Chris Butler MIFA Archaeological Services A Desk -based Assessment for Hurst Green Primary School, Hurst Green East Sussex by Chris Butler November 2008 Chris Butler MIFA Hurst Green Primary School, Archaeological Services Hurst Green Summary An archaeological Desk-based Assessment has been carried out at Hurst Green Primary School, Hurst Green, East Sussex, which has been proposed for the site of a new primary school. The desk-based assessment has established that prior to having the current school built on the site in 1862 it was used as a nursery garden. There is no evidence for any previous use of the site although there is evidence in the surrounding landscape for Roman and Post Medieval ironworking. The likelyhood of there being significant archaeological remains on the site is small. Chris Butler MIFA Archaeological Services Prehistoric Flintwork Specialist Rosedale Berwick, Polegate East Sussex BN26 6TB Tel & fax: 01323 871021 e mail: [email protected] Chris Butler MIFA Hurst Green Primary School, Archaeological Services Hurst Green Contents Page 1.0 Introduction 1 2.0 Objectives & Scope of Report 2 3.0 Methodology 3 4.0 Archaeological & Historical Background 4 5.0 Impact of Development 13 6.0 Conclusions 13 7.0 Acknowledgements 14 Figures: Fig. 1 Site Location Fig. 2 Map showing Monuments & Events Fig. 3 Salehurst Tithe Map Fig. 4 1st Edition OS Map Fig. 5 2nd Edition OS Map Fig. 6 3rd Edition OS Map Fig. 7 1947 Aerial Photograph Fig. 8 Site Plan Fig. 9 Photograph of the playing field looking north-east Fig. 10 Photograph of the playing field looking north-west Fig. 11 Photograph of the playing field looking north-west Fig. 12 Photograph of the playing field looking south-east Appendices: Appendix 1 Archaeological Sites Recorded on HER Appendix 2 Archaeological Sites from other sources Front Cover: Hurst Green C of E Primary School Chris Butler MIFA Hurst Green Primary School, Archaeological Services Hurst Green 1. Introduction 1.1 Chris Butler Archaeological Services has been commissioned by Burns Guthrie for East Sussex County Council to carry out an Archaeological Desk-based Assessment of the proposed site for a new primary school building at Hurst Green, East Sussex, in order to establish the likely presence and importance of any archaeological remains that may be affected by the proposed construction, as part of an initial feasibility study. 1.2 The site for the proposed new primary school is located on the west side of the A21 London Road centred on TQ 73494 26738 (Fig. 1), which is situated on the southern edge of Hurst Green village. The site is currently the site of Hurst Green C of E Primary School, and is bounded by the road on its east side, houses on its south and north sides, and a field on the west side. 1.3 The site is located at around 75m OD on its east side and slopes gently down to approximately to its west side. Immediately beyond the west boundary of the site, the ground quickly drops with a steep slope into the adjacent field. The site is approximately 0.7ha in size, and currently has school buildings of various types and dates, a tarmac playground and parking area, with the proposed site for the new build being a grassed playing field on the north side of the site (Fig. 8). 1.4 The site is not within a designated Conservation Area or Archaeologically Sensitive Area, but is within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty 1. The school site is included within the Development Boundary of Hurst Green, with the field immediately to the west shown as part of a Site of Nature Conservation Importance, whilst Long Shaw a little further west is designated as Ancient Woodland 2. 1.5 The existing Hurst Green Church of England Primary School was originally built in 1862 with an adjacent residence for the master, although subsequently modified and much added to. It has been proposed that a new primary school be built on the current grassed playing field area at the north end of the site, which is owned by East Sussex County Council. 1.6 The civil parish of Hurst Green was created in 1900 from portions of the parishes of Etchingham and Salehurst 3, and the ecclesiastical parish was formed in 1907 4. The part of Hurst Green parish in which the primary school is located was originally in Salehurst parish. Salehurst and Etchingham are in the Hundred of Henhurst which is part of the Rape of Hastings. Salehurst is mentioned in the Domesday Book 5. 1 ESCC 2004 The East Sussex County Landscape Assessment (http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/yourcouncil/consultation/2006/landscapeassessment/download.htm) 2 Rother District Council 2006 Adopted Local Plan: Inset Map No. 20 3 ESRO PAR398 4 Hodson, L.J. 1914 A Short History of the Parish of Salehurst , Roberstbridge. 5 Morris, J. (Ed) 1976 Domesday Book , Chichester, Phillimore 1 Chris Butler MIFA Hurst Green Primary School, Archaeological Services Hurst Green 1.7 Hurst Green is situated on a ridge of high ground with the valley of the River Rother on its south- west side, and Burgh Hill to the west. The main part of the village is situated at the junction of the A265 and A21 roads, with parts of the settlement laid out alongside the A21 London Road to the north and south of the centre. To the north of the village is Burgh Wood, a large area of Ancient Woodland. 1.8 The geology of the site, according to the British Geological Survey (sheet 304), comprises Tunbridge Wells Sand, with Wadhurst Clay to the west, south and east of the site. The soil at the site is described as a slightly acid loamy and clayey soil with impeded drainage, with a slowly permeable and seasonally wet slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soil further west 6. 1.9 The Historic Landscape Characterisation survey for Hurst Green has designated the site as being partly settlement and partly recreation, surrounded by fieldscapes, with a thin strip of horticulture to the north-west 7. The HLC dating gives the school building an early modern date, the remainder of the school site a late 20 th century date, whilst the adjacent field is early Post Medieval. The Land Utilisation Survey 1931-1935 shows the site to have been land covered with houses and buildings with the adjacent field being meadowland and permanent grass 8. 1.10 This report initially covers the objectives and scope of the survey, then discusses the methodology used in the Desk-based Assessment, and then reviews the archaeological heritage of the area. Finally a conclusion assesses the potential impact of the development. A full listing of all the known archaeological sites from the HER is contained in Appendix 1 to this report, whilst other sites are listed in Appendix 2. 2. Objectives & Scope of Report 2.1 The objective of this report is to gain information about the known or potential archaeological resource of the site and its immediate area. This will include information relating to the presence or absence of any archaeology, its character and extent, date, integrity, state of preservation, and the relative quality of the potential archaeological resource. 2.2 This will allow an assessment of the merit of the archaeology in context to be made, leading to the formulation of a strategy for the recording, preservation and management of the resource or, where necessary, the formulation of a strategy for further investigation where the character and value of the resource is not sufficiently defined to permit a mitigation strategy or other response to be defined. 6 http://www.landis.org.uk/soilscapes/ 7 HLC data provided by ESCC 8 http//landuse.edina.ac.uk/ 2 Chris Butler MIFA Hurst Green Primary School, Archaeological Services Hurst Green 2.3 The report will consider the archaeological resource within a radius of 1km around the site, whilst also taking into account sites further afield where these may be considered to have an impact or relevance to the site in its landscape setting. 2.4 It should be noted that this report can only take into account the existing known archaeology, and by its nature cannot provide a complete record of the archaeological resource of the site. Its intention is to provide an overview of the known archaeology in the area of the site, from which judgements can be made about the potential archaeological resource of the site itself. 3. Methodology 3.1 This Desk-based Assessment has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 (PPG16), the Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Desk-based Assessment (Institute of Field Archaeologists 2001), and the Standards for Archaeological Fieldwork, Recording and Post Excavation Work in East Sussex (ESCC 2008). 3.2 The research for this Desk-based Assessment has included an analysis of the following resources: • ESCC Historic Environment Record (HER) • Historic mapping (including that provided with ESCC HER) • NMR records and aerial photographs • Portable Antiquities Scheme database • East Sussex Record Office (ESRO) • Sussex Archaeological Society Library • Defence of Britain database • WIRG iron site database • British Geological Survey • Aerial Photograph search (Cambridge & Sussex Universities) • Personal & Public library resources 3.3 The following maps were used: • Speed 1610 • Iridge Estate map 1637 (ESRO – ACC 6732-2) • Morden’s Sussex 1695 • Kitchen 1763 • Cole’s Sussex 1808 • Moule’s Sussex 1837 • Dugdale’s Sussex 1840 • 1841 Salehurst Tithe map (ESRO – TD/E/86) • 1st Edition OS Map (1874) • 2nd Edition OS Map (1898) 3 Chris Butler MIFA Hurst Green Primary School, Archaeological Services Hurst Green • 3rd Edition OS Map (1909) • 4th Edition OS Map – Not available Information gained from the map regression exercise is contained in the Post Medieval section below.