1. INTRODUCTION

Aston Botterell is a hamlet at the centre of the modern of the same name in the heart of rural south , 12km southwest of and 15km northeast of .

The hamlet lies on the 180m contour, in a landscape dominated by the high ground of Titterstone Clee (533m) 7km to the southwest and (540m) 4km to the west. Several streams flow from west to east across the parish into the River Rea, itself a tributary of the Teme. One of these, the Cressel Brook, marks the southern boundary of the settlement at Aston Botterell.

Immediately to the north of the Cressel Brook are the earthwork remains of a former ringwork and associated baileys of probable Norman date (Shropshire Sites and Monuments Record no. SA1200). To the northeast of these earthworks is the former manor house, Aston Manor Farm (Fig. 1, A), parts of which may date to the 13th century; and to the east the church of St Michael (Fig. 1, B). North of the ringwork and manor house, on the north side of Aston Lane, are further earthworks remains, indicating the extent of the medieval village (SMR No. SA971), and testifying to the shrunken nature of the present settlement. Traces of ridge and furrow field systems are visible beyond the farm buildings on the northeast side of the hamlet.

Renewal of the water mains in the Stottesdon area by Severn Trent Water involved the excavation of a trench through Aston Botterell village. Because of the archaeological significance and sensitivity of the Aston Botterell area, an archaeological watching brief was required on the trenching through the village and the adjacent fields.

In 1991/2, the Field Archaeology Unit of Birmingham University conducted a watching brief on a section of this trenching along Aston Lane between the Cressel Brook and the entrance to The Smithy (Fig. 1, C). No significant archaeological features or deposits were encountered during this work (Jones, 1991).

The Archaeology Unit of the Leisure Services Department, Shropshire County Council, was commissioned by Severn Trent Water to conduct the watching brief on the trenching through the village and the fields to the northeast. This work was undertaken in April 1993.

2. THE WATCHING BRIEF

The pipeline trench was cut from northeast to southwest. Linear earthworks were visible in the field immediately to the northeast of the farm buildings on the east side of the lane through the village (Fig. 1, D). These earthworks consisted of a series of low, parallel ridges on a northwest/southeast alignment covering an area of about 0.35ha; the centres of the ridges were spaced at 7m intervals, and the northwestern ends curved slightly, producing a reversed-S effect. These earthworks represent the remains of ridge and furrow ploughing of probable medieval date. A swathe of topsoil approximately 0.25m deep was removed prior to the excavation of the pipe trench, exposing the reddish brown, sandy clay subsoil, and destroying a band of approximately 5m width through these earthworks. No other archaeological features or deposits were seen here.

The pipe trench was cut along the road through the village in a northwesterly direction as far as the small triangular green at the centre of the hamlet. Above the reddish brown sandy clay subsoil, a cobble surface was revealed at a depth of 0.3m below the present road surface. This was sealed by a layer of silty sand 0.1m thick, and a more recent cobble and pebble layer (perhaps also a former road surface) lay immediately beneath the modern tarmac. This sequence was seen along the length of the road up to the green.

From the green, the pipe trench was cut in a southwesterly direction along the southern verge of Aston Lane to join with the section of main renewed the previous year. The pipe trench revealed no trace of any early features here: the topsoil overlay a thin layer of dark reddish brown silty sand in turn overlying the natural subsoil, which here consisted of a stony silty clay sand.

Conclusions The only archaeological features disturbed during the groundworks to the northeast of village were the earthwork remains of ridge and furrow ploughing noted above. This resulted in the loss of a band about 5m wide by about 75m long of these earthworks.

At least one earlier road surface was seen in the trench cut through the road between Aston Manor Farm and the green, although no dating evidence for this earlier road level was recovered.

No significant archaeological features or deposits were observed in the trench cut alongside Aston Lane between the green and the end of the previous section of mains renewal opposite The Smithy. 3. REFERENCES

Jones, A E, 1991: "Aston Botterell, Shropshire: An Archaeol-ogical Watching Brief, 1991-2", BUFAU Report No. 198

4. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer would like to thank the staff of Eades Pipelines Ltd for their cooperation; Greg Price and Doug Murphy assisted with the watching brief; the illustration for this report was produced by Doug Murphy. CONTENTS

Page No.

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 THE WATCHING BRIEF 2

3 REFERENCES 4

4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 4

ILLUSTRATION

Fig. 1: Aston Botterell: Watching Brief 1993 A WATCHING BRIEF AT

ASTON BOTTERELL,

SHROPSHIRE by

H R Hannaford

A Report for

SEVERN TRENT WATER

THE ARCHAEOLOGY UNIT, LEISURE SERVICES DEPARTMENT, SHROPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Report No. 28 April 1993