HERITAGE NETWORK
'FAIRVIEW'
Carmen Street, Gt.Chesterford
HN450 S T
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Archaeological Monitoring Report I T A
A S I N
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Registered with the Institute of Field Archaeologists as an Archaeological Organisation
Archaeological Director: David Hillelson, BA MIFA
FAIRVIEW, CARMEN STREET Gt. Chesterford, Essex.
HN450
Archaeological Monitoring Report
Prepared on behalf of Mr. & Mrs. Bower
by
Karin Semmelmann, MA PIFA
Report no. 232
April 2004
� The Heritage Network Ltd
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Fairview, Carmen St. Gt. Chesterford Archaeological Observation Report
Contents
Summary ................................................................................................................................ Page i
Section 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... Page 1
Section 2 Fieldwork .............................................................................................................................. Page 2
Section 3 Discussion and conclusions .................................................................................................... Page 4
Section 4 Schedule of Site Visits ........................................................................................................... Page 5
Section 5 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... Page 5
Section 6 Illustrations ............................................................................................................. following Page 5
Acknowledgements
The fieldwork for this project was carried out by Karin Semmelmann and David Kaye. The text and illustrations for the report were prepared by Karin Semmelmann. The report was edited by David Hillelson.
The Heritage Network would like to express its thanks to Mr. Andrew Bower, client; **, architects; and Richard Havis, Heritage Conservation Branch, Essex County Council for their co-operation and assistance in the execution of this project.
Summary
Site name and address: Fairview, Carmen St. Gt. Chesterford, Essex
County: Essex District: Uttlesford
Village/town: Gt. Chesterford Parish: Gt. Chesterford
Planning reference: UTT/1536/03 NGR: TL 5055 4308
Client name and address: Mr. & Mrs. Bower, as above
Nature of work: Extension Present land use: Garden
Site Code: GC41 Other reference: HN450
Organisation: Heritage Network Site Director: David Hillelson
Type of work: Monitoring Archive location: Saffron Walden Museum
Start of work 19/01/2004 Finish of work 24/02/2004
Related SMR Nos: n/a Periods represented: Post-med & Modern
Previous summaries/reports: n/a
Synopsis: In response to a planning application for an extension at Fairview, Carmen Street, Gt. Chesterford, Essex, the Heritage Network was commissioned by Mr. & Mrs. Bower to monitor and record the groundworks.
Despite the proximity of the present study area to the Roman walled town to its west and Roman burials to the east, no archaeological features or artefacts of the Roman period were encountered on the site.
Post-medieval artefacts and possible pits of indeterminate date were revealed during the groundworks, as were two worked cattle tibia ends. These were similar to the bone waste from the cutlery industry found in abundance at Weaverhead Lane, Thaxted, and may be indicative of bone industry in the vicinity of the present site.
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Fairview, Carmen St. Gt. Chesterford Archaeological Observation Report
1. Introduction
1.1This report has been prepared on behalf of Mr. & Mrs. Bower as part of a programme of monitoring and recording the groundworks for an extension to the rear of Fairview, Carmen St. Gt. Chesterford, Essex (Fig.1). The planning permission for the development
(ref. TP/2000/1164), granted by the Uttlesford District Council (UDC), was subject to a standard archaeological condition, in accordance with the provisions of the Department of the Environment's Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 (PPG16). The scope of the required work was defined in an Archaeological Brief prepared by the Heritage Management, Advice and Promotion Group (HAMP) of Essex County Council (ref. RH 14/11/03), acting as advisers to the local planning authority, Uttlesford District Council (UDC) (planning ref. UTT/1536/03).
The property (centred on NGR TL 5055 4308) is located just to the east of the Scheduled Ancient Monument which defines the Roman town at Great Chesterford (SAM 24871), and at the northern limits of the medieval town (Fig.1). The development proposes the construction of two new extensions to the south-west and north-west elevations of the existing house, and a replacement garage. A total area of 70 square metres is likely to be affected by the works, which is currently occupied by existing structures, a patio and lawn. 1.2
The aim of the present project has been to identify and record any archaeological features and deposits which were uncovered; and to retrieve artefactual and ecofactual elements to allow the date, character, and significance of the site to be assessed in accordance with current regional research agenda (Brown and Glazebrook, 2000), and subject to the limitations of reasonable safety and practicality. 1.3
The present report is intended to set the site in its archaeological and historical context, and complete the requirements of the planning condition. 1.4
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Fairview, Carmen St. Gt. Chesterford Archaeological Observation Report
2. Fieldwork
METHODOLOGY
The timetable for the fieldwork followed the client�s groundwork schedule. A number of site visits were made to supervise the ground reduction and excavation of the footings and drainage trenches. 2.1
The machining was undertaken using a tracked mini-digger variously fitted with a 450mm toothless bucket, a 350mm toothed bucket and a 600mm toothed bucket. 2.2
Spoil from the various stages of the groundworks was inspected for archaeological artefacts. 2.3
The project has been carried out in accordance with the requirements of the LPA Model Design Brief and the Heritage Network�s approved Project Design. 2.4
MONITORING AND RECORDING
Topography and geology
The site sloped steeply from west to east, with some terracing to the garden. The stratigraphy was variable across the site as was the natural drift geology, with chalk, gravely/flinty clay, chalky clay and clay all being encountered. 2.5
Initial site preparation
2.6The patio slabs were removed and the ground was reduced prior to the first site visit. Although the ground was reduced by approximately 0.65m at the western end of the extension area and 0.18m deep adjacent to the existing building, the reduction did not extend below the level of the topsoil.
Footings trenches
2.7 The footings trenches were excavated using a tracked mini-digger fitted with a 450mm toothless bucket (Fig.2).
The footings trenches for the new kitchen, Trenches A-C were excavated to a depth of between 1.0 and 1.20m. The stratigraphy consisted of approximately 0.10m of topsoil over 0.70m of strong brown (7.5YR5/8) sandy, silty clay with clay and chalk patches. This lay over the gravely/flinty clay natural. 2.8
No features or artefacts were revealed, but some fragments of worked animal bone were retrieved from Trench C. Further fragments of unworked animal bone from Trench A were not collected. 2.9
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Fairview, Carmen St. Gt. Chesterford Archaeological Observation Report
2.10 The worked bone consisted of the proximal and distal ends of a bovine tibia with tool
marks from a hand-saw. The pieces are indicative of bone that has been cut to utilise the shaft for craft purposes.
2.11 The footings trenches for the new living room and hall, Trenches D-G revealed the
changing nature of the geology of the site. Trenches D and E, which lay to the west of the existing building were similar in nature to Trenches A-C. Trench F, which lay to the north of the existing building, was geologically diverse. The natural geology at western end of the trench consisted of gravely clay and different coloured clays, intermixed at times with chalk. Pockets of sand were also present, both here and towards the eastern end where the natural geology was chalk.
2.12 A number of possible pits were revealed in Trench F, most of which were filled with a
dark reddish brown sandy clay (Fig.3). One, however had a mid-brown sandy-silty clay fill and another contained mixed material over a dark, charcoal-rich fill. No artefacts of ecofacts were found in these features.
Ground reduction
2.13 Once the footings had been concreted, the ground was then further reduced by between
0.20 and 0.50m. Three animal bones were found between the two extensions, including two mandibles, but no archaeological features were revealed to the west of the house.
2.14 The garage area was reduced by approximately 0.30m, revealing a modern dump of
pottery, glass, saucepans and metalwork. This was approximately 1.50m long and 0.50m deep and extended from the northern property boundary to within a few centimetres of Trench F.
Drainage Trenches and soakaway
2.15 The drainage trenches were excavated using a mini-digger fitted with a 350mm toothed
bucket (Fig.2).
2.16 Drainage Trench A was between approximately 1.03 and 1.33m deep. A modern soil pipe
was revealed approximately 2.50m from the eastern trench edge at a depth of approximately 1.0m.
2.17 The minimum depth of Drainage Trench B was 1.30m. A pit measuring approximately
1.70m in width and 0.70m in depth was revealed 0.23m below the ground surface, 1.30m from the eastern trench edge. This, too, was a modern feature, containing jars, bottles and other modern debris.
2.18 The soakaway measured approximately 2.50m in length, 1.40m in width and 1.60m in
depth. Accurate measurements could not be taken on the final site visit as only the southern end of the soakaway was accessible.
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Fairview, Carmen St. Gt. Chesterford Archaeological Observation Report
3. Discussion and conclusion
The archaeological features that were revealed during the present investigation fell into two categories; the modern dumps containing household debris and the possible pits that were devoid of artefacts. The modern dumps raise the questions as to why, with civic waste collection, they were deposited in the garden? The pits are of interest in that they contained the same fill as that which was found in the quarry at the primary school. 3.1
Also of interest are worked bones from Trench C. The pieces are indicative of bone that has been cut to utilise the shaft, and are similar to examples from Weaverhead Lane, Thaxted, which was renowned for the cutlery industry in the medieval period (Turner et al 2003). Although it would be presumptuous to surmise that these finds could also be indicative of the production of bone handles, the possibility should not be entirely discounted. The generous length of the proximal end may suggest that there was little need to economise, as supply may have been plentiful. If this were indeed the case, the presence of only two worked bones suggests that the current site lay outside the production area. 3.2
The present evidence suggests that the land to the rear of Fairview may have been raised, possibly as part of a landscaping scheme, in modern times. Apart from the presence of some possible pits to the north of the existing building, which may have been due to small scale quarrying, there is no evidence to suggest that there was any activity on the site before the later post-medieval period. 3.3
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Fairview, Carmen St. Gt. Chesterford Archaeological Observation Report
4. Schedule of site visits
Date Staff Hours Comments
19/01/04 KS 2 Preliminary site visit
21/01/04 KS 8 Monitor footings trenches
22/01/04 KS 8 Monitor footings trenches
23/01/04 KS 7 Monitor footings trenches
27/01/04 KS 6 Monitor ground reduction
29/01/04 KS 3 Monitor ground reduction for garage
02/02/04 KS 7 Monitor ground reduction for garage
05/02/04 KS 6 Monitor garage footings
09/02/04 DK 2 Inspect Trench G
20/02/04 KS 8 Monitor drainage trenches & soakaway
24/02/04 KS 1 Inspected drainage trenches & soakaway
5. Bibliography
Hillelson, DJH. 2004. Fairview, Carmen Street, Gt. Chesterford, Essex: Project Design
6. Illustrations
Figure 1 ............................................................................... Site Location
Figure 2 ................................................................................... Site layout
Figure 3 ....................................................................................... Sections
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THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD 'Fairview', Carmen St., Gt.Chesterford HN450
GREAT CHESTERFORD
Saffron Walden
Colchester
Bishops Stortford
ESSEX
Harlow
Chelmsford
TL 505 TL 506
TL 431
TL 430
Site Location Scale 1:1250
THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD 'Fairview', Carmen St., Gt.Chesterford HN450
TL 50546 43044
TL 50556 43035
h
h
h h
c
Soakaway
c c
c
Drainage Tr . A Drainage n
h
Pit Tr.
n n B
Pipe
c n
Trench I e
n
e e
e
e Former garage
r
Trench B Trench E
r r r
T
T
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T T
T Modern
debris
Existing building
Trench G
TL 50569 43044
Site boundary
Drainage trench Site North
0 3m
Footings trench
Scale 1:100
Site layout
HN450 sand 1m
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3) (10YR (10YR clay Scale Figure
5Y silt sandy
(2 . silt brown clayey yellow fill rich brown
brown clayey Yellowish Brownish clay
Topsoil Olive Chalky Charcoal Reddish
Gt
.Chesterford E Trench W E
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Carmen Stack
'Fairview', Chimney
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Trench Chalk F Trench F
of Trench
section of section of Sections
facing S section
LTD facing facing
East
NETWORK North South
G
HERITAGE Trench
THE E W