Cropredy Cricket Club Cropredy Oxfordshire
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Cropredy Cricket Club Cropredy Oxfordshire Archaeological Watching Brief and Metal Detector Survey for Han van Reen on behalf of Cropredy Cricket Club CA Project: 770684 CA Report: 18128 March 2018 Cropredy Cricket Club Cropredy Oxfordshire Archaeological Watching Brief and Metal Detector Survey CA Project: 770684 CA Report: 18128 Document Control Grid Revision Date Author Checked by Status Reasons for Approved revision by A 30/1/18 Sam Wilson Ray Internal General Edit Richard Kennedy review Greatorex 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. © Cotswold Archaeology © Cotswold Archaeology Cropredy Cricket Club, Cropredy, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief CONTENTS SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 2 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 3 2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ................................................................ 4 3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................... 10 4. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................... 11 5. RESULTS (FIGS 2-3) ......................................................................................... 11 6. THE FINDS ........................................................................................................ 12 7 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 12 8. CA PROJECT TEAM .......................................................................................... 12 9. REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 13 APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS .................................................................... 14 APPENDIX B: THE FINDS .............................................................................................. 15 APPENDIX C: OASIS REPORT FORM .......................................................................... 16 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 Site location plan (1:25,000) Figure 2 The site, showing location of groundworks (1:1,000) Figure 3 Photographs 1 © Cotswold Archaeology Cropredy Cricket Club, Cropredy, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief SUMMARY Project Name: Cropredy Cricket Club Location: Cropredy, Oxfordshire NGR: 447055 246363 Type: Watching Brief and Metal Detector Survey Date: 29 January – 19 February 2018 Planning Reference: 17/01474/F Location of Archive: To be deposited with Oxfordshire Museum Service Site Code: CROP18 An archaeological watching brief and metal detector survey was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology during groundwork associated with the construction of a new cricket pavilion and access road at Cropredy Cricket Club, Cropredy, Oxfordshire. No features or deposits of archaeological interest were observed during groundwork, and no artefacts pre-dating the modern period was recovered. A great deal of metallic contamination associated with the Cropredy Festival was noted. 2 © Cotswold Archaeology Cropredy Cricket Club, Cropredy, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 In January and February 2018 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological watching brief and metal detector survey for Han van Reen on behalf of Cropredy Cricket Club (centred at NGR: 447055 246363; Figure 1). The watching brief was undertaken to fulfil a condition attached to a planning consent for construction of a new cricket pavilion comprising of club room and changing facilities (Planning ref: 17/01474/F). 1.2 The watching brief was carried out in accordance with a brief for prepared by Historic England the archaeological advisors to the Cherwell district Council and with a subsequent detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) produced by CA (2017) and approved by the Historic England. The fieldwork also followed Standard and guidance: Archaeological watching brief (CIfA 2014). The site 1.3 The Site comprises a roughly L-shaped field bordered by fences and hedgerows. The proposed development area is bounded to the east and south by agricultural fields, with further agricultural fields located north-east of Williamscot Road. Bordering the Site to the north lies Cropredy Cricket Club, an area of open manicured grass with sporting equipment paraphernalia and tennis courts to the east and the current brick built pavilion building adjacent to Williamscot Road to the north. The Site lies entirely within the Registered Battlefield of Cropredy Bridge 1.4 The Site measures approximately 1.5ha and is currently occupied by short pasture and a seasonal cricket pitch. 1.5 The underlying bedrock geology of the area is mapped as Charmouth Mudstone Formation, sedimentary bedrock formed approximately 183 to 199 million years ago in the Jurassic Period, in an environment dominated by shallow seas. Superficial deposits of clay, silt, sand and gravel alluvium formed up to two million years ago, are also recorded (BGS Online, 2018). 3 © Cotswold Archaeology Cropredy Cricket Club, Cropredy, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief 2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND The archaeological background given below is a succinct summary of information garnered from the Heritage Impact Assessment by Cotswold Archaeology (2016) Prehistoric (pre-43 AD) 2.1 The River Cherwell, which runs immediately to the west of the Site, may have attracted settlement activity during the prehistoric period. The low-lying river bottom on which the Site is located is unlikely to have been permanently settled, although the riverine environment would have provided varied food and fuel resources, and may have been utilised for hunting, fishing and seasonal stock grazing. It is possible that local resources will have been used for production, with alluvial clays used for pottery manufacture or reeds for basketry etc. 2.2 Later prehistoric activity is represented in the area by a rectangular enclosure, identified from aerial photographs approximately 320m south-west of the Site. Evidence of prehistoric activity is present within the wider landscape, and comprises the Jurassic Way located approximately 1.6km east of the Site and an Iron Age fortification, Arbury Banks, located c. 3km to the north-east. The Jurassic Way is suggested to have originated in the Neolithic period and became a clearly defined line of movement between Yorkshire and Somerset during the early Iron Age. Arbury Banks may have its origins during the Bronze Age. Roman (AD 43 – AD 410) 2.3 No evidence of Romano-British activity is recorded within the Site, and evidence within the wider area comprises a single find spot of a coarse rim sherd of a Romano-British storage jar, located approximately 330m north-east of the Site. Evidence of Romano-British activity within the wider landscape comprises the findspot of a silver Republican denarius and a copper alloy Sestertius located c. 560m north-east of the Site, and a Roman villa, located c. 4.4km to the north-east. At present there is no evidence for settlement activity of Roman period date within the Site or its immediate area, and it is probable that during this period the Site comprised agricultural lands. 4 © Cotswold Archaeology Cropredy Cricket Club, Cropredy, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief Early medieval (AD410 – AD 1066) and medieval (AD 1066 – 1539) 2.4 The Site is located within the township of Wardington within the historic parish of Cropredy, in the Hundred of Banbury. The ancient parish of Cropredy formerly covered 8,716 acres lying between Northamptonshire on the east, Hanwell and Banbury to the south, and Warwickshire to the west. Besides Wardington, the parish included Prescote, the hamlets of Great and Little Bourton, and the chapelries of Claydon and Mollington. The majority of the boundaries of the ancient parish coincided with pre-inclosure hedges, excluding those to the south and west, and the ancient parish boundary is demarcated by a boundary stone, approximately 150m north of the Site. 2.5 The historic core of the village of Cropredy, to the west of the Site, comprises late Saxon and medieval origins. Possible evidence of early medieval activity within the wider environs of the Site comprises the suggested location of the reputed site of a shrine of St Fremund, the martyred son of King Offa of Mercia. Located approximately 170m south of the Site, documentary evidence suggests that the shrine remained within the village from c. 1210 to 15th century, although no physical evidence has been recorded within the landscape. 2.6 Cropredy is suggested to have derived its name from the combination of words, ‘Crop’ meaning sprot or top of a water-plant, and ‘Ridig’ meaning small stream, perhaps referring to the River Cherwell which runs to the east of the village and the presence of rushes adjacent to the river. Cropredy Bridge, 170m north of the Site, was first documented in 1312 and formed part an ancient thoroughfare, running west to east through the village. 2.7 During the medieval period, there were three estates in Cropredy, comprising Cropredy Lawn, Thickthorn Farm and Manor Farm. Manor Farm, located approximately