Journal of the Merseyside Archaeological Society Volume 14 2012 A Yeoman Farm in St Helens Excavations at Big Lea Green Farm, Sutton, 2002 A. C. Towle and J. I. Speakman With contributions by M. H. Adams, D. A. Higgins, D. Jaques, Q. Mould, R. A. Philpott and E. Simmons iii Contents Figures v Tables vii Acknowledgements viii Summary ix 1: Introduction 1 2. The Archaeological Excavations 13 3. Environmental Report 32 Archaeobotanical Analysis and Report 32 Vertebrate Remains 37 4: The Finds 41 Pottery 41 Clay Tobacco Pipes and Other Pipe-Clay Objects 80 Leather 105 Glass and Vitreous Materials 107 Stone Architectural Fragments 111 5: Discussion 112 6: Conclusions 115 References 116 Appendix A: Historical Documents Relating to Lea Green 121 Appendix B: Summary of Clay Tobacco Pipes by Context 127 iv Summary In 2002 the construction of a regional distribution of drains. Domestic pottery continued to be deposited centre by Somerfield plc provided an opportunity for into a garden soil behind the farmhouse. Between 1826 archaeologists from Liverpool Museum to excavate and 1849 a wide shallow ditch was excavated defining and survey a late medieval and post-medieval farm the south-west corner of the farm. This ditch had the at Lea Green, near St Helens. Documentary research appearance of a medieval moat, but proved to be a 19th- had already established the occupation of Big Lea century ditch/landscape feature. Green Farm during the late 17th century by Bryan Lea, ‘yeoman of Sutton’, and it probably corresponded to The farm was transformed during the late 19th century lands held by Thurstan de Standish in the 14th century. (1847-1891) with the reconstruction of the farmhouse The archaeological evaluation identified single sherds in brick, the addition of a stable block to a barn, a new of pottery dating from the 13th or 14th century. The open-sided ‘Dutch’ barn, the laying/relaying of cobbled continuous habitation of the site was briefly interrupted yards and the re-organisation of an adjacent enclosure in September 1940, when the farmhouse was badly into a kitchen garden. damaged by German bombing. The farm underwent only superficial modification The medieval occupation of the site was attested to by during the early 20th century, with alterations to the a small assemblage of pottery from the 13th century façade of the farmhouse. The farm house was badly onwards, which was present as a residual component damaged by a bomb dropped in September 1940, and throughout the sequence. Structures from this period was subsequently demolished and replaced by a brick- were largely truncated by later redevelopment of the built farmhouse which shifted the principal access to the site. The earliest post-medieval deposits were a series complex until its demise in 2002. of 16th-century pits containing waterlogged material including horn, leather, animal hair, antler, well During the course of the excavation an exceptional preserved seeds and wood fragments. collection of ceramics was recovered: dating from the 13th to the late 19th century, the post-medieval A large stone-built, cellared farmhouse, barns and a pottery forms an especially rich assemblage which coach house were built in the 17th century associated will provide a benchmark for future work in the area. with several ditches reflecting a re-organisation of the A detailed description and discussion of the ceramics farm. An associated enclosure ditch was later backfilled is included below. A regionally significant clay pipe prior to 1720 with a large assemblage of domestic assemblage has been recovered and analysed in addition pottery including residual Cistercian wares and local to horn, bone, and environmental material. The project coarse wares. demonstrated the potential for excavation of smaller yeoman farmsteads which were key components of the The 18th and early 19th centuries saw only relatively late and post-medieval rural landscape in the region and minor changes to the complex, with re-modelling of one are rarely the focus of study. of the barns in brick and the construction of a number ix Excavations at Big Lea Green Farm, Sutton Clay Tobacco Pipes and Other Pipe- in conjunction with both the stratigraphic position of Clay Objects the context and any other dating evidence. Apart from the unstratified material, there were just eight larger groups; seven containing between 14 and 38 fragments D. A. Higgins and one containing 499 fragments. The one large group produced a closely dated and nationally significant group Introduction of 19th-century material and is dealt with in detail by itself (context 69; below). The remaining material can be The detailed recording and analysis of this material, divided into two main categories; the bulk of the material, which forms the subject of this report, took place between which dates from the 17th and early 18th centuries, and a December 2002 and April 2003. smaller group, which comprises odd pieces of later 18th- and 19th-century material. Methodology In the report that follows, the five most significant context The pipe fragments for all the contexts except for a very groups are first described, followed by a general discussion large 19th-century group (context 69) have been indi- of the earlier and later pipe evidence. There is then a vidually examined and details of each fragment logged detailed account of the 19th-century group and, finally, a on an Excel worksheet. The layout of the worksheet has section dealing with the pipes as archaeological evidence. been based on a draft clay tobacco pipe recording sys- tem that has been developed at the University of Liver- Significant Context Groups pool (Higgins and Davey 2004). A context summary has also been prepared as a similar Excel worksheet. This The five most significant groups are described and gives the overall numbers of fragments and date range discussed in context number order below. The context for the pipes from each context. Digital copies of both number is given first, followed by the number of bowl, the worksheet and the draft recording system have been stem and mouthpiece fragments recovered from that provided for the site archive. context, for example, (8/29/1=38) shows that 8 bowl fragments, 29 stem fragments and 1 mouthpiece were Several of the context groups contained more than one recovered from that particular context, giving a total of 38 similar pipe bowl or marked stem. In order to identify the fragments in all. individual fragments, capital letters have been allocated to these pieces so that they can be cross-referred to Context 77 (8/29/1=38) This context comprised a baulk the computerised record. These letter codes have been across a ditch fill, which also included contexts 95 and pencilled onto the bowls following the context number. 101 (the three ditch contexts are discussed collectively They appear under a reference column (Ref) in the full below). This group includes one illegible bowl stamp catalogue as well as in the captions accompanying the (Fig. 4.18, no 5), three heel stamps reading IB and a roll- figures. An assessment of the likely date of the stem stamp decorated stem (Fig. 4.18, no 13). The fragments fragments has also been provided in the catalogue. The in the group are very large (up to 93mm long) and ‘fresh’ stem dates should, however, be used with caution since looking, with little sign of abrasion on them. There were they are much more general and less reliable than the dates many joins between the fragments enabling sections that can be determined from bowl fragments. of as much as 182mm in length to be reassembled. Unfortunately the relatively low number of stems (just 3.6 A number of stamped makers’ marks or decorative borders per bowl), and especially mouthpieces (just 1 recovered), were present within the excavated material. Some of these meant that it was not possible to reconstruct any complete marks have been added to the national catalogue of pipe pipes, which the nature of the group suggests may well stamps that is being compiled by the author. Any ‘Die have been present originally. The pipe bowls are almost Numbers’ quoted in this report refer to the individual dies all of c. 1660-90 forms, made of an off-white, micaceous identified within this national catalogue. fabric that would have been obtained from the local coal- measure deposits. None of these bowls is milled and The Pipes Themselves most have a good burnish on them. The only exception is a single bowl made of a good, white, clay, which was The excavations produced a total of 781 pieces of pipe, probably imported from south-west England (Fig. 4.20, no comprising 339 bowl, 409 stem and 33 mouthpiece 24). This example has a slightly later looking bowl form fragments. The pipes were recovered from 38 excavated than the other examples from this context, being of a type contexts, in addition to which there is a group of that would normally be dated to around 1690-1720. It may unstratified finds. Most of these groups contain between well have been made in Chester, where imported fabrics just one and eight fragments of pipe (see Appendix B). had been used since the early 17th century, but it is not Although the finds from these smaller groups can be dated, clear if this bowl is intrusive in this context or whether the these dates are not as reliable as those produced by the different looking form simply reflects stylistic differences larger groups and the pipe evidence needs to be considered in contemporary production at Rainford and Chester. 80 Chapter 4: Finds Fig. 4.18: 1-15: Clay tobacco pipes, scale 1:1 81 Excavations at Big Lea Green Farm, Sutton Context 77 also produced a stem with a roll-stamped particularly glossy surface.