Building ONE Wroughton Wiltshire Heritage Assessment Report prepared for: Science Museum Group CA Project: 6420 CA Report: 17601 October 2017 Building ONE Wroughton Wiltshire Heritage Assessment CA Project: 6420 CA Report: 17601 prepared by Joanne Robinson, Heritage Consultant date October 2017 checked by Julia Sulikowska, Senior Heritage Consultant date October 2017 approved by Duncan Coe, Principal Heritage Consultant signed date October 2017 issue 3 This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission. Cirencester Milton Keynes Andover Exeter Building 11 41 Burners Lane South Stanley House Unit 53 Kemble Enterprise Park Kiln Farm Walworth Road Basepoint Business Cirencester Milton Keynes Andover Centre Gloucestershire Buckinghamshire Hampshire Yeoford Way GL7 6BQ MK11 3HA SP10 5LH Marsh Barton Trading Estate Exeter EX2 8LB t. 01285 771022 f. 01285 771033 t. 01908 564660 t. 01264 347630 t. 01392 826185 e. [email protected] CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 3 2. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 7 3. ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ....................................... 12 4. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE & POTENTIAL EFFECTS ............................. 23 5. THE SETTING OF HERITAGE ASSETS .................................................................. 27 6. CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................... 42 7. REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 44 1 Building ONE, Wroughton, Wiltshire: Heritage DBA © Cotswold Archaeology ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1: Site location plan Figure 2: Selected heritage assets Figure 3: Extract from the Wroughton enclosure map of 1796 Figure 4: Extract from the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1886 Figure 5: The Site in relation to proximate designated heritage assets In text photographs Photograph 1: View towards the Site from the eastern entrance to Barbury Castle Hillfort Photograph 2: View towards the Site from the western entrance of Barbury Castle Hillfort Photograph 3: View from Saucer Barrow, view to the north towards the Site Photograph 4: View from the east of Two Bowl Narrows, view to the north-west towards the Site 2 Building ONE, Wroughton, Wiltshire: Heritage DBA © Cotswold Archaeology 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. In September 2017, Cotswold Archaeology (CA) was commissioned by the Science Museum Group (SMG) to undertake a Heritage Assessment in respect of land at the Science Museum Group at Wroughton (SMGW), Wiltshire (hereafter referred to as ‘the Site’). The report has been prepared to accompany a pre-application advice request. 1.2. The Site extends to 220ha and contains the remnants of the former RAF Wroughton military air base including the runways, hangars and associated buildings, as well as woodland and private open space. The site is a primary storage facility for SMG. It also houses the Swindon Solar Farm on the southern half of the site and the Hive research facility for the University of Bath. 1.3. The proposed development will comprise the construction of a new storage facility (known as Building ONE), designed to accommodate 26,000m2 of internal space with up to an additional 9,000m2 of mezzanine space. Associated parking and a service yard will be positioned alongside the storage facility. The collections management facility will be used to house over 80% (approximately 340,000) of the SMG’s collection in stable, accessible conditions. 1.4. The site for Building ONE is positioned in the northern part of the former airfield. It measures 19.9ha in area (including access road) and comprises two areas of grassland and sections of the taxiways and runways. The Site is situated 1.4km south of the settlement of Wroughton (Figure 1). Objectives and professional standards 1.5. Cotswold Archaeology (CA) is a Registered Organisation (RO) with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA). This report has been prepared in accordance with the ‘Standard and Guidance for Historic Environment Desk-Based Assessment’ published by the Chartered Institute (2014). 1.6. The composition and development of the historic environment within the Site and wider landscape are discussed. A determination of the significance of any heritage assets located within the Site, and any heritage assets beyond the Site boundary that may potentially be affected by the development proposals, is presented. Any potential development effects upon the significance of these heritage assets (both adverse and / or beneficial) are then described. 3 Building ONE, Wroughton, Wiltshire: Heritage DBA © Cotswold Archaeology 1.7. This approach is consistent with the Chartered Institute’s ‘Standard and Guidance for Heritage Desk-Based Assessment’, which provides that, insofar as they relate to the determination of planning applications, heritage desk-based assessments should: ‘…enable reasoned proposals and decisions to be made [as to] whether to mitigate, offset or accept without further intervention [any identified heritage] impact’ (CIfA 2014, 4). 1.8. The ‘Historic Environment Good Practice Advice in Planning Note 2: Decision- Taking in the Historic Environment’ (Historic England 2014), further clarifies that a desk-based assessment should: ‘…determine, as far as is reasonably possible from existing records, the nature, extent and significance of the historic environment within a specified area, and the impact of the proposed development on the significance of the historic environment, or will identify the need for further evaluation’ (Historic England 2014, 3). Statute, policy and guidance context 1.9. This assessment has been undertaken within the key statute, policy and guidance context presented within Table 1.1. The applicable provisions contained within these statute, policy and guidance documents are referred to, and discussed, as relevant, throughout the text. Fuller detail is provided in Appendix 1. 4 Building ONE, Wroughton, Wiltshire: Heritage DBA © Cotswold Archaeology 4 412000 4 413000 4 414000 4 415000 4 416000 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 118100081000 118000080000 117900079000 117800078000 117700077000 117600076000 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE N Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 MONMOUTHSHIRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 OXFORDSHIRE w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected] PROJECT TITLE SOUTH READING GLOUCESTERSHIRE Building ONE, Wroughton, Wiltshire CITY OF WEST BRISTOL BOUROUGH OF BERKSHIRE SWINDON FIGURE TITLE NORTH BATH AND SOMERSET NE SOMERSET WILTSHIRE WOKINGHAM Site location plan BRACKNELL FOREST 0 1km SOMERSET FIGURE NO. Reproduced from the digital Ordnance Survey Explorer map with DRAWN BY AO PROJECT NO. 6420 the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller CHECKED BY DJB DATE 19/10/2017 HAMPSHIRE of Her Majesty's Stationery Office c Crown copyright Cotswold Archaeology Ltd 100002109 APPROVED BY DC SCALE@A4 1:25,000 1 Statute and guidance Description Act of Parliament placing a duty upon the Local Planning Authority (or, as the case may be, the Secretary of Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation State) to afford due consideration to the preservation of Listed buildings and their settings (under Section 66(1)), Areas) Act (1990) and Conservation Areas (under Section 72(2)), in determining planning applications. One of four Acts of Parliament providing for the protection and management of the historic environment, National Heritage Act 1983 (amended 2002) including the establishment of the Historic Monuments & Buildings Commission, now Historic England. Comprises the local development plan (local plan), as required to be compiled, published and maintained by the local authority, consistent with the requirements of the NPPF (2012). Intended to be the primary planning policy Swindon Borough Local Plan (2026) document against which planning proposals within that local authority jurisdiction are assessed. Where the development plan is found to be inadequate, primacy reverts to the NPPF (2012). Provides the English government’s national planning policies and describes how these are expected to be National Planning Policy Framework (2012) applied within the planning system. Heritage is subject of Chapter 12 (page 30). Guidance for assessing heritage significance, with reference to contributing heritage values, in particular: Conservation Principles (Historic England 2008) evidential (archaeological), historical (illustrative and associative), aesthetic, and communal. Good Practice Advice in Planning: Note 2 (GPA2): Provides useful information on assessing the significance of heritage assets, using appropriate expertise, Managing Significance in Decision-Taking in the historic environment records, recording and furthering understanding, neglect and unauthorised works, Historic Environment (Historic England, 2015a) marketing and design and distinctiveness. Good Practice Advice in Planning: Note 3 (GPA3): Provides guidance on managing change within the settings of heritage assets,