Wescott Infants School, School Road,
Wokingham, Berkshire, 2006
An Archaeological Watching Brief
For Wokingham District Council
by Steve Ford
Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd
Site Code: WSW06/68
September 2006
Summary
Site name: Wescott Infants School, School Road, Wokingham, Berkshire
Grid reference: SU 8161 6857
Site activity: Watching Brief
Date and duration of project: 22nd-31st July 2006
Project manager: Steve Ford
Site supervisor: Steve Ford
Site code: WSW06/68
Summary of results: No deposits of archaeological interest were revealed.
Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Reading Museum in due course.
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 Preston? 28.09.06
Wescott Infants School, School Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, 2006
An Archaeological Watching Brief
by Steve Ford
Report 06/68
Introduction
This report documents the results of an archaeological watching brief carried out at Wescott Infants School, School Road, Wokingham, Berkshire (SU 8161 6857) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr David Cole of Wokingham District Council, PO Box 151, Shute End, Wokingham, RG40 1WN.
A planning consent (F/2005/5724) has been granted by Wokingham District Council to construct a new classroom extension to the School. This consent was subject to a condition relating to archaeology which required a watching brief to be carried out during groundworks.
This is in accordance with the Department of the Environment's Planning Policy Guidance, Archaeology and Planning (PPG16 1990), and the District's policies on archaeology. The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Mr David Thomason, Archaeology Officer with Berkshire Archaeology, advisers to the District on matters relating to archaeology. The fieldwork was undertaken by Steve Ford between 22nd and 31st July 2006 and the site code is WSW06/68.
The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Reading Museum in due course.
Location, topography and geology
The site is located on the south side of Wokingham town centre in an area of 19th-century suburbs. It lies to the south-west of School Road and north-west of Goodchild Road (Fig. 2). The new extension is on the west side of the existing school buildings. The underlying geology is mapped as either Plateau Gravel or London Clay (BGS 1946) though it was London Clay which was revealed by the groundworks. The site lies at a height of c.65m above Ordnance Datum and slopes gently down to the south-east.
Archaeological background
The archaeological potential of the site is derived from its location on the fringe of the historic medieval and early post-medieval core of the town. Wokingham is thought to have Saxon origins (the place name is of Saxon derivation) but as yet no deposits of this period have been located. It is considered that the origins of the settlement, if pre-medieval, will be located in the vicinity of the parish church, which is some 200m to the north. The town is thought to have been laid out as a planned new town in the late 12th or 13th century created by the Bishops of Salisbury (Astill 1978, fig. 29).
Objectives and methodology
The purpose of the watching brief was to excavate and record any archaeological deposits affected by the new construction work. This was to involve examination of all areas of topsoil stripping, landscaping, ground reduction and the digging of trenches for foundations and services for structures as necessary.
Results
Prior to the excavation for the foundation trenches, the site area was stripped of overburden and levelled. Much of the site area was therefore exposed to the top of the natural geology (in this case, the archaeologically relevant horizon) but no deposits of archaeological interest were observed. Several modern (19th/20th century) areas of disturbance including pits and tree holes were noted. The levelling operation involved some truncation of the natural geology at the extreme western end of the site (Fig. 3).
The footings observed were dug using a small 360�-type machine and measured 0.75m wide and were 1.5m deep. At the margins of the stripped area the stratigraphy consisted of Tarmac and made ground to a depth of 0.35m above the natural clay (Fig. 4). Further areas of modern disturbance (drains and other small cut features) were noted but no deposits of archaeological interest observed.
No artefacts earlier than the late 19th or 20th centuries were noted (not retained).
Conclusion
Apart from areas of modern disturbance, presumably associated with the original construction of the school, no deposits nor finds of archaeological interest were revealed during the watching brief..
References
BGS, 1946, British Geological Survey, 1:63,360, Sheet 268, Drift Edition, Keyworth
Astill, G G, 1978, Historic towns in Berkshire; an archaeological appraisal, Berkshire Archaeol Comm Publ 2 Reading
PPG16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning. DoE Planning Policy Guidance note 16. (HMSO)
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Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47-49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR
Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email tvas@tvas.co.uk; website : www.tvas.co.uk
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