation deposits are present in the vicinity To determine if any medieval or early Post-Medieval deposits are present reflecting a larger extent of the historic core of the town. 2 To consider the industrial archaeological/historic building potential of the site. To photographically record the structures before demolition. Evaluation trenches Eleven trenches were positioned to examine the footprints of the proposed new buildings but were located to ensure that they covered the entire site. Trenches 5, 6, and 9 were moved from their intended positions to avoid highly contaminated areas of the site. Trench 7 was moved northwards due to the location of underground tanks. The trenches were approximately 20m long and 1.80m wide. The concrete and overburden were removed by a breaker and toothed bucket. A 360° type machine with a toothless bucket was used to dig to the archaeologically relevant level. The trenches were dug under constant archaeological supervision. All spoil heaps were monitored for finds. A list of trenches giving lengths, breadths, depths and a description of sections and geology is given in Appendix 1. Results The eleven trenches were dug in the positions shown in Figure 3 and ranged in length from 17m to 23m. Trenches 1, 2, 3, 5 and 11 Trenches 1 and 11 were oriented north–south and were respectively 17m and 21m long. Trench 3 was positioned north west- south east and was 19.4m long. Trenches 2 and 5 were aligned east–west and were 20m and 21m long. The stratigraphy in these trenches revealed 0.20–0.35m of concrete onto 0.40m–1.00m of 20th-century made ground onto London clay. No archaeology was observed and no finds were retrieved. Trenches 4, 7, 8 and 9 Trench 4 was aligned north–south and Trench 7 east–west: both were 21.7m long. Trench 8 was oriented north– south and Trench 9, east–west, these were 22.3m and 21.0m long. The stratigraphy in these trenches consisted of 0.10–0.20m of concrete onto 0.17–0.45m of brick rubble made ground, onto London clay. At the northern end of Trench 4 was a 20th-century pit, 4.50m long, which contained straw mixed with a black oily fill. A testpit was dug through the pit to establish the depth at which clean London clay appeared. The geology was clean at 2.15m deep. Trench 7 had a 20th-century pit full of contaminated waste, which was 1.80m long and 0.60m wide. 3 Three other testpits were observed in trenches 7, 8,and 9 which were dug to take samples for contamination tests. No archaeology was observed and no artefacts were recovered in these trenches. Trenches 6 and 10 Trenches 6 and 10 were oriented north east- south west and were 23.0m and 21.7m long respectively. The stratigraphy in trench 6 consisted of 0.20m concrete onto concrete footings and London clay at the south west end of the trench. This trench filled with dark green ground water and smelt of ammonia and sulphur. Trench 10 consisted of 0.20m concrete onto 0.55m mid brown clay silt and brick rubble made ground onto concrete footings. The trench was heavily contaminated with oil-like substances. No archaeology was present. Finds No finds were retrieved. Building Recording Prior to demolition of the existing structures, a digital photographic survey was carried out by the project surveyors (Atkins Faithful and Gould). Forty-seven pictures were taken, mostly of the exterior of the structures. These pictures are catalogued in Appendix 2 and their locations shown on Figure 5. Conclusion No archaeological deposits were observed, nor finds recovered from any of the trenches. The absence of any topsoil or buried topsoil on this site indicate that some truncation has taken place and that this may have been sufficient to have removed the archaeologically relevant levels.

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