Netherhouse Farm, Sewardstone, Epping Forest, Essex

An Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment

for Waltham Forest Friendly Society

by Heather Hopkins

Thames Valley Archaeological

Services Ltd

Site Code NFC08/97

October 2008 Summary

Site name: Netherhouse Farm, Sewardstone, Epping Forest, Essex

Grid reference: TQ 3867 9745

Site activity: Desk-based assessment

Project manager: Steve Ford

Site supervisor: Heather Hopkins

Site code: NFC 08/97

Area of site: c. 50 ha

Summary of results: The site lies in an area where comparatively little archaeological research has been carried out, but which has produced limited evidence for prehistoric and Roman settlement, and is in a topographic setting that may have been favoured for early settlement. The site has never been developed. There is only a very low potential for any remains of national importance to be present, but a moderate potential for remains of local interest. Golf course construction would involve some truncation of the archaeologically relevant levels. It is anticipated that further information on the archaeological potential of the site will be required from field observations (trial trenching) in order to devise a mitigation strategy if required.

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 08.10.08 Steve Preston9 10.10.08

Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email [email protected]; website : www.tvas.co.uk

Netherhouse Farm, Sewardstone, Epping, Essex An Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment

by Heather Hopkins

Report 08/97 Introduction

This desk-based study is an assessment of the archaeological potential of land located at Netherhouse Farm,

Sewardstone, Epping, Essex (TQ 386 975) (Fig. 1). The project was commissioned by Mr Bruce weller, of

Weller Designs Ltd, Bishopsmead House, Bishops Mead, West Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7DU, on behalf of

Waltham Forest Friendly Society, and comprises the first stage of a process to determine the presence/absence, extent, character, quality and date of any archaeological remains which may be affected by development of the area.

Planning permission is to be sought from Epping Forest District Council to construct an eighteen-hole golf course centred on Barn Hill. The development will landscape the site altering the contours and include the formation of seven water features.

Site description, location and geology

The site consists of the top and slopes of Barn Hill, a wooded outcrop in the midst of open agricultural land. A site visit on 10th October 2008 confirmed that the site currently consists of open farmland with two small wooded areas (the most northerly one shown on the Ordance Survey is not present). There is mixed vegetation but no development may be seen on the site. The development area is centred on TQ 386 975. The site is on the summit of Barn Hill, mainly located on London Clay, with a capping of till (mainly chalky, sandy clay), and the possibility of patches of Claygate Member London Clay and Bagshot Formation Sand along the eastern margin

(BGS 1994). The site rises from 28m above Ordnance Datum at the extremities to a ridge at 80m in the centre, and covers approximately 0.5 sq km.

Planning background and development proposals

Planning permission is to be sought from Epping Forest District Council to develop the present open land into an eighteen-hole golf course. Preliminary proposals indicate that the upper slopes will be landscaped by cutting and filling the present contours while the lower slopes will be landscaped through the importing of additional soil.

Seven water features would be created. It is understood that the existing woodland/copses within the site will be retained.

Archaeology and Planning (PPG 16 1990) provides guidance relating to archaeology within the planning process. It points out that where a desk-based assessment has shown that there is a strong possibility of significant archaeological deposits in a development area it is reasonable to provide more detailed information from a field evaluation so that an appropriate strategy to mitigate the effects of development on archaeology can be devised:

Paragraph 21 states:

‘Where early discussions with local planning authorities or the developer’s own research indicate

that important archaeological remains may exist, it is reasonable for the planning authority to

request the prospective developer to arrange for an archaeological field evaluation to be carried

out...’

Should the presence of archaeological deposits be confirmed further guidance is provided. Archaeology and

Planning stresses preservation in situ of archaeological deposits as a first consideration as in paragraphs 8 and

18.

Paragraph 8 states:

‘...Where nationally important archaeological remains, whether scheduled or not, and their

settings, are affected by proposed development there should be a presumption in favour of their

physical preservation...’

Paragraph 18 states:

‘The desirability of preserving an ancient monument and its setting is a material consideration in

determining planning applications whether that monument is scheduled or unscheduled...’

However, for archaeological deposits that are not of such significance it is appropriate for them to be ‘preserved by record’ (i.e., fully excavated and recorded by a competent archaeological contractor) prior to their destruction or damage.

Paragraph 25 states:

‘Where planning authorities decide that the physical preservation in situ of archaeological remains

is not justified in the circumstances of the development and that development resulting in the

destruction of the archaeological remains should proceed, it would be entirely reasonable for the

planning authority to satisfy itself ... that the developer has made appropriate and satisfactory

provision for the excavation and recording of remains.’

The site is within the District of Epping Forest. The Epping Forest Local Plan (1998) was amended in 2006 as part of the Local Development Framework. Policies relating to archaeology were retained from the original Plan

(EFD2008). These include:

‘Policy HC1- scheduled monuments and other archaeological sites ‘On sites of known or potential archaeological interest, planning permission will only be granted for development which would not adversely affect nationally important remains, whether scheduled or not, or their settings. The council will also require: ‘(i) the results of an archaeological evaluation to be submitted as part of any application; ‘(ii) the preservation in situ, and provision for appropriate management, of those remains ‘And their settings considered to be of particular importance; ‘(iii) provision for recording and/or excavation by a competent archaeological organisation ‘Prior to the commencement of development, where in situ preservation is not justified.

‘Policy HC2- ancient landscapes ‘The council will not grant planning permission for development which could adversely affect the nature and physical appearance of ancient landscapes (identified as such on the proposals map).

‘Policy HC3- registered parkland ‘The council will not grant planning permission for development which could adversely affect the areas of registered parkland (identified as such on the proposals map).

‘Policy HC4- protected lanes, commons and village greens ‘The council will not grant planning permission for any development which would damage or be detrimental to the historic or landscape character of protected lanes (identified as such on the proposals map), commons or village greens.

‘Policy HC5- Epping Forest ‘The Council will not grant planning permission for any development or use which could prejudice the historic nature and wildlife value of Epping Forest (identified on the Proposals Map) or its function as open space for the purposes of public enjoyment.

‘Policy HC6- Character, Appearance And Setting Of Conservation Areas ‘Within or adjacent to a conservation area, the Council will not grant planning permission for any development, or give listed building consent or consent for works to trees, which could be detrimental to the character, appearance or setting of the conservation area.’

The site is close to the edges of, but not within, both Epping Forest and the Lee Valley Regional Park. Green

Lane, along the site’s eastern boundary, forms a linear extension of the Lee Valley Regional Park. The site is not specifically designated an ‘ancient landscape’ on the Proposals Map.

English Heritage (2005) also provides specific guidance relating to golf courses, the gist of which is that the building of new golf courses may be incompatible with sympathetic management and conservation of historic landscapes, and that assessment of impacts on archaeology should be required prior to the formulation of specific

designs. This (draft) guidance relates specifically to registered parks and gardens, but the principles may also be extended to ‘the wider historic landscape’.

Methodology

The assessment of the site was carried out by the examination of pre-existing information from a number of sources recommended by the Institute of Field Archaeologists paper ‘Standards in British Archaeology’ covering desk-based studies. These sources include historic and modern maps, the Essex Historic Environment Record, geological maps and any relevant publications or reports.

Archaeological background

General background

Sewardstone is located just south of the medieval town of Waltham Holy Cross and Waltham Abbey, on the floodplain of the river Lea. The Lea (or Lee) Valley in general is recognized as a rich source of prehistoric archaeology, particularly for the otherwise elusive Mesolithic period (Jacobi 1980; 1996), with activity apparently attracted to riverine locations (Reynier 1998). Mesolithic finds, in particular, have been found within or below stratified peat deposits in the Lea floodplain on both sides of the county border, notably at Broxbourne

(Herts) (Warren et al. 1934; Allison et al. 1952).

Waltham was not a major centre in Roman times, having no connection to the major road network (Drury and Rodwell 1980), although the river Lea itself would have served as a useful transport corridor and two major routes skirt the area, one on the far side of the Lea and one leading from London towards Great Dunmow..

Excavations on the line of what was thought to be a Roman road (Sewardstone Street) showed it to have 17th- century origins at the point investigated. Nevertheless, there is growing evidence for Roman settlement in

Waltham with persistent finds of stray or residual Roman material and minor occupation features.

Excavation has revealed Saxon activity on the site of Waltham Abbey, possibly ecclesiastical, predating the

Abbey’s foundation. A middle Saxon cemetery near the early church has been partially excavated (Wade 1997).

Medieval remains abound within the town, centred on the Abbey of the Holy Cross. Almost every archaeological observation recorded in the town (and Waltham has been extensively excavated) has revealed surviving medieval deposits, occasionally at some depth.

Away from Waltham, little investigation has taken place in the vicinity: this is reflected in the paucity of records from the HER search (below).

Essex Historic Environment Record

A search was made on the Essex Historic Environment Record (HER) on 3rd September 2008 for a radius of

1km around the centre of the proposal site. This revealed just twelve entries within the search radius. None is on the site itself. These are summarized as Appendix 1 and their locations are plotted on Figure 1.

Prehistoric None of the HER entries relates to prehistory.

Roman Two entries are for finds of the Roman period. One records the finding of Roman tiles on Lepitts Hill,

(presumably Lippitts Hill) east of the site [Fig. 1: 1] while the second is for an excavation, west of the site [2], in

1975, which recorded pits and gullies containing a variety of Roman finds including pottery, metal items, a coin and animal bone. It was suggested that this might indicate the presence of a villa, and although this need not necessarily be the case, a settlement of some sort of this period is indicated.

Saxon There are no records for the Saxon period within the search radius.

Medieval The HER suggests that Sewardstone may include the site of a deserted medieval hamlet [3]. It is unclear why this should be suggested: presumably based on the placename evidence (below), but there is no immediately apparent reason to suppose the settlement here was ever deserted, records indicate Sewardstone has been continuously occupied although the 80 inhabitants listed in 1235 (see below) seem likely to be more than the early post-medieval population. The ‘White House’ at Gilwell Park [4] is a timber-framed listed building, possibly dating from the end of the medieval period, certainly the late 16th century, with later additions.

Post-medieval, modern The majority of the HER entries are for post-medieval listed buildings. These include Carrolls Farmhouse (18th century) and barn (mid/late 16th century?) [5], Sewardstone Lodge (late 18th or early 19th century) [6], the 19th- century Grade II* listed Luthers farmhouse [7], and Netherhouse farmhouse (18th century)[8]. There is an entry for the cartographic depiction of ‘Silver Street’ by Chapman and Andre [9], which is suggested to indicate another deserted settlement: the cartographic review presented below demonstrates that, in fact, Chapman and

Andre were depicting Gilwell Park (see Fig. 6).

Two entries are for 20th-century defence installations. On Lippitts Hill is one of the best preserved Second

World War heavy anti-aircraft emplacements in the county, and this site also includes a prisoner-of-war camp, magazine, and Cold War period command centre [10]. On the summit of Grange Hill are three anti-aircraft gun emplacements dating from 1914, and allocated to the defence of the Waltham Abbey gunpowder factory; this site was also re-equipped and re-used in the Second World War [11].

Scheduled Ancient Monuments

There are no Scheduled Ancient Monuments within 1km of the site.

Cartographic and documentary sources

Sewardstone was not recorded separately in the Domesday Survey, but may have been included in the manor of

Waltham at this time. Waltham was recorded in the Little Domesday of AD1086 (a more detailed document than the main Domesday survey, but covering only Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk). The place name Waltham means no more than ‘homestead in a forest’, from the Old English wald (or weald) and ham, the ‘Abbey’ affix being later and derived from the Abbey of the Holy Cross. Ham can be demonstrated to be one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon place name elements, and might imply settlement as early as the 5th or 6th century (Cameron 1996, 141). At the time of the Domesday survey the land was almost entirely in church hands, divided between the Abbey itself and the Bishop of Durham: the latter held the major portion of the manor at this time. A small portion also belonged to Ranulf brother of Ilger. The Domesday entry is difficult to interpret in places, involves multiple transfers of ownership, and appears incomplete (VCH 1966, 151). More than 160 villagers are recorded, along with five fisheries and three mills. A total of 47½ plough teams were maintained, which represents a huge area of arable land, but nevertheless most of the land appears to have been forest (Rumble 1983, sections 8,1; 32,7; 37,9;

Williams and Martin 2002, 980, 1030). It is possible there was a Royal estate, and it was the hundredal meeting- place. It is not certain that even this huge area would certainly have included Sewardstone and the proposal site, as although the Abbey’s lands extended into Epping, later references indicate that at least some land at

Sewardstone was added to Waltham later.

The place name Sewardstone is also Anglo-Saxon, deriving from a man’s name and tun (farmstead, estate or village) but is not recorded until the 12th century. The manor of Sewardstone was first mentioned by name in

1177, when Henry II (who by then held the former Bishop of Durham’s manor) granted land there to the canons of Waltham. By the 13th century most of the land in Sewardstone had passed to the Abbey. A rental of c. 1235

lists about 170 tenements in Waltham manor and about 80 in Sewardstone. In 1294 Sewardstone hamlet comprised a manor house at Sewardstonebury, near the Chingford boundary, and a line of ancient houses, forming Sewardstone village, along the road running south. Sewardstone remained part of Waltham Abbey’s demesne until the Dissolution. (VCH 1966, 151-162).

The town of Waltham dwindled after the dissolution until the founding there of the Royal Gunpowder

Mills, in 1660. These went on to become the most important site for the manufacture of explosives in Europe

(Gilman et al., 1997). As the powder mills expanded so the town began to prosper again, Sewardstone also growing in its shadow. Explosives production at Waltham Abbey stopped in 1945 and the premises reopened immediately as a research and testing establishment (Gilman 1997).

The King George V reservoir was constructed in 1913, to the west of the site (VCH 1966, 151–62).

Sewardstone itself is probably best known for Gilwell Park, which since 1919 has been the world headquarters of the Scouting movement.

A range of Ordnance Survey and other historical maps of the area were consulted at Essex Record Office in order to ascertain what activity had been taking place throughout the site’s later history and whether this may have affected any possible archaeological deposits within the proposal area (see Appendix 2).

The earliest available map of the area is Christopher Saxton’s 1576 map of the county of Essex (Fig. 2).

Sewardstone is not marked, but Waltham Forest and Waltham Holy Cross (Walth[a]m S[an]cti Crvcis) are both shown. The absence of Sewardstone from this depiction is not conclusive proof that there was no hamlet here, only that it fell below the threshold of Saxton’s attention. It does, though, imply the population must have been considerably fewer than the 80 noted in the 13th century. On John Oliver’s map of Essex of 1696,

Sewardstonebury is depicted as a hamlet to the west of hills (Fig. 3). The settlement is shown to be smaller and less important than Waltham Abbey to the north, in which a large church, other buildings and roads are shown.

Waltham Cross is depicted as a separate settlement, in Middlesex. East of the area of the site is a notation for the

King’s Oak. John Warburton’s map of 1726 begins to show more reliable detail for the area, including buildings in Sewardstone and more detail of the road layout (Fig. 4). The area of the site is open country.

A manorial map of 1754 (Fig. 5) shows the field boundaries, roads, lanes and buildings in detail. The area of the site is defined by Green Lane on the east, Mott Street on the north, Sewardstone Green to the south, and to the west by field boundaries that are almost identical to those of the present day. Barn Hill is named for the first time, and the main elements of the landscape, even down to two of the present three copses, are shown in

identical form to the current layout. The land not under tree cover is divided into only slightly more fields than today, and it appears that some of those subdivisions have been highlighted on the original map (not obvious in the fiche version reproduced here) perhaps indicating that as early as 1754 they were set for removal. However this cannot be confirmed, and the map does appear to have been annotated in at least three different hands, possibly many years after it was drawn. Sewardstone Lodge, Carrolls, Luthers Farm and Netherhouse Farm are all named. Assuming it is the same building, this may allow a revision of the date assigned to Sewardstone

Lodge (above: and note it appears the same on both the early Ordnance Survey maps). To the south of the site,

‘Gillwell Farm’ and ‘Gillwell Park’ stand on Silver Street; the depiction of Gilwell Park indicates a formal park garden, whose basic layout remains unchanged through later mapping. The ‘White House’ in Gilwell Park is not named as such on this map. The accompanying list of landholders names the various fields within the site:

Farther Field, Hennels, Brook Field, Worral Field, Stock Grove, Barn Hill, Irish Hill, King’s Field, Sewardstone

Green Field, Black Leaze, Great Field, Great Hill, and the copses: Great Grove and Manning Arbour. All the fields (and all those surrounding the site) are listed as farmland.

Chapman and André’s map of Essex of 1777 shows less detail, but confirms that the road layout was recognizable in almost its current form (Fig. 6). The area of the site can be reasonably accurately picked out on this map; it is shown entirely as open country, with a prominent hill. Both Sewardstone and Sewardstonebury and the individual buildings within them are shown. Netherhouse is named within Sewardstone, and there is a

‘White House’ to the south-west of the site, in the location of Sewardstone Lodge: it is possible this label has simply been misplaced from Gilwell Park. Chapman and Andre do not depict Gilwell Park as such although there are buildings on Silver Street. The Tithe map of 1842 was too badly deteriorated to be useful, and the apportionment has not survived. No enclosure map has survived.

The definitive mapping of the Ordnance Survey (1875) shows little change in the area (Fig. 7). The layout of the site itself is identical to that of 1754. Some additional lines across the site which might appear to be added boundaries on this depiction can be shown from the Second Edition to be footpaths, and not subdivisions of the fields. Green Lane is shown more specifically as a hollow way. All the current listed buildings are shown and

Gillwell Park (still with four ‘l’s) depicted in some detail. The Second Edition of 1897/8 shows no change except two of the lines that may have been taken to be boundaries on the First Edition are now defined as footpaths. The site remains undeveloped (Fig. 8).

Listed buildings

There are no listed buildings on the site, the closest being the farmhouse and barn at Carrolls and the ‘White

House’ at Gilwell Park, both to the south. These will not be affected by the proposed development.

Registered Parks and Gardens; Registered Battlefields

There are no registered parks and gardens or registered battlefields within close proximity of the site.

Historic Hedgerows

All the hedgerows on the site have been present since 1754 at latest. However, they do not form part of a parish boundary or Scheduled Monument or other archaeological site, and there is no reason to suspect that they predate 1600. The pattern of the hedges certainly appears post-enclosure (although no enclosure map for the area was located). They therefore fail to satisfy the requirements to be defined as ‘important’ on historical grounds under Schedule 1 of the Hedgerow Regulations 1997 (as amended).

Aerial Photographs

A search was made on the database of aerial photographs held by the National Monuments Record on 29th

August 2008 for a radius of 1km around the proposal site. This revealed 74 vertical photographs from 25 sorties flown between 1941 and 1991, and no oblique (specialist) views (Appendix 3). These photographs were viewed on 29th September 2008. No cropmarks unambiguously representing potential archaeological features were visible, but several of the photographs (e.g., Plate 1 from 1969) show faint marks in the northernmost field that could perhaps be subsurface structural features of some sort. Even though they are visible in several different years, however, these are rather dubious.

The aerial photographs do, however, show that the most northerly of the three copses on the site (not shown on any historical mapping) was still not present as late as 1971; nor is it present today.

Discussion

In considering the archaeological potential of the study area, various factors must be taken into account, including previously recorded archaeological sites, previous land-use and disturbance and future land-use including the proposed development.

The site lies in an area where the recorded evidence suggests only limited archaeological potential.

However, a lack of archaeological evidence from an area is often a result of a lack of systematic investigation rather than a genuine absence of archaeological remains, and this appears likely to be the case here. The Lea

Valley more generally is rich in finds and sites of all periods, and the only previous archaeological investigation in the near vicinity revealed evidence for Roman settlement at Northfields nursery, whilst there is considerable evidence for prehistoric and Roman settlement at Waltham. The topographic setting of the site, a locally prominent ridge spur in a river valley, would have been an attractive site for early settlement (particularly the small plateau at the south end of the site). Green Lane, which marks the eastern boundary of the site, may be a medieval hollow way (although there is no positive evidence dating it earlier than 1754). If so, it implies that the area was farmed in the medieval period (as would be expected in any case), and so it is possible that the site may contain evidence from this period. The aerial photographic evidence is very uncertain, it is just possible that some faint cropmarks at the north end of the site might be deeply buried features.

The site has been virtually unchanged since detailed mapping began and has never been developed; any potential archaeological deposits on the site can be expected to have survived intact, subject only perhaps to the damaging effects of deep ploughing. Conversely, ploughing on slopes such as here may also lead to a build up of soil downslope over time, burying the ancient surface more deeply and potentially protecting archaeological features.

The construction of the golf course will inevitably entail disturbance of subsoil deposits and thus may have an adverse impact on the archaeologically relevant level. It is expected that the lower slopes will mainly be built up while landscaping on the higher areas will include a mix of cut and fill; it is possible that no mitigation may therefore be required on the lower slopes.

It is anticipated that it will be necessary to provide further information about the potential of the site from field observations in order to draw up a scheme to mitigate the impact of development on any below-ground archaeological deposits if necessary. A scheme for this evaluation will need to be drawn up and approved by the archaeological advisers to the District and implemented by a competent archaeological contractor, such as an organization registered with the Institute of Field Archaeologists.

References

Allison, J, Godwin, H and Warren, S H, 1952, ‘Late glacial deposits at Nazeing in the Lea Valley, North London’, Phil Trans Roy Soc London, ser B, 236, 169–240 Bedwin, O (ed), 1996, The Archaeology of Essex; proceedings of the Writtle conference, Chelmsford BGS, 1994, British Geological Survey, Sheet 256, Drift/Solid Edition, Scale 1:50,000

Bryant, S, 1997, ‘Iron Age’, in J Glazebrook (ed), Research and Archaeology: a framework for the Eastern Counties: 1- Resource assessment, E Anglian Archaeol Occas Pap 3, 23–34 Cameron, K, 1996, English Place Names, London Drury, P J and Rodwell, W J, 1980, ‘Settlement in the later Iron Age and Roman periods’, in D G Buckley (ed), Archaeology in Essex to AD 1500, CBA Res Rep 34, 59–75 EFD, 2008, Combined Policies of Epping Forest Local Plan (1998) and Alterations (2006), Epping English Heritage, 2005, ‘Guidance on golf in historic parks and landscapes’, consultation draft, London Gilman, P, Glazebrook, J, Green, S and Gould, S, 1997, ‘Post-Medieval and Later’ in J Glazebrook (ed), Research and Archaeology: a framework for the Eastern Counties: 1- Resource assessment, E Anglian Archaeol Occas Pap 3, 67–80 Jacobi, R M, 1980, ‘The Mesolithic of Essex’, in Buckley D G (ed), Archaeology in Essex to AD 1500, CBA Res Rep 34, 14–25 Jacobi, R M, 1996, ‘The Late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic in Essex’, in O Bedwin (ed), The Archaeology of Essex; Proceedings of the Writtle Conference, 10–14, Chelmsford Mills, A D, 1998, Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford Petchey, M R, 1980, ‘The archaeology of medieval towns in Essex’, in D G Buckley (ed), Archaeology in Essex to AD1500, CBA Res Rep 34, London, 113–7 PPG16, 1990, Dept of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance 16, Archaeology and Planning, HMSO Reynier, M J, 1998, ‘Early Mesolithic settlement in England and Wales: some preliminary observations’ in N Ashton, F Healy and P Pettitt (eds), Stone Age Archaeology; essays in honour of John Wymer Oxbow Monogr 102/Lithic Stud Soc Occas Pap 6 Rumble, A (ed), 1983, Domesday Book, Chichester VCH, 1966, Victoria History of the Counties of England: Essex, v, London Wade, K, 1997, ‘Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Rural’ in J Glazebrook (ed), Research and Archaeology: a framework for the Eastern Counties: 1- Resource assessment, E Anglian Archaeol Occas Pap 3, 47–58 Warren, S H, Clark, J G D, Godwin, H, Godwin, M E and MacFadyean, W A, 1934, ‘An early Mesolithic site at Broxbourne sealed under Boreal peat’, J Roy Anthropol Inst 64, 101–8 Williams, A and Martin, G H, 2002, Domesday Book, A complete Translation, London

APPENDIX 1: Essex Historic Environment Records within a 1km search radius of the centre of the site

No SMR Ref Grid Ref (TQ) Type Period Comment 1 3459 3962 9739 Findspot Roman Tiles; grid reference uncertain. 2 3463 380 976 Findspot Roman Occasional reports of finds of various sorts. Excavation 1975 Excavation revealed pits and gullies with pottery and a coin. Suggestion of a possible villa. 3 3458 385 983 Documentary Medieval Deserted hamlet (site of) 4 34087 39634 96476 Listed Building Medieval or The White House; Gilwell Park, 16th- or 17th-century timber Post-medieval framed house with later additions 5 34155 38942 96734 Listed building Medieval or Mid 16th-century timber barn. Carrolls: 18th-century (and 34134 38920 96688 Post-medieval earlier?) farmhouse 6 34156 37980 96912 Listed building Post-medieval Sewardstone Lodge, late 18th or early 19th-century 7 34157 38056 97244 Listed building Post-medieval Luthers; 19th-century house. Grade II* 8 34162 38378 97952 Listed building Post-medieval Netherhouse, 18th-century farmhouse 9 3460 386 967 Cartographic Post-medieval ‘Silver Street’ shown on Chapman and Andre map, presumed deserted settlement 10 10374 3961 9705 Monument Modern Anti-aircraft gun emplacements and commemorative pillar. 11 20573 3904 9831 Monument Modern Anti-aircraft gun emplacements

Listed Buildings Grade II unless stated.

APPENDIX 2: Historic and modern maps consulted

1576 Saxton’s county map (Fig. 2) 1696 Oliver’s county map (Fig. 3) 1726 Warburton’s county map (Fig. 4) 1754 Map of the Manor of Sewardstone (Fig. 5) 1777 Chapman and Andre’s county map (Fig. 6) 1875 Ordnance Survey First Edition 6-inch series sheets (Fig. 7) 1897/8 Ordnance Survey Second Edition 6-inch series sheet 57 (Fig. 8)

APPENDIX 3: Aerial Photographs consulted

All vertical prints

No Year taken Sortie number Frame number Grid ref (TQ) Comment 1 1941 RAF/S316 5–6 389 967 2 1944 RAF/106G/LA/29 3099–100 381 965 3 1946 RAF/3G/TUD/UK/88 5047–9 385 977 4 1948 RAF/541/183 3032–3, 4032 374 982 5 1949 RAF/CPE/UK/1779 3138–40 379 977 6 1951 RAF/58/764 5045–6, 5095–6 381 974 7 1952 RAF/540/656 4007–9 386 967 8 1952 RAF/540/738 4116–8 388 969 9 1955 RAF/540/1543 298–9 382 974 10 1955 RAF/58/1901 441–3 400 968 442, 443 not available to view 11 1956 MAL56226 34047–8 376 977 not available to view 12 1956 RAF/58/2053 43–4 377 970 13 1961 RAF/543/1426 114–5 384 971 14 1965 MAL/65056 19–20 386 969 15 1966 FSL/6641/1 1130–1, 1167–8 386 984 16 1969 OS/69443 214–6 393 984 216 not available to view 17 1969 OS/69444 256–8 383 975 256 not available to view 18 1970 HSL/UK/70/1064 718–9 389 971 19 1971 MAL/71036 1–3, 97–102 389 979 20 1971 MAL71064 212–3 381 978 21 1976 MAL76056 138–9, 155–6 379 971 139, 155 not available to view 22 1978 MAL78018 32–3 368 984 32 not available to view 23 1980 MAL80030 172–3 395 971 172 not available to view 24 1991 OS/91175A 223–4 379 973 25 1991 OS/91175B 291–3 392 966

NB : Grid reference given is for start of run; multiple frames may offer wide coverage.

14 Colchester SITE 00000 Harlow Chelmsford

Brentwood Basildon Southend

99000

3 11 SITE

98000 8

1 7

10 97000 6

9 5

96000

TQ37000 38000 39000 NFC08/97

Netherhouse Farm, Sewardstone, Epping, Essex, 2008 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment

Figure 1. Location of site within Sewardstone and Essex.

Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Explorer 174 at 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Licence 100025880 Approximate location of Site