Archaeological Investigations at Gittens' Farm Sheinton, Shropshire 2006

by H R Hannaford

Archaeology Service Archaeology Service Report Number 250 © Shropshire County Council June 2007

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT GITTENS' FARM, SHEINTON, SHROPSHIRE, 2006

by H R HANNAFORD MIFA

A Report for the

SHEINTON HERITAGE GROUP

Archaeology Service Shropshire Archives, Castle Gates, Shrewsbury, SY1 2AQ Tel: (01743) 255352 Fax: (01743) 255355 Archaeological Investigations at Gittens' Farm, Sheinton, Shropshire, 2006

CONTENTS Page No SUMMARY 1 1 INTRODUCTION 2 2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 3 2.1 Aims 3 2.2 Objectives 3 2.3Methodology 3 3 ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 5 4 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 7 4.1 The study area 7 4.2 The field survey 7 4.3Thetrialexcavations 8 5 CONCLUSIONS 10 6 REFERENCES AND SOURCES CONSULTED 11 7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 11

ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1: Sheinton village; 1:10,000 scale Figure 2: Earthworks surveyed in autumn 2006; 1:1,000 scale Figure 3: Trench location plan; 1:1,000 scale Figure 4: a) Trench A-B, southwest-facing section; b) trench E, southwest-facing section; c) trench J southeast-facing section, 1:20 scale Figure 5: Trench C a) plan view 1:50 scale; b) southwest-facing section, NW end of trench 1:20 scale Figure 6: Trench D; a) plan view 1:50 scale; b) southwest-facing section, 1:20 scale

SUMMARY In 2004-6, the Sheinton Heritage Group carried out a community archaeology project to investigate a number of sites at Sheinton, Shropshire. A programme of fieldwalking, geophysical survey, and trial excavation was carried out by the Group with help from the Archaeology Service, Shropshire County Council. One site comprised a cropmark believed to represent part of a ditch from an Iron Age or Romano-British farmstead enclosure. A second site was in an adjacent field where a number of metal detector finds of Roman date had been found in recent years. A third site lay on the west side of the village, where a number of earthworks survived in a pasture field where documentary sources indicated that a farmstead had stood until the early 19th century. Field survey and trial excavation was carried out in November 2006. No structural remains were found by the trial excavations, although yard surfaces and a spread of demolition material were revealed, and a substantial quantity of post-medieval pottery and some medieval pottery was recovered.

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1 INTRODUCTION Sheinton is a small village in central Shropshire situated about 14km southeast of Shrewsbury. The village is situated on a river terrace overlooking the River Severn to the north. There has been a settlement at Sheinton since late Saxon times at least, and because of the lack of large- scale modern housing development, there is a strong probability that the archaeology of the early settlement here is well-preserved. Outside the confines of the modern village, cropmark evidence and find spots of artefacts have provided evidence for human activity and settlement in the prehistoric and Roman periods.

The village of Sheinton and its surroundings therefore contain a potentially rich archaeological resource that can be graphically and imaginatively used to help tell the story of this Shropshire parish from prehistory to the present day. It was recognised that there was an opportunity for the local community to be involved in the process of investigation, discovery, and researching of this resource, ‘reading the clues’ to tell the story.

Recent research by local historians and finds by metal detectorists had highlighted a number of sites around the village where there was the potential for the local community to discover their own heritage, with professional archaeological guidance and specialist input. A local community group, the Sheinton Heritage Group was established by a group of local people in January 2004 to promote an interest in the rich heritage of Sheinton and the surrounding area. In July 2004 it was successful in obtaining a Local Heritage Initiative grant for the Sheinton Heritage Project, whose aim was to investigate the history, archaeology, geology, and natural history of the parish of Sheinton. A further grant from Awards for All was awarded in 2006 to continue these investigations.

One component of the Sheinton Heritage Project was a community archaeology project, which comprised a number of elements including archaeological fieldwork (geophysical survey, field-walking, field survey, and trial excavation). This archaeological project has been led by the Archaeology Service, commissioned by the Sheinton Heritage Group.

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2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 2.1 Aims The Sheinton Heritage Project ran for three years from 2004 to 2007. The archaeological component of the project was intended to:

 enable the local community to explore and investigate some aspects of the development of settlement at Sheinton.  enable the local community to explore and investigate their heritage and environment.  provide first-hand experience of practical archaeological and historical research to the local community, and provide training for local community volunteers in a range of archaeological skills and techniques.

The specific aim of the investigations in autumn 2006 was to explore a site identified by historical research as being occupied until the late 18th/early 19th century by a small farmstead, Gittens' Farm (see Fig. 1). Earthwork remains in the form of platforms and low linear banks also survived in the field, which sloped from the village core down to a stream course, the Sheinton Brook. The remains of a tail-race belonging to the former Sheinton Forge were also visible as a broad, shallow gulley in the western part of the field.

2.2 Objectives The objectives for the investigations were to:

(a) To survey the surviving earthworks (b) To locate archaeological features and deposits within the study area. (c) To assess the survival, quality, condition and relative significance of any archaeological features, deposits and structures within the study area.

2.3 Methodology 2.3.1 To meet these aims and objectives, the project’s archaeological activity comprised a field survey and trial excavations.

2.3.2 Field Survey. A field survey was carried out of the earthworks in the pasture field. The earthworks were surveyed using a differential Global Positioning System (GPS) for the location of features. The system used was a Trimble XR Pro with sub-metre accuracy with Husky fex palm computer using FastMap software. Features were recorded as point, line and polygon data. Each features co-ordinates were recorded with a simple record of its dimensions and a brief description. This data was downloaded daily onto a desk-top PC and converted into ArcGIS 9.1 layer files. A manual survey with theodolite and tape was also undertaken to produce a hachure plan at 1:200 scale. A contour survey was also made of the main area of platforms in the southern part of the field with readings taken at 2m and 5m intervals.

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2.3.3 Trial excavations. A number of trial trenches were located to investigate the area of the platforms. All excavations were carried out by hand to the top of significant archaeological deposits. Further sampling was carried out as necessary to determine the nature, survival, quality, and significance of features or deposits.

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3 ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND People probably first began to settle and farm in the Sheinton area in the Neolithic period (or New Stone Age). A Neolithic flint axe (Sites and Monuments Record No. 00319) has been found at Sheinton Hall Farm near Sheintonbrook Covert. Communities living in the area in the succeeding Bronze Age also left traces of their presence in the form their tools and weapons, recovered in recent years as a result of agricultural activity or metal detecting. Such finds from the Sheinton area include a fragment of a mid-late Bronze Age copper alloy axe (Portable Antiquities Scheme no. HESH- 2E7020) and a bronze chisel. Bronze Age burial sites also survive locally in the form of ploughed-out barrows or “ring ditches”, half a dozen or so of which have been discovered from aerial photography in neighbouring Cressage parish.

Later prehistoric activity in the Sheinton area is attested by a cropmark enclosure, of a type which has been demonstrated by excavation elsewhere to represent the remains of farmsteads occupied during the late Bronze Age, Iron Age, Romano-British, and early medieval periods. This enclosure (SMR No. 00310) lies on the edge of the river terrace near Sheinton Hall Farm. The cropmark enclosure has been cut through by the former Severn Valley Railway, and only the southern half appears on the aerial photographs available at the Shropshire SMR. Nevertheless, the enclosure appears to be sub-rectangular and about 85m by 70m in size. Excavation by the Sheinton Heritage Project in 2005 of a section of the enclosure ditch found that the ditch had silted up by the early Roman period, suggesting a late Iron Age to early Roman date for this farmstead.

Before the current investigations, there were no known Roman period sites in Sheinton, with the possible exception of the cropmark farmstead enclosure (SMR No. 00310). However, the parish lies close to a ford across the River Severn at Cressage, whose importance in the Roman period was marked by the presence of a fort, thought to have been occupied in the 1st – 2nd centuries AD and several marching camps on the north side of the crossing at Eaton Constantine. Numerous finds of Roman period metalwork, including coins and brooches, have come from the parish, particularly from the Sheinton Hall Farm area (these have been registered with the Portable Antiquities Scheme).

Sheinton is first mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, but there was probably a Saxon settlement here. It used to be thought that the name Sheinton derived from the Old English scēne and tun, meaning “beautiful settlement”; recent research (Gelling, 1990, p260-1) suggests that the first element of the name might derive from a personal name, Scēne. In the late Saxon period the parish of Sheinton comprised three manors held by Azor, Algar, and Saewulf. By the time of the Domesday Survey, these seem to have become a single estate, held from Roger of Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, by Ralph of Mortimer. The manor was in turn held from Ralph by Helgot, from who were descended the Lords of Castle Holdgate. The manor then was 2 hides in size and was worth 20 shillings. There were 2 slaves and land for 1½ ploughs in lordship, and a Frenchman and 9 Archaeology Service, Shropshire County Council 5 Report No. 250 June 2007 Archaeological Investigations at Gittens' Farm, Sheinton, Shropshire, 2006 smallholders had a further 2 ploughs. There was also a mill on the manor and woodland for fattening 100 pigs. (Thorn and Thorn, 1986, 4,11,1 and notes). The church at Sheinton (Sites and Monuments Record [SMR] No. 13377) is not mentioned in the Domesday Survey. The church, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, is a medieval building of limestone rubble construction. The church was partly rebuilt in the 1660s and subsequently thoroughly restored in 1854. The church has a timber-framed belfry which is probably 17th-century in date (though considerably restored).

A plan of 1747 by John Rocque shows a forge on the Sheinton Brook on the south side of the Sheinton Road. The forge was water-powered, and the mill may have been located close to the site of the Domesday mill. On the north side of the road, the 1747 plan shows a farmstead, occupied by a Samuel Gittens. It is this site that was the subject of the investigations in autumn 2006.

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4 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 4.1 The study area The study area for the investigations in autumn 2006 comprised a field on the east side of the Sheinton Brook and on the north side of Sheinton Road (Fig. 1). The eastern part of the site sloped down steeply to the west from the centre of the village to the brook. The field has been laid down to permanent pasture in recent times. A series of earthworks survived in the southern part of the field, and these coincided with the location of the farm buildings shown on the 1747 plan.

4.2 The field survey In November 2006, a survey of the earthworks was undertaken by the Sheinton Heritage Group assisted by the Archaeology Service.

A measured hachure survey was made of the main platforms at 1:200 scale on a grid set out with an electronic theodolite. A contour survey exercise was undertaken on some of this area. A survey of the entire area covered by the earthworks was then undertaken using a Differential Global Positioning System (GPS) for the accurate location of these features. The system used was a Trimble XR Pro with sub-metre accuracy with Husky fex palm computer using FastMap software. The survey data was downloaded onto a desk-top and converted into ArcGIS 9.1 layer files.

The surveys recorded a large platform up to 38m wide running back 60m from the Sheinton Road (Fig. 2). The southeastern edge of the platform was bounded by a bank or lynchet at the base of the steep slope; the northeastern side of the platform was marked by a gulley or Holloway, which continued up the slope towards the churchyard. The Sheinton Road lay in a Holloway on the platform's southwestern side, and a ramp ran from the road up onto the northwestern edge of the platform. The platform is likely to be the site of the main farm buildings shown on the 1747 plan. A second, smaller platform formed a terrace to the northwest of the main platform is likely to have been the location of a rectangular structure, possibly a barn, also shown on the 1747 plan.

To the west of the platform, a broad gully ran northeast from the road to the Sheinton Brook. This gully almost certainly represents the remains of the tailrace from the former Sheinton Forge watermill. The site of the forge, on the southern side of the road, was apparently buried in the 1950s-60s beneath spoil from the construction of the present Cressage School. It is likely that the tailrace was infilled at this time (if not before). A further slight hollow adjacent to the bridge over the Sheinton Brook probably marks the site of a former ford across the stream.

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4.3 The trial excavations Nine trenches and one test pit were located and laid out over the central platform recorded by the earthwork survey in an attempt to locate possible features associated with the post-medieval farmstead (Fig. 3). The topsoil and overburden were removed from all the trenches by hand. The underlying deposits were then cleaned before being sampled and recorded as appropriate.

Trenches A & B: These were originally excavated as separate trenches each 5m long by 1m wide, but were then joined to form one trench 12m long. The topsoil was excavated in two spits (Fig. 4a; 1 & 2, 8 & 18), the division between the spits was also marked by a fine horizon of pea-grit. The topsoil overlay the natural subsoil composed of a light brown clay (17 & 19). No archaeological features or deposits were recorded in this trench

Trench C: Trench C was located in the centre of the platform and was 12m long by 1m wide. Again, the topsoil was excavated in 2 spits (Fig. 5; 3 & 10); the lower spit (10) contained more flecks of charcoal than the upper topsoil layer. The topsoil sealed three shallow parallel gullies (29, 38, & 40), each filled with a charcoal-rich loam (28, 37 & 39). The gullies were cut into a deposit 0.25m deep of greyish brown sandy clay loam (30) which in turn lay above the brown clay natural subsoil (31 & 32), which was seen in sondages excavated at either end of the trench.

Trench D: Trench D was also 12m long and was excavated parallel to the northern edge of the platform. The topsoil was excavated in 2 spits (Fig. 6; 4 & 7) which lay over a loamy soil (27) with patches of gravel, pebbles, and cobbles which may have represented the remains of a yard surface. This trench was not excavated further.

Trench E: Trench E was 5m long by 1m wide and was cut across the gully which marked the northern edge of the platform. The topsoil again was excavated in 2 spits (5 & 11), which overlay a cobble and pebble surface. This surface ran down the side and into the base of the hollow. The gully thus probably represented a track from the farmstead running up the slope towards the church on the top of the hill.

Trench F: Trench F was 10m long by 1m wide, and was excavated to examine the eastern part of the platform and the bank or lynchet which marked its eastern edge. No sign of a buried wall or ditch was seen where the trench cut across this bank, merely a steep slope cut in the natural subsoil, which again comprised brown clay (Fig. 4b). The subsoil was sealed with a layer of topsoil (12); a band of stones (16) lay on this layer about 2.5m from the eastern end of the trench. These stones, although located about 2m west of the lynchet, may have originally come from a rough wall or hedgerow along its top. A further deposit of topsoil (6) overlay these stones.

Trench G: Trench G was located to examine the southwest area of the platform, close to trenches A-B and H. The topsoil (9 & 13) lay over a brown clay subsoil (25). This sloped down steeply to the west where it gave way to Archaeology Service, Shropshire County Council 8 Report No. 250 June 2007 Archaeological Investigations at Gittens' Farm, Sheinton, Shropshire, 2006 gravel and pebbles in a clay matrix (26).

Trench H: This was a 1m2 test-pit dug between trenches G & F. Again the topsoil (14 & 15) lay over light brown clay subsoil.

Trench I: Trench I was 4m x 1m and cut across the across edge of access ramp on the northwestern edge of the main platform. The topsoil (20) lay over a rubble layer 0.16m thick of finely broken mortar, plaster, brick and tile fragments (21). This in turn lay over a thin layer of greenish brown clay loam with pebbles (33) containing small amounts of tile and brick fragments and flecks of mortar and charcoal. Beneath this was a further loam layer (34); this was not excavated further.

Trench J: This trench was excavated across the mouth of the gully or holloway marking northeast edge of the main platform. The topsoil (Fig. 4c; 22) lay over a deposit of fine gravel and grit in a loam matrix (23). This lay over a further loamy topsoil (35) deposit at the upper (southwestern) end of the trench. This covered a bank of pebbles and cobbles (36) along the edge of the platform; which ran down the slope where it was overlain by gravel, pebbles and cobbles (24) at the base of the slope.

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5 CONCLUSIONS The earthwork surveys recorded a main platform bounded by a bank to the southeast and a Holloway to the northeast. These and a second platform to the northwest appear to correspond to the location of Samuel Gittens' farm as shown on the 1747 Rocque plan. A broad hollow also corresponds to the probable location of the tailrace from Sheinton Forge (occupied by John Newport in 1747).

The southern part of the platform area was considered to be the most likely location for the former farm buildings. Trenches A-B, F, G, & H were located to investigate this area - without success. At the northern end of the study area trench D located what may have been the remains of a yard surface, and a slight cobble and pebble bank seen in trench J marked the edge of this possible yard. The hollow that ran along the north side of the platform was seen to have a pebble and cobble surface, and is likely to be the remains of a track running from the rear of the farmstead up the hillside towards the church and the centre of the village. Trench C located some possible garden features, and trench J located some demolition rubble, both suggesting that this western edge of the platform is the likeliest area for any surviving structural remains. However, it is quite likely that the buildings on the site were entirely of timber, possibly on quite shallow footings, and any such remains might prove elusive.

The pottery recovered from the excavations confirms a floruit for the farmstead from the mid 17th to early 19th centuries. The bulk of the pottery recovered was domestic coarseware from this period. However a significant quantity of late medieval (14th – 16th centuries) pottery was also recovered from the topsoil. While residual, the quantity of the medieval pottery suggested that the farmstead may possibly have had its origins in this period. A significant amount of iron slag was also recovered from the site. This was not surprising, given the proximity of the post-medieval Sheinton Forge. The forge will have produced large quantities of slag, and some of this may well have been used to provide surface material for the farmyards.

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6 REFERENCES AND SOURCES CONSULTED Barker, P A, Haldon, R, and Jenks, WE, 1991: Excavations on Sharpstones Hill near Shrewsbury, 1965-71, in Carver, 1991 Carver, M O H (ed), 1991: "Prehistory in Lowland Shropshire", TSAHS, LXVII, 1991 Eyton, Rev. W, 1854-60: Antiquities of Shropshire Gelling, M, 2004: The Place-Names of Shropshire, Part Four, EP-NS vol LXXX Hannaford, H R, 2005: Archaeological Investigations at Sheinton, Shropshire, 2004-5, Shropshire County Council Archaeology Service Report No. 241 Morriss, R K, 1991b: Railways of Shropshire, Shropshire Books, Shrewsbury Ordnance Survey 1881: 1:2500 (25") 1st edition Shropshire Sheet No. Roseveare, M & Roseveare A, 2005: Sheinton Village, Shropshire, Geophysical Survey Report, ArchaeoPysica Ltd project code SHE20041 Roseveare, M J, 2006: Electrical resistance survey in Sheinton Village, Geophysical Survey Report, ArchaeoPysica Ltd project code SHE061 Thorn, F and Thorn, C (eds), 1986: Domesday Book, Shropshire, Phillimore, Chichester Toghill, P, 1990: Geology in Shropshire, Shrewsbury Whimster, R, 1989: The Emerging Past: Air Photography and the Buried Landscape, RCHME White, R, 1997: Summary of Fieldwork carried out by the Wroxeter Hinterland Project, 1994-7, TSAHS vol. LXXII, 1997, pp1-8

ABBREVIATIONS ASD Above Site Datum DoE Department of the Environment OS Ordnance Survey PRO Public Record Office SMR County Sites and Monuments Record, Shirehall, Shrewsbury SRRC Shropshire Records and Research Centre, Castle Gates, Shrewsbury TSAHS Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society TSAS Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological Society

7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writer would like to thank Dr & Mrs Ian Lawrence for providing access to the site for these investigations. Thanks also are due to Tony Hanna, site supervisor, and Jan Lloyd and Ros Jefferies who provided invaluable help with the finds processing and analysis. Finally thanks must go to all the members of the Sheinton Heritage Group for their support for the project and enthusiastic participation in the fieldwork.

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Gitten's Farm

© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Shropshire CC 100019801. 2005

Sheinton Heritage Project – Gittens' Farm 2006 Figure 1: Sheinton village; 1:10,000 scale N

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Sheinton Heritage Project – Gittens' Farm 2006 Figure 2: Earthworks surveyed in autumn 2006; 1:1,000 scale N

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Sheinton Heritage Project – Gittens' Farm 2006 Figure 6: Trench D; a) plan view 1:50 scale; b) southwest-facing section, 1:20 scale Archaeological Investigations at Gittens’ Farm, Sheinton, Shropshire 2006

The study area, looking northwest

The excavations in progress – trenches D and E (left) and trench F (right)

Sheinton Heritage Project – Gittens’ Farm 2006