The Old Fisons Site, Paper Mill Lane Bramford, Ipswich Desk- Based Assessment SCCAS Report No. 2012/019 Client: Barton Willmore LLP Author: M. Sommers February 2012 The Old Fisons Site, Paper Mill Lane, Bramford, Ipswich Desk-Based Assessment SCCAS Report No. 2012/019 Author: M. Sommers Editor: Dr R. Gardner Report Date: February 2012 HER Information Report Number: 2012/0019 Site Name: The Old Fisons Site, Paper Mill Lane, Bramford, Ipswich Planning Application No: n/a Date of Fieldwork: n/a Grid Reference: TM 1253 4749 Client/Funding Body: Barton Willmore LLP Client Reference: n/a Curatorial Officer: Dr. Jess Tipper Project Officer: M. Sommers Oasis Reference: n/a Site Code: n/a Digital report submitted to Archaeological Data Service: http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/library/greylit Disclaimer Any opinions expressed in this report about the need for further archaeological work are those of the Field Projects Team alone. Ultimately the need for further work will be determined by the Local Planning Authority and its Archaeological Advisors when a planning application is registered. Suffolk County Council’s archaeological contracting services cannot accept responsibility for inconvenience caused to the clients should the Planning Authority take a different view to that expressed in the report. Prepared By: M. Sommers Date: 17th February 2012 Approved By: ******************* Position: ******************* Date: ******************* Signed: ******************* Contents Summary List of Abbreviations used in the text 2 1. Introduction 1 Site description 1 Topography and Geology of the Application Site 3 Scope of this report 3 Methods 3 Legislative frameworks 4 2. Results 5 County Historic Environment Record search 5 Listed buildings 9 Site Visit 12 The Application Site to the east of the railway 12 The Application Site to the west of the railway 17 Old Paper Mill House 18 Paper Mill Lane 18 History of the Application Site 18 Map regression 23 3. Assessment of impacts and effects 35 The archaeological potential of the PDA 35 Potential of preserved archaeological remains 37 Assessment of the impact of the development on the archaeological resource 38 4. Mitigation measures 39 List of Figures Figure 1. Location plan 2 Figure 2. Historic Environment Record Entries - recorded locations 8 Figure 3. Listed Buildings 11 Figure 4. Site walkover, east of the railway line 13 Figure 5. Site walkover, west of the railway line 16 Figure 6. L.D. Stamp’s land use map of 1937 (rescaled extract) 20 Figure 7. Joseph Hodskinson’s map of 1783 (rescaled extract) 21 Figure 8. ‘A Plan of the Intended Navigation’ by Lenny & Jessop, 1790 (extract) 22 Figure 9. 1st Edition Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale sheet, pub. 1882 24 Figure 10. 1st Edition Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale sheet, pub. 1882 25 Figure 11. 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale sheet, pub. 1904 28 Figure 12. 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale sheet, pub. 1904 29 Figure 13. 3rd Edition Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale sheet, pub. 1926 32 Figure 14. 3rd Edition Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale sheet, pub. 1926 33 List of Plates Plate 1. structures with 19th century components to the south of the North Warehouse 12 Plate 2 dock entrance, as seen from the north-west bank of the River Gipping 14 Plate 3 Possible former quayside 14 List of Abbreviations used in the text DBA Desk Based Assessment HER Historic Environment Record PAS Portable Antiquities Scheme PDA Proposed Development Area PPS 5 Planning Policy Statement 5 SM Scheduled Monument SCCAS Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service SCCAS/CT Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service / Conservation Team SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest Summary The Desk-Based Assessment of the archaeology of the Application Site has identified a medium to high potential for archaeological remains from the prehistoric period up to the medieval period and a very high potential for evidence relating to the 19th century chemical works that formerly operated on this site to be present within the Application Area. These works were once the largest ‘artificial manure works’ in the world and this site represents a rare survival of a significant but poorly studied industry. In order to fully understand the site’s archaeological potential and to ensure that the proposed development does not result in the loss of archaeological evidence it will be necessary to undertake further assessment of the site. The precise nature of this work will be the decision of the County Council Conservation Team but is likely to involve a trenched evaluation designed to sample areas of the site at risk from the proposed development. The results of this work would then inform any future mitigation strategies that may be deemed necessary. The standing structures are currently in poor repair and there is a real danger of them being irreparably damaged. The restoration and re-use that is proposed would ensure their long term survival and provide an opportunity for a detailed study of the structures with the potential to reveal further evidence of the site’s industrial history. 1. Introduction This report comprises a Desk-Based Assessment of available archaeological sources in order to determine, as far as reasonably practicable from existing records, the previous land use, the nature of the archaeological resource and the potential for significant archaeological evidence to exist within the Application Site. In addition, the likely effect of the proposed development on any identified archaeological resource will be assessed and a possible mitigation strategy proposed. It is focussed on the potential for buried archaeological remains within the Application Site. An assessment of the architectural and historic significance of a listed structure and other buildings in its curtilage, which lie within the site was produced by Andrew Brown of Woodhall Planning and Conservation and is available as a separate report. The Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service, Field Team, was commissioned by Barton Willmore LLP to undertake this assessment. Site description The Application Site comprises two areas of adjacent land lying either side of the main London to Norwich railway line. These are identified as Land West of the Railway Line and Land East of the Railway Line. As part of traffic management measures associated with the proposed development a plot of land to the north, identified as Old Paper Mill House, and a 1.4km length of Paper Mill Lane itself, are also been included within the Application Site (see fig. 1) The portion of the Application Site lying to the east of the railway is the site of a large chemical works set up in the mid 19th century for the production of super phosphate fertilizer for agricultural use and a number of related buildings are still extant, including the North Warehouse, a Grade II listed structure, parts of which date from the 1850s. The NGR for the approximate centre of the Application Site is TM 1253 4749. See figure 1 for a location plan. 1 Norfolk SUFFOLK P A P E R M I L L L A N E Essex 0 25km 01km 612000 613000 N OLD PAPER MILL HOUSE 248000 LAND EAST OF THE RAILWAY LAND WEST OF THE RAILWAY PAPER MILL LANE 247000 0 250m ©Crown Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Suffolk County Council Licence No. 100023395 2012 Figure 1. Location plan 2 Topography and Geology of the Application Site The local topography comprises gently sloping valley sides on plateau fringes and a river floodplain. The British Geological Society 1:50,000 Solid and Drift Map, published 1990, indicates that the Application Site is located on floodplain alluvium which in turn overlies undifferentiated river terrace deposits (sand and gravel). The underlying solid geology comprises soft fissured chalk with flint (Newhaven Chalk Formation). Ground investigation has also indicated the presence of occasional peat layers and pockets. Scope of this report In order to set the Application Site in its archaeological context a study area of c.500m from its boundary was selected for examination. Methods The methodology involved interrogating the following sources of data: • A search of the Suffolk HER for any records within 500m of the Application Site (which includes sites identified from aerial photography). A synthesis of these results are described and mapped in the main body of this chapter. • An examination of the literature with reference to archaeological excavations within the study area. • A search for all listed buildings within the study area. A summary is presented in the main report, Section 2. • An assessment of all cartographic sources relevant to the Application Site to identify historic landuse, the siting of old boundaries and earlier buildings within the study area. • Site walkovers were conducted on the 18th and 25th January 2012, for which notes and digital photographs were taken. 3 Legislative frameworks The National Planning Policy Framework streamlines national planning policy into a consolidated set of priorities to consider when planning for and deciding on new development. The framework reaffirms protections for the historic environment and heritage. It provides guidance for planning authorities, developers and others on planning and the historic environment. This guidance advises developers to discuss their plans, preferably at a pre-planning stage, with the County Archaeological Planning Officer for any possible archaeological constraints on their development proposal. The planning guidance sets out to protect nationally and locally important monuments and their settings. There will be a presumption in favour of preservation in situ of important remains. In certain circumstances field evaluation will be carried out to enable an informed decision to be made. On sites where there is no overriding case for preservation in situ, provision will be made for their recording and excavation prior to development. Although recommendations for a mitigation strategy will be put forward, ultimately, any archaeological work that may be deemed necessary will be determined by the Local Planning Authority and its Archaeological Advisors when the planning application is registered.