The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire

THE STREET, MINSTERWORTH, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDING AND EXCAVATION

C.A.T JOB: 0724 C.A.T REPORT: 98873

DATE: FEBRUARY 1998

This report has been researched and compiled with all reasonable skill, care, and attention to detail within the terms of the project as specified by the Client and within the general terms and conditions of Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd. The Trust shall not be liable for any inaccuracy, error or omission in the report or other documents produced as part of the Consultancy and no liability is accepted for any claim, loss or damage howsoever arising from any opinion stated or conclusion or other material contained in this report or other documents supplied as part of the Consultancy.

This report is confidential to the Client. Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd accept no responsibility whatsoever to third parties to whom this report, or any part of it is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk.

The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

CONTENTS

CONTENTS ...... 1

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...... 2

GLOSSARY ...... 3

SUMMARY ...... 4

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 5

1.1 Introduction ...... 5 1.2 Geology and Topography ...... 5 1.3 Archaeological and Historical Background ...... 5 1.4 Methodology ...... 7

2. RECORDING AND EXCAVATION RESULTS ...... 8

2.1 General ...... 8

3. ASSESSMENT OF RESULTS ...... 10

3.1 Construction of the causeway ...... 10 3.2 Dating and interpretation of the feature ...... 10

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 12

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 12

1 The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig.1 Location plan ...... 13 Fig.2 Location of study area ...... 14 Figs.3 & 4 Plan and section of feature ...... 15

2 The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

GLOSSARY

ARCHAEOLOGY For the purposes of this project, archaeology is taken to mean the study of past human societies through their material remains, from prehistoric times to the modern era. No rigid upper date limit has been set, but AD 1900 is used as a general cut-off point.

CONTEXT The simplest level of excavated archaeological data, i.e. a context could be the cut of a ditch (shown as - [1]), or its fill (shown as (2)).

MEDIEVAL Taken here as the period from the Norman invasion in AD 1066 to approximately AD 1500.

NATURAL Defined in archaeological terms this refers to the undisturbed natural geology of a site, e.g. Lower Lias clay, river terrace gravels etc.

NGR National Grid Reference given from the Ordnance Survey Grid.

OD Ordnance Datum; used to express a given height above mean sea level.

POT-SHERD A fragment of a pottery vessel.

ROMANO-BRITISH Term used to describe a fusion of indigenous late Iron Age traditions with Roman culture, often abbreviated as `R-B.'

SITE Sites may be defined as `windows' onto the archaeological resource, e.g. an excavation, aerial photograph, or an old map. Any of these may reveal certain archaeological features (pits, ditches, etc) which can be classed as components, but not monuments.

3 The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

SUMMARY

In February 1998, Cotswold Archaeological Trust was commissioned by Colburn Developments Limited to undertake a programme of archaeological recording and subsequent removal of a length of possible medieval causeway at The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire. The work was carried out to fulfil the archaeological requirements attached to the planning consent for part of a proposed development.

Removal of a stretch of the causeway surface provided sufficient artefactual evidence for more definite dating of the feature than had previously been possible. It was also possible to determine that there were no further archaeological deposits beneath the stone surface.

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 This report presents the results of a programme of archaeological recording and excavation conducted between January and February 1998, at The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire. The site is located at NGR SO 7750 1705 (Fig.1).

1.1.2 The programme of archaeological work was required as part of planning consent to a development proposal. The work was carried out in accordance with the ‘Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Watching Briefs’ issued by the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA, 1994) and the ‘Statement of Standards and Practices appropriate for Archaeological Fieldwork in Gloucestershire’ issued by the Gloucestershire County Council Archaeology Section.

1.2 Geology and Topography

1.2.1 The underlying geology of the study area consists of Higher Alluvium from the nearby River Severn (British Geological Survey 1988, sheet 234).

1.2.2 The route of the causeway has been traced from its western extremity, on the north side of The Street, adjacent to the former Vicarage garden, running in an eastern direction along the break of the slope which inclines to the north, as far as The Elms. The site is situated opposite Minsterworth Court, along the break of the slope, on the northern edge of The Street.

1.3 Archaeological and Historical Background

1.3.1 Minsterworth first appears as Mynsterwordig around 1030 (Förster, 1941,

5 The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

769), a name meaning ‘the enclosure of the monastery’, this being St Peter’s, Gloucester (Smith, 1965, 162), founded by Osric around 681 (Verey, 1988, 299). The present Church was constructed in 1870, following the plan of the earlier medieval Church, demolished after damage from countless floods.

1.3.2 Early OS maps show lengths of The Street marked as ‘Roman Road’, though there is no evidence to support this. Margary (1957, 55) discusses this theory and writes: ‘It has previously been thought that the coastal road for South Wales branched from the other road out of Gloucester....near Highnam and Over, and went through Minsterworth and Westbury on Severn to Newnham. The older Ordnance Survey maps mark ‘Traces of Roman paving’ upon this and many other routes in the district....In the present instance, the points so marked at Minsterworth could scarcely represent a Roman line for they mark a very twisting course on the ground that would not have required this, and furthermore the route is far too close to the Severn for convenience at that time and would have to cross very wet land, some of it liable to floods’. Whereas it is accepted that a military road ran from Newnham to Tidenham, just outside Chepstow, the existence of a link between Gloucester and Newnham at that time, on the western side of the Severn, is at present purely speculative.

1.3.3 For practical reasons, Minsterworth was laid out on the higher ground along the main road (now the A48), the properties on the north side of The Street would originally have fronted onto the main road, with The Street forming the back lane of the medieval village, probably gaining its name from the Latin stratura, a pavement. The original importance of the earlier village would have been connected with the river, Church Rock providing landing for vessels trading between Gloucester and ports such as Bristol and Cardiff. As Johnson (1996) observes ‘In earlier times the river banks were lower than at present. The Severn overflowed regularly at the high tides in the spring and autumn. A stone causeway would be useful in giving firm footing to pack horses taking or fetching goods transported by water traffic using the landing yard’. One theory for the construction of the causeway was to provide passage for the monks of St Peter’s between the vineyard at Over and

6 The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

Minsterworth quay.

1.4 Methodology

1.4.1 Previous observation of the excavation of a pipe trench through the surface revealed that it was not robust enough to withstand the passage of heavy vehicles into the development area

1.4.2 As a result, a project design was prepared by the Cotswold Archaeological Trust to meet the requirements of a programme of archaeological recording attached to the planning consent.

1.4.3 The objectives of the programme of archaeological recording were to provide a detailed plan of the length of the threatened surface, to remove it in an archaeological fashion and to record any archaeological deposits underneath. A firmer foundation would be provided so that the surface could then be re-laid in a similar fashion to that which existed previously.

1.4.4 A detailed plan of the threatened length of the surface was drawn at a scale of 1:20. The stones were then carefully removed by hand. The material that the surface was set into was then also removed by hand, down onto the natural alluvial substrate.

1.4.5 All artefactual material was bagged and numbered with unique numbers relating to the context record compiled after excavation of the pipe trench through the surface. This was done in accordance with the CAT Technical Manual 3 Treatment of Finds Immediately after Excavation (1995).

1.4.6 The completed site archive will be deposited with the Gloucester City Museum and Art Gallery.

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2. RECORDING AND EXCAVATION RESULTS

2.1 General

2.1.1 The recording and subsequent removal of the threatened length of the stone surface demonstrated how the causeway had been constructed and what lay underneath it. The programme of archaeological work also resulted in the recovery of artefactual material from between the actual stones which made up the surface as well as from beneath the surface layer, thus providing good dating evidence for these contexts.

2.1.2 No archaeological features were revealed underneath the stone surface and its bedding material.

2.1.3 At an approximate maximum depth of 0.2m, the natural substrate (003) was encountered (Fig.3). This consisted of pink sand with lenses of clay. The surface of the natural substrate had been shaped to create a camber which was approximately 0.15m higher in the centre than at either edge. Outside of each edge of this camber a small trench appears to have been cut into which the kerbstones of the surface were laid.

2.1.4 Overlying the natural substrate was a layer of dark grey-brown clay silt (002), providing the bedding for the stone surface (Fig.3). This deposit was generally 0.10m in depth and produced finds of glazed pottery, clay pipe and several fragments of brick, all clearly of post-medieval date.

2.1.5 Set into layer (002) were the stones that made up the surface (001) (Figs.3 & 4). These comprised of various sized sub-angular mudstone blocks, many wedge-shaped and laid on their smallest ends in rows, so that the larger ends formed a camber. Smaller fragments of the same type of stone were used to fill gaps between the larger blocks. The larger kerbstones, again of the same stone, were laid within two small parallel trenches either side of the surface and flush with it. These generally consisted of narrow, longer blocks with the

8 The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

occasional exception. Several finds were recovered from between the stones of the surface and these consisted of bone, oyster shell, clay pipe and tile, as well as sherds of glazed pot and a single sherd of unglazed pot. The majority of the artefacts recovered from this context were again of post-medieval date, with the possible exception of the sherd of unglazed pot, which is probably earlier, and likely to be medieval.

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3. ASSESSMENT OF RESULTS

3.1 Construction of the causeway

3.1.1 With the results of the archaeological work undertaken during this project it is possible to postulate how the causeway was constructed.

3.1.2 The route of the causeway would probably have been governed by topographical and property boundary factors.

3.1.3 It appears that initially two small parallel trenches would have been dug along the length of the causeway, with a consistent width of some 1.4m between them. This may have been completed in one go or in several stages. Long, narrow kerbstones were then placed on edge, end to end within these trenches to form the kerbs. At some stage the natural substrate was shaped into a camber and the bedding material (002) deposited over it. Rows of stones were then probably laid into this material from one kerb to the other at certain intervals to create sections which were then filled in with stone, creating the completed causeway surface.

3.1.4 Many of the stones used in the construction of the causeway were wedge-shaped and laid on their smallest ends with the opposite, larger ends creating the camber when laid in rows between the kerbs. Any gaps were filled with smaller fragments of the same type of stone, creating a ‘tight’ finished surface.

3.2 Dating and interpretation of the feature

3.2.1 Almost all of the dating evidence recovered from between the stones of the surface and from the material into which it is set, was of post-medieval date. One exception was a single sherd of unglazed pot found between the stones of the surface. This is probably medieval in date, and having been recovered

10 The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

from the same context as the post-medieval artefactual material, can only be regarded as being residual.

3.2.2 Although the results of the archaeological investigation would suggest a post-medieval date for the causeway, it is possible that certain parts of it have been repaired or re-laid after its construction and the finds recovered during the archaeological work are contemporary with such refurbishment activity.

3.2.3 No evidence for the use of the causeway was recovered during the programme of archaeological work.

3.2.4 The paucity of archaeological investigation upon this feature prohibits a conclusive date for its construction. As Johnson (1996) observes; ‘Medieval causeways are uncommon, and unfortunately this attractive example (if we accept that it is of this date rather than slightly later), has received little notice. Mostly through ignorance of its nature and importance, it is being eroded slowly by the creation of entrances to recently built properties.’ Further investigation prior to any future development likely to disturb the surface, of the kind undertaken during the course of this project, would be beneficial in providing further dating evidence to determine whether the surface is of post-medieval date, as suggested by the results of this project, or whether it is earlier, as previously believed.

11 The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Cotswold Archaeological Trust would like to thank Mr Paul Walton of Colburn Developments Ltd for his assistance during the course of this project.

The fieldwork was carried out by Mark Brett and Julie Martin. This report has been compiled by Mark Brett and the illustrations prepared by Peter Moore.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Förster M. 1941 Der Flussname seine Themse und Sippe

Johnson M. 1996 The Street at Minsterworth and the road from Over Glevensis 29, 39-44

Margary I. D. 1957 Roman Roads in Britain 2

Smith A. H. 1964 The Place Names of Gloucestershire 3

Verey D. 1988 The Buildings of England Gloucestershire: The Vale and the Forest of Dean

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Fig.1 Location plan

13 The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

Fig.2 Location of study area

14 The Street, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Recording and Excavation.

Fig.3 Plan and section of feature