Archaeological test pit excavations in Manuden, Essex, 2011, 2013, 2014 & 2015 Catherine Collins 2019 Access Cambridge Archaeology Department of Archaeology University of Cambridge Downing Street Cambridge CB2 3ER 01223 761519
[email protected] http://www.access.arch.cam.ac.uk/ 2 1 Introduction A total of 40 1m2 archaeological test pits were excavated over a four-year period in 2011 and then between 2013 - 2015 in the village of Manuden in west Essex, as part of the Higher Education Field Academy (HEFA) and run by Access Cambridge Archaeology (ACA) out of the University of Cambridge. Manuden is a small nucleated village just over 5km north of Bishop's Stortford, lying at about 70m OD on the west side of the valley of the upper reaches of the River Stort. The existing settlement is arranged either side of lanes running approximately north-west to south-east along the valley bottom, with some clustering of settlement at the point where these roads meet others crossing the valley. Around 500m north-west of the church an additional area of settlement is of mostly modern origin. At the centre of the present village, near the church, the road system diverges markedly from its linear valley-side route, kinking towards the river, possibly to access a ford or bridge or possibly to respect the site of the church and/or associated earlier complex. Although small, Manuden is the largest focus of settlement in the parish, which extends west from the river valley and includes a number of dispersed elements, including a number with ‘end’ place-names (Little Croft, Mallows Green, Upend, Maggots End), most of which today survive as single farms with occasional tiny hamlets of three or four cottages.