Lickmoor Coppice Croome Landscape Park Worcestershire
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LICKMOOR COPPICE CROOME LANDSCAPE PARK WORCESTERSHIRE MEASURED SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT OF FIELD MONUMENTS CA PROJECT: 1567 CA REPORT: 03079 Author: D Kenyon Approved: M Collard Signed: ……………………………………………………………. Issue: 01 Date: 10 July 2003 This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology 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 Archaeology Headquarters Building, Kemble Business Park, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6BQ Tel. 01285 771022 Fax. 01285 771033 E-mail: [email protected] Lickmoor Coppice, Croome Landscape Park: Measured Survey and Assessment © Cotswold Archaeology CONTENTS SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ 3 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 4 The site ................................................................................................................ 4 Archaeological objectives .................................................................................... 5 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 5 2. DESK-BASED ASSESSMENT ............................................................................ 6 Designated Cultural Heritage Sites...................................................................... 6 Previous archaeological work .............................................................................. 6 Pre-medieval........................................................................................................ 6 Medieval............................................................................................................... 7 Post-medieval ...................................................................................................... 8 3. MEASURED SURVEY......................................................................................... 9 4. DISCUSSION....................................................................................................... 10 4. CA PROJECT TEAM ........................................................................................... 12 5. REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 12 APPENDIX A: GAZETTEER OF RECORDED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES (FIG. 2) ...... 13 1 Lickmoor Coppice, Croome Landscape Park: Measured Survey and Assessment © Cotswold Archaeology LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location Fig. 2 Study area showing archaeological sites recorded in SMR Fig. 3 Earthwork survey Fig. 4 Study area showing surveyed earthworks and features visible in air photographs Fig. 5 Study area looking south-east towards Croome church Fig. 6 Linear features A and B, looking south-west Fig. 7 Pond O, looking west Fig. 8 Eastern field and feature M, looking south-east 2 Lickmoor Coppice, Croome Landscape Park: Measured Survey and Assessment © Cotswold Archaeology SUMMARY Site Name: Lickmoor Coppice Location: Croome Landscape Park, Worcestershire NGR: SO 8800 4580 Type: Measured Survey and Assessment Date: 19 June 2003 Location of Archive: The National Trust An archaeological survey and assessment was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in June 2003 at the request of The National Trust at Croome Landscape Park, Worcestershire. A series of earthworks were surveyed in the vicinity of Lickmoor Coppice in the north of the park. These were interpreted as the vestiges of a possibly medieval field system, including ridge-and-furrow cultivation, and field boundaries. A pond probably associated with the 18th- century landscaping of the park was also recorded. 3 Lickmoor Coppice, Croome Landscape Park: Measured Survey and Assessment © Cotswold Archaeology 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 In June 2003 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological survey and assessment for The National Trust at Croome Landscape Park, Worcestershire (centred on NGR: SO8800 4580; Fig. 1). The park as a whole is undergoing a process of restoration by The National Trust, partially funded by grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Part of the restoration scheme requires the re-flooding of an area of marshy ground at the northern end of the estate around Lickmoor Coppice in order to create wetland for wildlife, and water filter beds for the river and lake in the park. The project comprised an archaeological assessment and field survey of a number of earthworks of potential archaeological interest which survive in the vicinity of the coppice and which are likely to be submerged by the re-flooding of the area. Although a wider Archaeological and Historic Landscape Survey report has been produced (Phoenix Consulting 1997) no detailed study of these monuments had previously taken place. 1.2 The survey was carried out in accordance with a Brief for Archaeological Services issued by The National Trust (NT), and with a subsequent detailed project specification produced by CA (2003) and approved by Rob Woodside, Territory Archaeologist, National Trust Conservation Department, who was also responsible for monitoring the work. The fieldwork also followed the Standard and Guidance for archaeological field evaluation (IFA 1999), the Archaeology and the Historic Environment: Historic Landscape Survey Guidelines (NT 2000) and the Management of Archaeological Projects (English Heritage 1991). The site 1.3 The study area surveyed occupied an area of approximately 4ha in two large pasture fields immediately to the south of Lickmoor Coppice, at the northern limit of the park (Fig. 2). The site lies on broadly level ground at a height of approximately 23m AOD, although the land to the east slopes up significantly to the north-east beyond the limit of the survey area. 1.4 The underlying geology of the area is mapped as lower Lias of the Jurassic period (IGS 1979). 4 Lickmoor Coppice, Croome Landscape Park: Measured Survey and Assessment © Cotswold Archaeology Archaeological objectives 1.5 The objectives of the project were; To provide a metrically accurate drawn survey of any archaeological features visible as earthworks within the study area to the south of Lickmore Coppice and to link this to wider topographic surveys previously undertaken of the estate as a whole. To compile a photographic record of all surveyed archaeological features To support the drawn and photographic record with a desk-based assessment of all readily available cartographic and documentary historical and archaeological information, and to provide an assessment of the character, significance and state of preservation of all surveyed archaeological features. Methodology 1.6 As outlined above, the project comprised two parts, a desk-based assessment, and a measured survey. The desk-based assessment involved searches of the Worcestershire County SMR and Record Office, to examine historic map and documentary evidence; examination of aerial photographic evidence at the National Monuments Record (NMR) in Swindon; and incorporation of data from existing studies of the estate previously commissioned by The National Trust. The results of this stage are described in Section 2 below. All points of cultural heritage interest are located on Fig. 2. The gazetteer (Appendix A) correlates points of interest with their grid location and reference number on the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR). Points of interest are marked in bold in the body of the text thus, 00. 1.7 The measured survey was carried out using a Leica Total Station with onboard data logging for field data capture, supported by hand measurement and field notes where necessary. Photographs were taken using 35mm format cameras. Final survey drawings were created using CAD software, allowing both hardcopy and digital versions of drawings to be produced as defined in the NT Brief. The results of this work are described in Section 3 below. 5 Lickmoor Coppice, Croome Landscape Park: Measured Survey and Assessment © Cotswold Archaeology 2. DESK-BASED ASSESSMENT Designated Cultural Heritage Sites 2.1 Croome Landscape Park is registered Grade I within the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England (EH 2000). The study area and the adjacent Manley Grove fall within the registered park, but Lickmoor Coppice to the north lies outside the boundary (Fig. 2). 2.2 The park as a whole, including the study area, also is listed in the Worcestershire County Sites and Monuments Record (SMR No. WSM07116) as are a number of individual features within the park, such as garden buildings. None of the latter discrete features appearing in the SMR lies within the immediate vicinity of the study area. Previous archaeological work 2.3 A wider Historic Landscape Survey report has been produced covering the whole of Croome Landscape Park (Phoenix Consulting 1997). While the survey area falls within the area covered by that report, the scope of the work did not allow close examination of all parts of the estate and thus no detailed study of the earthworks within the survey area in particular has yet taken place. However, much of the background information concerning the wider park included below is drawn from this earlier work. Pre-medieval 2.4 No activity from the Roman or earlier periods is recorded from within