Land at Winterbrook, Wallingford, Oxfordshire An Archaeological Desk-based Assessment For Berkeley Homes (Oxford and Chiltern) by Steve Preston Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code WWO09/57 July 2009 Summary Site name: Land at Winterbrook, Wallingford, Oxfordshire Grid reference: SU6010 8840 Site activity: Desk-based assessment Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: Steve Preston Site code: WWO09/57 Area of site: c. 24 ha Summary of results: The site lies in an area of gene rally high archaeological potential. Previous work across parts of the site, m ost notably aerial photogr aphy, has indicated the presence within the s ite of features alm ost certainly of prehistoric date. The evidence so far does not suggest the presence of remains likely to be of national im portance, but more likely to local or regional significance, and probabl y reasonably typical of si milar locations elsewhere in the Upper Tham es Valley. It is re commended that further, detailed inform ation on the archaeological potential of the site be provided by means of field evaluation in order to inform the planning process and to draw up a sc heme to mitigate the impact of development on any below-ground archaeological deposits. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford9 03.07.09 Jo Pine 9 03.07.09 i 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 at Winterbrook, Wallingford, Oxfordshire An Archaeological Desk-based Assessment by Steve Preston Report 09/57 Introduction This desk-based study is an assessm ent of the archaeological potential of a large parcel of la nd located at Winterbrook on the southern outskirts of Wallingford, Oxfordshire (SU6010 8840) (Fig. 1 ). The project was commissioned by Mr Richard Eyre of Berkeley Homes (Oxford and Chiltern), Abingdon Science Park, Barton Lane, Abingdon OX14 3NB 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. Planning permission is to be sought from South Oxfordshire District Council for development of the site for residential purpose; no proposals have yet been finalized. This report is intended to guide the production of the development scheme for the site, and may form part of an Environmental Impact Assessment. Site description, location and geology The site currently consists of se veral fields, a m ixture of ara ble crops and g rassland, with a si ngle small, overgrown house roughly centrally located, and a t rack crossing the site from east to west (Fig. 2). The Wallingford By-pass forms the south-western boundary, the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway line marks the north-western boundary, and Bradford’s Brook is the northern limit of both the site and Cholsey parish. To the east, the site is bo unded by properties in Winterbrook, which is a southwards extension of Wallingford. The development area is centred on NGR SU 6010 8840 and covers approximately 24ha. The site is mostly located on first (floodplain) terrace gravels, but with an outcrop of Cretaceous Lower Chalk in the north-west of the area (BGS 1980). It is at a height of approximately 50m above Ordnance Datum, sloping very slightly down from west (51m) to east (47m). The Thames flows south just 400m to the east. The lower lying fields are markedly more damp than the western portion, even in June. Planning background and development proposals Planning permission is to be sought for development of the site for residential purpose; no proposals have yet been finalized. 1 Archaeology and Planning (PPG 16 1990) provides guidance relating to archaeology within the planning process. It points out that where a desk-based assessment has shown that there is a stro ng possibility of significant archaeological deposits in a development area it is reasonable to provide more detailed information from a field evaluation so that an appropriate strategy to mitigate the effects of development on archaeology can be devised: Paragraph 21 states: ‘Where early discussions with local planning authorities or the developer’s own research indicate that important archaeological remains may exist, it is reason able for the planning authority to request the prospective developer to arrange for an archaeological field evaluation to be carried out...’ Should the presence of arc haeological deposits be confirmed further guidance is provided. Archaeology and Planning stresses preservation in situ of archaeological deposits as a fi rst consideration as in paragraphs 8 and 18. Paragraph 8 states: ‘...Where nationally important archaeological remains, whether scheduled or not, and t heir settings, are affected by proposed development there should be a presumption in favour of their physical preservation...’ Paragraph 18 states: ‘The desirability of preserving an ancient monument and its setting is a material co nsideration in determining planning applications whether that monument is scheduled or unscheduled...’ However, for archaeological deposits that are not of such significance it is appropriate for them to be ‘preserved by record’ (i.e., fully excavated and recorded by a competent archaeological contractor) prior to their destruction or damage. Paragraph 25 states: ‘Where planning authorities decide that the physical preservation in situ of archaeological remains is not justified in the circumstances of the development and t hat development resulting in the destruction of the archaeological remains should proceed, it would be entirely reasonable for the 2 planning authority to satisf y itself ... t hat the developer has m ade appropriate and satisfactory provision for the excavation and recording of remains.’ The South Oxfordshire Local plan (SODC 2006) contains further guidance: Policy CON11: ‘There will be a presu mption in favour of phy sically preserving nationally important archaeological remains, whether scheduled or not, and their settings.’ Policy CON12: ‘Before the determination of an application for development which may affect a site of archaeological interest or pote ntially of archaeological i mportance, prospective developers will be required, where necessary, to make provision f or an archaeological field evaluation, in order to enable an infor med and reasoned planning decision to be made.’ Policy CON13: ‘Wherever practicable and desirable, developments affecting sites of archaeological interest should be designed to achieve physical preservation in situ of archaeological deposits. Where this i s not practicable or desirable, conditions will be imposed on planning permissions, or planning obligations sought, which will require the developer to provide an appropriate progra mme of archaeological investigation, recording and publication by a professionally-qualified body.’ Methodology The assessment of the site was carried out by the examination of pre-existing information from a number of sources recommended by the Institute of Field Archaeologists paper ‘Standards in British Archaeology’ covering desk-based studies. These sources include historic and modern maps, the O xfordshire Historic Environment Record, geological maps and any relevant publications or reports. Archaeological background Wallingford lies within the archaeologically rich Upper Thames with numerous sites and finds recorded (Booth et al. 2007). The gravel terraces of th e Upper Thames a re particularly suited to the formation of crop marks visible from the air with large complexes of sites, sometimes covering square kilometres of ground, having been 3 recorded (Benson and Miles 1974). More sites are known in detail from archaeological recording in advance of development, especially mineral extraction. The environs of the site are no exception and are noteworthy as a focus for prehistoric activity. A number of significant monuments are visible on aerial photographs, such as the Neolithic cursus monument (processional way) at RAF Benson, (Benson and Miles 1974; Briggs et al. 1986). Neolithic, Bronze Age and Saxon, and Roman occupation is recorded at Ben son (Pine and Ford 2004; Pine 2006), The Saxon and medieval town of Wallingford lies just to the north. Numerous, though mostly very small, investigations have taken place within the Saxon burh and medieval town (Fig. 1). Roman finds are numerous in Wallingford, but concentrated in the western fringes. The precise course of the Roman road from Silchester to Dorchester and Alchester is not clear in this stretch but it probably passed west of Wallingford. Recent fieldwork within the town ha s almost invariably produced evidence of the medieval town, but Saxon remains are still relatively rare (Ford 1991; Hammond 2003; Pine 2003) . Excavations at High Street and St Martin’s Lane uncovered the cemetery of the former St Martin’s church: 210 articulated burials were recorded and pottery within grave fills suggests that burials began in the 10th or early 11th centuries and continued into the medieval period. (I. Soden and S. Johnson pers. comm.). Recent work in advance of the construction of the by-pass provided an opportunity to investigate a number of sites outside the town itself (Cromarty et al. 2006), exploring Bronze Age settlement along the Thames, the Grim’s Ditch earthwork, and minor investigations of multi-period features just west of the current proposal site. Oxfordshire Historic Environment Record A search was made on the Oxfordshire Historic Environment Record (HER) on 20th June 2009 for a radius of 750m around the centre of the proposal site. This revealed 34 entries within the search radius, including seven within the site itself and four more on its edges. All the entries are summarized as Appendix 1 and their locations are plotted on Figure 1. The HER search radius was deliberately restricted to avoid overwhelming this report with evidence from the core to the town and the Castle, which is briefly summarized above.