NATIONAL MAPPING PROGRAMME: THE LEADON VALLEY SAND AND GRAVEL AGGREGATE AREA (The Leadon Valley, ALSF) PROJECT No. 4832 by Russell Priest, Steve Crowther and Amanda Dickson 2008 Contents Contents........................................................................................................... i List of figures ...................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................... viii Mapping conventions ..................................................................................... ix Summary ......................................................................................................... x 1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 2. Methodology................................................................................................ 3 3. Photographic coverage ............................................................................... 4 4. Factors affecting the archaeological survey ................................................. 5 4.1. Aerial photographs ............................................................................... 5 4.2. Factors affecting cropmark and soil mark formation .............................. 7 5. Landscape character ................................................................................... 9 5.1 Geology, soils and topography .............................................................. 9 5.2. Land use ............................................................................................ 11 6. Introduction to the archaeological evidence ............................................... 13 6.1. Previous archaeological study and aerial survey ................................ 13 6.2. The archaeology of the Leadon Valley................................................ 15 7. Prehistoric and Romano-British ................................................................. 16 7.1. Enclosures ......................................................................................... 17 7.2. Roman roads ...................................................................................... 20 7.3. Conclusions ........................................................................................ 24 8. Medieval .................................................................................................... 25 8.1. Settlements ........................................................................................ 27 8.2. Field boundaries, trackways and holloways ........................................ 33 8.3. Ridge and furrow ................................................................................ 34 8.4. Windmill mounds and earthwork banks .............................................. 35 8.5 Moated sites ........................................................................................ 37 8.6. Conclusions ........................................................................................ 42 9. Post-medieval and early modern rural activity ........................................... 43 9.1. Newent Court ..................................................................................... 43 Gloucestershire County Council - Leadon Valley NMP i 9.2. Ridge and furrow ................................................................................ 46 9.3. Trackways, holloways and water meadows ........................................ 49 9.4. Conclusion ......................................................................................... 53 10. Post-medieval and early modern industrial activity .................................. 54 10.1. Mineral extraction ............................................................................. 55 10.2. Limestone quarrying ......................................................................... 56 10.3. Sandstone quarrying ........................................................................ 56 10.4. Clay extraction ................................................................................. 58 10.5. Sand extraction ................................................................................ 60 10.6. Gravel extraction .............................................................................. 60 10.7. Saw pits ........................................................................................... 60 10.8. Canal spoil heaps ............................................................................. 61 10.9. Coal ................................................................................................. 61 10.10. Charcoal burning ............................................................................ 62 10.11. Aerial photographs and extractive industrial features ..................... 66 10.12. Conclusions ................................................................................... 69 11. Twentieth century archaeology ............................................................... 69 11.1. Non-military sites .............................................................................. 69 11.2. Second World War archaeology ....................................................... 70 12. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 73 13. Bibliography ............................................................................................ 76 Appendix 1: Archaeological scope of aerial mapping .................................... 87 Appendix 2: Sources ..................................................................................... 89 Appendix 3: AutoCAD NMP conventions and layers ..................................... 90 Appendix 4: NMR archaeological database (AMIE) ...................................... 92 Appendix 5: NMP methodology ..................................................................... 93 ii Gloucestershire County Council - Leadon Valley NMP List of figures Figure 1. The Leadon Valley NMP (ALSF) aerial survey area. Figure 2. Leadon Valley NMP (ALSF) aerial survey in relation to other neighbouring National Mapping Programme projects. Figure 3. (Left). Malswick, near Newent, taken towards the height of summer, close to the middle of the day. (Right). The same field in low winter sunlight, revealing far more detail of the earthworks. Figure 4. Cropmarks of post-medieval field and woodland boundaries (above), also visible on the 1883 1st Edition 1: 2500 scale Ordnance Survey map of Gloucestershire (below). Figure 5. Geology map of the project area, based on British Geological Survey map sheets 215 and 216. Figure 6. General aerial landscape view across Highnam Court towards the Leadon Valley. Figure 7. Mapping of the archaeological features identified by the Leadon Valley NMP (ALSF) aerial survey. Figure 8. Possible prehistoric enclosure near Brand Green, Pauntley parish. Figure 9a. (left) Late Iron Age or Romano-British enclosure near Preston Cross in Dymock parish and 9b (right) Late Iron Age or Romano-British enclosures and hut circle near Okle Green, in Upleadon parish. Figure 10. Sinuous banks showing the possible course of a Roman road near Highleadon Court. Figure 11. Cropmarks of the parallel ditches of a possible Roman road near Highnam. Gloucestershire County Council - Leadon Valley NMP iii Figure 12. The two possible sections of Roman road found during the Leadon Valley NMP survey project. Figure 13. Aerial photograph (above) and transcription (below) of Lassington medieval village. Figure 14. Transcription of the earthworks around Little Marcle village. Figure 15. Transcription of the cropmarks and earthworks around Leddington. Figure 16. Transcription of the earthworks around Old Grange, Dymock. Figure 17. Aerial photograph of Malswick medieval settlement. Figure 18. Medieval ditches, banks and adjacent ridge and furrow at Malswick, south-west of Newent. Figure 19. The substantial holloway running through Haind Park Wood. Figure 20. Aerial photograph of the holloway in Haind Park Wood. Figure 21. Transcription of the features around Little Marcle. Figure 22. Aerial photograph of a possible medieval windmill mound (arrowed) at Leddington. Figure 23. Transcription of the wood bank in Hay Wood. Figure 24: Highleadon Court showing banks and water meadow features. Figure 25. The distribution of moated sites in the Leadon Valley study area. Figure 26. Aerial photograph (above) and transcription (below) of the moat around Bellamy’s Farm, in Dymock parish. Figure 27. Aerial photograph of the Staunton moated site. iv Gloucestershire County Council - Leadon Valley NMP Figure 28. Aerial photograph (above) and transcription (below) of Castletump motte, Dymock. Figure 29. Photograph of Newent Court, probably taken in the 1930s. Figure 30. The house and grounds of Newent Court in 1947. Figure 31. Newent Court and grounds on the 3rd Edition Ordnance Survey 1: 2500 map of 1922-1923. Figure 32. Newent Court showing the original extent of the grounds and the garden features in relation to the modern urban landscape. Figure 33. Ridge and furrow visible as cropmarks around Whitehall Farm, in Rudford and Highleadon parish. Figure 34. Blocks of levelled and extant ridge and furrow around Griffins Farm, Tibberton parish. Figure 35. Okle Clifford farm, near Newent, showing ridge and furrow. Figure 36. Levelled and extant post-medieval ridge and furrow around Okle Green, parish of