LAND AT HALLSTEADS, DOVE HOLES, DERBYSHIRE DESK-BASED ASSESSMENT Report Number 2013/20 July 2013 ArcHeritage is a trading name of York Archaeological Trust. The Trust undertakes a wide range of urban and rural archaeological consultancies, surveys, evaluations, assessments and excavations for commercial, academic and charitable clients. We manage projects, provide professional advice and fieldwork to ensure a high quality, cost effective archaeological and heritage service. Our staff have a considerable depth and variety of professional experience and an international reputation for research, development and maximising the public, educational and commercial benefits of archaeology. Based in York, Sheffield, Nottingham and Glasgow the Trust’s services are available throughout Britain and beyond. ArcHeritage, Campo House, 54 Campo Lane, Sheffield S1 2EG Phone: +44 (0)114 2728884 Fax: +44 (0)114 3279793 [email protected] www.archeritage.co.uk © 2013 York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited Registered Office: 47 Aldwark, York YO1 7BX A Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England No. 1430801 A registered Charity in England & Wales (No. 509060) and Scotland (No. SCO42846) ArcHeritage i CONTENTS NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY ................................................................................................... III KEY PROJECT INFORMATION ................................................................................................ IV 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 2 LOCATION, GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY .................................................................. 1 2.1 Geotechnical Investigations .............................................................................................. 1 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 1 3.1 Aims and objectives ........................................................................................................... 1 3.2 Sources ................................................................................................................................ 1 3.3 Survey .................................................................................................................................. 2 3.4 Designations........................................................................................................................ 2 4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.............................................. 2 4.1 Prehistoric and Roman ...................................................................................................... 2 4.2 Medieval ............................................................................................................................... 3 4.3 Sixteenth to eighteenth centuries ..................................................................................... 3 4.4 Nineteenth century ............................................................................................................. 4 4.5 Modern ................................................................................................................................. 5 5 RESULTS .............................................................................................................................. 5 5.1 Site visit ................................................................................................................................ 5 5.2 Archaeological potential and significance ....................................................................... 7 5.5 Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 7 6 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................... 8 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 8 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... 9 9 FIGURES ............................................................................................................................. 10 10 PLATES ............................................................................................................................... 11 APPENDIX 1 – GAZETTEER OF KNOWN CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSETS .................... 19 Hallsteads, Dove Holes ArcHeritage Desk-based Assessment Report Report No 2013/20 ArcHeritage ii Figures Figure 1: Site location map Figure 2: Known cultural heritage sites Figure 3: 1877 OS map Figure 4: 1898 OS map Figure 5: 1922 OS map Figure 6: 1972 OS map Plates Cover: View of site Plate 1: Mid-20th-century aerial photograph of Dove Holes, looking north-west, showing farm track across site Plate 2: Looking south-west from the A6 Plate 3: Realignment of boundary wall for mid-20th-century lay-by, looking south Plate 4: Realignment of boundary wall for mid-20th-century lay-by, looking north Plate 5: Central part of site, looking south-west; darker linear feature running left to right may mark a land drain Plate 6: Changing ground-level in the north-east corner of the site Plate 7: Public footpath along northern site boundary Plate 8: Public footpath leading to bridge over railway Plate 9: North-west corner of site, showing changes in ground level Plate 10: Boundary wall along railway embankment at west of site Plate 11: Looking north-east towards the A6 Plate 12: South-west boundary wall and former LNWR line Plate 13: Bridge over railway at south-west corner of site Plate 14: Site boundary wall abuts, but is not keyed-in to, the bridge abutments Plate 15: Wall, gate and fence along south-west boundary Plate 16: Retaining wall in south-east corner of site Hallsteads, Dove Holes ArcHeritage Desk-based Assessment Report Report No 2013/20 ArcHeritage iii NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY This report comprises a heritage statement for land off Hallsteads, Dove Holes, Derbyshire (centred on NGR SK 0772 7868). The assessment was commissioned by Philip Moore. Research for the heritage statement indicates that there is no evidence of prehistoric activity within the site, although the Bull Ring henge is situated approximately 0.29km to the south- east. A major prehistoric site of this nature would have been a focal point and local settlement during this period is likely. Key routes through the area are likely to have provided access to the Bull Ring. Their courses are unclear and it is not known if any of these crossed the site. As part of the Herbage of Hallsteads, the site may have been in use as pasture from at least the 13th century. The site remained pasture throughout the early post-medieval period, when it appears to have formed part of a larger plot with land to the west of the railway line and to the east of the present-day A6. Any archaeological deposits associated with these periods are likely to relate to low-level agricultural activity such as field boundaries and drainage or small items deposited through casual loss. No buildings are known to have stood within the site since at least 1840. At that date, a boundary wall in the site’s north-west corner also ran into the plots that are now situated to the west of the railway and to the north of the public footpath and embankment. The wall is likely to have been removed in association with the construction of the railway and the embankment and bridge in 1863. The site’s western boundary was also established at that date. While the boundary walls along the site’s south and east perimeters have been modified in relation to the development of housing and the A6, the wall along the site’s western boundary may retain elements of its original structure. The site remained in use as pasture throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Due to the site’s proximity to the Bull Ring henge and the barrow to the south-east, previously unknown prehistoric archaeological deposits cannot be ruled out. As little ground disturbance appears to have occurred within the site, any such deposits may be preserved in good condition. Hallsteads, Dove Holes ArcHeritage Desk-based Assessment Report Report No 2013/20 ArcHeritage iv KEY PROJECT INFORMATION Project Name Hallsteads, Dove Holes ArcHeritage Project No. 4072141 Report status DRAFT Type of Project Desk-based Assessment Client Philip Moore NGR SK 0772 7868 (centred) Author Mark Stenton Illustrations Mark Stenton, Rowan May Editor Rowan May Report Number and Date 2013/20 12/07.2013 Copyright Declaration: ArcHeritage give permission for the material presented within this report to be used by the archives/repository with which it is deposited, in perpetuity, although ArcHeritage retains the right to be identified as the author of all project documentation and reports, as specified in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (chapter IV, section 79). The permission will allow the repository to reproduce material, including for use by third parties, with the copyright owner suitably acknowledged. Disclaimer: This Report has been prepared solely for the person/party which commissioned it and for the specifically titled project or named part thereof referred to in the Report. The Report should not be relied upon or used for any other project by the commissioning person/party without first obtaining independent verification as to its suitability