ARCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S. Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Oxfordshire. Archaeological Evaluation. by Andrew Mundin and Lizzi Lewins

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1 T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Oxfordshire Archaeological Evaluation by Andrew Mundin and Lizzi Lewins Site Code: CFO16/147 (SU )

2 Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Wantage, Oxfordshire An Archaeological Evaluation for Sweetcroft Homes by Andrew Mundin and Lizzi Lewins Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code CFO16/147 September 2016

3 Summary Site name: Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Oxfordshire Grid reference: SU Site activity: Archaeological Evaluation Date and duration of project: 24th 27th August 2016 Project Manager: Jo Pine Site supervisor: Andrew Mundin and Joanna Pine Site code: CFO 16/147 Area of site: 1.3ha Summary of results: The site contained traces of medieval/ early post-medieval ridge and furrow along with features of post-medieval and modern date, Pottery of medieval and postmedieval date was recovered as stray finds from topsoil and subsoil contexts. The site is considered to have no archaeological potential. Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Oxfordshire County Museums Service in due course. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. All TVAS unpublished fieldwork reports are available on our website: Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford Steve Preston i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) ; Fax (0118) ; tvas@tvas.co.uk; website:

4 Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Wantage, Oxfordshire An Archaeological Evaluation by Andrew Mundin and Lizzi Lewins Report 16/147 Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological field evaluation carried out at land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Wantage, Oxfordshire (SU ) (Fig.1). The work was commissioned by Mr Glen Chapman, Director of Sweetcroft Homes Ltd, 78 Cumnor Road, Boars Hill, Oxford, OX1 5JP. Planning permission has been (16/V0637/FUL) sought from Vale of the White Horse District Council to erect new houses with associated garages and open space. Oxfordshire County Archaeological Service has advised (Coddington 2016) that a field evaluation be undertaken to establish the archaeological potential of the site, in accordance with the Department for Communities and Local Government s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF 2012). Should important archaeological remains be revealed, this evaluation would form the first stage of a mitigation procedure. The field investigation was undertaken in accordance with a written scheme of investigation approved by Mr Coddington and was monitored by him. The fieldwork was undertaken by Joanna Pine, Andrew Mundin and Lizzi Lewins between the 23rd and 25th August 2016 and the site code is CFO 16/147. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Oxfordshire County Museums Service in due course. Location, topography and geology The site is a field adjacent to the site of Church Farm in West Hanney, north of Wantage in south Oxfordshire (Fig. 1). This roughly rectangular land parcel lies to the south east of the village, c.100m east from the parish Church of St James the Great. It is bordered to the north by properties fronting School Road, to the west by Church Farm and recent development, and by fields to east and south (Fig. 2) The underlying geology is mapped as terrace gravel of the Corallian Beds (BGS 1971). The geology observed in all the trenches was a sandy gravel. 1

5 Archaeological background The site s archaeological potential has been highlighted by recent work on the neighbouring site just to the west (WA 2012; Mundin 2016) In summary, the site lies close to the historic core of the village with the parish church The former farm complex to the west contained two listed buildings (the farmhouse and a barn) of 17th and 18th century date The fieldwork to the west mainly revealed post-medieval remains but a small collection of Medieval pits were identified.(mundin 2016). Objectives and methodology The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the presence/absence, extent, condition, character, quality and date of any archaeological deposits within the area of proposed development. This work was to be carried out in such a way as to allow mitigation of the effects of development on any remains encountered (preservation in situ). Should this not be possible, further work would be required to preserve threatened remains by record. Specific research aims of the project are: to determine if archaeological deposits of any period are present; and to determine if any deposits of Late Saxon date or Early Medieval date are present on the site, relating to the early development of the village. It was proposed to excavate 18 trenches, each 20m long and 2m wide to be dug on the locations of the proposed housing development and associated access. Topsoil and any other overburden were to be removed by a machine with a a toothless ditching bucket, under constant archaeological supervision. Where archaeological features were certainly or probably present, the stripped areas were to be cleaned using appropriate hand tools and sufficient of the archaeological features and deposits exposed will be excavated or sampled by hand to satisfy the aims of the brief. 2

6 Results Sixteen trenches were eventually with two trenches having to be abandoned due to site restrictions (Fig. 3). The trenches ranged in length from 14.6m to 32.2m, in depth from 0.25m to 0.68m, and were m wide. A complete list of trenches, giving lengths, widths, depths, and descriptions of stratigraphy can be found in Appendix 1. An area of topsoil had been stripped prior to this work,. Trench 1 (Fig 4) Trench 1 was aligned SSW - NNE and was 23m long, 1.5m wide and 0.60m deep at the deepest point. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.22m of topsoil overlying 0.20m of mid grey brown sandy silt subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. The faint traces of a furrow were recorded. Trench 2 (Fig. 4; Pl. 1) Trench 2 was aligned SE - NW and was 19.50m long, 2m wide and 0.68m deep at its deepest point. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.25m of topsoil overlying 0.27m of subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. A furrow (1) was noted between 7m - 10m and was 2.70m wide and 0.35m deep. It contained 3 fills: Fill (52) consisted of a light grey brown sandy silt overlying a mid brown grey sandy silt (53) overlying a mid grey brown sandy silt with frequent gravel inclusions (63). No finds were recovered from furrow 1. Trench 3 (Pl. 2) Trench 3 was aligned SE - NW and was 20.30m long, 2m wide and 0.42m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.20m of topsoil overlying 0.20m of subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. Furrow 2 was noted between 14m - 16m and was 2.70m wide and 0.20m deep. It contained two fills which consisted of a mid brown grey sandy silt with moderate pea gravel (54) and a mid grey brown sand with gravel inclusions (64). No finds were recovered from furrow 2. A sherd of Medieval pottery and a piece of post-medieval pottery were recovered from the topsoil. Trench 4 Trench 4 was aligned SW - NE and was 24.40m long, 2m wide and 0.55m deep at its deepest point. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.23m of topsoil overlying 0.20m of subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. The base of a furrow was noted between 2m - 5m. A single piece of post-medieval pottery was recovered from the topsoil. Trench 5 Trench 5 was aligned SSE - NNW and was 21m long, 2m wide and 0.52m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.25m of topsoil overlying 0.30m of subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. No archaeological features or finds were encountered. 3

7 Trench 6 Trench 6 was aligned SE - NW and was 20.20m long, 2.10m wide and 0.56m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.28m of topsoil overlying 0.28m of subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. The base of a furrow was noted between 10.30m m. Trench 7 Trench 7 was aligned SE - NW and was 20.40m long, 2.30m wide and 0.43m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.29m of topsoil overlying 0.14m subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. The base of a furrow was noted between 5.20m m. Trench 8 Trench 8 was aligned SSW - NNE and was 19.80m long, 2.30m wide and 0.48m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.26m of topsoil overlying 0.22m of subsoil overlying the natural sand and gravel geology. No archaeological features or finds were encountered. Trench 9 Trench 9 was aligned SW - NE and was 19.80m wide, 2.10m wide and 0.52m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.27m of topsoil overlying 0.20m of subsoil overlying the natural sand and gravel geology. The base of a furrow was noted at 5.60m. Trench 10 (Fig. 4; Pl. 3) Trench 10 was aligned W - E and was 18.80m long, 2.10m wide and 0.57m deep. The trench was stopped short due to the presence of an electric cable. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.32m of topsoil overlying 0.20m of subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. Three intercutting features were excavated within the trench. Ditch 3 was 1.70m wide and 0.42m deep, aligned north-south. It cut furrow 4 (59).It contained four fills which consisted of a light brown grey sandy silt with frequent gravel (65) overlying a mid grey brown clayey silt with occasional gravel (56) overlying a dark brown grey clayey silt with occasional gravel (58) overlying a mid brown grey clayey silt with occasional gravel (55). A single nail was recovered from fill 56). Furrow 4 was also aligned north south: its width could not be determined as it was truncated on both sides but it was c. 0.22m deep and contained a single fill consisting of a light/mid brown grey clayey silt (59) which contained no finds. Pit (5) was c.1.60m wide and 0.60m deep. It contained three fills which consisted of a dark black grey silt which contained modern cloth and plastic (60) overlying a light white grey sandy gravel (61) overlying a dark brown grey clayey silt (62). Pit 5 cut ditch 3. A modern pipe was observed in the western end of the trench. 4

8 Trench 11 Trench 11 was aligned SW - NE and was 18m long and 2.20m wide. The SW end of the trench was 0.45m deep and the stratigraphy consisted of 0.13m of topsoil overlying 0.22m of subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. The NE end of the trench was 0.62m deep and the stratigraphy consisted of 0.18m of topsoil overlying 0.32m of subsoil overlying the natural geology. The base of a furrow was noted at 16m but was not excavated. A single piece of Medieval pottery was recovered from the spoilheap. Trench 12 (Fig. 4; Pl. 4) Trench 12 was aligned SW - NE and was 14.60m long, 2.40m wide and 0.50m deep. The trench was stopped short due to the presence of an electricity cable. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.10m of topsoil overlying 0.31m of subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. A pit (6) was noted at 8m and was 1.05m wide and 0.60m deep. It contained a mid brown grey sandy silt (57) from which a tiny sherd of Medieval pottery, animal bone and ceramic building material (probably post-medieval) was recovered. Sieving of a soil sample produced a small quantity of indeterminate cereal grain and charcoal. The pit is likely to be of post-medieval date. topsoil. The base of a furrow was also noted at 12m. A second piece of Medieval pottery was recovered from the Trench 13 Trench 13 was aligned W - E and was 15.60m long, 2m wide and 0.35m deep. This area was already partially stripped before being cleaned and extended, the trench stopped short due to the presence of an electric cable. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.15m of topsoil overlying 0.17m of mid brown grey sandy silt subsoil overlying the gravel and sand natural. A furrow was noted between 6m - 8m. A single sherd of Medieval pottery was recovered from the topsoil. Trench 14 Trench 14 was aligned SW - NE and was 14.60m long, 2.10m wide and 0.50m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.15m of topsoil overlying 0.30m of subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. A furrow was present at the western end of the trench. From 9.60m to c.12.60m modern disturbance of the natural including a pipe cut was noted. Trench 15 Trench 15 was aligned W - E and was 16.30m long, 2.10m wide and 0.50m deep at its deepest point. This trench was situated in an area where the topsoil had been partially stripped prior to trenching. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.10m of topsoil overlying 0.35m of mid brown grey clayey silt subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. The base of a furrow was noted between 1m - 5m. A modern pipe cut was seen at 15m. Two fragments of Medieval pottery were recovered from the topsoil. 5

9 Trench 16 Trench 16 was aligned SW - NE and was 32.20m long, 2.30m wide and 0.25m deep. No topsoil remained within this area. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.23m of mid brown grey clayey silt subsoil overlying the natural gravel and sand geology. The bases of two furrows were noted between 13m - 16m and at 32m. Finds Pottery by Paul Blinkhorn The pottery assemblage comprised 9 sherds with a total weight of 153g. It was all medieval or later, and recorded using the conventions of the Oxfordshire County type-series (Mellor 1984; 1994), as follows: OXBF: North-East Wiltshire Ware, AD sherds, 65g. OXAM: Brill/Boarstall Ware, AD sherds, 10g. OXBB: Minety-type Ware, early 13th 16th century. 1 sherd, 19g. OXDR: Red Earthenwares, 1550 onwards. 2 sherds, 59g. The pottery occurrence by number and weight of sherds per context by fabric type is shown in Appendix 3. The range of fabric types is typical of sites in the region, and shows that there was activity at the site in the earlier medieval (12th 14th century) period. Although most of the pottery was unstratified, the sherds are all fairly large and in reasonably good condition, suggesting that they were not greatly disturbed after their original deposition. The medieval material consisted of a mixture of fragments of unglazed jars and glazed jugs, which is typical of the period in the region. A small (7g) fragment of post-medieval brick or tile occurred in context (57). Animal Bone by Lizzi Lewins Three non-descript fragments of animal bone weighing 16g were recovered from pit 6 (57). Two of the fragments were unidentifiable but one is a large mammal (cattle/horse) long bone which appears to have been sliced. No further analysis of the remains was possible due to the small size of the assemblage. Metal by Danielle Milbank A single fragment of metal was recovered during the evaluation. This comprises a ferrous object from ditch slot 3 (56) weighing 4g and is curved and 3mm wide in section. Slight tapering suggests that it represents a nail, however it is fairly corroded and is not datable. 6

10 Macrobotanical plant material and charcoal by Jo Pine A single 10L sample of soil from pit 6 (fill 57) was wet sieved to 0.25mm and air dried. The flot was examined under a low-power binocular microscope at magnifications x10. This contained 10 grains of indeterminate cereal some possibly being wheat. A small amount of charcoal was present, of size and structure that has potential for species identification. Conclusion The trenching recorded the presence of medieval or early post-medieval ridge and furrow across the site but few other features of possible arcahaeological interest. Several features were clearly of modern date and a ditch and pit were of Post-Medieval date. A collection of Medieval and Post-Medieval came from topsoil and subsoil contexts. It is considered that the site has no archaeological potential. References BGS, 1971, British Geological Survey, 1:63 360, Sheet 253, Drift Edition, Keyworth Coddington, H, 2016, 'Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney: Design Brief for Archaeological Evaluation', Oxfordshire County Archaeological Service brief, Oxford Mellor, M with Oakley, G, 1984, A summary of the key assemblages, a study of pottery, clay pipes, glass and other finds from fourteen pits, dating from the 16th to the 19th century, in T G Hassall, C E Halpin and M Mellor, Excavations in St Ebbe s, Oxford, : Part II: Post-medieval domestic tenements and the Post-Dissolution site of the Greyfriars, Oxoniensia, 49, Mellor, M, 1994, A Synthesis of middle and late Saxon, medieval and early post-medieval pottery in the Oxford Region, Oxoniensia, 59, Mundin, A, 2016, Church Farm, West Hanney, Wantage, Oxfordshire; An archaeological watching brief, TVAS unpubl rep 15/297, Reading NPPF, 2012, National Planning Policy Framework, Dept Communities and Local Govt, London WA, 2012, Church Farm, West Hanney, Oxfordshire, Archaeological Evaluation Report', Wessex Archaeology unpubl rep , Salisbury 7

11 APPENDIX 1: Trench details 0m at SSW, SE, SW, W end Trench Length (m) Breadth (m) Depth (m) Comment m topsoil; 0.22m-0.42m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.42m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology m topsoil; 0.25m-0.52m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.52m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Furrow 1. [Pl. 1] m topsoil; 0.20m-0.40m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.40m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Furrow 2. [Pl. 2] m topsoil; 0.23m-0.43m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.43m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Unexcavated furrow m topsoil; 0.25m-0.45m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.45m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology m topsoil; 0.28m-0.56m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.56m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Unexcavated furrow m topsoil; 0.29m-0.43m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.43m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Unexcavated furrow m topsoil; 0.26m-0.48m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.48m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology m topsoil; 0.27m-0.47m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.47m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Unexcavated furrow m topsoil; 0.32m-0.52m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.52m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Ditch 3, Furrow 4, Pit 5. [Pl. 3] m topsoil; 0.18m-0.50m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.50m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Unexcavated furrow m topsoil; 0.10m-0.41m mid brown grey sandy silt subsoil; 0.41m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Pit 6, unexcavated furrow. [Pl. 4] m topsoil; 0.15m-0.32m mid brown grey sandy silt with occasional gravel subsoil;0.32m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Unexcavated furrow m topsoil; 0.15m-0.45m mid grey brown sandy silt with moderate gravel subsoil; 0.45m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Cont. ditch 3 and furrow m topsoil; 0.10m-0.45m mid brown grey clayey silt subsoil; 0.45m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Unexcavated furrow m mid brown grey clayey silt subsoil; 0.23m+ White grey gravel with occasional patches of yellow sand natural geology. Two unexcavated furrows. 8

12 SITE Banbury Bicester Witney Abingdon OXFORD Thame Wantage Didcot Wallingford Henley-on -Thames SITE SU CFO 16/147 Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Oxfordshire, 2016 Archaeological Evaluation Figure 1. Location of site within West Hanney and Oxfordshire. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Digital mapping under licence from memory-map.com. Crown Copyright reserved. Scale 1:12500

13 92900 Recently developed (watching brief, Mundin 2016) SITE SU CFO 16/147 N Land adajent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Wantage, Oxfordshire, 2016 Archaeological Evaluation Figure 2. Detailed location of site. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping under licence. Crown copyright reserved. Scale 1:1250

14 modern 2 Plot 1 4 med pits 4 Plot 2 (not observed) 3 Plot Plot 4 Grade II Listed Barn (renovated) Plot 6 Plot 5 modern Grade II Church Farm House (renovated) (5) Topsoil stripped SU Key Ridge and furrow remains CFO 16/147 N Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Wantage, Oxfordshire, 2016 Archaeological Evaluation Figure 3. Location of trenches. 0 50m

15 Trench 10 N 3 modern 4 7m 9m furrow 5 13m Trench 12 N 6 6m 9m 0 5m Trench 2 - Representative Furrow NNW SSE Topsoil - 50 Subsoil maOD W Trench 10 E 1 buried topsoil 50 W Trench 12 E ditch furrow pit 63.05m m 57 6 Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Wantage, Oxfordshire, 2016 Archaeological Evaluation 0 1m CFO 16/147 Figure 4. Detail of trenches.

16 Plate 1. Trench 2, looking east south east, Scales: horizontal 2m and 1m, vertical 0.5m. Plate 2. Trench 3, furrow 2, looking north, Scales: 2m and 0.5m. Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Wantage, Oxfordshire, 2016 Archaeological Evaluation Plates 1-2. CFO 16/147

17 Plate 3. Trench 10, ditch 3, furrow and pit 5, looking north, Scales: 2m and 1m. Plate 4. Trench 12, pit 6, looking north west, Scales: 2m and 1m. Land adjacent to Church Farm, West Hanney, Wantage, Oxfordshire, 2016 Archaeological Evaluation Plates 3-4. CFO 16/147

18 TIME CHART Calendar Years Modern AD 1901 Victorian AD 1837 Post Medieval AD 1500 Medieval AD 1066 Saxon AD 410 Roman AD 43 BC/AD Iron Age 750 BC Bronze Age: Late Bronze Age: Middle Bronze Age: Early 1300 BC 1700 BC 2100 BC Neolithic: Late Neolithic: Early 3300 BC 4300 BC Mesolithic: Late Mesolithic: Early 6000 BC BC Palaeolithic: Upper Palaeolithic: Middle Palaeolithic: Lower BC BC 2,000,000 BC

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