The Historic Environment Consultancy ARCHAEOLOGICAL

The Historic Environment Consultancy

ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

For

THE QUEEN’S HEAD 34 WATERMOOR ROAD CIRENCESTER GLOUCESTERSHIRE

National Grid Reference: SP02710129

Colin Lacey BA MSc PIfA

04/10/2010 ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT for THE QUEEN’S HEAD, 34 WATERMOOR ROAD CIRENCESTER, GLOUCESTERSHIRE by Colin Lacey BA MSc PIfA 04/10/2010

Site Name The Queen’s Head Address 34 Watermoor Road, Cirencester County Gloucestershire NGR SP02710129 Function Disused public house Archaeological Po tential High

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction ...... 3 1.1 The Client ...... 3 1.2 Confidentiality and Copyright ...... 3 1.3 Location ...... 3 1.4 The Site ...... 5 2. Archaeological Background ...... 7 2.1 Prehistoric ...... 8 2.2 Roman ...... 8 2.3 Post-Roman - Medieval ...... 9 2.4 Post-Medieval ...... 9 2.5 Undated Archaeological Evidence ...... 9 2.6 Sites & Monuments Record ...... 9 3. Deposit Survey ...... 10 4. Archaeological Potential ...... 10 5. Appendix: Analysis of Historic Maps ...... 12 5.1 Methodology ...... 12 5.2 1885 Ordnance Survey ...... 14 5.3 1902 Ordnance Survey ...... 15 5.4 1925 Ordnance Survey ...... 16 5.5 Modern Ordnance Survey ...... 17

TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1: General Location Plan (not to scale) ...... 4 Figure 2: Detailed Location Plan (red line, not to scale) ...... 4 Figure 3: Map of Roman Cirencester, approximate site location indicated ...... 7 Figure 4: Plan of site with OD levels and estimated route of foul drain, 1:200 @ A4 ...... 11 Figure 5: 1885 Ordnance Survey plan ...... 14 Figure 6: 1902 Ordnance Survey plan ...... 15 Figure 7: 1925 Ordnance Survey plan ...... 16 Figure 8: Modern Ordnance Survey plan ...... 17

TABLE OF PLATES Plate 1: Southeast aspect ...... 5 Plate 2: Northwest aspect ...... 6

1. Introduction

1.1 The Client This report was commissioned by Julian Phillips of Abberley Design for and on behalf of GM MacEchern & DM Backhouse who are the landowners.

1.2 Confidentiality and Copyright This document is to remain confidential for a period of 12 months or until it forms part of a formal planning application or until otherwise indicated by The Client. The copyright of this report belongs to The Historic Environment Consultancy and The Client. No liability to third parties is accepted for advice and statements made in this report.

1.3 Location The site is located on the corner of Watermoor Road and Stepstairs Lane, Cirencester. The general location is shown in

Figure 1 and the specific location in Figure 2.

Figure 1: General Location Plan (not to scale)

Figure 2: Detailed Location Plan (red line, not to scale) 1.4 The Site The site is the yard to the rear of a disused public house, The Queen’s Head. The yard is noticeably higher than the surrounding area, on an area of made ground.

The surface of the yard is a combination of modern paving and concrete slab.

Cutting through the site, running northwest-southeast, a 20 th century foul water drain is located. Its approximate location is known from the locations of inspection hatches.

Plate 1: Southeast aspect

Plate 2: Northwest aspect 2. Archaeological Background The site is located in the Cirencester South conservation area.

Prior to the arrival of the Romans, the area was located in the territory of the Dobunni tribe, whose capital was at Bagendon, some six miles northwest of Cirencester.

In AD 43-44, a Roman fort was constructed at Cirencester, thought to be one of the earliest in Britain. Later, the Roman town of Corinium Dobunnorum was constructed around modern Cirencester. Corinium had an amphitheatre, still visible to the southwest of the modern town.

Corinium is considered to have been the second largest Roman town in Britain and is thought to have been responsible for administration of the southwest of the country. The town was a centre for craft and manufacture.

Figure 3: Map of Roman Cirencester, approximate site location indicated 1 The site lies immediately adjacent to the road on the northeast side of Insula VII, at the southern end of the Roman town. The town grid system was set out in the first century AD. Where it runs past the site, Watermoor Road is thought to follow the route of Ermin Street – a significant Roman road connecting Gloucester with Silchester, via Cirencester.

1 Reproduced from Wacher, J. 1995. The Towns of Roman Britain . London: BCA (pg 305)

Cirencester is the meeting point of several Roman roads - the aforementioned Ermin Street, Akeman Street, the Foss Way and the White Way.

Cirencester remained an important settlement throughout the Saxon period, and in the 12 th century Cirencester Abbey was founded, and during the Civil War was an important strategic location.

Despite the wealth of Roman remains in the area, there is comparatively little evidence for post Roman activity. The town is thought to have declined in the fourth century, after which evidence is sparse.

A summary of archaeological evidence within the vicinity of The Queen’s Head follows:

2.1 Prehistoric There is some evidence for late Iron Age or early 1st century activity on Victoria Road, c. 280m northeast of the site.

2.2 Roman The site is located a short distance inside the substantial Roman walls and defences in the southeast part of the Roman town. Bastions / towers in the walls are noted on Stepstairs Lane with a single tower c. 190m ESE of the site and a pair of towers 75m to the south.

Approximately 180m east of the site, the remains of a possible wooden tower were revealed, considered likely to predate the Roman town walls.

The Watermoor Road area is rich in Roman remains including buildings, pavements, water courses and roads with innumerable finds of ceramic, coins and domestic debris throughout. Both high and low status buildings are known within the town.

Where it runs past the site, Watermoor Road is thought to follow the route of Ermin Street – a significant Roman road connecting Gloucester with Silchester, via Cirencester.

The tombstones of three Roman civilians were excavated in 1971 during the Stepstairs redevelopment, 145m SSE of the site. No burials were noted, however an inhumation burial was recorded at Church Street, 60m east of the site, at a depth of 0.9m and an undated coffined burial is noted 195m to the northwest.

30m south of the site, evidence for the early civilian occupation of Corinium was revealed, including a second century well. Contemporary with this, immediately to the west of the site, a Roman building with garden, rubbish pits containing domestic refuse and an oven containing organic remains was excavated.

A Roman roadside building, suggested to be a portico, was recorded c. 170m east of the site.

The height of the known Roman archaeology within the vicinity varies from as little as 100mm (107.78mAOD) to 1.40m (105.75mAOD) below the present ground level.

In certain areas, Roman remains are also fairly dense: The excavation of two holes 65cm square by 45cm deep c. 130m north of the site revealed a Roman mortar spread probably reflecting the presence of a Roman building nearby as well as a quantity of Roman tesserae, a fragment of pila and 5 bronze coins.

A Roman villa and well are noted on the first edition Ordnance Survey map, some 65m NNE of the site. 2.3 Post-Roman - Medieval Medieval dark earth deposits are known across the area, some overlying natural despite being within the Roman town, suggesting the area in which they were found was a garden during the Roman occupation. One such deposit was found c. 50m west of the site.

Evidence for the robbing of Roman stone during the medieval period is know from St Michael’s Field, 230m NNW of the site, along with medieval pottery sherds. Further robber trenches were noted at Stepstairs Lane, c. 30m south of the site. Also on Stepstairs Lane, medieval and post-medieval rubbish pits and wells were revealed.

Medieval pottery is noted from an evaluation in Queen Street, c. 150m east of the site.

A number of medieval and post-medieval coins are known from the Watermoor area, although their locations are imprecise. One Tudor coin is known from c. 125m south of the site.

Medieval and post-medieval levelling layers were excavated over Roman material 200m ENE, and similarly dated robber trenches,

2.4 Post-Medieval Post-medieval deposits are present above the majority of earlier deposits revealed across the town of Cirencester, as is commonplace in such multi-period sites used throughout the post-medieval period.

Post-medieval wells are known from the area. One such example is at Prospect Place where two seventeenth century tokens were also found, 200m ENE of the site.

A post-medieval ploughsoil layer was noted at 24 Queen Street, c. 150m east of the site.

A ditch and drystone wall dating from the post-medieval period were recorded, along with evidence for stone-robbing, 243m to the northwest.

A seventeenth century civil war mass grave is noted c. 330m southeast of the site.

In the 18 th and 19 th centuries, Cirencester became a transport hub with the completion of a branch of the Thames and Severn Canal to Cirencester in 1782 and the Midland and South Western Junction Railway in 1891. The canal basin was located c. 540m WNW of the site, and Cirencester railway station was located c. 340m SSE of the site, with sidings c. 215m to the southeast.

Two 19 th -20 th century drystone walls, a floor surface and a rubbish pit were located at 29 Church Street, c. 140m northeast of the site.

2.5 Undated Archaeological Evidence An undated surface beneath post-medieval deposits was revealed during an evaluation 150m to the northeast of the site.

2.6 Sites & Monuments Record A search of the Gloucestershire County Council Sites and Monuments Record in a 200m radius around the centre of the site was conducted. A summary of the results is available on request. 3. Deposit Survey A study has been carried out of the depths of archaeology in sites along Watermoor Road and the western end of Church Street and Queen Street, based on data held in the Sites and Monuments Record.

It is of note that the ground level along Watermoor Road in the vicinity of the site is c. 106mOD – varying by up to 0.15m, making it generally flat. Where ground levels are not stated by the SMR, the level of 106m is inferred.

Depth of Address Arch Type Depth AOD Depth BGL Ground Level Natural 81 Watermoor Road Rom Walls 106.33 0.72 107.05 81 Watermoor Road Rom Walls 106.51 0.12 106.63 81 Watermoor Road Rom Walls 106.72 0.36 107.08 8 Church Street Intact Rom Deposits 105.15 0.85 106 c. 1.5 BGL 89-91 Watermoor Road Rom 105.1 0.9 106 91 Watermoor Road Rom 105.4 0.6 106 105 Watermoor Road Rom Road 105.7 0.3 106 34 Watermoor Road Queens Head Site 107.0 – 107.3 Watermoor Road General Road Level 106

Measurements are recorded in metres. Rom = Roman. AOD = Above Ordnance Datum. BGL = Below Ground Level. GL = Ground Level. Red indicates estimated ground level of 106m has been imposed.

The excavations at 81 Watermoor Road, 45m east of the site, are noted in that their ground level is similar to that of the Queens Head site. The depth of archaeology on this site is noted at between 0.12 and 0.72m below ground level.

Other sites with assumed ground levels have depths of archaeology of 0.3-0.9m, giving an overall average depth of archaeology as 0.55m.

The depths of archaeology noted in the SMR are all recorded to the top of Roman levels, rather than any more recent overburden.

The assumed level of the Roman road running past the site, taken from below ground level measurements from excavations at 105 Watermoor Road, is 105.7m. This is c. 1.3 – 1.6m below the ground level of the Queen's Head site. It can be argued that the level of the road represents the ground floor level of roadside properties, and that any extant Roman remains may also be present at this level.

4. Archaeological Potential The site is located in an area of intense Roman activity. It is highly likely that unless previously disturbed, Roman deposits will be present beneath the site.

The site is clearly higher than the surrounding ground level, suggesting it is constructed on c. 1m of made ground, however the similar ground level on the opposite side of Watermoor Road may suggest the road is somewhat sunken at this point and that surrounding deposits are higher.

In nearby excavations, Roman remains have been noted at between 105.1m and 106.72m OD. The ground level on site ranges from 107m – 107.3m OD, suggesting there is a post- Roman build-up of between 0.28m and 2.2m present on the site.

It is considered that there is a low potential for pre-Roman archaeology as very little has been found in the area.

The potential for post-Roman archaeology is considered to be fair – there have been a number of finds of Medieval and later date in the area, although clearly fewer than those dating from the Roman period. It is noted that the SMR entries for multi-period sites in the area appear to focus more on Roman remains than post-Roman. It is unknown as to whether this perceived bias is a true reflection of the nature of the archaeology present.

Owing to the frequently recorded medieval and post-medieval robbing of Roman stone and its subsequent reuse as a building material, it is noted that presence of typically Roman stone does not necessarily imply the presence of Roman remains.

A modern service trench has been excavated along the length of the site. Its location is not precisely known, however, dependent on its depth, its excavation may have a bearing on any below-ground archaeology present in its path.

Evidence from historic maps (appended) suggests structures were present at the northern end of the building fronting Watermoor Road and at the southern end of the building along Stepstairs Lane, both extending into the yard area, the former being demolished between 1902 and 1925 and the latter between 1925 and the present day. The impact these structures may have had on any below-ground archaeological remains is hereto unknown.

Figure 4: Plan of site with OD levels and estimated route of foul drain, 1:200 @ A4 5. Appendix: Analysis of Historic Maps

5.1 Methodology A variety of maps are presented in the map regression analysis which have been obtained, copied and digitised in a variety of ways and in addition certain conventions have been chosen. The following paragraphs list these conventions.

Map Date The published map date is used.

Scale The map has been rescaled to 1:1000 when the map is detailed enough to warrant this. This is achieved by applying a change of scale factor to the published scale. For maps which have been photographed a similar method is used but by measuring a distance on the historic map compared to a measured map. Such scaling is marked “approximate scaling” that is the scaling is within +10%. Where a map cannot be scaled with certainty within +10% ie it is marked “not to scale”.

For smaller scales the maps are rescaled to approximately 1:2500 or 1:5000.

Distortion Where a map has been distorted by photography or similar the map is corrected using photo-rectification software where this assists the interpretation of the map.

Locations of the Buildings It is conventional to mark the location of the building or site by edging the boundaries in red. This convention is not followed as by definition it will obscure the mapping of the boundaries. Instead there are arrows which point to the position of the building.

Overlays Where we present an overlay no attempt has been made to correct the historic map to the map projection and error apportionment of digital OS. Instead the overlay are presented with the best fit of the detail of the historic map to the OS data.

GIS corrected Maps The use of digital historic maps which have been corner corrected so that they fit OS digital data are avoided as far as possible.

Map North Maps are presented with North at the top of the page. No correction is made so that the maps line up with Grid North not true North.

Errors We regularly come across errors in mapping. These are discussed in the text and how we have investigated them.

Overlays Where a map is overlaid onto OS data this is to be regarded as indicative not exact. The maps are adjusted so that the detail that is being considered matches OS data this will include: 1. Correct so that the historic map is orientated on grid north. 2. Scale No attempt is made to correct for map projection.

The following table lists the sources for the maps used, how they have been copied and digitised, and why they are included in the map regression exercise. Where the source is given as “collection” an original or a high quality reproduction is owned by the Historic Environment Consultancy.

How copied and Date Map maker Reasons for Including Level of Detail digitised 1885 OS 1:2500 Low Resolution Flatbed First detailed consistent map High – more or less modern scan specification 1902 OS 1:2500 Low Resolution Flatbed First detailed consistent map High – more or less modern scan specification 1925 OS 1:2500 Low Resolution Flatbed Detailed mapping High – modern specification scan 2010 OS 1:2500 Photoco py and flatbed Detailed mapping High – modern specification scan

Abbreviations OS Ordnance Survey

5.2 1885 Ordnance Survey

Figure 5: 1885 Ordnance Survey plan The public house building is present to the north of the yard area. A small building is present on the grassed area at the northwest end of the site.

At the northwestern end of the main public house building, a small structure is present extending into the yard area. A similar structure is present in the southern corner of the yard.

The long building along the southwest of the yard is apparent.

5.3 1902 Ordnance Survey

Figure 6: 1902 Ordnance Survey plan The small building to the northwest of the yard is now absent, however all other structures from the 1885 map are present.

15 Historic Environment Consulltany 38 Elvendon Rd Goring on Thames Oxon RG8 0DU, T:01491 875584 F:01491 875239 E:[email protected] www.historicenvironment.co.uk

5.4 1925 Ordnance Survey

Figure 7: 1925 Ordnance Survey plan The small structure extending south from the main public house building is now absent.

A further structure has been constructed at the northwest end of the long building to the southwest of the yard area.

16 Historic Environment Consulltany 38 Elvendon Rd Goring on Thames Oxon RG8 0DU, T:01491 875584 F:01491 875239 E:[email protected] www.historicenvironment.co.uk

5.5 Modern Ordnance Survey

Figure 8: Modern Ordnance Survey plan The site is present in its current form.

17 Historic Environment Consulltany 38 Elvendon Rd Goring on Thames Oxon RG8 0DU, T:01491 875584 F:01491 875239 E:[email protected] www.historicenvironment.co.uk