T H A M E S V A L L E Y S E R V I C E S. Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley. An Archaeological Evaluation.

Transcription

1 T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley An Archaeological Evaluation by James Lewis Site Code: SDP09 (TQ )

2 Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley An Archaeological Evaluation For Woodland Environmental by James Lewis Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code SDP 09 November 2009

3 Summary Site name: Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley Grid reference: TQ Site activity: Evaluation Date and duration of project: 25th November 2009 Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: James Lewis Site code: SDP 09 Area of site: 6.2ha Summary of results: No archaeological deposits were identified nor artefacts recovered. The site is considered to have no potential Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at the Museum of London in due course, with SDP 09. 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 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 Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley An Archaeological Evaluation by James Lewis Report 09/111 Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological field evaluation carried out at Sidcup, World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley (SU ) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Stuart Downs, Senior Planner, Woodland Environmental, 3 Ockendon Road, London, N1 3NN. Planning permission (09/01720) has been gained from the London Borough of Bromley for remodelling of parts of the golf course to create a new academy course, the digging of fishing lakes and balancing ponds. The archaeological potential of the site was highlighted in a desk-based assessment which studied cartographic and documentary sources and assessed previous archaeological work and finds in the area. This concluded there was a moderate chance that exist archaeological deposits dating from the Bronze Age through to the medieval period present on the site (Peachey 2009). Due to the possibility of archaeological deposits on the site a programme of archaeological fieldwork was requested. This is in accordance with the Department of the Environment s Planning Policy Guidance, Archaeology and Planning (PPG ), and the London Borough of Bromley policies on archaeology. The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Mr Robert Whytehead of the Greater London Archaeology Advisory Service. The fieldwork was undertaken by James Lewis and Aidan Colyer on 25th November 2009 and the site code is SDP 09. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at the Museum of London in due course, with accession code SDP 09. Location, topography and geology The site is located on the eastern margins of Sidcup, Kent within the London Borough of Bromley. It is situated on a south facing slope which has been substantially landscaped by the construction of a golf course. The north of the site is bounded by the A20 road and to the east is the old Kemnal Road (Fig. 2). Beyond the A20 and to the west of the site is residential housing. The land to the south and the east is characterized by open land. Within the land to the east is Kemnal Manor and sports fields. The underlying geology is London Clay (BGS 1977). The height of the site varies between c.40m to c.75m above Ordnance Datum. 1

5 Archaeological background The archaeological potential of the site has been highlighted in a desk-based assessment (Peachey 2009). In summary relatively few finds or sites of any period have been recorded for the environs of the proposed site (MoLAS 2000). The one exception to this statement are deposits possibly of Bronze Age date identified in evaluation trenches which unfortunately cannot now be precisely located. It is thought however that they lie at the extreme northern end of the site. 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 areas of the golf course subject to re-modelling. The specific research aims are: to determine if archaeologically relevant levels have survived on this site; to determine if archaeological deposits of any period are present; to determine if any Roman, Saxon or Medieval deposits are present; and to determine if any prehistoric (Bronze Age) remains are on the site. Six trenches, 30m long and 1.6-2m wide were to be excavated using a machine fitted with a toothless ditching bucket under the supervision of an experienced archaeologist. All archaeological deposits were to be hand cleaned and excavated and all spoil heaps monitored. The six trenches were located at areas proposed for the location of new ponds/fishing lake and other areas of remodelling of the site. Results All six trenches were excavated as intended using a machine. The trenches measured between 30 39m in length and all were 1.8m wide (Fig. 3). The depths varied from between m deep. A complete list of trenches giving lengths, breadths, depths and a description of sections and geology is given in Appendix 1. Trench 1 (Fig. 4 and Plate 1) Trench 1 was aligned NW SE and measured 30m in length and 0.45m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.25m of topsoil above 0.10m of grey silty clay subsoil above London Clay. The trench was excavated down to the natural geology. No archaeological deposits were found. 2

6 Trench 2 (Fig. 4 and Plate 2) Trench 2 was aligned NNW SSE and measured 30m in length and 0.4m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.25m of topsoil above 0.10m of grey silty clay subsoil above London Clay. The trench was excavated down to the natural geology. No archaeological deposits were found. Trench 3 Trench 3 was aligned W E and measured 39m in length and 0.4m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.25m of topsoil above 0.10m of grey silty clay subsoil above London Clay. The trench was excavated down to the natural geology. No archaeological deposits were found. Trench 4 (Plate 3) Trench 4 was aligned W E and measured 30m in length and 0.4m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.25m of topsoil above 0.10m of grey silty clay subsoil above London Clay. The trench was excavated down to the natural geology. No archaeological deposits were found. Trench 5 (Plate 4) Trench 5 was aligned N S and measured 30m in length and 0.45m deep. The stratigraphy consisted of 0.25m of topsoil above 0.15m of grey silty clay subsoil above London Clay. The trench was excavated down to the natural geology. No archaeological deposits were found. Trench 6 Trench 6 was aligned W E and measured 30m in length. The depth varied between 0.4m at the west end to 1.4m deep at the east end. The stratigraphy at the west end consisted of 0.25m of topsoil above 0.10m of grey silty clay subsoil above London Clay. At the east end, 0.20m of made ground (gravel) overlay 0.8m of re-deposited clay that had been laid down to produce a golf bunker; this overlay 0.2 m of buried topsoil, above 0.20m of grey silty clay subsoil, above London Clay. The trench was excavated down to the natural geology. No archaeological deposits were found. Finds No finds were recovered from the site. 3

7 Conclusion The evaluation did not find any archaeological deposits from any period nor any artefacts of archaeological interest. The areas of the proposed new ponds are therefore considered to have no archaeological potential. References BGS, 1977, British Geological Survey, 1:50 000, Sheet 271, Drift Edition, Keyworth MoLAS, 2000, The archaeology of Greater London; an assessment of archaeological evidence for human presence in the area now covered by Greater London, Museum of London Archaeology Service Monogr, London Peachey, A, 2009, Proposed Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, Sidcup Kent, and archaeological desk-based assessment, Archaeological Solutions report 3305, Hertford. PPG16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning, Dept of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance 16, HMSO 4

8 APPENDIX 1: Trench details Trench Length (m) Breadth (m) Depth (m) Comment m topsoil, m brown clayey subsoil, 0.35m+ natural geology, orange clay (London clay). Top of natural geology 57.14m OD. [Plate 1] m topsoil, m brown clayey subsoil, 0.35m+ natural geology orange clay (London clay). Top of natural geology 55.84m OD. [Plate 2] m topsoil, m brown clayey subsoil, 0.35m+ natural geology orange clay (London clay). Top of natural geology OD m topsoil, m brown clayey subsoil, 0.35m+ natural geology orange clay (London clay). Top of natural geology 53.15m OD. [Plate 3] m topsoil, m brown clayey subsoil, 0.40m+ natural geology orange clay (London clay). Top of natural geology 57.44m OD. [Plate 4] West: 0.4 East: 1.4 West: m topsoil, m brown clayey subsoil, 0.35m+ natural geology orange clay (London clay). Top of the natural geology 57.73m OD. East: m gravel (made ground), m re-deposited clay, m old land surface, 1.2m 1.4m buried subsoil, natural geology of Orange Clay (London clay). No features. Top of natural geology OD 5

9 73000 SITE SITE TQ SDP 09 Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley, 2009 Archaeological evaluation Figure 1. Location of site within western Sidcup and London. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Explorer 162 at 1:12500 Ordnance Survey Licence

10 72300 A20 (Sidcup Road) Proposal area TQ SDP 09 Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley, 2009 Archaeological Evaluation Figure 2. Location of site off Sidcup Road. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital mapping under licence. Crown copyright reserved. Scale: 1:1250

11 72200 Driving range Kemmel Road 1 junior academy course location Imperial Way proposed balancing pond locations Slades Drive 5 6 proposed fishing lake N TQ Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley, 2009 Figure 3. Location of trenches. SDP m

12 Trench maOD Pale orange-grey silty clay (topsoil) Pale grey silty clay (subsoil) Natural geology (orange clay) base of trench Trench maOD Artifical turf Gravel bedding Redeposited bright orange-grey clay (made ground) Buried topsoil Subsoil Natural geology (orange clay) base of trench Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley, 2009 SDP 09 Figure 4. Representative sections. 0 1m

13 OASIS FORM - Print view OASIS DATA COLLECTION FORM: England List of Projects Search Projects New project Change your details HER coverage Change country Log out Printable version OASIS ID: thamesva Project details Project name Short description of the project Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley No archaeological finds or features were identified. Project dates Start: End: Previous/future work Any associated project reference codes Any associated project reference codes Any associated project reference codes Type of project Site status Current Land use Monument type Significant Finds Methods & techniques Yes / No SDP09 - Museum accession ID SDP09 - Sitecode SLB09/111 - Contracting Unit No. Field evaluation None Community Service 2 - Leisure and recreational buildings NONE None NONE None 'Sample Trenches' 1 of 3 01/12/09 14:37

14 OASIS FORM - Print view Development type Prompt Position in the planning process Golf course Direction from Local Planning Authority - PPG16 After full determination (eg. As a condition) Project location Country Site location Study area Site coordinates England GREATER LONDON BROMLEY CHISLEHURST Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, Bromley 6.20 Hectares TQ N E Point Height OD / Depth Min: 53.15m Max: 57.44m Project creators Name of Organisation Project brief originator Project design originator Project director/manager Project supervisor Type of sponsor/funding body Name of sponsor/funding body Thames Valley Archaeological Services English Heritage/Department of Environment Steve Ford Steve Ford James Lewis Developer Woodland Environmental Project archives Physical Archive Exists? Digital Archive Exists? Paper Archive recipient Paper Contents No No SDP09 'Stratigraphic','Survey' 2 of 3 01/12/09 14:37

15 OASIS FORM - Print view Paper Media available Paper Archive notes 'Section','Survey ','Correspondence','Drawing','Manuscript','Microfilm','Miscellaneous Material','Photograph','Plan','Report' temporarily with TVAS in Reading pending deposition Project bibliography 1 Publication type Title Author(s)/Editor(s) Other bibliographic details Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley; an archaeological evaluation Lewis, J 09/111 Date 2009 Issuer or publisher Place of issue or publication Description Thames Valley Archaeological Services Reading A4 comb-bound client report Entered by Steve Preston (tvas@tvas.co.uk) Entered on 1 December 2009 OASIS: Please English Heritage for OASIS help and advice ADS Created by Jo Gilham and Jen Mitcham, Last modified Friday 3 February 2006 Cite only: /d1/export/home/web/oasis/form/print.cfm for this page 3 of 3 01/12/09 14:37

16 Plate 1. Trench 1, looking south east, scales: 1m and 2m. Plate 2. Trench 2, looking south east, scales: 1m and 2m. Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley, 2009 Archaeological evaluation Plates 1 and 2. SDP 09

17 Plate 3. Trench 4, looking east, scales: 1m and 2m. Plate 4. Trench 5, looking north, scales: 1m and 2m. Sidcup World of Golf, Sidcup Road, London Borough of Bromley, 2009 Archaeological evaluation Plates 3 and 4. SDP 09

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

19 Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, De Beauvoir Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5NR Tel: Fax: Web: