NEWSLETTER 2017 Shining a Light on the Prehistoric Landscape of Shinfeld P P3

Some Recent Finds Reported to East ’s Finds Liaison Offcer PP6

A History Lesson at the Former , Reading P P7 Inside Reading Prison. Reproduced by kind permission of Artangel. Image © Marcus J Leith BERKSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGY Welcome to our new edition of Berkshire Archaeology News

The last twelve months have to provide food relief within You will fnd details of a selection been a busy period for the the catchment through major of recent sites and fnds within the Berkshire Archaeology team, works in the Datchet area, following pages, but don’t forget with ever-increasing numbers planners and contractors for you can view our HERonline of planning applications, a wide Highways on the through the Heritage Gateway range of enquiries to the Historic upgrading of the M4 to a www.heritagegateway.org.uk Environment Record (HER), and “smart” motorway, and with to fnd out more, or to discover many archaeological and research the High Speed 2 team to the archaeology on your doorstep. projects taking place within our mitigate any impacts from area needing our team’s specialist ancillary works associated with We have also launched our input and advice. the planned new railway. new webpage - go to www.berkshirearchaeology.org.uk A number of strategic sites for We have also been working with to see our brand new look, housing and other redevelopment Museum of London Archaeology and don’t forget to check back are under consideration, as the to advise on their production of regularly for updates on our work! economy of our area continues to a Terrestrial Minerals Resource We hope you enjoy our newsletter. grow; many of these affect heritage Assessment, which considers assets across the full range of the the archaeological potential of BERKSHIRE historic environment, such as the important sand, gravel and other ARCHAEOLOGY listed and scheduled site at the potential quarrying areas, to aid BERKSHIRE former Reading Prison, where planning and advice on recording RECORD OFFICE investigations are ongoing. and/or conserving the most 9 COLEY AVENUE We are also working with the signifcant archaeology. A report READING Environment Agency to advise and seminar are expected later RG1 6AF on the River Scheme, this year, as well as a set of E. [email protected] enhanced records for the HER. T. 0118 937 5976 Berkshire Archaeology is an archaeological advice service for; 1 A Prehistoric Landscape Between Datchet and

In the last year large soil bunds have appeared just before Junction 5 for Langley as you drive along the M4 towards London. These mark the early stages of a 40ha gravel quarry on land north of the Motorway, close to Ditton . The Motorway was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s with only very limited rescue excavations undertaken by a valiant band of local societies and groups, volunteers and a small number of professional archaeologists. We therefore know little about the archaeology that was under the M4 at this point.

However the stripping and archaeological investigation of this new gravel quarry is providing evidence of what might have been lost Roman timber-lined water hole under excavation when the Motorway was built. The © Wessex Archaeology investigations by Wessex Archaeology on behalf of CEMEX UK are revealing a buried landscape of prehistoric description for this very distinctive and Roman archaeology. A series type of pottery. A particularly exciting of Bronze Age and Roman ditched discovery was the remains of a feld systems are coming to light. person, buried in a fexed position, A timber-lined water hole, probably possibly tied or bound when buried. dug to provide water for livestock, No artefacts were recovered but was recorded in one feld. Surprisingly the burial is typical of the Early a human skull was found at its Bronze Age (2,000 – 1,600 BC). base; a curious discovery, perhaps The archaeological investigations deliberately deposited to mark the are due to continue for several end of the useful life of this water years as the quarry progresses. hole. Fields and associated water holes were ubiquitous in the later prehistoric period in this part of the Middle Thames and Colne Valleys and demonstrate how intensively this part of Berkshire was farmed in antiquity.

Interestingly there has also been a high number of Neolithic (4,000 – 2,000 BC) pits recorded. These small, shallow pits were not associated with any monuments but were more likely all that remains of Early Bronze Age(?) small habitations. Some pits contained fexed inhumation burial ‘Grooved Ware’ pottery, an apt © Wessex Archaeology A near complete, but broken barrel urn © Wessex Archaeology 2 The Peculiar History of Shoppenhanger’s Manor,

Walter George Thornton Smith, collector, antique dealer, connoisseur of European furniture, and sometime chairman of the board of Fortnum and Masons, died on Sunday 24 February1963 at the age of 87. One of his last wishes was that his house, Shoppenhanger’s Manor on the outskirts of Maidenhead, should be used as a retirement home, perhaps for civil servants. His Thornton Smith’s Shoppenhanger’s manor house house was no ordinary suburban © Picture by Baylis Media Ltd (Maidenhead Advertiser) home but a replica of a medieval manor house, built under his instruction in the second decade The enclosure was defned by Unfortunately his last wish for his of the 20th century. It was built two large ditches, full of Roman house to become a retirement as a pastiche of a 16th-century pottery and tile. This Roman home did not come to pass. After merchant’s house, using reclaimed material was almost certainly a brief spell as a flm set for The items from elsewhere, including derived from a Roman building, Persuaders and at least two low carved timber and panelling from perhaps even a Roman villa, close budget horror flms in the 1960s, Park, a ceiling from to the site of the manor house. the house was bought by and a medieval inn at Banbury and There is no doubt that Thornton incorporated into the adjacent painted glass from Selby . The Smith would have been delighted Hotel becoming a successful interior was also richly furnished to know that his grand house restaurant and wedding venue and included C’hand Hi Chinese was built on a Roman foundation, until its demolition in 2006. wallpaper, a magnifcent collection even if there is some doubt as to of Chelsea, Bow and Derby the medieval origins of the site. china and 16th-century Brussels tapestries. Thornton Smith built his edifce on the foundations of what he considered to be the original medieval Shoppenhanger’s manor house. The original building is shown on the 1844 Parish of Bray Tithe map but it is not clear from cartographic and documentary sources if this was the site of a medieval manor house. While Thornton Smith’s faux manor house has since been demolished, archaeological investigations at the site in 2016 by Cotswold Archaeology have surprisingly shown that 1st century AD pottery from Shoppenhanger’s Manor the house sat within a Roman, © Cotswold Archaeology rather than medieval, enclosure. 3 Shining a Light on the Prehistoric Landscape of Shinfeld, Near Reading

Excavations by Oxford Archaeology in 2016 as part of a new housing development in Shinfeld, south of Reading, have revealed a changing pattern of prehistoric and later land-use stretching back to the late Neolithic period (3,000 – 2,000 BC).

Located on a slight plateau above the foodplain of the River Lodden, the remains of an early Bronze Age (2,000 – 1,500 BC) round barrow have proved to be quite intriguing. The Early Bronze Age round barrow The barrow ditch encircled a at Shinfeld, Reading central pit that had been dug into © Oxford Archaeology a silted-up tree hole. Within the pit was a complete, up-turned early Bronze Age collared urn, so-called because of its distinctive Further dating and analysis ‘collar’ that would have provided will help to establish the a means of carrying the vessel relationship between the as well as a form of decoration. cremation burial and the charred A second un-urned cremation remains within the ditch. burial was also identifed just to the north, possible representing a This ceremonial landscape, which later burial. Although excavation also included scattered pits and of the surrounding barrow ditch postholes, seems to have been produced few fnds (worked transformed during the mid to fints and sherds of early late Bronze Age (1,500 – 800 BC) prehistoric pottery), a notable into an agricultural landscape of element was the presence of drove ways, feld systems and enclosures. Although no evidence burnt material, possibly the The Bronze Age remains of tree branches, for dwellings was found, the presence of four-post structures, collared urn which had been deliberately from Shinfeld placed in the flls of the ditch. waterholes and pits, along with notable concentrations of fnds © Oxford Archaeology It seems that the tree (or its from several pits, suggests remains) became the focal point that the settlement lay within of the barrow and the cremation or very close to the site. burial. The charred remains from the barrow ditch may have derived from the cremation pyre or the burning of the central tree. 4 From milestones to memorials – monuments on the Historic Environment Record

Over 110 monument records of the three Reading men who have been added to the died in Spain - George Middleton, Berkshire Archaeology Historic William Ball and Archibald Environment Record (HER) Francis, and the badges of the database in the last year, bringing international brigades they fought the total to more than 7,000. for. Originally unveiled in May 1990 in front of the former Reading The archaeological discoveries Borough Council Civic Centre, 1930s bus shelter, highlighted in this newsletter will it has recently been relocated Bath Road, Reading all be added to the HER, but our to the Forbury Gardens. © Berkshire Archaeology new records don’t just include buried archaeology - nor nationally to Reading in the west, such These are just a few examples important sites - assets of local as this early 19th-century of the wide range of heritage importance are important too. milepost on the A4 at Reading. assets recorded. If you are aware Two main transport routes cross of an interesting monument through our region: The Great On the Henley Road to the north which we don’t have on the HER Western Railway (GWR) from of Reading can be seen a late or have any new information London Paddington, through 1930s bus shelter. In 2015 it was on existing monuments, please Reading, to the west and beyond repaired and re-painted in the contact us with the details. and The Great Bath Road (A4) original maroon and cream livery from London to Bristol. Both an of the Reading Transport Company. important part in the economic The terminus was nearby for development of the area. Many motor buses returning to Reading. milestones line the Bath Road from Slough in the east through Across east Berkshire are War Memorials commemorating those that have been involved in WWI, WWII and more recent conficts. The ‘Requiem’ monument by local sculptor Eric Stanford recognises volunteers from Reading who fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). It is a double-faced sculpture depicting three male dead soldiers on one side and a woman with a dying child on the other, which represents the death of the young Spanish republic. The monument bears the names

Mile post, Bath Road, Requiem Memorial, Reading Forbury Gardens, Reading © Berkshire Archaeology © Berkshire Archaeology 5 An Iron Age Farmer’s and Metalworker’s Home at Amen Corner, Binfeld

Amen Corner lies in the south- west corner of the parish of Binfeld between and . The name, depicted as a small hamlet on the Binfeld Tithe Map of 1839, is thought to derive from the saying of prayers during the beating of the bounds, the ancient custom of walking the boundaries of the parish to share the knowledge of the land and to pray for its protection.

North-west of Amen Corner, close to the line of the B3408, is the highest point within the parish, with commanding views to the north and south. It is a location that one would anticipate would Aerial view of the Iron Age enclosure under excavation © Worcestershire Archaeology have been settled in antiquity. This proved to be the case when archaeological investigations were undertaken in 2016 by Interestingly a high number of It is also interesting that several Worcestershire Archaeology loom weights were recovered from Iron Age farms nearby were revealing the buried remains the farmstead with little evidence not enclosed but lay within of an Iron Age (800 – 200 BC) for the growing of cereals. Sheep open felds. It may be that the settlement. Just on the north farming and weaving may therefore residents of the farmstead at side of the hilltop, excavations have played an important role in Amen Corner, by virtue of the revealed the remains of a large, the life of the farm. In addition site’s elevated location, deep deep ditch, enclosing a single large evidence of metalworking was enclosure ditch and specialist round house. Little of this Iron recorded, including deposits of slag metal-working evidence, held a Age house survived but a large and fragments of possible crucible, higher position in the local later quantity of domestic rubbish, the pottery vessels holding metal prehistoric farming community. mostly broken pieces of pottery, as they were being melted. was recovered from the eastern half of the building with little from the western half. The inference Later is that the eastern half of the prehistoric roundhouse was for living and pottery in the the western half was for sleeping. roundhouse At 10m in diameter or a foor gully area of 78 square metres, the © Worcestershire building was probably the home Archaeology of a single extended family. Subsistence farming was likely to have been the main occupation of the household. 6 Some Recent Finds Reported to East Berkshire’s Finds Liaison Offcer

In the last 18 months, Berkshire Archaeology’s Finds Liaison Offcer, David Williams, has been busy assisting in the recovery of the nationally important Viking hoard at Watlington, South Oxfordshire, which received national coverage (http://www.britishmuseum.org/ about_us/news_and_press/press_ releases/2016/the_watlington_ Roman gold solidus of Valentinian I (AD 364-75) hoard.aspx). (reproduced with the permission of the Portable Antiquities Scheme)

David had the good fortune to north of England, although this have this exciting fnd reported to fgure is chubbier than others. A him by the metal detectorist that stunningly beautiful gold solidus discovered the hoard. He has also of Valentinian I (AD 364-75) was authored a book on 50 important found near Arborfeld, Wokingham. objects from the Portable Valentinian’s stylised face appears Antiquities Scheme in Surrey on one side of the coin, while he (http://www.exploringsurreyspast. is depicted in military attire on the 17th-century enamelled org.uk/archaeological-fnds- reverse. The coin was minted in cloak button surrey/50fndsfromsurrey/) where Trier, Germany, on the banks of the (reproduced with the permission of he also fulfls the role of Finds River Moselle. the Portable Antiquities Scheme) Liaison Offcer. Objects reported to the Finds with a sinuous line of punched Meanwhile objects recovered Liaison Offcer are not just circles. This small object is only a in east Berkshire continue to restricted to those of great little over 7cm long and was found be reported to David. These antiquity but include more recent in White Waltham parish. include a Roman copper alloy objects of intrinsic interest. One fgurine of a naked child or Cupid. recent example is a large 17th- This charming item was found century copper-alloy cloak button near the village of Waltham St found near , Wokingham. Lawrence. Similar fgurines are The button has spirally-formed known from Britain, especially the petals and alternating cells of white, blue and red enamel. Each petal is separated by a scrolling tendril. The button is domed with a central boss and has a squashed rectangular integral attachment loop on the back. This is an example of the so-called Stuart Early 17th-century enamels. A second example is an toy gun Roman Cupid fgurine early 17th-century copper-alloy (reproduced with the permission of (reproduced with the permission of toy musket with a fshtail butt and the Portable Antiquities Scheme) the Portable Antiquities Scheme) a facetted barrel. The upper three facets of the barrel are decorated 7 A History Lesson at the Former Elvian School, Southcote, Reading

‘Oaklands’ was a large Victorian The College became the Elvian However excavations by Thames ‘villa’ built in 1876 along the Bath School for a short period in Valley Archaeological Services in Road, Reading; at that time on the 2000s, but the closure of 2016 have shown that the site was the rural fringe of the town. This the School precipitated the home to an Iron Age community, fne building was also, for a while, residential development of the long before its use as a house and the home of Herbert Sutton, site, with the loss of the school school. The excavation revealed a a member of the Sutton Seeds buildings, including ‘Oaklands’. settlement complex comprising dynasty, and the house remained a ditched trackway, attached to in the Sutton family until the which were enclosures, encircling 1920s. It was subsequently sold a series of roundhouses. The to the , repair and replacement of some a Catholic Congregation of of the roundhouses indicates Religious Brothers, and turned the longevity of the settlement, into a Presentation College, an perhaps for over a century. independent college for boys. Alumni of the College in Reading The settlement lies on free- include Michael Bond, the creator draining soils on a low ridge of Paddington Bear, Mike Oldfeld, above the valley of the River creator of the seminal ‘Tubular Kennet, an ideal location to Bells’ and Lawrie Sanchez, scorer take advantage of a range of of the winning goal for Wimbledon resources and habitats. Analysis in the FA Cup fnal of 1988! of the results is currently on- going and will help us understand the history and economy of The excavations at the The Iron Age settlement this important settlement. former Elvian School, from the air, showing a Reading in progress number of roundhouses © Thames Valley © Thames Valley Archaeological Services Archaeological Services

Reconstruction of an Iron Age roundhouse by K Nichols © Wessex Archaeology 8 A Modern Historic Landscape: the Former Transport Research Laboratory,

Crowthorne is the home of the As a consequence, AOC Transport Research Laboratory Archaeology undertook a survey (TRL), despite a recent signifcant and recording exercise of the reduction to its land holdings former TRL structures prior to within the parish. Originally their demolition. The work was established in 1933, the TRL has funded by Legal and General, with provided research into many the historic environment aspects aspects of road and vehicle safety, managed by RPS Consulting traffc management, transport Services. Set within a pinewood safety, sustainability and future forest was an extraordinary transport innovation in the abandoned landscape of mock last 80 years. Among its many motorways, roads, embankments, credits is the invention of the traffc signs and barriers, creating mini-roundabout in 1975! The an eerie ‘post-apocalyptic’ world Laboratory moved to Crowthorne in this corner of Berkshire! The in the 1960s and the site continued structures recorded by AOC to grow until the operation was included an enormous circular recently scaled back, and a large ‘skid pan’, overlooked by a wooden proportion of the facility is now observation tower; a fgure-of-8 being demolished in advance road track, including sections Observation tower of residential development. of a three lane motorway with overlooking the ‘skid pan’ overhead gantries and signs, © AOC Archaeology a banked turn reminiscent of Brooklands racing circuit and a road over an artifcially steep hill. Other recorded structures included a Dynamic Impact Test Facility and a powered crash strip, cycle lanes, a variety of test sheds and other structures.

Many might consider these later 20th-century structures as barely Mock three lane representing ‘archaeological’ motorway remains. However there is © AOC Archaeology increasing interest and research into the early history of the car and associated buildings and infrastructure. The record of the structures at the former TRL will therefore be available to future researchers of this dominant aspect of modern life. The TRL sign on entering the site © Berkshire Archaeology 9 An Early Saxon Village Near Upton, Slough

In AD 410, Roman military, political, and administrative control of Britain came to an end. This date marked a signifcant watershed for major Roman towns and society’s elite but this was less of a traumatic event for those in the rural population who witnessed gradual change before and after this date. This included the colonisation of land by Saxons migrating into Britain from central Europe from the 5th century AD onwards.

Saxon settlements are recognisably different to those of the Roman Saxon sunken-featured building near Upton, Slough period, and one such settlement © Thames Valley Archaeological Services was recently recorded in the south of Slough, near Upton These consisted of shallow Broken pottery was recovered Court Park. Excavations by hollows with supporting posts from these Saxon buildings. Thames Valley Archaeological at either end or in each corner, Services in 2016 revealed more supporting a timber frame and Some sherds of pottery still had of a Saxon settlement that had ‘tent-like’ thatched roof. The exact burnt food remains stuck to them, partly been recorded in 2013 on nature and purpose of these small possibly the reason why the pot the same site. This settlement buildings is not fully understood. was thrown away. The biggest was made up of at least fve They may have served as work- surprise of the project was the distinctive buildings known as shops or stores rather than date recovered from these food ‘sunken-featured buildings’. dwellings. remains through radiocarbon dating. This was a date most likely of between AD 322 and AD 387. This intriguingly suggests that Saxon colonisation, at least along the Thames valley, may have been well under way signifcantly before the offcial end of Roman rule.

Reconstruction of a Saxon sunken featured building by K Nichols © Wessex Archaeology 10 ‘Drilling Down to the Detail’ - The Round Mounds Project in East Berkshire

In the last two years researchers from the University of Reading have been investigating the origins of some of England’s ‘round mounds’, the large monumental earthworks that are a regular feature of our historic landscape. (Please access their website for Montem further information at https:// Mound, Slough roundmoundsproject. © Berkshire wordpress.com/.) The Archaeology Neolithic mound at Silbury Hill is the most well-known and most spectacular, not least The Mound is 28m in diameter Hard work for those involved but because of its extraordinary age and at least 6m high. Forbury highly rewarding as the results will and size. The exciting discovery Hill, in Forbury Gardens, Reading, hopefully provide a defnitive date that the ‘Marlborough Mound’, is also a Scheduled Monument. for the origin of each monument. the large earthen mound in the It is thought to have been grounds of Marlborough College, constructed in the 12th century At the time of writing, the Wiltshire, and always considered as a motte and later re-used and results from Forbury Hill and to have been built as a motte remodelled during the Civil War. Montem Mound are awaited! in the medieval period, had also The mound was then remodelled We will provide an update in originated in the Neolithic period, again when it was incorporated next year’s Newsletter! provided one of the reasons for into the 19th-century pleasure Fiona MacDonald, Principal the initiation of the project. Do gardens of Forbury Gardens. Archaeologist with Berkshire other large mounds, frequently The University’s researchers have Archaeology said ‘we are delighted interpreted as medieval mottes, investigated these two mounds to have been able to facilitate have a more ancient and different by boring a small diameter auger The University of Reading’s origin? Dr Jim Leary of the through the mound material. They research into two of our more University of Reading said have then analysed the deposits enigmatic monuments. The results ‘this is such an exciting project for with the aim of recovering material are important in themselves me. I have always had a fascination for radiocarbon dating from but will help the appreciation of with large earthen mounds and it is the base of the monuments. these ancient monuments’. a privilege to have the opportunity to change our understanding of University some of these monuments and to of Reading discover that their history is far more researchers complex than was frst thought’. augering a mound Two round mounds in east © University Berkshire have been selected for of Reading investigation by the University of Reading. Montem Mound in Slough, south of Salt Hill, is a Scheduled Monument and is interpreted as a medieval motte. 11 Miscellany - Burials, Marbles and Memorials

Renovations in autumn 2015 to During resurfacing work in Eton the former Blarney Stone Public College in summer 2016, workmen House, now the Queen Charlotte, recovered a stoneware vessel Lane, Windsor, resulted in containing seven polished stone the excavation by Thames Valley marbles. The vessel was a ‘blacking Archaeological Services of some bottle’, originally containing 37 burials that presumably once liquid for blacking boots, ovens, lay within the graveyard of the stoves and other items. It was adjacent church of St John the made between 1831 and 1834 Baptist. The burials, not all of which by Stephen Green of Lambeth. were complete, were thought to The marbles are made of layered date from the mid-16th-century limestone with one possibly of onwards. The current church dates low grade marble. Such marbles to the 19th century but occupies are known from the 17th century the site of an earlier, medieval onwards and are likely to have Early 19th-century church. Presumably these burials been manufactured on the ‘blacking bottle’ and lay within the grounds of the continent. It was not until the marbles from original churchyard, which has second half of the 19th century © Oxford Archaeology since been encroached upon by that they were replaced by glass buildings fronting Church Lane. marbles. The vessel and its marbles War Memorial stands seem to have been deliberately proudly overlooking the River hidden, and never recovered. Thames. It was unveiled on the 5th Similar marbles are known from May 1928 in honour of the 260 other archaeological excavations members of the local community but this is the frst group who lost their lives in the First deliberately buried in a container. World War. The monument is an octagonal stone column or obelisk, simple but powerful in design. Like many other such monuments, it is currently not listed but is being considered for statutory protection by Historic England as part of their First World War Commemoration Project. Whether eventually listed or not, the monument will continue to be included on Berkshire Archaeology’s Historic Environment Record as an important asset of the heritage Post-medieval burials of Caversham and Reading. at The Blarney Stone, Windsor Caversham War © Thames Valley Memorial unveiled Archaeological Services in May 1928 © Berkshire Archaeology