Land at 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire
An Archaeological Evaluation
for Ambleland Limited
by Andy Taylor
Thames Valley Archaeological Services
Ltd
Site Code LCS 06/112
January 2009 Summary
Site name: Land at 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire
Grid reference: SU 9505 8020
Site activity: Evaluation
Date and duration of project: 22nd-26th January 2009
Project manager: Steve Ford
Site supervisor: Andy Taylor
Site code: LCS 06/112
Area of site: c.0.3 hectares
Summary of results: Four gullies and seven ditches were revealed. Four of the ditches are certainly or probably dated to the medieval period.
Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Reading 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 02.02.09 Jo Pine 9 02.02.09
i
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 Land at 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire An Archaeological Evaluation
by Andy Taylor
Report 06/112
Introduction
This report documents the results of an archaeological field evaluation carried out 41-47 Lower Cippenham
Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire (SU 9505 8020) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Peter Walsh of Ambleland Limited, 144 Lower Cippenham Lane, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 5EA.
Planning permission (app no P/13448/000) has been granted on appeal (APP/J0350/A/06/2013928) by
Slough Borough Council for the demolition of one of the existing buildings and the construction of new houses and flats. The consent is subject to a condition (8) relating to archaeology which requires archaeology to be considered.
This is in accordance with the Department of the Environment’s Planning Policy Guidance, Archaeology and Planning (PPG16 1990), and the Borough Council’s policies on archaeology. The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Mr David Thomason, then Archaeology Officer with Berkshire
Archaeology, advisers to the Borough on matters relating to archaeology and was monitored by Ms Mary
O’Donoghue, the current holder of the position. The fieldwork was undertaken by Andy Taylor, Vanja
Blomquist, Arkadiusz Gnas and Gemma Watson between the 22nd and 26th January 2009 and the site code is
LCS 06/112. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Reading Museum in due course.
Location, topography and geology
The site is located on an irregular parcel of land on the south side of Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham,
Slough, Berkshire (Fig. 2). The site is largely open space in the back gardens of numbers 41-47 with the access from the now demolished 41 Lower Cippenham Lane. It is bounded by houses to the north, east and west with a stream to the south. According to the British Geological Survey the underlying geology comprises Taplow gravel (BGS 2005), however Brickearth was encountered in all trenches and the site lies at a height of approximately 22m above Ordnance Datum.
1 Archaeological background
The archaeological potential of the site has been highlighted in a brief for the project prepared by David
Thomason, formerly of Berkshire Archaeology (Thomason 2006). In summary, it stems from its location in an area relatively rich in archaeological deposits. Extensive excavations took place immediately to the south and west of the proposal site prior to large scale development of the ‘Cippenham Sector’ in 1995-7 and 2006, which examined a wide range of deposits of prehistoric, Iron Age, Roman and medieval date (Ford et al. 2003; Taylor in prep). These finds included Neolithic and Bronze Age occupation, Bronze Age ring ditch (levelled burial mound), Iron Age and Roman enclosures and field systems, and part of the medieval village of Cippenham.
Excavation of a Roman site also took place to the north of the site (Howell and Durden 2003). To the west of the site is what is considered to be a medieval moat though the status of this monument is unclear and has now been built upon. Cippenham moated manorial site (a scheduled ancient monument) is also located to the south east of the site.
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.
Specific aims of the project are;
To determine if archaeologically relevant levels have survived on this site.
To determine if archaeological deposits of any period are present
To determine if there is any prehistoric occupation on the site
To determine if any medieval deposits are present reflecting use of the area as a moated site.
Five trenches were dug using a small 360° type machine fitted with a toothless ditching bucket under constant archaeological supervision. All spoilheaps were monitored for finds.
Results
The trenches (Fig. 3) were all dug as near as possible to their intended locations and they measured between
19.10m and 21.60m in length and between 0.36m and 0.94m deep. A complete list of trenches giving lengths, breadths, depths and a description of sections and geology is given in Appendix 1. A large portion of the site had already had topsoil removed during the demolition of swimming pools and removal of associated services.
2 Trench 1 (Figs 3 -5; Plate x) This trench measured 19.50m in length and 0.38m deep. It was aligned west - east. The stratigraphy consisted of subsoil overlying brickearth natural geology. A ditch was located and a slot (1) was dug across it measuring
1.10m in length, 1.05m wide and 0.11m deep. One sherd of medieval pottery was recovered from its yellowey grey sandy clay fill (52).
Trench 2 (Figs 3-5; Plate x) This trench measured 21.60m in length and 0.74m deep. It was aligned north - south. The stratigraphy consisted of topsoil overlying subsoil overlying a subsoil/brickearth mix, overlying brickearth. A ditch and a gully were located at the northern end of this trench. A slot was dug to determine the relationship between these two features, with gully 3 being cut by ditch 4. No finds were recovered from either of these features.
Trench 3 (Figs 3-5)
This trench measured 20.40m in length and 0.36m deep. It was aligned south west - north east. The stratigraphy consisted of subsoil overlying brickearth. A ditch was located and a slot (2) was dug across it measuring 0.80m in length, 0.85m wide and 0.40m deep. Its light grey silty clay fill (53) only contained a single piece of burnt flint.
Trench 4 (Figs 3-5, Plate 2)
This trench measured 19.10m in length and 0.94m deep. It was aligned north - south. The stratigraphy consisted of topsoil overlying subsoil overlying brickearth. A gully (7) and ditch (8) were located at the southern end of this trench. A relationship slot was dug through these which showed that the ditch cut the gully. The gully had a single fill, whereas with the ditch contained three. Neither produced any dating evidence. A second ditch was located further to the north. A slot (6) was dug across this measuring 0.85m in length, 1.40m wide and 0.28m deep. 42 pieces of pottery were recovered from its dark grey silty clay fill (58). Two further gullies (10 and 11) were located at the northern end of the trench. Neither of these produced any dating evidence.
Trench 5 (Figs 3-5. Plate 1)
This trench measured 19.70m in length and 0.73m deep. It was aligned east - west. The stratigraphy consisted of topsoil overlying subsoil overlying brickearth, two ditches were located (5) and (9) truncating this geology.
Ditch 5 was, 0.80m wide and 0.26m deep. Its light grey sandy clay fill (57) contained two pieces of medieval
3 pottery. Ditch 9 was 1.10m wide and 0.24m. Its mid grey silty clay fill (63) contained 169 pieces of medieval pottery.
Finds
Pottery by Paul Blinkhorn
The pottery assemblage comprised 219 sherds with a total weight of 4621g. The estimated vessel equivalent
(EVE), by summation of surviving rimsherd circumference was 1.41. It entirely consisted of unglazed coarsewares typical of sites in the region, and all of 12th century date. The bulk of the pottery came from a single feature, and appears to be a large dump of domestic material.
The following fabrics were noted:
F1: Sandy Coarseware. 12th century? Moderate to dense sub-angular quartz up to 0.5mm, rare rounded ironstone up to 2mm. 213 sherds, 4113g, EVE = 1.22.
F2: Sand and flint-tempered ware. 12th century? Sparse to moderate sub-rounded quartz up to
0.5mm, rare to sparse sub-rounded calcareous material up to 4mm, rare to sparse flint up to 3mm.
Very similar to Newbury A/B ware (eg Mepham 1997, 51-2). 5 sherds, 508g, EVE = 0.19.
The pottery occurrence by number and weight of sherds per context by fabric type is shown in Appendix 3. The sandy ware, F1, is very typical of sites in this area of the Thames Valley, and can be paralleled at Reading
(Blinkhorn 2007), Windsor (Mepham 1993) and Eton (Blinkhorn 2000). The problem of differentiating between the numerous similar wares known in the area has been noted in the past (Mellor 1994, 84). For example, at least four different quartz-tempered fabrics have been identified in southern Oxfordshire and its environs, with centres such as Henley-on-Thames and Maidenhead (Pike, 1965) producing very similar quartz tempered wares
(Mellor 1994). Historical sources indicate that there were potters in Henley during the 13th and 14th centuries, and perhaps even Reading itself (ibid. 208 and 210), and it is likely that other, non-documented sources await discovery.
4 Two sherds of F1 were also noted with vertical and diagonal combing typical of the ‘M40 ware’ tradition
(Hinton 1973), but also known on sandy wares from the area. Two other sherds were noted with incised wavy lines, and two further examples, from the same vessel, with an incised lattice.
The bulk of the pottery came from a single context, ditch 9 [63] in trench 5, and comprised entirely fragments of a small number of fairly large jars, although none were sufficiently well-represented to allow reconstruction. A small fragment of a full profile of a shallow dish was noted in ditch 6 [58] in trench 4, and this was the only non-jar sherd from the entire assemblage. All the rimsherds were had very similar forms, being simple club or triangular shapes, a few of which were thumbed, and are very similar to many of those known from Windsor (cf. Mepham 1993, fig. 21). They appear very likely to be from the same source. Medieval occupation at the site appears to have been entirely limited to the earlier part of the period, most probably the
12th century.
Overall, the assemblage is in very good condition and the sherd size large. There is little doubt that the pottery represents a primary dump of domestic material, and that there is early medieval occupation within the immediate vicinity of these excavations.
Animal Bone by Ceri Falys
A very small assemblage of animal bones was recovered from a single context within the evaluated area. A total of 6 pieces of bone were available for analysis, weighing 176g (Appendix 4). The overall preservation of the remains was good, although some fragmentation was noted.
Osteological analysis aimed at assigning each piece of bone to skeletal element, side, and species where possible. The minimum number of individuals (MNI) both within and between the species was determined. Each fragment was initially separated into one of three size categories: “large animal”, “medium animal”, and “small animal”. Horse and cow are represented by the large size category, sheep/goat and pigs are represented in the medium size category, and any smaller animal (e.g. dog, cat etc.) were designated to the “small mammal” category. If possible, each fragment was subsequently given a more specific identification to species, and side of origin.
The minimum number of individuals present within the assemblage was calculated to be one: a single cattle individual. This designation was based primarily on the presence of a complete cattle right metacarpal.
Other fragments present were three non-descript pieces of rib shafts and two unidentified fragments from a
“large size” animal. No further information could be retrieved from these remains.
5 Burnt Flint by Andy Taylor
A single piece of burnt flint was recovered from cut 2 (53) in trench 3 weighing 29g.
Metalwork by Andy Taylor
A single possible nail fragment was recovered from ditch 9 (63) in trench 5 weighing 17g.
Conclusion
The evaluation has revealed a moderately large number of archaeological deposits across the whole of the site area evaluated. These comprised 11 gullies and ditches, with 4 ditches dated to the medieval period, the remainder being undated. A number of the features in individual trenches might be a part of the same feature.
These features most likely represent paddocks or crofts reflecting a further zone of medieval occupation in this part of Cippenham. Medieval occupation is already recorded to the north west (Ford et al 2003, 4-35) with the
Wood Lane moat to the south east and Cippenham Court, which is possibly a medieval moated site, just to the west.
References
BGS, 2005, British Geological Survey, 1:50000, Sheet 255, Solid and Drift Edition, Keyworth Blinkhorn, P, 2000. ‘he pottery’ in P Blinkhorn and G Pugh Excavation of the medieval waterfront at King Stable Street, Eton Berkshire Oxford Archaeol Unit Occ Pap 7, 19-24 Blinkhorn, P, 2007, ‘Pottery’ in A Norton and D Poore Excavations in Broad Street, Reading Oxford Archaeology Occasional Paper 13, 12 – 19 Ford, S, Entwistle, R and Taylor, K, 2003, Excavations at Cippenham, Slough, 1995–7, TVAS Monogr 3, Reading Hinton, DA, 1973, M.40 Ware Oxoniensia 38, 181- 3 Howell, L and Durden, T, 2003, ‘Late Iron Age and early Roman field systems and other features at Bath Road, Slough, (1995)’ in S Preston (ed), Prehistoric, Roman and Saxon Sites in Eastern Berkshire: Excavations 1989–97, Thames Valley Archaeol Monogr 2, Reading, 109–18 Mellor, M, 1994, Oxford Pottery: A Synthesis of middle and late Saxon, medieval and early post-medieval pottery in the Oxford Region Oxoniensia 59, 17-217 Mepham, 1997, Pottery in Vince AG, Lobb, SJ, Richards JC and Mepham, L Excavations in Newbury, Berkshire, 1979 – 1990 Wessex Archaeol Rep 13, 45-67 Mepham, L, 1993 , Pottery in J W Hawkes and M J Heaton A closed-shaft garderobe and associated medieval structures at Jennings Yard, Windsor, Berkshire Wessex Archaeol Rep 3, 41-53 Pike, G, 1965, A medieval pottery kiln site on the Camley Gardens Estate, Maidenhead Berkshire Archaeol J 62, 22-33 PPG16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning, Dept of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance 16, HMSO Taylor, A, in prep, Excavations at Cippenham phase 3, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire, Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading Thomason, D, 2006, Land at 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire: Brief for an Archaeological Evaluation, Berkshire Archaeology, Reading
6 APPENDIX 1: Trench details
0m at S or W end
Trench Length (m) Breadth (m) Depth (m) Comment 1 19.50 2.00 0.38 0-0.34m subsoil; 0.34m+ brickearth natural geology. Ditch 1. 2 21.60 2.00 0.74 0-0.33m topsoil; 0.33-0.60m subsoil; 0.60-0.72m subsoil/brickearth mix; 0.72m+ brickearth natural geology. Gully 3; Ditch 4 3 20.40 2.00 0.36 0-0.32m subsoil; 0.32m+ brickearth natural geology. Ditch 2 4 19.10 2.00 0.94 0-0.26m topsoil; 0.26m-0.89m subsoil; 0.89m+ brickearth natural geology. Ditch 6; Gully 7; Ditch 8; Gullies 10 and 11. [Plate 2] 5 19.70 2.00 0.73 0-0.49m topsoil; 0.49m-0.68m subsoil; 0.68m+ brickearth natural geology. Ditches 5 and 9. [Plate 1]
7 APPENDIX 2: Feature details
Trench Cut Fill (s) Type Date Dating evidence 1 1 52 Ditch Medieval Pottery 2 3 54 Gully None 2 4 55, 56 Ditch None 3 2 53 Ditch None 4 6 58 Ditch Medieval Pottery 4 7 62 Gully None 4 8 59, 60, 61 Ditch None 4 10 64, 65 Gully None 4 11 66, 67 Gully None 5 5 57 Ditch Medieval Pottery 5 9 63 Ditch Medieval Pottery
8 APPENDIX 3: Catalogue of Pottery
Fabric F1 F2 Trench Cut Deposit No Wt No Wt 1 1 52 1 22 5 5 57 2 30 4 6 58 42 877 1 13 5 9 63 169 3184 4 495
APPENDIX 4: Catalogue of Animal Bone
Context Number of Weight Identified Fragments (size categories) Cut Deposit Fragments (g) Large Medium Small 9 63 6 176 6 - -
9 SITE
Slough
Maidenhead
Windsor
Hungerford Bracknell Thatcham READING Newbury Wokingham 88000
SITE
87000
86000
SU 95000 96000 LCS 06/112
41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire, 2009 Archaeological evaluation
Figure 1. Location of site within Slough and Berkshire.
Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Explorer 160 and 172 at 1:12500. Ordnance Survey Licence 100025880 N
80300
80200 SITE
SU 95000 96000
LCS 06/112 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire, 2009 Archaeological evaluation
Figure 2. Location of site at 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Slough, Berkshire.
Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Sitemap under licence. Crown copyright reserved. Scale: 1:1250 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire, 2008
N
80300
se lo C n L m o u we ut r C A ipp en ha m La ne
1 1
3 and 4 5 80200 9
2 2 5 10 and 11 3 6
4 7 and 8
SU 95000
0 100m Figure 3: Trench and feature locations LCS 06/112 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire, 2009
Trench 1 N Trench 2
N
15m 19m 17m 20m 1 4 3
Trench 3 N
2
11m 15m
Trench 4 Trench 4 Continued
8 10 7 6
1m 9m 16m 11 N
Trench 5 N Trench 5 Continued
9 10m 12m 17m 5
0 10m Figure 4: Trench Plans LCS 06/112 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire, 2009
SE NW N S 22.36m 20.92m 52 53 1
2
SE NW 21.29m W E 20.96m 54 55 57 3 56 4 5
SW NE 22.26m
58
6
NW SE/NE SW/SE NW/SW NE 22.10m
62 59 7 60 61
8
NW SE SW NE 23.34m 21.26m 63 64
9 65
10
NW SE 23.34m 66
67
11
0 1m
Figure 5: Sections LCS 06/112 Plate 1. Trench 5 looking east, Scale: 2m
Plate 2. Ditch 6, Trench 4 looking north west. Scales: 0.5m and 0.1m
LCS06/112