EBWORTH HOUSE PAINSWICK GLOUCESTERSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS CAT PROJECT: 1318 CAT REPORT: 02031 Author: D. Kenyon, R. Morriss and M. Watts Approved: M Watts Signed: ……………………………………………………………. Issue: 03 Date: 20 December 2002 This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission. © Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd. Headquarters Building, Kemble Business Park, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6BQ Tel. 01285 771022 Fax. 01285 771033 E-mail:[email protected] Ebworth House, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology CONTENTS SUMMARY........................................................................................................................4 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 6 The site ................................................................................................................ 6 Historical background .......................................................................................... 7 Archaeological objectives .................................................................................... 8 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 8 2. EXCAVATION RESULTS.................................................................................... 10 General ................................................................................................................ 10 The early house (late 16th/early 17th century) .................................................... 10 The alterations of c.1730 ..................................................................................... 14 Later extensions................................................................................................... 17 The Yard .............................................................................................................. 18 3. STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS.................................................................................. 18 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 18 Height of the Early Building reassessed .............................................................. 19 Form of the Early Building.................................................................................... 20 The 18th-century Mansion ................................................................................... 21 The Yard, Terrace and ‘Ice House’ ...................................................................... 21 19th-century additions.......................................................................................... 22 Butler’s Cottage ................................................................................................... 22 Other buildings..................................................................................................... 24 4. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE....................................................................... 25 The Early House .................................................................................................. 25 The 18th-century Mansion ................................................................................... 26 Further Work ........................................................................................................ 26 5. ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT................................................................................ 27 6. CAT PROJECT TEAM ......................................................................................... 29 2 Ebworth House, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology 7. REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 29 APPENDIX A: THE WORKED STONE CATALOGUE DIGEST ...................................... 31 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan Fig. 2 Location of Ebworth House (1:500) Fig. 3 Plan of Ebworth House as excavated (1:100) Fig. 4 Ebworth House, south elevation (1:50) Fig. 5 Ebworth House, east elevation (1:50) Fig. 6 Ebworth House, section A (1:50) Fig. 7 Ebworth House, section B (1:50) Fig. 8 Ebworth House, west elevation (1:50) Fig. 9 Ebworth House, detail of east elevation, view to W Fig. 10 Ebworth House, east wall of Dining Room (former west elevation), view to E Fig. 11 Ebworth House, north wall of kitchen, view to S Fig. 12 Ebworth House, Gun Room fireplace, view to E Fig. 13 Ebworth House, east wall of Drawing Room, view to E Fig. 14 Ebworth House, north wall of Stair Tower, view to N Fig. 15 Ebworth House, blocked cellar windows in Passage, view to W Fig. 16 Ebworth House, fireplace in North-east Extension, view to W Fig. 17 Ebworth House in 1957, south and east elevations (from Hill 2001) Fig. 18 Ebworth House in 1957, south elevation (from Hill 2001) Fig. 19 A possible reconstruction of original building plan at Ebworth (1:100) Fig. 20 Ebworth House, west elevation (from Hill 2001) Fig. 21 Butler’s Cottage, south elevation, view to N Fig. 22 Butler’s Cottage, west elevation (north), view to E Fig. 23 Butler’s Cottage, west elevation (south), view to E Fig. 24 Stable Block, view to SW Fig. 25 Worked stone profiles types A to P Fig. 26 Worked stone profiles types R to DD Fig. 27 Worked stone profiles types FF to VV 3 Ebworth House, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology SUMMARY Site Name: Ebworth House Location: Painswick, Gloucestershire NGR: SO 899 113 Type: Archaeological excavation and building recording Date: 18 February – 22 March 2002 Location of Archive: The National Trust Site Code: EHS 02 An archaeological investigation and building recording project was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeological Trust in February and March 2002, at the request of the National Trust at Ebworth House, Painswick, Gloucestershire. The work involved the excavation of the remains of the former Ebworth House, and the compilation of a complete drawn and photographic record of the surviving standing structure. A statement of significance of the surviving structure was made, based on an analysis of the remains, and an assessment of the likely impact of any future redevelopment of the site was produced. A catalogue of worked stone recovered from the collapsed portions of the house was also compiled. A significant portion of the ground floor of the house was exposed, with walls standing in some areas up to first-floor height and with window and door openings apparent. Internal details such as fireplaces were also uncovered. A series of cellars, both collapsed and intact, were identified below the ground floor, but these were mostly not re-excavated on health and safety grounds. Two main phases of construction were identified, the first being a relatively small, though grand, 16th or 17th-century house, possibly a hunting lodge, and the second a remodelling and substantial enlargement of c. 1730 to create a small country mansion. Various modifications and additions occurred in the 19th century. The significance of the principal phases is unclear as detailed study of its context (the surrounding historic estate) was beyond the remit of this study. Generally however, the remains of the hunting lodge are likely to be more significant than those of the later mansion, although, as both only survive as a ruin, it is the building location and its influence on the developing landscape around it that is probably of greater importance. An Historic Landscape Survey of the Ebworth Estate has now (December 2002) been commissioned by 4 Ebworth House, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology the National Trust, the results of which should enable a greater understanding of the significance of the various phases of building on the surrounding historic landscape. The surviving central block of the stables, probably contemporary with the early building, is of greatest significance in terms of surviving buildings. The ruins are now exposed to the elements and, without consolidation, vulnerable to weathering and further collapse. The impact of any new building on the site of the ruins is likely to be significant, given the extent of the cellars and the fragility of the surviving remains. In the absence of a historic landscape study, the impact of new building elsewhere on the estate is difficult to gauge. However, any new building in the vicinity of the ruins (for example on the site of the workshops to the west), would probably have a much greater impact on the surviving historic landscape than any new build directly over the remains of Ebworth House. The development of this site subject to appropriate archaeological recording remains the preferred option of the project team, pending the results of the Historic Landscape Survey. 5 Ebworth House, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 In February and March 2002 Cotswold Archaeological Trust (CAT) carried out a programme of archaeological investigation and building recording for the National Trust at Ebworth House, Painswick, Gloucestershire (NGR: SO 899 113; Fig. 1). The National Trust wish to create a new residential volunteer centre