T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S
Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire
Archaeological Desk-based Assessment
by Gordana Baljkas
Site Code SRD15/98
(SP 3610 0730)
Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire
Archaeological Desk-based Assessment
for Ms Isabel Barrell
by Gordana Baljkas
Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd
Site Code SRD 15/98
June 2015 Summary
Site name: Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire
Grid reference: SP 3610 0730
Site activity: Archaeological desk-based assessment
Project manager: Steve Ford
Site supervisor: Gordana Baljkas
Site code: SRD 15/98
Area of site: c. 1.35ha
Summary of results: While there are no known heritage assets on the proposal site or in its immediate vicinity, the site lies within an area of high archaeological potential due to its proximity to a range of recorded archaeological remains, and therefore there is a possibility that it may contain unrecorded, non-designated heritage assets of archaeological interest. Furthermore, historic maps show that, while the proposal site in the post-medieval period was predominantly pastoral and undeveloped, it also featured a mill race carrying the water to the nearby Ducklington Mill. The mill race was in existence throughout this period until, most likely, the mid-1980s when Ducklington Mill was redeveloped and the mill race, rendered obsolete, filled in. In the light of this, it is anticipated that it will be necessary to provide further information about the potential of the site from field observation (evaluation) in order to draw up a scheme to mitigate the impact of development if any archaeological deposits are present.
This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. All TVAS unpublished fieldwork reports are available on our website: www.tvas.co.uk/reports/reports.asp.
Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford05.06.15 Steve Preston 05.06.15
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Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email: [email protected]; website: www.tvas.co.uk
Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire Archaeological Desk-based Assessment
by Gordana Baljkas
Report 15/98 Introduction
This report represents a desk-based assessment of the archaeological potential of approximately 1.35 hectares of land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire centred at NGR SP 361 073 (Fig. 1). The project was commissioned by Mr Simon Joyce of Strutt & Parker LLP, 269 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7LL on behalf of
Ms Isabel Barrell and comprises the first stage of a process to determine the presence/absence, extent, character, quality and date of any archaeological remains which may be affected by redevelopment of the area.
Site description, location and geology
The site currently consists of an irregular parcel of land south-east of Ducklington, which is itself south of
Witney in Oxfordshire. It covers an area of approximately 1.35 hectares (Fig. 1). The northern, north-eastern and north-western boundaries are formed by a long dry ditch, the western boundary by Standlake Road, the southern and south-eastern by stone walls, adjoining residential buildings, fences and a pond, while to the east the grassland stretches to the River Windrush without a physical boundary marking the limits of the site.
Topographically, the site is located on alluvium of the Windrush (BGS 1982). The site is at a height of approximately 75–77m above Ordnance Datum.
The site is currently used to graze horses and houses a stable (Pls 1–3). It is traversed by an overhead telecommunications cable. The site is separated from Standlake Road by a 4–7 m high hedge, while the boundary towards the dry ditch is obscured by a thick tree and bush hedge. A number of larger trees are dispersed throughout the north-western portion of the site.
Planning background and development proposals
Planning permission is to be sought from West Oxfordshire District Council for a residential development of land off Standlake Road of up to 24 dwellings. There are no detailed proposals available at time of writing.
The Department for Communities and Local Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF
2012) sets out the framework within which local planning authorities should consider the importance of conserving, or enhancing, aspects of the historic environment, within the planning process. It requires an
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applicant for planning consent to provide, as part of any application, sufficient information to enable the local planning authority to assess the significance of any heritage assets that may be affected by the proposal. The
Historic Environment is defined (NPPF 2012, 52) as:
‘All aspects of the environment resulting from the interaction between people and places through time, including all surviving physical remains of past human activity, whether visible, buried or submerged, and landscaped and planted or managed flora.’ Paragraphs 128 and 129 state that
‘128. In determining applications, local planning authorities should require an applicant to describe the significance of any heritage assets affected, including any contribution made by their setting. The level of detail should be proportionate to the assets’ importance and no more than is sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposal on their significance. As a minimum the relevant historic environment record should have been consulted and the heritage assets assessed using appropriate expertise where necessary. Where a site on which development is proposed includes or has the potential to include heritage assets with archaeological interest, local planning authorities should require developers to submit an appropriate desk-based assessment and, where necessary, a field evaluation. ‘129. Local planning authorities should identify and assess the particular significance of any heritage asset that may be affected by a proposal (including by development affecting the setting of a heritage asset) taking account of the available evidence and any necessary expertise. They should take this assessment into account when considering the impact of a proposal on a heritage asset, to avoid or minimise conflict between the heritage asset’s conservation and any aspect of the proposal.’ A ‘heritage asset’ is defined (NPPF 2012, 52) as ‘A building, monument, site, place, area or landscape identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, because of its heritage interest. Heritage asset includes designated heritage assets and assets identified by the local planning authority (including local listing).’ ‘Designated heritage asset’ includes (NPPF 2012, 51) any ‘World Heritage Site, Scheduled Monument, Listed Building, Protected Wreck Site, Registered Park and Garden, Registered Battlefield or Conservation Area designated under the relevant legislation.’ ‘Archaeological interest’ is glossed (NPPF 2012, 50) as follows:
‘There will be archaeological interest in a heritage asset if it holds, or potentially may hold, evidence of past human activity worthy of expert investigation at some point. Heritage assets with archaeological interest are the primary source of evidence about the substance and evolution of places, and of the people and cultures that made them.’ Specific guidance on assessing significance and the impact of the proposal is contained in paragraphs 131 to 135: ‘131. In determining planning applications, local planning authorities should take account of: the desirability of sustaining and enhancing the significance of heritage assets and putting them to viable uses consistent with their conservation; the positive contribution that conservation of heritage assets can make to sustainable communities including their economic vitality; and the desirability of new development making a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness. ‘132. When considering the impact of a proposed development on the significance of a designated heritage asset, great weight should be given to the asset’s conservation. The more important the asset, the greater the weight should be. Significance can be harmed or lost through alteration or destruction of the heritage asset or development within its setting. As heritage assets are irreplaceable, any harm or loss should require clear and convincing justification. Substantial harm to or loss of a grade II listed building, park or garden should be exceptional. Substantial harm to or
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loss of designated heritage assets of the highest significance, notably scheduled monuments, protected wreck sites, battlefields, grade I and II* listed buildings, grade I and II* registered parks and gardens, and World Heritage Sites, should be wholly exceptional. ‘133. Where a proposed development will lead to substantial harm to or total loss of significance of a designated heritage asset, local planning authorities should refuse consent, unless it can be demonstrated that the substantial harm or loss is necessary to achieve substantial public benefits that outweigh that harm or loss, or all of the following apply: the nature of the heritage asset prevents all reasonable uses of the site; and no viable use of the heritage asset itself can be found in the medium term through appropriate marketing that will enable its conservation; and conservation by grant-funding or some form of charitable or public ownership is demonstrably not possible; and the harm or loss is outweighed by the benefit of bringing the site back into use. ‘134. Where a development proposal will lead to less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset, this harm should be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal, including securing its optimum viable use. ‘135. The effect of an application on the significance of a non-designated heritage asset should be taken into account in determining the application. In weighing applications that affect directly or indirectly non designated heritage assets, a balanced judgement will be required having regard to the scale of any harm or loss and the significance of the heritage asset.
Paragraph 139 recognizes that new archaeological discoveries may reveal hitherto unsuspected and hence non- designated heritage assets ‘139. Non-designated heritage assets of archaeological interest that are demonstrably of equivalent significance to scheduled monuments, should be considered subject to the policies for designated heritage assets.’ Paragraph 141 requires local planning authorities to ensure that any loss of heritage assets advances understanding, but stresses that advancing understanding is not by itself sufficient reason to permit the loss of significance: ‘141. Local planning authorities should make information about the significance of the historic environment gathered as part of plan-making or development management publicly accessible. They should also require developers to record and advance understanding of the significance of any heritage assets to be lost (wholly or in part) in a manner proportionate to their importance and the impact, and to make this evidence (and any archive generated) publicly accessible. However, the ability to record evidence of our past should not be a factor in deciding whether such loss should be permitted.’
In determining the potential heritage impact of development proposals, ‘significance’ of an asset is defined
(NPPF 2012, 56) as:
‘The value of a heritage asset to this and future generations because of its heritage interest. That interest may be archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic. Significance derives not only from a heritage asset’s physical presence, but also from its setting.’ while ‘setting’ is defined as:
‘The surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced. Its extent is not fixed and may change as the asset and its surroundings evolve. Elements of a setting may make a positive or negative contribution to the significance of an asset, may affect the ability to appreciate that significance or may be neutral.’
The West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2011 (WODC 2006) has not yet been replaced, so that policies which were ‘saved’ in 2009 continue to apply. This includes policies BE8, BE12 and BE13 relevant to listed buildings and archaeological remains:
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‘Policy BE12 – Archaeological Monuments’ ‘Development proposals that adversely affect the site or setting of nationally important archaeological monuments and monuments of local importance, whether scheduled or not, will not be permitted’ ‘Policy BE13 – Archaeological Assessments’ ‘Prior to determining applications affecting sites and areas of archaeological potential, applicants may be required to provide an archaeological assessment and/or field evaluation to determine: a) the significance, character and importance of any archaeological monument or remains and b) the likely impact of the proposed development on such features c) the level of mitigation required to suitably protect the archaeological resource through preservation in situ of preservation by record including excavation, post excavation analysis and publication’
‘Policy BE8 – Development affecting the Setting of a Listed Building’ ‘Development should not detract from the setting of a listed building’.
The proposed site lies outside the boundary of the Ducklington Conservation Area.
Methodology
The assessment of the site was carried out by the examination of pre-existing information from a number of sources recommended by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists paper ‘Standards in British Archaeology’ covering desk-based studies. These sources include historic and modern maps, the Oxfordshire Historic
Environment Record, geological maps and any relevant publications or reports.
Archaeological background
General background
The site lies in the Windrush valley, a part of the wider catchment of the archaeologically rich Upper and Middle
Thames Valley where numerous sites and finds of all periods are recorded (Booth et al. 2007; Lambrick et al.
2009; Morigi et al. 2011). Similarly, the Cotswold Hills to the north are rich in archaeological remains (Saville
1984; Moore 2006). The gravel terraces are particularly suited to the formation of cropmarks visible from the air, with large complexes of sites, sometimes covering square kilometres of ground (Benson and Miles 1974). Yet
Witney in particular, and its environs in general, have been relatively little explored archaeologically compared to other parts of the region.
Ducklington has a known Roman site (and more evidence of this has recently come to light) and a Saxon cemetery (Foster et al. 1975) and there is limited evidence for Roman settlement in Witney (e.g. Ford and Taylor
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1998). The town of Witney was a relatively late development, despite being a meeting place of the Saxon
Council (The Witan). It was not until well into medieval times that the Saxon village developed as an urban, commercial centre as a planned settlement encouraged by the Bishops of Winchester (Foster et al. 1975).
The Victoria History of Oxfordshire gives a comprehensive summary of the archaeological background of
Ducklington and surrounding area and is quoted below in full:
‘There are indications of Bronze Age occupation west of Ducklington village and south of Cokethorpe Park. South-east of Hardwick was a small middle Iron-Age settlement, protected by a circular double ditch; it was largely pastoral and perhaps occupied only seasonally. A small late Iron-Age settlement was found on the line of Hardwick's bypass, and there are cropmark indications of other probable prehistoric sites, notably just west of Ducklington, north of Boys wood, and west of Hardwick. A Romano-British settlement including slated and tiled structures was found on the line of the bypass south-west of Ducklington; it was occupied between the 2nd and 4th centuries. Of similar date was an apparently linear settlement beside a Roman or Romanized road which, partly on a wooden causeway, crossed branches of the river Windrush between Gill Mill (now in South Leigh) and Berryham plantation north-west of Hardwick. The settlement straddled the later parish boundary, extending on both sides of Standlake brook. Votive reliefs found on and near the site may indicate a temple. South-west of the Windrush crossing the Roman road presumably passed close to Cokethorpe chapel. Two graves, probably 7th century, one clearly Christian with notably rich goods, were found in 1860 in Wormwood Close, north of Church Street in Ducklington. The graves were probably in a large burial ground, since many skeletons were reportedly found in a garden on the east, now attached to Windrush Cottage. Isolated 7th century graves with rich goods were found south-east of Ducklington near Red Lodge, and on the south-east boundary of Cokethorpe Park. The Ducklington finds, together with those in a large burial ground just outside the later parish boundary towards Yelford, suggest substantial, and fairly prosperous, Anglo-Saxon presence in the area by the 7th century’ (VCH 1996, 110–18).
Just beyond the area shown on Figure 1 to the east, extensive excavations in advance of mineral extraction at a quarry at Gill Mill have provided large scale (almost 70ha either trenched or excavated) and significant evidence for occupation from the middle Iron Age and Roman period, with what appears to be less dense occupation in the late Iron Age to early Roman period. The main Roman occupation may have included some high-status buildings. Both cremation and inhumation burials were present, with one exceptionally rare example in a wooden chamber; and the site provided important waterlogged deposits allowing detailed environmental reconstruction, as well as exceptional preservation of waterlogged wooden artefacts. The occupation seems to have ceased around AD370, well before the traditional ‘end’ of the Roman period. (Booth and Simmonds 2011)
Oxfordshire Historic Environment Record
A search was made on the Oxfordshire Historic Environment Record (HER) on 1st May 2015 for a radius of
1km around the proposal site. This revealed 40 entries, including just two ‘events’ (archaeological investigations), within the search radius. (In fact this underestimates the amount of investigation that has taken place.) These are summarized as Appendix 1 and their locations are plotted on Figure 1. The majority of these
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relate to listed structures within the village of Ducklington and are addressed in the Listed Buildings section, following. Entries within the same site or in very close proximity are combined to reduce clutter on the figure.
Neolithic to Bronze Age
The Neolithic to Bronze Age entries comprise ring ditches and associated features (possible field boundary and trackway) evidenced by cropmarks and located well to the south of the site [Fig. 1: 1, and see Fig. 11] and a findspot for an unspecified quantity of pottery [2]. There is an entry relating to a Bronze Age ring ditch destroyed in development in the 1960s [3].
Iron Age (800 BC – 42 AD)
There is an entry for Iron Age settlement [4] on the northern side of the Ducklington Bypass – three ditches and one pit were exposed in drainage ditch on the northern side of the bypass. Finds from these features included two rim fragments from ‘Belgic’-style necked bowls. Additionally, there is also an entry for the finding of an Iron
Age silver uninscribed coin of the Dobunni (the local ‘tribal’ grouping) [5] which was found together with a
Roman coin in topsoil at the south-east end of Ducklington Bypass in 1975.
Roman
Roman activity is represented by a settlement site near Red Lodge, not far to the south-east of the proposal site
[6]. Fieldwalking in March-May 1973 in an area of cropmarks produced a collection of Roman pottery. Trial excavation conducted in June-July of that year revealed ditches, pits, pottery, a bronze plaque and animal bones and much ironwork, nails and fired tiles. Further trenching in 1974 revealed a number of ditches, pits and postholes, with occupation from the 1st or early 2nd century to the 5th century AD. Subsequent excavation did not reveal whether the remains represent a villa or a rural settlement. There is also an entry for a bronze coin of
Constantine II, of c. AD337 [5] found in topsoil at the south-eastern end of the Ducklington Bypass in 1975.
Saxon
An inhumation cemetery, dating from the Anglo-Saxon period, was identified in 1860 [7]. A gravel pit revealed adult and child burials and finds including bones, a gold fibula/pendant with a cross design and ruby in the centre, glass beads set in silver, bone combs (including one complete one) and coarse pottery. The graves seem to be forerunners of the graveyard around the church; as such they are probably in the cemetery being used by the
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7th century residents of Ducklington. An isolated Saxon grave was found south-east of the proposal site [8] during the construction of the Ducklington Bypass. The one grave contained three bodies: a male aged c.15 years, a female c.18-23 years old and a child c.3 years old. The finds included: punch-decorated bronze strips, a bone spindle-whorl and thread-picker, a gold-mounted beaver-tooth pendant, and a necklace with silver, glass and shell beads. There is also a hint that the Roman site [6] may have continued in use into the 5th century.
Medieval
Medieval activity is represented by the parish church of St Bartholomew [11] and a grave slab north of the church’s north aisle. Both of these structures are listed and dealt with in more detail in the Listed Buildings section below. Additionally, the medieval entries report findspots for two medieval objects: a possibly 13th century long cylindrical iron object, resembling a sceptre or stem of a candelabrum [9], and an Edward II silver penny [10].
Post-medieval
There are a large number of post-medieval records mainly pertaining to buildings and most of these are Listed
Buildings (discussed below). Eight associated with the medieval St Bartholomew’s Church and comprise two headstones dated to 1696 and six entries for chest tombs spanning the 18th century [11] The remainder of Listed
Buildings comprise residential dwellings and public buildings ranging from late 16th to late 19th century
Other entries for the post-medieval period include non-listed buildings: the Baptist Chapel [13],
Ducklington Mill [14]; and the site of a windmill, no longer extant [16].
Ducklington Mill [14] is the closest record to the proposal site. Ducklington Mill’s history can be traced back to 1279 when freeholders on Ducklington Manor held New Mill with a house and two acres. The name of
New Mill remained in 1328 when it marked the limit of a fishery on the Windrush and through to 1601 when it was next to Ducklington’s Upper Meadow which places it on the site of the surviving Ducklington Mill, south- east of the village. In 1587, it was let by Sir Christopher Brome on 2,000-year lease to Edward Harris and was held by the Harrises in the mid 17th century only to be passed on to the Quinneys, who, in turn, were succeeded by the Leakes by the 1750s. In 1838, Ducklington Mill was a water corn mill with two pairs of stones. In 1894 it was sold to G. H Holtom, who had been operating it since 1867. Flax-processing equipment is thought to have been installed approximately in 1838, but in 1853 the machinery comprised only three pairs of stones powered by an iron water wheel. In 1885 the mill was partly converted for flour rolling, and in 1898 Holtom & Sons built
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a large 3-storeyed rolling plant, with a steam engine to supplement the water-power, while the old mill remained in use for grinding barley and maize. Holtom & Sons continued to operate the mill until the 1950s, when W J
Oldacre Ltd converted it for the processing of animal feeds. The old mill and the building of 1898 were demolished in 1983 and a new feed mill and warehousing, extended in 1985, built for the storage of grain. The feed mill closed in 1992 but grain storage continued. The mill house, of unknown date but built before 1839 on a site immediately north of the mill, was demolished in the mid 20th century (VCH 1966, 129–38).
Not included in the HER search results, a watching brief at the church [11] recorded four juvenile and eight adult inhumation burials, with coffin fittings and finds suggesting the interred had been clothed, and a post- medieval (late 18th to 19th century) date is suggested (OA 2013)
Modern, undated
Two events are modern in date and refer to fieldwork [38] in Ducklington conducted in 1970 which noted there were no significant earthworks in the area, and a building survey [39] of the Old School in 1998.
Just one entry relates to an undated cropmark linear feature [40] known from aerial photographs, however a watching brief during ground clearance in 1981 recorded no features.
Scheduled Ancient Monuments
There are no scheduled monuments on the site or in immediately adjacent areas.
Cartographic and documentary sources
The area of the proposed development lies within the civil parish of Ducklington, a parish that remained predominately rural until the later part of the 20th century when, with the expansion of the town of Witney southwards, the village of Ducklington acquired suburban features (VCH 1996).
In the 10th century, Ducklington belonged to the royal estate at Bampton, until King Edgar (the Peaceful) granted the estate to Earnulf in 958. The toponym “Ducklington” is Anglo-Saxon (Old English) in origin and possibly derives from an otherwise unrecorded personal name Ducel combined with -inga- (‘followers or family of’) and tūn (‘estate, village’); nothing is known of Ducel and the name appears nowhere else (Mills 1998, 118).
King Edgar’s land grant was the first mention of the place name which by the compilation of Domesday Book in
1086 had become Duchelintone. Place-names formed with the ‘-ingas’ element have been thought to indicate specifically early Saxon settlement, and while this is now no longer held to be automatically true (Smith 2004),
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the evidence of early Saxon graves at Ducklington suggests it probably is the case here. The 10th-century land grant notes the presence of a church, and nearby place names also reflect more Saxon settlement in the area
(VCH 1996).
In 1086, Ducklington was split into two portions (Williams and Martin 2002, 435; 443). The larger part was in royal ownership and amounted to 7 hides, with arable land for 6 ploughs, and large areas of meadow, pasture and woodland. Nine villagers (heads of households) and 3 slaves are listed. The smaller manor was part of the extensive lands of Robert d’Oilly. It was assessed at 4 hides and had arable land for 4 ploughs, although between them the landholder (Roger) and the 16 villagers owned 5 plough teams. Roger also had three slaves, and there was an area of meadow and pasture. There was a mill, hay meadow, pasture, and a sizeable wood, but, most unusually, no tenants are mentioned except the three slaves (Williams and Martin 2002, 428).
The subsequent history of the parishes contains little of note. Tax returns from the 13th and 14th century suggest little change to the population recorded in Domesday Book (making allowance for boundary changes), but the 14th-century plague seems to have significantly reduced the population of Ducklington, as by 1523–24 it had only 11 taxpayers, and in 1542–44 only 20 (VCH 1996). Several hamlets and villages in the area seem to have been deserted in the 15th century. In the civil wars of the 1640s, Ducklington experienced some disruption when its location on the strategically important route over Newbridge brought it into daily contact with troops of both factions (VCH 1996). From the later 16th century onwards there was a rapid rise in population peaking in
1871 with 480. Ducklington's population of 549 in 1951 and 740 in 1961 included the villages of Cogges and
South Leigh. The transformation of Ducklington village into a dormitory suburb, chiefly from the 1960s, was evident in 1971 when, with reduced boundaries comparable to those of 1931, the parish had a population of
1,274 in 405 households, a rise from 104 households in 1931. In 1991 the population was 1,437 (VCH 1996).
A range of Ordnance Survey and other historical maps of the area were consulted at the Oxfordshire
History Centre and online in order to ascertain what activity had been taking place throughout the site’s later history and whether this may have affected any possible archaeological deposits within the proposal area
(Appendix 2).
The earliest available map of the area was Christopher Saxton’s large scale map of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, surveyed in 1574 and published in An Atlas of England and Wales in 1597 (Fig. 2). The map depicts the town of Witney and, south of it, the village of Ducklington, both located west of a river.
Although the river is not named on the Oxfordshire portion of the map, tracing it back to Gloucestershire gives
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its name as Windrushe. The site itself cannot be located in any detail. The 17th- and early 18th-century maps, such as John Speed’s map of 1611, Morden’s 1695 map and Van der Aa’s of 1715 provide no new information as to the site’s exact location or character (not illustrated).
Richard Davis’s map of 1797 (Fig. 3) is the first detailed map available. Much of the topography is already recognizable, but the site’s precise boundaries cannot all be plotted accurately. The site appears to be undeveloped and located at the southern edge of Ducklington village where the road meets the western channel of the Windrush on which a number of mills are located, Ducklington Mill being one of them. The map names the river as Wainrush.
Enclosure maps were not available; it is clear, however, that much subdivision of the land has taken place between the time of Davis’ map and the tithe map. The 1838 tithe map for Ducklington (Fig. 4) depicts the site as, most likely, comprising three fields covering a stretch of land between Standlake to Witney road and the
Windrush. The first field is bounded by the road to the west, a drainage ditch to the north, several buildings to the south and the second field to the east. The second field is bounded to the north by a drainage ditch, to the south by the mill and to east by a large ditch. This large ditch represents a significant feature as it partly lies within the proposal site. Most likely formed by diversion of the river, it appears to be a mill race ending next to the structures serving as the mill immediately to the east of the site. The mill race is connected to a sluice and a canal linking it directly to the Windrush. The third field is a triangular piece of land between the mill race and the Windrush.
The First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1878-1881 (Fig. 5) shows a similar pattern of land divisions, the location of the proposed site still depicted as three undeveloped fields with a large ditch or mill race running to the mill. The boundaries of all three fields appear to be completely unchanged. The number of buildings to the east of the site seems to have increased to six from the two depicted on the tithe map. Another row of smaller structures – five in total – that was not present on the tithe map is now visible in the same plot of land. The structures associated with the mill have also increased in number, forming a rather large complex.
The Second Edition Ordnance Survey map (1899) shows very little change (Fig. 6). The boundaries of the fields are the same and the land remains undeveloped, the mill race is still dominating the site. The cluster of buildings immediately to the east of the site numbers six larger structures but only two of the five smaller building depicted on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map remain. The Third Edition of 1921 is identical in as much as the site location remains the three undeveloped fields (Fig. 7). The mill race is still present leading to the ever-growing mill complex. The cluster of buildings to the east of the site has grown to nine.
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The 1970 map (Fig. 8) depicts no changes to the site in terms of field boundaries or the mill race. The building cluster to the east has grown to thirteen structures and for the first time one of the buildings is named as
Lee Cottage. The map also show the absence of one of the mill structures which can be assumed to have been the mill house demolished in the mid 20th century.
A big change appears to have occurred between 1970 and 1990, as the mill race is no longer present on the
1990 (not illustrated) and 1994 (Fig. 9) maps. The old mill and the 1898 building were demolished in 1983 and a new feed mill and warehousing, extended in 1985, were built. It appears that the mill race was partly filled in during this period as it had been made redundant by the redevelopment of the mill. Similarly, the sluice and canal connecting the mill race with the Windrush were also removed. Following these changes, two ponds are depicted on the 1990 map. A rectangular pond, the remnant of the mill race, is now located within the area of the proposal site. Another, circular pond lies outside the confines of the proposed site and represents the remains of the sluice and canal. The three fields now appear to have merged into two with a boundary where the mill race used to be.
The current configuration of the site (Fig. 10) shows no change except for the rectangular pond which is no longer extant.
Listed buildings
A large number of HER entries in the search radius are for Listed Buildings and other structures. There are 23 entries for Listed structures in the village of Ducklington, including most significantly St Bartholomew’s Church
[Fig. 1: 11] and nine associated features within its graveyard. The Church, dating from the late 12th century and restored in 1871, is located approximately 500m from the proposal site. The Listed structures associated with the church include a grave slab (14th century), two headstones dated to 1696 and six chest tombs (18th century).
The village’s early core was presumably centred near the church and the early houses must have been located on what is today Church St. The Old Rectory [12], situated south of the church on Standlake Road, incorporates four painted roof beams covered with heraldic insignia of the Deincourt, Poynings, Holland and
Lovell families, built into the roof timbering and suggesting a date of c.1450-1486 (though it was listed as 17th century) and is presumably on the site of the medieval rectory house (VCH 1996, 110–18).
The distribution and orientation of surviving older buildings suggests that the main Standlake-Witney road in earlier times ran along Church Street, perhaps entering the village on a line east of the Old Rectory. No older houses face on to the section of Standlake Road running north-west from the Old Rectory, and its south-west side
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abutted the open fields; it was presumably a back lane until becoming the preferred through route. The older buildings in the village are almost all of coursed or uncoursed limestone rubble, and many of the 17th century cottages are single-storeyed with attics, thatched, sometimes gabled, and built on a 2- or 3-unit plan presumably typical of a village which in the 1660s was composed largely of houses taxed on one or two hearths (VCH 1996,
110–18). Examples of such houses are the early 17th century Windrush Cottage [22], the Bell Inn [17] and the
Strickland Arms [18], both much altered but 17th century in origin, and several cottages on Witney Road (nos.
27, 29, and 31) [13]. Larger 17th century farmhouses included Manor Farmhouse [24], Lynden House [22] in
Church Street, dated 1661, and Church Farmhouse [22], where a garden wall has a datestone of 1682 with the initials IMV, perhaps for Martin and Ursula Johnson (VCH 1996, 110-118).
None of the listed buildings is likely to be affected by the proposed development. The development would, however, need to be designed to be sympathetic to the settings of those closest (The Old Rectory and Manor
House and in particular the Grade I Church).
Registered Parks and Gardens; Registered Battlefields
There are no registered parks and gardens or registered battlefields within close proximity of the site.
Historic Hedgerows
There are no hedgerows on the site that would qualify as ‘important’ as defined by Schedule 1 of the Hedgerows
Regulations 1997.
Aerial Photographs
The aerial photograph index of the Historic England archive was consulted on 29 April 2015. This revealed that there were 26 photographs covering the site or its close environs, all vertical shots, taken from 15 sorties flown between 1946 and 2001 (Appendix 3). Nine of these are recent photographs (1994 onwards).
The area has been covered as part of the National Mapping Programme so that photographs taken before that project have already been mapped (Fig. 11); Benson and Miles (1974, maps 15–18) had also already published a plot of known cropmarks from the area. Both of these sources show several cropmarks in the area around the proposal site, though none within it. More recent photographs can reveal additional features and indeed an examination of aerial photographs as part of an archaeological desk-based assessment for a nearby
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quarry (Wallis 2010) revealed a number of previously unrecorded cropmarks in the Ducklington area. All the recent photographs (1970 onwards) were therefore viewed on 27th May 2015, apart from several not made available.
On photographs which are pre-1980, the mill race and associated features are clearly visible. Apart from herringbone pattern lines visible in OS/69190 from 1969 (Pl. 4) that might very tentatively be interpreted as ridge and furrow (though nothing was noted during the site visit, nor is anything visible in earlier views), no previously unrecorded cropmarks have been noted on the inspected photographs. The presence of the nearby plotted cropmarks to the south-east (Fig. 11) can also be confirmed, for example on photographs from 1970. It is worth noting that the cropmarks in the above-mentioned surrounding areas are in ploughed fields, whereas the proposal site tends to be rough pasture which might be preventing formation of cropmarks. Also the presence of alluvium on the site, which is close to the river, may mask early features and prevent them forming cropmarks visible from the air. Given the abundance of the cropmarks in the neighbouring areas, their absence in the proposal site or its immediate vicinity does not necessarily indicate an absence of archaeological potential.
Discussion
There are no designated heritage assets on the site or in a position to be affected by its development. There is one historic feature which may be considered a possible heritage asset on the site: part of the infilled mill race from the neighbouring Ducklington Mill. A mill is indicated in this location on historic maps from 1797 onwards, however it is worth noting that the division of the Windrush into two main streams between Witney and the
Thames is believed to have been artificially constructed in the Saxon period to provide power for eight mills – four on each stream, Ducklington Mill being one of them – and as the area is very flat, a number of interconnecting drainage ditches and mill races also may have had to be constructed (Carter 1969, 2). The earliest record of Ducklington Mill dates from 1279 and it was in continuous use until 1992 when it finally closed. The mill race was most likely in existence until the mid-1980s when Ducklington Mill was redeveloped and the mill race, rendered obsolete and filled in. In the light of this, the entire proposal area should be considered to have the potential to contain archaeological remains that merit further investigation.
It also remains to establish if there may be potential for other, previously unknown heritage assets, that is, below-ground archaeological remains. In considering the archaeological potential of the study area, various factors must be taken into account, including previously recorded archaeological sites, previous land-use and disturbance and future land-use including the proposed development.
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In general terms the site lies in an area of considerable archaeological potential for virtually all periods; the comparative lack of known evidence largely reflects the paucity of systematic investigation, as the recent work just across the Windrush as Gill Mill demonstrates. Even though the proposal site remained undeveloped throughout the post-medieval period, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and Saxon activity has been detected within a 1km radius around the site. The site therefore can be considered to have significant potential for virtually all periods.
The previous land use of the site suggests no reason to expect that any archaeological deposits that may have been present would have been significantly disturbed since; there has been no development within the area and agriculturally it is likely to have been meadow and pasture for the most part, although the effects of ploughing may need to be considered. Alluviation, which may have begun in the Iron Age and may have been prominent in the Roman period in this region, but may have continued into historic times, could have protected earlier layers below relatively deep deposits.
No details of the proposed development are to hand but it may be prudent to assume that foundations, landscaping and services all present potential threats to some extent to any buried archaeoloigcal remains that might be present.
It will be necessary to provide further information about the potential of the site from field observations in order to draw up a scheme to mitigate the impact of development on any below-ground archaeological deposits if necessary. A scheme for evaluation and any follow-up work will need to be drawn up and approved by the archaeological advisers to the Planning Authority and implemented by a competent archaeological contractor.
References
Benson, D and Miles, D, 1974, The Upper Thames Valley: an archaeological survey of the river gravels, Oxfordshire Archaeol Unit Survey 2, Oxford BGS, 1982, British Geological Survey, Scale 1:50000, Sheet 236, Drift/Solid Edition, Keyworth Booth, P, Dodd, A, Robinson, M and Smith, A, 2007, The Thames through Time: The Archaeology of the Gravel Terraces of the Upper and Middle Thames: The early historical period AD1–1000, Oxford Archaeology Thames Valley Landscapes Monogr 27, Oxford Booth, P and Simmonds, A, 2011, ‘Gill Mill, Ducklington and South Leigh, Oxfordshire: Post-excavation assessment and project design’, Oxford Archaeol unpubl rep, Oxford Carter, J F, 1969, ‘Witney Watermills’, Bulletin of Industrial Archaeology, CBA Group 9 10, 2-3 Ford, S and Taylor, K, 1998, ‘Oakfield House, Church Green, Witney: An Archaeological Evaluation’, Thames Valley Archaeological Services report 98/76, Reading Foster, R, Leyland, N, Rodwell, K and Turner, 1975, ‘Witney’, in K Rodwell (ed) Historic Towns in Oxfordshire, Oxford Archaeological Unit Survey No 3, Oxford 179–90 Lambrick, G, Robinson, M and Allen, T, 2009, The Thames through Time: The Archaeology of the Gravel Terraces of the Upper and Middle Thames: The Thames Valley in Later Prehistory: 1500BC–AD50, Oxford Archaeol Thames Valley Landscapes Monogr 29, Oxford Mills, A D, 1998, Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford Moore, T, 2006, Iron Age Societies in the Severn-Cotswolds. Developing narratives of social and landscape
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change, Brit Archaeol Rep 421, Oxford Morigi, A, Schreve, D, White, M, Hey, G, Garwood, P, Robinson, M, Barclay, A and Bradley, P, 2011, The Thames through Time: the Archaeology of the Gravel Terraces of the Upper and Middle Thames Early Prehistory; to 1500BC, Oxford Archaeol Thames Valley Landscapes Monogr 32,Oxford NPPF, 2012, National Planning Policy Framework, Dept Communities and Local Government, London OA, 2013, ‘St Bartholomew’s Church, Ducklington, Oxfordshire; an archaeological watching brief’, Oxford Archaeology unpubl rep 5571, Oxford Saville, A (ed.), 1984, Archaeology in Gloucestershire, Cheltenham Smith, G, 2004, ‘The adoption of Old English in Surrey’, Bull Surrey Archaeol Soc 376, 2–5 VCH, 1996, Victoria History of the Counties of England; Oxfordshire, vol 13, London Wallis, S, 2010, Gill Mill Quarry Extension, Ducklington, Witney, Oxfordshire, Thames Valley Archaeological Services report GMW10/61, Reading Williams, A and Martin, G H, 2002, Domesday Book, A complete Translation, London
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APPENDIX 1: Historic Environment Records within 1 km search radius of the development site
No HER Ref Grid Ref (SP) Type Period Comment 1 5470 3610 0650 Photographic Neolithic to Cropmarks of ring ditches, possible field boundaries and MOX2930 Bronze Age small section of trackway. 2 3948 3541 0759 Findspot Neolithic to Neolithic or Bronze Age pottery. No details MOX1666 Bronze Age 3 D5581 354 077 Photographic Bronze Age Ring ditch visible as cropmark. MOX1668 4 D10734 3535 0772 Observation Iron Age Three ditches and a pit observed in drainage ditch, with MOX1776 ‘Belgic’-style necked pottery. 5 8744 3672 0695 Findspot Iron Age Silver uninscribed coin of Dobunni. Bronze coin of MOX1700 Roman Constantine II; c.337. 6 D5991 3630 0715 Fieldwalking Roman Ditches, pits, Roman pottery, tile, metalwork and animal MOX1692 Evaluation bones. Excavation 7 1543 3602 0761 Excavation Saxon Inhumation cemetery excavated in 1860s in gravel pit. MOX1660 Finds include a gold fibula/pendant, glass beads set in silver, bone combs, pottery. 8 D11280 3655 0706 Excavation Saxon Single isolated grave containing 3 bodies discovered in MOX1783 works for bypass, 1 male adolescent, 1 young adult female years old and one child c.3 years old. Finds included decorated bronze strips, bone spindle-whorl and thread-picker, gold-mounted beaver-tooth pendant, and necklace with silver, glass and shell beads. 9 3952 355 077 Findspot Medieval Unidentified iron object. MOX1669 10 12686 3594 0771 Findspot Medieval Edward II silver penny. MOX1792 11 3889 3590 0758 Listed Buildings Medieval St Bartholomew’s Church, Grade I. Late 12th century MOX1664 35914 07597 Observation Modern with many later additions, restored 1871. Numerous 782 35904 07566 Building survey graves and tombs also listed separately (Grade II) MOX1647 35915 07576 Village Hall, 17th or 18th century, former barn 23907 35895 07573 Fieldwork at Ducklington conducted in 1970. MOX20348 35918 07573 Building survey of the Old School. 23911 35907 07577 MOX19956 35897 07566 23909 35897 07576 MOX20349 35889 07527 23913 3590 0759 MOX20400 3590 0760 23908 MOX20873 23910 MOX21413 23914 MOX22035 23912 MOX22362 23916 MOX20875 EOX2681 EOX1384 12 11207 35914 07478 Listed building Medieval Rectory, late 15th century, remodelled early 18th century, MOX1780 Post-medieval extended early 19th. Barn, now village hall. 13 782 3554 0794 Building Post-medieval Baptist Chapel, High Street unlisted, pre-dates 1880. 29 MOX1647 35559 07919 Listed building and 31 Witney Road, 17th century, 27 Witney Road, 17th 23920 35571 07911 century MOX22364 23919 MOX21826 14 828 361 072 Building Post-medieval Ducklington Mill, latest of several in this location MOX1648 Cartographic 15 5354 3591 0755 Listed Building Post-medieval Manor House, Standlake Road, 17th or 18th century, MOX1682 originally two buildings. 16 9848 3591 0764 Documentary Post-medieval Site of windmill. MOX1772 Photographic 17 23915 35841 07617 Listed Building Post-medieval The Bell Inn, 17th century MOX20350 18 13113 3566 0784 Listed building Post-medieval The Strickland Arms, 17th century house, pub 1839. MOX1796 19 16616 3531 0783 Findspot Post-medieval 18th-19th century ring MOX12346
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No HER Ref Grid Ref (SP) Type Period Comment 20 16867 358 075 Listed Building Post-medieval Ducklington Church of England School, 1875 and 25 & MOX12632 27 Standlake Rd, Ducklington 21 23917 35569 07888 Listed building Post-medieval 8 (Peartree Cottage) & 10 (Brecon Cottage), Tristram MOX20876 Road, 1676. 22 23902 35898 07734 Listed Building Post-medieval Windrush Cottage, Back Lane, early 17th century, Church MOX20345 35913 07630 Farmhouse & Church View, Church Street, late 16th or 23904 35832 07695 early 17th century, Lynden House (9) and 11 Church MOX22695 Street, dated 1661. 23905 MOX22631 23 23906 35801 07705 Listed Building Post-medieval Ducklington Farmhouse, Church Street, late 17th or early MOX20347 18th century 24 23918 35690 07715 Listed building Post-medieval Manor Farmhouse, Witney Road, late 17th century MOX22363 25 15176 3650 0660 Linear feature Undated Cropmarked linear feature. MOX1823 Listed buildings all grade II unless stated.
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APPENDIX 2: Historic and modern maps consulted
1574 Saxton: Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire (Fig. 2)
1611 Speed: Oxfordshire and Berkshire
1695 Morden: Oxfordshire
1715 Van der Aa: Oxfordshire
1797 Davis: Oxfordshire (Fig. 3)
1838-40 Tithe map: Ducklington and Curbridge (Fig. 4)
1878-81 Ordnance Survey First Edition (Fig. 5)
1899 Ordnance Survey Second Edition (Fig. 6)
1921 Ordnance Survey (Fig. 7)
1970 Ordnance Survey (Fig. 8)
1990 Ordnance Survey (Fig. 9)
2013 Modern map based on Ordnance Survey (Fig. 10)
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APPENDIX 3: Aerial Photographs consulted
All Vertical:
No Sortie number Date taken Frame number Grid ref (SP) Viewed? Comment 1 RAF/106G/UK/1721 06 Sep 1946 5229–30 365 066 Y 3 RAF/CPE/UK/1846 18 Nov 1946 3025 356 079 N 4 RAF/CPE/UK/1936 18 Jan 1947 3445–6 363 080 N 6 RAF/58/1688 17 Mar 1955 12–13 363 063 N 8 RAF/58/5503 03 Oct 1962 55–6 367 066 N 10 RAF/106G/UK/1413 14 Apr 1946 4366–7 356 074 N 12 OS/70167 04 Jun 1970 155 359 077 Y 13 OS/70168 02 Jun 1970 228 360 078 N 14 OS/69190 07 Jun 1969 65–6 360 077 Y 16 OS/69191 07 Jun 1969 9–10 359 070 N 18 OS/94160 11 Jun 1994 16–17 356 075 N 20 OS/97510 16 Apr 1997 198–9 360 074 N 22 OS/99236B 24 Jul 1999 66–7 364 077 N 24 OS/00624 23 Aug 2000 24 360 069 N 25 OS/01900B 05 Mar 2001 289–90 355 074 N
NB: Grid reference given is for first frame in run; multiple frames may offer wider coverage.
19 Banbury
Bicester
Witney
Thame SITE Abingdon OXFORD
Didcot Wallingford Wantage Henley-on -Thames
08000 13
21 18 19
3 4 24 22 9 23 10 17 16 11 7 2 20 15 12 Site
14
6
8 07000
5
25
1
SP 35000 36000 SRD 15-98 Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 1. Location of site within Ducklington and Oxfordshire, showing Oxfordshire HER entries. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Explorer 180 at 1:12500 Ordnance Survey Licence 100025880 Approximate location of site
SRD 15/98 N Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 2. Saxton's map of Oxfordhire, 1574. Approximate location of site
SRD 15/98 N Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 3. Davis's map of Oxfordshire, 1797. Approximate location of site
SRD 15/98 N Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 4. Tithe map, 1838-1840. 14870 CMAPS-BW1-423442-481799-14870-280415 436077, 207378
County Series N 1878-1881 W E 1:2,500
S 1:2,500
Site
SRD 15/98 N Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 5. Ordnance Survey 1878-1881. 28 April 2015 14870 CMAPS-BW1-423442-481799-14870-280415 436077, 207378
County Series N 1899 W E 1:2,500
S 1:2,500
Site
SRD 15/98 N Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 6. Ordnance Survey 1899. 28 April 2015 14870 CMAPS-BW1-423442-481799-14870-280415 436077, 207378
County Series N 1921 W E 1:2,500
S 1:2,500
Site
SRD 15/98 N Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 7. Ordnance Survey 1921. 28 April 2015 14870 CMAPS-BW1-423442-481799-14870-280415 436077, 207378
National Grid N 1970 W E 1:2,500
S 1:2,500
Site
SRD 15/98 N Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 8. Ordnance Survey 1970. 28 April 2015 14870 14870 CMAPS-BW1-423442-481799-14870-280415CMAPS-BW1-423442-481799-14870-280415 436077,436077, 207378 207378
NationalNational Grid Grid N N 1994 1990-1994 W E W E 1:2,500 1:2,500
S S 1:2,500 1:2,500
Site
SRD 15/98 N Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 9. Ordnance Survey 1994. 28 April28 2015 April 2015 Site
SRD 15/98 N Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 10. Modern mapping, 2013 Site
SRD 15/98 N Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Figure 11. Aerial photo cropmark plot, NMP sheet SP30NE (detail), overlaid on Ordnance Survey map (not to scale). Crown copyright, all rights reserved Plate 1. Looking north-east across the south-eastern corner of the site
Plate 2. Looking north across the western half of the site SRD 15-98 Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Plates 1 and 2. Plate 3. Looking east across the centre of the site
Plate 4. Aerial photograph showing the site, 1969 SRD 15-98 Land off Standlake Road, Ducklington, Oxfordshire, 2015 Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Plates 3 and 4. TIME CHART
Calendar Years
Modern AD 1901
Victorian AD 1837
Post Medieval AD 1500
Medieval AD 1066
Saxon AD 410
Roman AD 43 BC/AD Iron Age 750 BC
Bronze Age: Late 1300 BC
Bronze Age: Middle 1700 BC
Bronze Age: Early 2100 BC
Neolithic: Late 3300 BC
Neolithic: Early 4300 BC
Mesolithic: Late 6000 BC
Mesolithic: Early 10000 BC
Palaeolithic: Upper 30000 BC
Palaeolithic: Middle 70000 BC
Palaeolithic: Lower 2,000,000 BC Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47-49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5NR
Tel: 0118 9260552 Fax: 0118 9260553 Email: [email protected] Web: www.tvas.co.uk