Tangley House, Tangley,

An Archaeological Watching Brief and Desk-Based Assessment

For The Tangley Estate

by Helen Moore and Clare Challis

Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd

Site Code THT 05/04

October 2005 Summary

Site name: Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire

Grid reference: SU 3260 5255

Site activity: Watching Brief and Desk-Based Assessment

Date and duration of project: 17th January – 2nd February 2005

Project manager: Helen Moore

Site code: THT 05/04

Summary of results: The fieldwork revealed no evidence of any archaeological deposits or finds on the site.

Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Hampshire Museum Service 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 Preston 02/11/05 Steve Ford 31/10/05

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Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire An Archaeological Watching Brief and Desk-Based Assessment

by Clare Challis and Helen Moore Report 05/04

Introduction

This report documents the results of an archaeological watching brief and desk-based assessment carried out at the site of Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire (SU 326 525) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr

Harry Marriott, The Estate Office, Tangley, Hampshire, SP11 0SH.

Planning permission (TVN.06848/2) has been granted by Borough Council for the construction of a new house on the site of the former Tangley House which was demolished after being destroyed by fire. The consent is subject to a condition that requires an archaeological desk-based assessment and (if necessary) an archaeological watching brief during groundworks.

This is in accordance with the Department of the Environment’s Planning Policy Guidance, Planning and the Historic Environment (PPG16 1990), and the Council’s policies on historic buildings. The project was designed to a written scheme of investigation approved by Mr Frank Green, Test Valley Heritage Officer. The fieldwork was undertaken by Helen Moore between 17th January and 2nd February 2005 and the site code is

THT 05/04.

The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at

Hampshire Museum Service in due course.

Location, topography and geology

The settlement of Tangley lies to the north-west of Andover and east of Ludgershall on the North Hampshire downland. The site lies towards the southern end of a broad ridge with dry valleys to the west and east and with a gentle slope to the south. Tangley House lies to the south of the core of the village on an irregular shaped piece of land adjoining parkland and surrounded by fields. The site lies at approximately 173m above Ordnance

Datum, on clay with flints and tertiary debris overlying chalk (BGS 1993).

Methodology

The desk-based 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

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Archaeology’ covering desk-based studies. These sources include historic and modern maps, the Hampshire

Sites and Monuments Record, geological maps and any relevant publications or reports.

The purpose of the watching brief was to excavate and record any archaeological deposits affected by groundworks. This involved examination of areas stripped of topsoil/overburden and excavation for drainage ditches and other associated works.

Archaeological Background

General Background

The site is in an area which contains several upstanding monuments including enclosures, barrows and linear earthworks. To the north of the site the remains of an Iron Age plateau-fort named Bevisbury Camp consist of a single bank with outer ditch, and have attracted attention from an early date (e.g., Williams-Freeman 1915, 11–

12 and 355). The Roman road from Winchester to Wanborough and thence Cirencester (Margary’s (1955, 90) route 43, here called Hungerford Lane) passes through the parish to the east of the site (and interestingly traverses Bevisbury Camp). Several enclosures are present within the locality and include the remains of a rampart and ditch enclosure to the north-east of the site and two further enclosures at Blagden Copse to the east of the site. One of these is a banjo-shaped enclosure and the second the remains of a bank and ditch enclosing an irregular area. All three enclosures are of Iron Age or Roman date (Dewar 1925; 1930; Stead 1966). The site of a

Roman villa lies to the south-west of Tangley within the parish of Ludgershall. A medieval settlement can be assumed from the presence of a 12th-century church (see below), but may be supposed to have lain to the east, closer to the church.

Pevsner did not find Tangley House worth comment (Pevsner and Lloyd 1967).

Hampshire Archaeology and Historic Buildings Record

A search of the Hampshire Archaeology and Historic Buildings Record (AHBR) was made on the 13th January

2005, covering a 1km radius around the site. This revealed 14 entries within close proximity to the site including two on the site itself. The results from this search are listed in Appendix 1, and summarized below; their locations are plotted on Figure 1.

Prehistoric, Roman and Saxon

There are no entries relating to these periods.

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Medieval

There is only one entry for this period and it relates to the first documented account of the name ‘Tangelea’ [Fig

1:1]. There are earthworks east of Manor Farm and the site which are thought to be part of a medieval village but which are currently undated [2]. These were mentioned as part of the RCHME Medieval Settlement Project

(Edwards 1996).

Post-Medieval

The majority of AHBR entries for the search radius are buildings, either statutorily Listed or surveyed as part of the Test Valley Historic Buildings Survey in 1993. The parish church of St Thomas of Canterbury [3] is of early medieval origin but was largely rebuilt in 1875 to the design of William White and enlarged in 1898 with the addition of the western tower. The church is listed, Grade II* and is situated to the east of the site (Remnants of the 12-th century apse were discovered when the present church was built, but nothing now remains of the original structure, except part of the arch to the apse reused original material; VCH 1911, 328). It is interesting that the church is sited so far east of the present settlement, as the church would normally have been the focus of medieval settlement. Other Grade II listed building entries are The Cricketers Arms [4] an early 19th-century flint and brick public house with tile roof to the north of the site, Thirground Cottage [5] a flint and thatch late

18th-century building to the east of the site and Lower Green Farmhouse [6] an early 19th-century house to the north-east of the site.

Tangley Park and park features [7, 14] are listed on the AHBR as shown on historic maps: as enclosed meadows on Taylor’s map of 1759 and as avenues on Milne’s map of 1791. The listing notation, incongruously, is for a post-1810 park. Taylor’s map shows nothing of this sort, see below (and Fig. 3). Unfortunately Milne’s map could not be located for this survey. The first map reviewed here that showed a park is that of 1911 (below).

The park is associated with Tangley House which suffered fire damage in February 2000 and was surveyed in

2003 by Wessex Archaeology before being demolished for safety reasons (Pl. 1). The house [8] had been built in

1911 in Queen Anne style with Arts and Crafts influences, and was constructed in one phase, though designed to appear to have developed over a longer period of time.

Undated

There are several entries which fall under this heading. Linear features [9], located north of the site, aligned NE–

SW are visible on air photographs and are thought to represent hedge or woodland banks. Other entries visible

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on air photographs include a circular form [10] thought to be an enclosure to the north of the site and a linear feature [11] to the north-east.

A sinkhole [12] was investigated in Tangley House Park and found to be natural rather than the result of flint mining. Slight traces of two lynchets (former field boundaries) [13] were observed to the east of the site and may be associated with the earthworks [2] close to Manor Farm.

Listed as undated on the AHBR, Tangley Park [14], has been considered above (and see below).

Cartographic and documentary sources

The settlement of Tangley has medieval origins and was first documented as ‘Tangelea’ in AD 1175 (Mills

1991, 339). The placename is derived from Old English (Anglo-Saxon) tang and leah, probably meaning

‘[woodland] clearing at the tongue [of land]’, which certainly fits its topography. Tangley formed part of the manor of in Pastrow Hundred and thus does not appear separately in Domesday Book. It was detached from Faccombe in the 13th century. The common fields were enclosed by authority of an Act of

Parliament in 1827 (VCH 1911) but otherwise its history has been unremarkable.

A range of Ordnance Survey and other historical maps of the area were consulted at Hampshire 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 archaeological deposits within the proposal area (see Appendix 2).

The earliest map is Saxton’s map of Hampshire, 1575 (Fig. 2). At this time the settlement at Tangley is no more than a hamlet, comparable to . It is incorrectly labelled ‘Langley’. The church is shown but no other detail. Of note is the amount of woodland in the area even at this date. Maps dating from between

1607 and 1825 failed to show any further detail on the site (Appendix 2). Of particular note in reference to the

AHBR entries for a park (above), Isaac Taylor’s map of 1759 shows nothing of this nature (Fig. 3). No copy of

Milne’s map of 1791 was available for study. Taylor marks the Roman road clearly and shows the settlement a little way west of it, as today.

By the time of the tithe map in 1837, the settlement has become well established, centred on the fork of land formed by the dry valleys described previously (Fig. 4). The basic layout is already much as it appears today. The Ordnance Survey First Edition of 1873 shows little change, except that more dwellings have been built north of the site, which had again changed little by 1897 (Fig. 5). A worked out chalk pit is shown in the far south of a field which was to become part of Tangley Park. There is no change on the site itself from the tithe map. The Ordnance Survey of 1911 indicates that the area to the south and west of Upper Green Farm had been

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landscaped (the shading is the symbol for parkland) (Fig. 6). What may be statues or other ornamental features are marked individually. The old chalk pit has been landscaped, possibly as a pond but this is unclear. There is no sign of Tangley House which at the time of the survey must have been on the drawing board. By 1924

Tangley House had been built and the surrounding parkland fully developed (Fig. 7). The map of 1977 shows that the area of parkland to the south of Tangley House had been divided into two, that furthest south now called

Tangley Park, and the complex at Tangley House had also changed, with the addition of further out-buildings

(Fig. 8) which had not altered by 1982. It is also worth noting that the present Manor Farm was Lower Green

Farm until some time after 1924.

Registered parks, gardens, battlefields

Although Tangley Park is noted as of historic interest, it is not included in the national register of Historic Parks and Gardens. There is no Registered Battlefield in the vicinity.

Watching Brief

Ground disturbing activities on the site were monitored (Figs 8 and 9). An area approximately 25m x 35m was observed to the south of the site of the house, in the parkland, for the purpose of deposition of demolition rubble

(Fig. 8). The area was stripped of topsoil to a depth of 0.40m revealing a reddish –brown clay natural with flints.

No archaeology was observed in this area. A small trench was excavated on the former house platform to establish the depth of demolition rubble which was observed to be 0.50m and directly overlying the natural clay.

Further stripping was monitored directly to the south of the former house in an area approximately 15m x 20m raised approximately 1m higher than the parkland and separated by a ha-ha (not marked). It was noted that this soil was re-deposited natural red clay with flint inclusions and part of a landscaped garden. No archaeology was observed in this area (Fig. 8).

Trenches were excavated on both the south and western sides of the former house, 1.20m out from the remains, in order to establish the depth of the footings. The foundations were found to be 17 courses of red brick stretchers, the last 4 courses stepped out, to a depth of 1.10m. The bricks were laid on a concrete raft 0.50m thick. The total depth excavated was 2.20m (Fig. 9).

The final visit revealed that the former Tangley House and its foundations had been completely removed from site. A trench was observed excavated on the eastern side of the plot 25m long and 1.2m deep for drainage

(Pl. 2 and Fig. 8). Made ground to a depth of 0.20m overlay 0.30m topsoil and red clay with flint natural. No archaeological deposits were noted. A second excavation for a swimming pool was recorded on the south side of

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the plot measuring 6m x approximately 15m but located within an area previously observed as having been landscaped (Fig. 8). It was observed to a depth of between 5m and 6m and cut the underlying natural chalk. In this area there was no apparent topsoil and the stratigraphy revealed natural reddish clay with flints overlying clean chalk and no archaeological finds or deposits.

Conclusion

The settlement of Tangley has medieval origins, suggested not only by its place name but with a Norman church and also earthworks of possible medieval date. It has been speculated that the former Tangley House which dates from 1911 may have replaced an earlier manor house, originally located on the site, and may have been associated with the possible medieval village to the east.

The watching brief undertaken during the initial ground disturbing works included monitoring of large areas stripped of topsoil and overburden to expose the natural clay-with-flints. However, no deposits of archaeological interest (i.e., pre-dating the 20th-century house) nor any archaeological finds were observed. No specific cartographic or documentary evidence for an earlier (medieval) manor house or any other medieval settlement on the site was located in the course of this study.

Acknowledgements

Plate 1 was kindly provided by Wessex Archaeology, who retain the copyright. We are most grateful for permission to reproduce it here.

References

BGS, 1993, British Geological Survey, 1:63360, Sheet 283, Solid and Drift Edition, Keyworth Dewar, H S L, 1925, note in Papers Proc Hampshire Fld Club Archaeol Soc 9 (for 1920–4), 408 Dewar, H S L, 1930, note in Papers Proc Hampshire Fld Club Archaeol Soc 10, (for 1926–30), 122 Edwards, B, 1996, ‘Tangley’ in Medieval Settlement Res Grp Annu Rep 10, 11–12 Margary, I D, 195, Roman Roads in Britain (1st Edition), London Mills, A D, 1998, Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford PPG 16, 1990, Planning and the Historic Environment, Dept of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance 16, HMSO Pevsner, N B L and Lloyd, D, 1967, The Buildings of : Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, London Stead, I M, 1966, ‘Blagden Copse,’ Proc Hampshire Fld Club Archaeol Soc 23, 81–9 VCH, 1911, The Victoria County History: Hampshire, iv, London Williams, A and Martin, G H, 2002, Domesday Book, A Complete Translation, London Williams-Freeman, J P, 1915, An Introduction to Field Archeology as Illustrated by Hampshire, London

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APPENDIX 1: Sites and Monuments Records within a 1km search radius of the development site No AHBR Ref Grid Ref (SU) Type Period Comment 1 41379 32900 52600 Name Medieval First documented as Tangelea 2 36763 32950 52580 Monument Undated Earthworks with a linear bank representing a boundary 3 1851 33410 52448 Historic Building Post Medieval Early Medieval origins however mainly a rebuild of 1875. Grade II* listed 4 5131 32696 52809 Historic Building Post Medieval Early 19th century public house. Grade II listed 5 5132 32765 52561 Historic Building Post Medieval Late 18th century cottage. Grade II listed 6 5133 32951 52684 Historic Building Post Medieval Early 19th century house. Grade II listed 7 51924 32600 52500 Park and Garden Post Medieval Post 1810 park 8 54487 32609 52556 Monument Modern Country House built 1911 in Queen Anne style, house later destroyed by fire 9 32548 32500 53310 Monument Undated Linear features visible on air photographs 10 32549 32520 53380 Monument Undated Circular feature, possibly an enclosure, visible on air photographs 11 32553 33010 53000 Monument Undated Linear feature visible on air photograph 12 33716 32580 52320 Monument Undated Sinkhole investigated and found to be natural 13 36764 33000 52630 Monument Undated Slight traces of two lynchets 14 33720 32500 52400 Parks and Gardens Undated Parkland surrounding Tangley Park which appears on maps of the 18th century

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APPENDIX 2: Historic and modern maps consulted

1575 Saxton’s Map of Hampshire (Fig. 2) 1607 Norden’s Map of Hampshire 1611 Speed’s Map of Hampshire 1645 Blaeu’s Map of Hampshire 1695 Morden’s Map of Hampshire 1759 Taylor’s Map of Hampshire(Fig. 3) 1788 Harrison’s Map of Hampshire 1791 Milne’s Map of Hampshire 1825–6 Greenwood’s Map of Hampshire sheets 20 and 28 1837 Tithe Map (Fig. 4) 1873 First Edition Ordnance Survey 1897 Edition Ordnance Survey (Fig. 5) 1911 Edition Ordnance Survey (Fi.g 6) 1924 Edition Ordnance Survey (Fig. 7) 1977 Edition Ordnance Survey (Fig. 8) 1982 Edition Ordnance Survey

8 SITE

10

9

53000 11

4 SITE 6

1 13 8 5 2 7 3 14 12

52000

SU33000 THT 05/04 Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire, 2005 Archaeological Watching Brief and Desk-based Assessment

Figure 1. Location of site within Tangley and Hampshire.

Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Pathfinder 1117 SP60/70 at 1:12500 Ordnance Survey Licence 100025880 SITE

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Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire 2005 Archaeological Watching Brief and Desk-Based Assessment

Figure 2. Saxton 1575. Approximate location of SITE

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Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire 2005 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment and Watching Brief

Figure 3. Taylor’s map of 1759 SITE

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Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire 2005 Archaeological Watching Brief and Desk-Based Assessment

Figure 4. 1837 Tithe Map. SITE

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Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire 2005 Archaeological Watching Brief and Desk-Based Assessment

Figure 5. 1897 Ordnance Survey. SITE

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Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire 2005 Archaeological Watching Brief and Desk-Based Assessment

Figure 6. 1911 Ordnance Survey. SITE

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Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire 2005 Archaeological Watching Brief and Desk-Based Assessment

Figure 7. 1924 Ordnance Survey. 52700

Site of new house (on footprint of old)

Stripped area previously 52600 landscaped

52500 Drainage trench

Site of new swimming pool

52400 Stripped area for demolition rubble storage

52300

SU32500 32600 32700 THT 05/04

Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire 2005 Archaeological Watching Brief and Desk-Based Assessment

Figure 8. 1977 Ordnance Survey and also showing watching brief area located in grounds

Scale: 1:2500 N

Observed trenches

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Tangley House, Tangley, Hampshire 2005 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment and Watching Brief

Figure 9. Location of trenches observed during watching brief in footprint of former house

Scale 1:200 Plate 1. Tangley House, post fire damage prior to demolition (reproduced by permission of Wessex Archaeology)

Plate 2. Drainage trench showing natural stratigraphy observed across site.

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