Land South of Paxcroft Mead, East Trowbridge, Wiltshire

LAND SOUTH OF PAXCROFT MEAD, EAST TROWBRIDGE, WILTSHIRE

Phase 1 Archaeological Assessment

Prepared for: Cooper Partnership 127 Hampton Road Redland BRISTOL BS6 6JE

By Wessex Archaeology Portway House Old Sarum Park SALISBURY Wiltshire SP4 6EB

Report reference: 53579.02

July 2003

Phase 1 Archaeological Assessment

Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1 1.1 Project background...... 1 1.2 The Site: location, topography and geology ...... 1 1.3 Legislative and planning background ...... 2 1.4 Archaeological and historical background...... 3 2 METHODOLOGY...... 4 2.1 Introduction...... 4 2.2 Sites and Monuments Records...... 4 2.3 Air photographs...... 4 2.4 Cartographic and other sources...... 5 2.5 Best practice guidance ...... 5 2.6 Assumptions...... 5 2.7 Presentation of results ...... 5 3 RESULTS...... 6 3.1 Bronze Age (c. 2400-700 BC) ...... 6 3.2 Romano-British (c. AD 43-410) ...... 6 3.3 Medieval (c. AD 1066-1499)...... 6 3.4 Post-medieval (c. AD 1500-1799) ...... 6 3.5 Modern (c. AD 1800 - present)...... 7 3.6 Undated ...... 7 3.7 The historic landscape...... 7 3.8 Summary ...... 7 4 CONCLUSIONS...... 8 4.1 Constraints on development...... 8 4.2 Further archaeological work ...... 8

REFERENCES...... 10

APPENDICES...... 11 Appendix 1: Gazetteer of archaeological and historical sites and findspots...... 11

FIGURES Figure 1: Site location map showing archaeological sites and findspots Figure 2: Map regression 1840 and 1841 tithe maps Figure 3: Map regression 1890 - 1920

LAND SOUTH OF PAXCROFT MEAD, EAST TROWBRIDGE, WILTSHIRE

Phase 1 Archaeological Assessment

Summary

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Cooper Partnership, on behalf of Persimmon Homes, to undertake a Phase 1 Archaeological Assessment of land south of Paxcroft Mead, East Trowbridge, Wiltshire (the Site). The Assessment is to be used in the development of a Master Plan and the preparation of an Environmental Statement. The Site, which covers an area of c. 65 hectares centred on National Grid Reference 3875 1575, is allocated in the West Wiltshire District Local Plan First Alteration Revised Deposit (November 2000) for residential development and associated infrastructure, including to the south a Country Park.

No archaeological sites or findspots that can be definitely dated to the medieval or preceding periods were found within the Site. A small settlement was recorded on a map of 18th century date and detail was provided in the mid 19th century tithe maps of two adjoining parishes. This hamlet had gone by the later part of the 19th century, possibly through natural depopulation or deliberate clearance as part of the establishment of a formal landscape attached to Rood Ashton Park. The tree-lined avenue leading to the house crossed through the centre of the Site and elements of this still survive.

In the north-eastern part of the Site a linear feature has been recorded on aerial photographs as a bank or ditch. This may be a former boundary associated with the long-established woodland that has only recently been cleared.

The overall potential for archaeological remains is low and nothing of archaeological significance has been identified which would represent a constraint on development. However, the surviving elements of the tree-lined avenue crossing the central part of the Site may be deemed to have some significance in terms of local history and landscape development.

A programme of further archaeological investigation will be required prior to (and possibly during) construction. This programme should be a staged approach of evaluation followed by mitigation as appropriate. It is considered that this programme of evaluation should be carried out prior to construction, but subsequent to determination of the application.

i Acknowledgements

This report was commissioned by Cooper Partnership acting for Persimmon Homes. Wessex Archaeology is grateful to staff of the Wiltshire County Council Sites and Monuments Record, and the Wiltshire Record Office, Trowbridge, and the National Monuments Record Air Photographs Library, Swindon, for their assistance.

The project was managed for Wessex Archaeology by Mick Rawlings. This report was researched and compiled by Andrew Powell. The illustrations were prepared by Marie Leverett.

ii LAND SOUTH OF PAXCROFT MEAD, EAST TROWBRIDGE, WILTSHIRE

Phase 1 Archaeological Assessment

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Project background

1.1.1 Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Cooper Partnership, on behalf of Persimmon Homes, to undertake a Phase 1 Archaeological Assessment of land south of Paxcroft Mead, East Trowbridge, Wiltshire (the Site). The Assessment is to be used in the development of a master plan and the preparation of an Environmental Statement.

1.1.2 The Site, which covers an area of c. 65 hectares of land centred on National Grid Reference 3875 1575 (Figure 1), is allocated in the West Wiltshire District Local Plan First Alteration Revised Deposit (November 2000) for residential development and associated infrastructure, including to the south a Country Park.

1.1.3 The aim of the study is to collate the known archaeological and historical information about the site by reviewing existing data sources and reports, and to assess the potential for undiscovered archaeological remains.

1.2 The Site: location, topography and geology

1.2.1 The Site is on the eastern edge of the present built development of Trowbridge, on land between Green Lane to the north and West Ashton Road to the south-west. The Site mostly comprises arable farmland with some small pasture fields, and with the buildings of Green Lane Farm on the northern side. There is also a scrap metal yard accessed by a lane to the west of the farm. The Site is bounded to the east by ancient woods, currently the Green Lane Wood Local Nature Reserve, to the north-west by a modern housing development and a rugby ground, and elsewhere by further farmland.

1.2.2 The Site lies on largely flat or gently sloping ground at a height of c. 40-46m AOD, and is cut by the Blackball Brook, a westward flowing tributary of the River Biss. A tributary of the Brook to the south forms the boundary of the proposed Country Park.

1.2.3 The underlying basal geology of the Site is Oxford Clay, with overlying alluvium along the course of the river and its tributaries. The soils are of the Denchworth Association comprising seasonally waterlogged clayey soils. To the north of the Site are bands of Forest Marble Clay and Cornbrash (limestone), the latter producing relatively light and fertile soils.

1 1.3 Legislative and planning background

National guidelines: 1.3.1 The principal legislation concerning protection of important archaeological sites comprises the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (as amended). Guidance on the identification and protection of historic buildings, conservation areas, historic parks and gardens and other elements of the historic environment is provided by Planning Policy Guidance Note 15: Planning and the Historic Environment (PPG 15) issued by the Department of the Environment in September 1994.

1.3.2 Guidance on the importance, management and safeguarding of the archaeological resource within the planning process is provided by Planning Policy Guidance Note 16: Archaeology and Planning (PPG 16) issued by the Department of the Environment in November 1990. The underlying principle of this guidance is that archaeological resources are non-renewable, stating that:

where nationally important archaeological remains, whether scheduled or not, are affected by proposed development there should be a presumption in favour of their physical preservation (Para. 8).

1.3.3 Paragraph 19 of PPG16 states:

In their own interests…prospective developers should in all cases include as part of the research into the development of a site…an initial assessment of whether the site is known or likely to contain archaeological remains.

Paragraph 22 adds:

Local Planning Authorities can expect developers to provide the results of such assessments …as part of their application for sites where there is good reason to believe there are remains of archaeological importance.

Regional and local: 1.3.4 Wiltshire Structure Plan 2011 (adopted January 2001) contains the following policy:

HE2: Features of archaeological or historic interest and their settings should be protected from inappropriate development. Where nationally important archaeological or historic remains, whether Scheduled or not, are affected by proposed development there should be a presumption in favour of their physical preservation ‘in situ’.

1.3.5 The West Wiltshire District Local Plan First Alteration, Revised Deposit Draft (November 2000), contains the following policies:

C13: All Scheduled Ancient Monuments and other nationally important sites and monuments will be protected and preserved in situ. Planning permission for development proposals in or near such

2 sites which would be damaging and/or detrimental to the monument and its setting will not be permitted.

C14: An archaeological field evaluation will be required where development proposals would affect a site of known archaeological interest or where evidence suggests the existence of such a site. An archaeological field evaluation may be requested prior to a decision on an application for development where the archaeological value of the site is as yet unknown.

C16: In considering applications for development on sites of archaeological value, or in areas of archaeological significance, where the physical preservation of remains is not warranted, planning permission will be granted provided the archaeological value of the site is adequately recorded. Consideration will be given to the use of conditions and/or agreements to ensure that adequate access, time and resources are available to allow investigation, recording and dissemination of archaeological evidence prior to the start of development.

1.4 Archaeological and historical background

1.4.1 The wider area around the Site is one of moderately high archaeological potential, with a number of archaeological features on or just off the Cornbrash to the north having been identified from aerial photographs. These include a substantial (c. 1 hectare) enclosure, interpreted as Iron Age in date, c. 1.5 km to the north-east of the Site. A building with stone footings is located c. 1 km north-east of the Site.

1.4.2 Archaeological evaluations in 1989 and 1996 at Paxcroft Mead immediately to the north of the Site revealed a Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age settlement with associated linear features, probably field boundaries dated to the late prehistoric period onwards (Wessex Archaeology 1989a and 1989b; WAM 1997). Features containing Romano-British material indicated a continuity of activity, all of them again being sited on the Cornbrash.

1.4.3 Although few sites have been recorded from aerial photography on the Oxford Clay, recent work has demonstrated that archaeological sites are frequently to be found on such claylands, as for example at West Ashton, where an Early Iron Age hilltop settlement was located during pipeline construction (WAM 1987, 180).

1.4.4 Part of the proposed Site lies within the valley of the Blackball Brook, and it is possible that there are archaeological features in this area that are sealed by alluvium or colluvium. The hillwash at Paxcroft Mead was found to possibly date from the Romano-British period onwards (WAM 1997, 157).

1.4.5 The earliest reference to Trowbridge is in the Domesday Survey of 1086, when it was recorded under the name of Straburg, the manor belonging to a Saxon called Brihtric (Morris 1979, 67, 7). At that date it comprised 11 villagers, six cottages and a mill. It was one of the outlying manors of the

3 Melksham Hundred, the boundary to which the Andrews and Dury 1773 map shows passing through the western part of the Site at Black Ball.

1.4.6 Other villages, such as Hilperton and Ashton, end in -tun, a common Old English place-name element denoting a settlement, farm or enclosure, confirming the late Saxon presence in the area. In addition, the -leah ending in Studley and North Bradley refers to a woodland ‘clearing’. Woodland at Green Lane Woods is recorded from as early as 1257, initially as Sla graf meaning ‘sloe wood’ or thicket (Gover, Mawer and Stenton 1970). The 1926 Ordnance Survey (OS) map indicates ‘that Biss Wood was called Kavred in the 13th century’.

1.4.7 Trowbridge probably developed as a town in the course of the 12th century, the right to hold a weekly market being granted in 1200. References to a castle at Trowbridge date from 1139; it was demolished some time between 1460 and 1540 (Graham and Davies 1993). Green Lane Wood is shown on the 1773 and 1812 maps as Castle Wood, a name suggesting the right to use the wood for the castle’s upkeep (JSAC 2001). There was a probable deer park at Rood Ashton, as indicated by the granting of a licence in 1248 for a park at ‘Little Ashton’, although its location is not known (Watts 1996, no. 67).

1.4.8 The 1811 OS map shows the eastern part of the town extending up to, but not beyond, the Paxcroft Brook. On the 1st edition OS map of 1890 this part of the town, now expanding south-east of the Brook, was largely industrial in character containing woollen mills and iron works. However, by 1926 there was residential housing extending east along Green Lane.

2 METHODOLOGY

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 This report provides a detailed inventory of the archaeological potential of the Site, in the context of a wider area extending c. 1km from it (the ‘Study Area’) (Figure 1). A brief summary of sources consulted is given below; a full listing is contained in References.

2.2 Sites and Monuments Records and National Monuments Record

2.2.1 The baseline data for this report were provided by Wiltshire County Council’s Sites and Monuments Record (SMR). This comprises an index with associated distribution maps of all known archaeological and historic sites and findspots within the county.

2.3 Air photographs

2.3.1 Air photographs covering the Site, held by the NMR in Swindon, were consulted. These comprised 63 vertical photographs.

2.4 Cartographic and other sources

2.4.1 Copies of early maps of Wiltshire, held by Wessex Archaeology, were consulted. Other early maps covering the Site were consulted at the Wiltshire County Record Office, Trowbridge. These included tithe maps and apportionments, the 1st edition OS 6” county series, and later editions. Note was taken of any historically or archaeologically significant place-names, field-names and structures.

2.4.2 Copies of the relevant sections of these maps were obtained, or tracings made, in order to examine the development of the Site and to provide evidence for past land ownership, land use and local histories (in archive). A full list of cartographic sources is listed in References.

2.4.3 Secondary documentary sources, published and unpublished, including local archaeological journals, were consulted at the Library of the National Monuments Record, the local studies section of Wiltshire County Library, Trowbridge, and Wessex Archaeology’s own library. These included reports on archaeological evaluations at Paxcroft Mead to the north but extending into the Site (Wessex Archaeology 1989a; 1989b), and a previous desk-based archaeological assessment of the Site (JSAC 2001).

2.5 Best practice guidance

2.5.1 This study has been undertaken in line with best practice, as described in Management of Archaeological Projects (English Heritage 1991), and the Institute of Field Archaeologists’ Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Desk-based Assessment (IFA 1999).

2.6 Assumptions

2.6.1 The SMR data consist of secondary information derived from varied sources, only some of which have been directly examined for the purposes of this study. The assumption is made that this data, as well as that derived from other secondary sources, is accurate.

2.7 Presentation of results

2.7.1 All archaeological sites and findspots are referred to in chronological order and have been assigned a unique Wessex Archaeology (WA) number for the purposes of this report. These numbers are used in Figure 1 and are listed in the Gazetteer of sites and findspots (Appendix 1).

2.7.2 Although many of the features have not been dated, where possible provisional dates have been assigned where appropriate to aid the presentation and interpretation of the results.

5 3 RESULTS

3.1 Bronze Age (c. 2400 – 700 BC)

3.1.1 A Beaker period barbed and tanged flint arrowhead (WA1) has been found just to the north of the Paxcroft Brook.

3.1.2 Evidence for extensive activity dated to the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age has been found during evaluations south of Hilperton, including ditches, postholes and a pit (WA2). No plans of structures could be discerned, but the nature and quantity of the finds, including large quantities of animal bone, suggest domestic activities, possibly bounded on the south side.

3.2 Romano-British (c. AD 43 – 410)

3.2.1 The evaluations to the south of Hilperton also uncovered a number of Romano-British features, including ditches, a hollow, and a pit containing a large quantity of pottery (WA3; WA4). The density of Romano-British finds indicate the presence of settlement, industrial and agricultural activity in the close vicinity. Most of the colluvial deposit in one of evaluation trenches could be tentatively dated to this period.

3.2.2 A number of Roman coins have been found in the vicinity, but only one, of the emperor Diocletian (AD 284-305) and minted in Alexandria (WA5), has been found in the Study Area.

3.3 Medieval (c. AD 1066 – 1499)

3.3.1 There are two farmsteads in the study area for which there is documentary evidence of medieval origins – Lower Paxcroft Farm (Packlescroft in 1249) (WA6) where an evaluation produced a thin scatter of 12th-13th century pottery over a wide area, and Brook Farm (WA7) referred to in 1327.

3.3.2 A 14th century sculpted limestone head representing a ‘Jack in the Green’ figure has been found in a garden on West Ashton Road (WA8).

3.3.3 An area of possible ridge and furrow (WA9) is visible on aerial photographs west of Amouracre Farm between the Black Ball Brook and its tributary to the south, in the field referred to on the 1841 Westashton tithe map and apportionment as ‘Hatch Leaze’ (no. 338). It may be of medieval or post- medieval date.

3.4 Post-medieval (c. AD 1500 – 1799)

3.4.1 The 1773 Andrews and Dury map shows Black Ball, west of Castle Wood. The detail of a small settlement at Black Ball (WA10), comprising a number of cottages and gardens on the south side of the Black Ball Brook, and accessed by a lane running from West Ashton Road, is shown on the 1840 Westashton tithe map (Figure 2), with a further cottage (WA11), north of the brook, shown on the 1841 Steeple Ashton tithe map. There is no indication of the settlement by the time of the 1890 1st edition OS map (Figure 3).

6 3.4.2 The 1773 map also shows West Ashton Road on a different route to the east of the present location. This former route (WA12) has been replaced by the current version prior to the surveying for the 1840 tithe map, and is indicated on the 1840 tithe map as a series of field boundaries. The adjustment to the road route may have been the result of turnpiking, but this process is not clear from the available mapping.

3.5 Modern (c. AD 1800 – present)

3.5.1 A curving landscaped drive between Trowbridge Lodge and Castle Lodge, the entrance to Rood Ashton Park, is first shown on the 1890 1st edition OS map (WA13). This stately home (located outside the Site) surrounded by extensive landscaped parkland was built for the Long family in 1808 and was used by the military services during World War II; it was derelict by the 1950s. The 1st edition OS map of 1890 shows a formal avenue of trees lining the drive which runs through a new area of woodland between Trowbridge Lodge on West Ashton Road to Green Lane Wood, the drive then continuing through Green Lane Wood, across the fields in the valley of the Black Ball Brook, and through Biss Wood to Yarnbrook Road (Figure 3).

3.5.2 By the 1901 OS map the tree-lined part of the avenue is shown extended across the valley as far as Biss Wood. Part of the avenue survives today, and the line of the drive across the valley is shown as a field boundary on current maps, and forms the northern boundary of the present Biss Wood.

3.6 Undated

3.6.1 A number of undated features have been identified from aerial photographs. The only one within the Site is a c. 500m long feature running approximately north-south in the now cleared part of Green Lane Wood, appearing in places as a ditch and elsewhere as a bank, and visible only intermittently on recent air photographs (WA14). This may be a former boundary associated with the woodland.

3.6.2 Elsewhere within the Study Area, to the south-east of Amouracre Farm two further linear earthworks, possibly former field boundaries although not following the current field pattern, survived as earthworks in 1993 (WA15). A group of linear cropmarks, including an oval-shaped enclosure, has been identified to the south of Southfield (WA16). The cropmarks appear to be overlain by ridge and furrow. To the north-west of Brook Farm is a further series of linear cropmarks (WA17) that may include a former channel of the Paxcroft Brook, whilst to the north of Lower Paxcroft Farm is a cropmark representing a circular enclosure with a small square annexe on one side (WA18).

3.7 Historic landscape

3.7.1 Historical and cartographic evidence records that most of the Site was covered in woodland from the 15th century, and possibly earlier. It is shown on the 1773 and 1812 maps as Castle Wood, as Steeple Ashton Woods on the

7 1841 Steeple Ashton tithe map, and Green Lane Wood by 1890. The wood was only cut back to its present boundaries during the 1960s and 1970s.

3.7.2 The earlier route of West Ashton Road (WA12) was preserved in the field pattern for a while but is no longer visible. However, parts of the route of the tree-lined avenue leading to Rood Ashton Park still survive as visible elements within the landscape.

3.8 Summary

3.8.1 No archaeological sites or findspots that can be definitely dated to the medieval or preceding periods have been found within the Site. The small settlement of Black Ball was recorded on a map of 18th century date and detail was provided in the mid 19th century tithe maps of two adjoining parishes.

3.8.2 This hamlet had gone by the later part of the 19th century, possibly through natural depopulation or deliberate clearance as part of the establishment of a formal landscape attached to Rood Ashton Park. The tree-lined avenue leading to the house crossed through the centre of the Site and elements of this still survive.

3.8.3 In the north-eastern part of the Site a linear feature has been recorded on aerial photographs as a bank or ditch. This may be a former boundary associated with the long-established woodland that has only recently been cleared.

4 CONCLUSIONS

4.1 Constraints on development

4.1.1 No Scheduled Monuments or listed buildings have been found within the Site or its immediate vicinity. The overall potential for archaeological remains is low and nothing of archaeological significance has been identified which would represent a constraint on development.

4.1.2 However, the surviving elements of the tree-lined avenue crossing the central part of the Site may be deemed to have some significance in terms of local history and landscape development. Preservation of these elements within the proposed development may be advisable.

4.2 Further archaeological work

4.2.1 The known archaeological resource base within the Site (as described above) may represent only part of the actual true resource present. To the east and north of the Site, archaeological features have been identified from aerial photographs. Crop and soil marks can demonstrate the presence of archaeological remains, but identification depends on the photographs being taken at the appropriate time of year/day and with the best land-uses for this type of survey. Archaeological work such as that undertaken in advance of development at Paxcroft Mead (Wessex Archaeology 1998a; b) has revealed

8 that land within the Study area may contain a range of previously unknown archaeological features, and there is a low to moderate potential for the whole of the Site to contain archaeological remains of prehistoric or Roman date. However, it is unlikely that remains of national significance will be uncovered, as nothing of these periods has been identified.

4.2.2 A programme of further archaeological investigation will be required prior to (and possibly during) construction. This programme should be a staged approach of evaluation followed by mitigation as appropriate. The evaluation will predominantly require invasive methodologies such as trial trenching, and will include the targeting of known sites such as the settlement at Black Ball and the linear feature WA14 in the eastern part of the Site.

4.2.3 It is considered that this programme of evaluation should be carried out prior to construction (but subsequent to determination of the application). It will provide information regarding the presence/absence and date/nature of previously unknown archaeological sites, and also on the full extent of known sites. This can lead to informed decision-making regarding the need for any further archaeological work such as excavation and/or watching brief.

9 REFERENCES

Documentary Sources

Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A., and Stenton, F.M., 1970. The Place-Names of Wiltshire. Cambridge

Graham, A.H. and Davies, S.M., 1993, Excavations in the Town Centre of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, 1977 and 1986-1988. WA Report No. 2

JSAC, 2001, An Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment of land south of Green Lane, East Trowbridge, Wiltshire. unpublished report, John Samuels Archaeological Consultants, December 2001

Morris, J. (ed.), 1979, Domesday Book: Wiltshire (6). Phillimore: Chichester

WAM 1988, ‘Excavation and Fieldwork in Wiltshire 1987’, Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine 82, 180

Watts, K., 1996, ‘Wiltshire Deer Parks: An Introductory Survey’, Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine 89, 88-98

Wessex Archaeology, 1989a, Paxcroft Mead: Stage 1 Archaeological Evaluation Report. WA unpublished report 32671

Wessex Archaeology, 1989b, Paxcroft Mead: Stage 3 Archaeological Evaluation Report. WA unpublished report 32671

Cartographic Sources

1773, John Andrews’ and Andrew Dury’s map of Wiltshire

1817 Ordnance Survey old series 1” map, with revisions to 1882

1840, Tything of Westashton in the Parish of Steeple Ashton in the County of Wilts

1839, Map of the Tithing of Steeple Ashton in the County of Wilts

10 APPENDIX 1: Gazetteer of archaeological and historical sites and findspots

Entries in bold lie wholly or partly within the Site WA no. Site name NGR Class Date Comments SMR no./ref. WA1 Paxcroft 387300 158400 Single find Bronze Age Beaker period barbed and tanged arrowhead. ST85NE158 WA2 South-west of 387080 158480 Settlement Bronze Age Two linear ditches found in an evaluation trench in 1988. Pottery ST85NE157 Palmers Close suggests a date in the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age. Possibly part of a field system, but may be two sides of a circular feature. A settlement site was excavated in 1996. Area 3 of an evaluation excavation during 1996, produced a density of finds and features. Evidence from the evaluation suggests that a boundary to the late Bronze Age activity existed to the south of Trench 206. A single ditch and posthole were recorded within Trench 207, with the majority of ditch, postholes and a single pit being concentrated in Trench 208 of the evaluation. The probability that the activities represented in this area are essentially domestic is increased by the presence of animal bones in quantities larger than found in other areas. WA3 South of Hilperton 387450 158700 Field system Romano- Linear ditches were found in an archaeological evaluation trench ST85NE312 British in 1988. Also a hollow and a possible pit was also found in the trench. A large quantity of Romano-British pottery from the pit suggests a settlement may be close by. An evaluation excavation in 1996 showed that the majority of the colluvial deposit within Trench 204 could be tentatively dated to the Roman period only on the basis of a single pottery sherd. However, significant quantities of pottery were present within the excavated features in Trench 205, particularly from a level of investigation amounting to little more than surface cleaning. The nature is unclear, but the density of finds from those layers and from the adjacent ditch suggests that the immediate area may prove to contain settlement or industrial activity; rather greater quantities of material were also present within the colluvial deposits in this trench than had been encountered elsewhere WA4 Paxcroft Mead 387130 158560 Linear feature Romano- A linear ditch was found in Area 3 of an evaluation excavation in ST85NE313 British 1996. A large quantity of Romano-British pottery was recovered

11 from it. WA5 Former Furlong 386200 158200 Single find Romano- Coin of emperor Diocletian, minted in Alexandria. ST85NE303 Allotments, Fire British Station WA6 Paxcroft Farms 388420 158750 Settlement Medieval Farmstead with medieval origins – ‘Packlescroft(e)’ AD1249. An ST85NE459 evaluation ahead of development produced a thin scatter of 12th- 13th century pottery over a wide area. WA7 Brook Farm 387970 158300 Settlement Medieval A farmstead with medieval origins – the home of John Atte Brok ST85NE454 AD1327. WA8 Garden of 42 West 386270 157710 Single find Medieval 14th Century limestone head representing a ‘Jack in the Green’ ST85NE460 Ashton Road figure. WA9 West of Amouracre 387800 157100 Ridge and furrow Medieval/ Possible ridge and furrow visible on aerial photographs RAF/CPE/UK/18 Farm post-medieval 21, frame 2197 WA10 Black Ball 387100 157300 Settlement Modern Group of cottages and garden shown at Black Ball on 1840 OS Old Series tithe map. Black Ball in indicated on the 1817 OS Old series map 1817: map, but the settlement had disappeared by the time of the Westashton tithe OS 1st edition of 1890 map 1840 WA11 North of Black Ball 387150 157400 Settlement Modern ‘House and Barton, Garden and Orchard’ shown on 1841 Steeple Ashton tithe map tithe map 1841 WA12 West Ashton Road Road Modern Former route of West Ashton Road 18th C mapping WA13 Trowbridge Lodge 387500 157300 Unclassified Modern Landscaped drive between Trowbridge and Castle Lodge 1890 1st edition OS map WA14 South east of Green 387860 157640 Linear feature Undated Linear feature appearing as a ditch in places and a bank in ST85NE607 Lane Wood others. Shows up only intermittently and faintly on 1991 aerial photographs. WA15 South east of 388500 157000 Linear feature Undated Two linear earthworks, possibly former field boundaries but they ST85NE610 Amouracre Farm do not follow the current field pattern. Both survive as earthworks in 1993, there may be other irregular earthworks in field. WA16 South of Southfield 387850 158830 Unclassified Undated A series of linear cropmarks, includes an oval enclosure. Appears ST85NE613 feature to be overlain by ridge and furrow. WA17 North west of Brook 387850 158550 Unclassified Undated Series of linear cropmarks, these appear to be related to each ST85NE614 Farm feature other, except oval feature adjacent to Paxcroft Brook which may be a former stream channel. WA18 North of Lower 388410 158890 Enclosure Undated Circular enclosure with a small square annexe on its south- ST85NE622 Paxcroft Farm western side, seen as a faint mark on aerial photographs.

13 386000 387000 388000

WA18

WA16

WA6 WA3

WA4 WA17

WA2

WA1

WA7

WA5

158000

The site WA8

WA14

WA12 WA11

WA10 WA13

WA9

WA15 Bronze Age 157000

Romano-British

Medieval

Medieval to post-medieval

Post-medieval

Modern

Undated

The site

The study area

0 50m

Date: 18/07/03 Revision Number: 0 Reproduced from the 1997 Ordnance survey 1:25000 Explorer® map with the permission of the controller of Her Majesty's Stationary Office © Crown copyright, Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire. SP4 6EB. Licence Number:AL 100006861. Scale: 1:200000 and 1:12500 at A3 Illustrator: MCL Wessex This material is for client report only © Wessex Archaeology. No unauthorised reproduction. Archaeology Path: X:\projects\53579\...\East Trowbridge\...\DA\03_07\Figure 1.dwg Site location map showing archaeological sites and findspots Figure 1 1840 Westashton tithe map (tracing)

1841 Steeple Ashton tithe map (tracing)

Date: 18/07/03 Revision Number: 0

Wessex Scale: 1:20000 at A4 Illustrator: MCL Archaeology Path: X:\projects\53579\...\East Trowbridge\...\DA\03_07\Figures 1-3.dwg Map regression: 1840 and 1841 tithe maps Figure 2 1st edition 1890 ordnance survey map 2nd edition 1901 ordnance survey map

1926 ordnance survey map

Date: 18/07/03 Revision Number: 0

Wessex This material is for client report only © Wessex Archaeology. No unauthorised reproduction. Scale: 1:20000 at A4 Illustrator: MCL Archaeology Path: X:\projects\53579\...\East Trowbridge\...\DA\03_07\Figures 1-3.dwg Map regression: 1890 to 1920 Figure 3