T H A M E S V A L L E Y AARCHAEOLOGICALRCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S S O U T H Isfield Camp, Station Road, Isfield, Uckfield, East Sussex Building recording and desk-based heritage assessment by Sean Wallis Site Code ICES10/08 (TQ 4510 1700) Isfield Camp, Station Road, Isfield, Uckfield, East Sussex Building Recording and desk-based heritage assessment For Millwood Designer Homes Ltd by Sean Wallis Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code ICES 10/08 October 2012 Summary Site name: Isfield Camp, Station Road, Isfield, Uckfield, East Sussex Grid reference: TQ 4510 1700 Site activity: Building Recording and desk-based heritage assessment Date and duration of project: 4th October 2012 Project manager: Sean Wallis Project supervisor: Sean Wallis Site code: ICES 10/08 Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Lewes Museum in due course. Summary: The surviving buildings of a 1930’s Royal Engineer’s army depot have been recorded. Most of the buildings comprised Nissen and Romney type huts. The depot went out of use in the 1960’s but other uses of the buildings took place subsequently. The desk-based assessment revealed little of archaeological interest for the site itself and relatively few items for the study area in general, other than the nearby medieval village of Isfield. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. All TVAS unpublished fieldwork reports are available on our website: www.tvas.co.uk/reports/reports.asp Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford9 31.10.12 Steve Preston9 29.10.12 i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 77a Hollingdean Terrace, Brighton, BN1 7HB Tel. (01273) 554198; Fax (01273) 564043; email [email protected]; website : www.tvas.co.uk Isfield Camp, Station Road, Isfield, Uckfield, East Sussex Building Recording and desk based heritage assessment by Sean Wallis Report 10/08 Introduction This report documents the results of building recording at Isfield Camp, Station Road, Isfield, Uckfield, East Sussex (TQ 4510 1700) (Fig. 1). The camp is thought to have been built in the 1930s as a military storage depot, and went out of use in 1965. The work was commissioned by Mr Ray Pearson, Senior Design Manager with Millwood Designer Homes Ltd, Bordyke End, East Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1HA. Planning permission (WD/2010/1684) has been gained from Wealden District Council to demolish the existing structures on the site, and construct new housing and commercial units. The permission is subject to a standard condition relating to archaeology, which requires the implementation of a programme of archaeological work prior to the commencement of any building work. Mr Greg Chuter, Assistant County Archaeologist with East Sussex County Council, has indicated that two distinct elements of work are required in order to satisfy the planning condition. These entail building recording of the existing camp buildings prior to their demolition, and an archaeological watching brief to be carried out during groundworks in respect of the new development. This report is solely concerned with the building recording, which was carried out in accordance with a written scheme of investigation approved by Mr Chuter. A separate report will detail the results of the watching brief. The camp is within an Archaeological Notification Area. This is in accordance with and guided by PPS5 (2010) and the District Council’s policies on the historic environment, although it is acknowledged that PPS5 has now been superseded by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF 2012). The fieldwork was undertaken by Sean Wallis and Felicity Howell on 4th October 2012, and the site code is ICES 10/08. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Lewes Museum and a copy of the report sent to the National Monuments Record in due course. Location, topography and geology The site is located in an area known as the Low Weald, about 4.km north-east of Lewes and 2.5km south-east of Uckfield (Fig. 1). The site is accessed via Station Road, and consists of a large open area, surrounded by trees and overgrown vegetation. It contains a number of buildings associated with the former Royal Engineers depot, 1 which was in operation from just before the Second World War until the 1960s. It is bounded to the west by an arable field, to the north-east by residential housing, to the east by a disused section of railway, and to the south by a meadow which slopes down towards the Iron River. The site is relatively flat, and lies at a height of approximately 10m above Ordnance Datum, although the southern edge of the site is slightly lower. Although the surrounding area is dominated by Wealden Clay Deposits, according to the British Geological Survey, the site itself sits on a small gravel terrace, associated with the River Ouse (BGS 2006), which flows north-south about 600m west of the camp. Methodology The building survey was carried out in accordance with guidelines set out by the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments (England) for a level 3 record (RCHME 1996; English Heritage 2006). The objectives of the project were: to record information on the plan, form, date, materials, function and condition of the exterior and interior of the building(s), and to discuss their phasing; to highlight constructional details and methods, and materials used; to highlight the most important architectural details, including carpenters marks and any other inscriptions and significant features, such as fixtures and fittings; to note any construction materials that may have been re-used; to set the site in its historical context by doing a desk-based study; and to discuss the context of the camp within its immediate contemporary landscape. The project comprised three components of study – a desk-based heritage assessment requiring historical maps and a search of the East Sussex Historic Environment Record (ESHER), photography of items of standing building fabric of historical interest or other items that are to be demolished, and summary analysis of the structures using the architects’ plans of the site as a base. The building has been recorded photographically on 35mm format using colour print and black and white media, along with digital images, which are catalogued (Appendix 2). East Sussex Historic Environment Record In order to provide some archaeological and historical background information, a search was made on the East Sussex Historic Environment Record (ESHER) on 18th September 2012, for a radius of 1km from the centre of the site. Listed Buildings within 500m of the camp only were included. This produced 21 entries relating to 2 archaeology and historic buildings, although some of these were either duplicates, or related to the same location. This information has been collated to produce 17 entries, which are summarized as Appendix 1, with their locations plotted on Figure 1. Palaeolithic A Palaeolithic handaxe was found at Isfield [1], although little is known about its exact provenance. Mesolithic Flintwork dating from the Mesolithic period has been found to the north-west [2] and north [3] of the site. However, much of this was found in the 19th century, and the exact provenance of the material is unknown. Later Prehistoric It is possible that some of the flintwork recovered to the north-west [2] and north [3] of the site may date from the later prehistoric period. Roman Despite the presence of a probable Roman road to the west of the site, there are no HER entries for the Roman period within the study area. Saxon There are no HER entries for the Saxon period within the study area. Medieval One of the entries within the HER relates to the medieval hamlet of Isfield itself [4], which is first recorded in 1214 as Isefeld. A gold and copper alloy harness pendant, dating from the 12th or 13th century, was found by a metal detectorist to the east of the site [5]. Another HER entry relates to medieval masonry which appears to have been re-used in a now demolished barn to the north-west of the site [6]. It is possible that some of this masonry may have come from Lewes Priory. Post-medieval A musket ball was found by a metal detectorist to the south of the site [7]. Place-name evidence suggests that there was once a watermill to the north-west of the site [8], on the River Ouse. A post-medieval brick and tile works has been identified to the east of the site, in an area north and south of Horsted Lane [9]. The farmhouse and barn at Birches Farm are both Grade II Listed Buildings [10]. The farmhouse may date back to the early 16th century, whilst the timber-framed barn contains 16th- and 18th-century elements. The farmhouse at Boathouse Farm [11] is also a Grade II Listed Building, possibly dating from the 17th century. Modern A railway line from Lewes to Tunbridge Wells, originally known as the “Wealden Line”, used to run immediately east of the site. The line was closed in 1969, but a small section, known as the “Lavender Line”, 3 was re-opened in the 1980s. The restored station building and signal box are listed in the HER [12]. Another entry relates to a telephone exchange in Station Road, Isfield [13]. Isfield Camp itself is listed in the HER [14]. A defensive line of pillboxes was built along the western side of the River Ouse during the Second World War. Two of these, located to the west [15] and south-west [16] of the site, fall within the HER study area.