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WILTSHIRE 
HERITAGE 
STUDIES 


The Wiltshire Archaeological 


and Natural History Magazine 


Volume 93 2000 


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The Wiltshire Archaeological 
and Natural History Magazine 
Volume 93 

2000 


NORMAN DAVEY. This volume is dedicated to one of our Vice-Presidents, Dr Norman Davey, who celebrated 
his hundredth birthday 1n January this year, and who has had a long and distinguished career as a civil engineer 
and amateur archaeologist. Born and educated in London, he served in the Royal Flying Corps towards the end 
of World War I and later became an associate fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. For many years he worked 
at the Buildings Research Establishment, and designed the model dam on which the bouncing bomb was tested 
by Barnes Wallis. On his retirement, while continuing to work for the BRE, he devised new methods of restoring 
fallen Roman wall and ceiling plaster, using expanded aluminium mesh; he has also written several books on 
Roman wall plaster and the history of building materials. For many years associated with the St Albans and 
Hertfordshire Archaeological Society, of which he 1s Vice-President, he worked with Tessa and Mortimer Wheeler 
on the Verulamium excavations in the early 1930s, making detailed drawings of the tessellated floors. 


Published by 

Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society 
41 Long Street, 

Devizes, Wilts. SN10 1NS 


~ Telephone 01380 727369 


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Registered Charity Commission No. 309534 V.A.T. No. 140 2791 91 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 
VOLUME 93 (2000) 


ISSN 0262 6608 


© Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society and authors 2000 


Hon. Editors: Joshua Pollard, BA, PhD, and John Chandler BA, PhD. 

Hon. Local History Editor: James Thomas, BA, PhD, FRHistS. 

Hon. Natural History Editor: Michael Darby, PhD, FSA, AMA, FRES, FRGS 
Hon. Reviews Editor: Michael Marshman, ALA. 

Editorial Assistant: Lorna Haycock, BA, Dip.ELH, Cert Ed. 


We acknowledge with thanks publication grants for this volume from the following bodies: Salisbury District 
Council, for the paper, ‘Excavations at Ivy Street and Brown Street, Salisbury, 1994’, by Mick Rawlings; the 
Trustees of St John’s Hospital, Wilton, the Trustees of the Matrons’ College, Salisbury, and Dr. A. J. Hall, for 
the paper, ‘Excavations in Wilton, 1995-6: St. John’s Hospital and South Street’, by Phil Andrews et al.; 
‘Transco, for the paper, ‘Excavations along the Littleton Drew to Chippenham Gas Pipeline’, by Clifford 
Bateman; Wiltshire County Council, for the note, ‘Excavations of Bronze Age and Romano-British sites along 
the Chippenham Western Bypass A4 to A350 Link’, by Clifford Bateman and Dawn Enright; and Lovell 
Partnerships (Southern) Ltd, for the note, ‘Excavations at Vale’s Lane, Devizes, 1996-7, by Phil Andrews and 
Lorraine Mepham. 

The journals issued to volume 69 as parts of The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 
(Part A Natural History; Part B Archaeology and Local History) were from volumes 70 to 75 published under 
separate titles as The Wiltshire Natural History Magazine and The Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine. With 
volume 76 the magazine reverted to its combined form and title. 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or 
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, 
without the prior permission of the Society and authors. 


Typeset in Plantin by John Chandler 

and produced for the Society by 

Avonset, 11 Kelso Place, Upper Bristol Road, Bath BA1 3AU 
Printed in Great Britain 


=~, 


-2 MAR 205i 


| GENERAL LIBRARY | 


SSE EN 


Contents _GENEF 


[THE NATURAL 
| HISTORY MUSEUM 
i 


i 
f 


The Beckhampton Avenue and a ‘new’ Neolithic enclosure near Avebury: an interim report on the 
1999 excavations, by Mark Gillings, Joshua Pollard and David Wheatley 


‘A Very Pretty Seat’: Erlestoke Park, 1780-1999, by Isabel Ide 


Excavations at Ivy Street and Brown Street, Salisbury, 1994, by Mick Rawlings, with 
contributions by Michael J. Allen, John Chandler, P. Hinton, S. Hamilton-Dyer, Emma Loader, 
Lorraine Mepham and Sarah F. Wyles 


The Great Bustard in Wiltshire: Flight into Extinction? by James Thomas 


Beaker Pits at Crescent Copse, near Shrewton, Wiltshire, and the Effects of Arboreal Fungi on 
Archaeological Remains, by Michael Heaton and Rosamund M J Cleal, with contributions by 
Peter Higgins, Peter Bellamy, Sheila Hamilton-Dyer and John Wilson 


A ‘Perillous, Covetous Man’: the career of Thomas Tropenell Esq. (c. 1405-88), a Wiltshire lawyer, 
Parliamentary burgess and builder of Great Chalfield, by J. T? Driver 


Excavations along the Littleton Drew to Chippenham Gas Pipeline, by Clifford Bateman, with 
contributions by Fiona Roe, Jane Timby and Tracey Stickler 


Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Wiltshire, by Oliver H Creighton 


Looking for Dr Ingen Housz: The evidence for the site and nature of the burial, in Calne, of the 
famous Dutch physician and scientist of the eighteenth century, by Norman and Elaine Beale 


Neolithic activity and occupation outside Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure, Wiltshire: survey 
and excavation 1992-93, by Alasdair Whittle, Jessica J. Davies, Ian Dennis, Andrew S. Fairbairn 
and Michael A. Hamilton, with a contribution by Joshua Pollard 


Excavations in Wilton, 1995-6: St John’s Hospital and South Street, by Phil Andrews, Lorraine 
Mepham and Rachael Seager Smith, with contributions by Michael J. Allen, Sheila Hamilton-Dyer 
and Pat Hinton; illustrations by S. E. James 


Names on the Path to Remembrance: the building of Marlborough College Memorial Hall, by 
Brian Edwards 


- Investigation of a Roman villa site at Euridge Manor Farm, Colerne, by Larry Luckett, with 
contributions by D F Mackreth, T S N Moorhead, Judith Roseaman and Bryn Walters 


Notes 
Excavations of Bronze Age and Romano-British sites along the Chippenham Western Bypass A4 to A350 link, 
by Clifford Bateman and Dawn Enright, with contributions by Jane Timby and Graeme Walker 


63 


71 


82 


90 


105 


131 


181 


A miniature flat axe or chisel from Broad Town, North Wiltshire, by Bob Clarke 


A gold finger ring from the Rudge Romano-British villa site, Froxfield, by Bernard Phillips and Martin 
Henig 


Excavations at Vale’s Lane, Devizes, 1996-7, by Phil Andrews and Lorraine Mepham 
A monkey’s head knife finial from near Trowbridge, by Paul Robinson 
Yet more about Cumberwell, by Kenneth Rogers 
Excavation and Fieldwork in Wiltshire 1998 
Reviews 
S. E. Kelly (editor). Anglo-Saxon Charters V; Charters of Shaftesbury Abbey, by R. Harvey 
Peter Tolhurst. Wessex, a Literary Pilgrimage, by Michael Marshman 
Mere Papers, Numbers 1 -9, edited by M. F. Tighe, by Steven Hobbs 
Hazel Gifford. The Biography of a Country Church; Berwick St. John., by Michael Marshman 
Gwyneth F. Jackson (compiler). A tale of two manors; Zeals, a Wiltshire village, by Steven Hobbs 
Books also noted 
Obituaries 
Desmond Hawkins 
Eve Machin 


Michael Lansdown 


Index, by Philip Aslett 


The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural 
History Society 


The Society was founded in 1853. Its activities include the 
promotion of the study of archaeology (including industrial 
archaeology), history, natural history and architecture within 
the county; the issue of a Magazine, and other publications, 
and the maintenance of a Museum, Library, and Art Gallery. 
There is a programme of lectures and excursions to places 
of archaeological, historical and scientific interest. 

The Society’s Museum contains important collections 
relating to the history of man in Wiltshire from earliest times 
to the present day, as well as the geology and natural history 
of the county. It is particularly well known for its prehistoric 
collections. The Library houses a comprehensive collection 
of books, articles, pictures, prints, drawings and photographs 
relating to Wiltshire. The Society welcomes the gift of local 
objects, printed material, paintings and photographs to add 
to the collections. 

The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History 
Magazine is the annual journal of the Society and 1s issued 
free to its members. For information about the availability 
of back numbers and other publications of the Society, 
enquiry should be made to the Secretary. 

Publication by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural 
History Society does not imply that the Society endorses 
the views expressed; the factual content and the opinions 
presented herein remain the responsibility of the authors. 


Notes for Contributors 


Contributions for the Magazine should be on subjects 
related to the archaeology, history or natural history of 
Wiltshire. Whilst there is no fixed length, papers should 
ideally be under 7,000 words, though longer papers will be 
considered if of sufficient importance. Shorter, note length, 
contributions are also welcome. All contributions should be 
typed/ word processed, with text on one side of a page only, 
with good margins and double spacing. Language should 
be clear and comprehensible. Contributions of article length 
should be accompanied by a summary of about 100 words. 
Please submit two copies of the text (with computer disk if 
possible) and clear photocopies of any illustrations to the 
editors at the Museum, 41 Long Street, Devizes, Wiltshire, 
SN10 1NS.A further copy should be retained by the author. 
The editors will be pleased to advise and discuss with 
intending contributors at any stage during the preparation 
of their work. When submitting text on disk, Word or Rich 
Text Format files are preferred. 

Referencing: The Harvard System of referencing 
(author, date and page, in parentheses within the text) is 


preferred: e.g. ‘... one sheep and one dog lay close together 
(Clay 1925, 69)’. References in footnotes should be avoided 
if at all possible. Only give references which are directly 
applicable, repeating as little as possible. All references cited 
in the paper should be listed in the bibliography using the 
following style (with the journal name spelled in full, and 
the place and publisher of books/ monographs given): 

For a paper: 

ROSS, A.J., and JARZEMBOWSKI, E.A., 1996. ‘A 
Provisional Checklist of Fossil Insects from the Purbeck 
Group of Wiltshire’, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural 
History Magazine 89, 106-115 

For a book or monograph: 

SMITH, LF., 1965, Windmill Hill and Avebury: Excavations 
by Alexander Keiller, 1925-39. Oxford: Clarendon Press 

For a paper in a book or monograph: 
FITZPATRICK, A., 1984, “The deposition of La Tene 
metalwork in watery contexts in Southern England’, in B. 
Cunliffe and D. Miles (eds), Aspects of the Iron Age in 
Central Southern Britain, 178-90. Oxford: University 
Committee for Archaeology 

Endnotes can be used for specific information that 
cannot otherwise be comfortably incorporated in the main 
body of the text. 

Illustrations need to be clear and easily reproducible, 
the format following that of the Magazine. If possible, all 
original artwork should not exceed A3 before reduction. 
Drawings should be produced on drafting film or high 
quality white paper using black ink. Detail and lettering 
should not be so small that it will become lost in reduction. 
Mechanical lettering (dry transfer or computer generated) 
is preferred over hand lettering. Photographs should be 
supplied as good quality black and white prints, and 
transparencies and colour prints avoided wherever possible. 
Original illustrations and photographs should only be sent 
once a contribution has been accepted. 

Offprints: Ten offprints of each article will be given 
free (to be shared between joint authors). Offprints are not 
given for notes and reviews. 


Editorial Note 


Readers will be aware of certain typographical changes to 
this volume of the Magazine, which have been introduced 
in an attempt to improve its design. It is hoped that 
these changes, which principally affect the hierarchy of 
headings and the layout of text at the beginning of articles, 
will make the Magazine easier to use and more attractive. 
The page size, print area, typeface and point size of the 
main text remain unchanged, as do the Magazine’s title 
and scope. 


WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY 
COUNCIL AND OFFICERS (October 1999) 


VICE-PRESIDENTS 
R.G. Hurn 
N. Davey, OBE, PhD, DSc, FSA 
N.J.M. Anderson 
EK. Annable, BA, MA, FSA 
H.F. Seymour, BA 


Chairman 


FOUNDATION TRUSTEES 
R.G. Hurn 
H.F. Seymour, BA 
Dr T.-K. Maurice, OBE 
J.-F. Phillips, BSc. 


Col. D. Part, OBE (Military), TD, DL (London) (1997) 


D.N. Shelton, BA, BSc., Dip.Ed., FRGS (1993) 
Lt. Col. C. Chamberlain (1994) 


M. Darby, PhD, FSA, AMA, FRES, FRGS (1995) 


B. Coupe, LDS, RCS, MSc. (Dent.) (1996) 
D. Lovibond, BA (1996) 

M.J. C. Smith, BA, FICE (1996) 

C. A. Shell, MA, MMet, PhD (1997) 

R. Sneyd (1997) 


M. Corney, BA (Hons) 

D.N. Shelton, BA, BSc, Dip.Ed., FRGS 
C.J. Perraton, MA, CBiol, MIBiol. 

D.J. Williams, MA 

A.G. Lansdown 


Mrs L. Bennett, Mrs P. Rugg, Mrs M.S. Groom 
i. Price 

T-R. O’Sullivan 

Mrs M.F. Lloyd 

Mrs J. Brunt 

Ms A. Cutforth, BA, Dip.AGMS 

P.R. Saunders, BA, FSA, FMA, FRSA 


Chief Executive 

Curator 

Deputy Curator 

Assistant Curator (Natural Sciences) 
Sandell Librarian 

Education Officer 


Deputy Chairman 
P. Taverner, MA 


Elected Members 
Mrs G. 


Swanton, BA, Dip.Ad.Ed. (1997) 


D.J. Williams, MA (1997) 


D. Field (1998) 


T. Schadla-Hall (1998) 

Maj. Gen. G. M. G. Swindells CB (1998) 

E. Stanford ARBS (1998) 

Mrs P. Sneyd, PhD, BSc., CBiol, MIBiol (1999) 


Ex-officio Members 


Nominated Members 


Chairman, Archaeology Committee 

Chairman, Buildings and Monuments Committee 
Chairman, Natural History Committee 
Chairman, Programme Committee 

Hon. Treasurer 


Members, Wiltshire County Council 
Member, Devizes Town Council 

Member, Kennet District Council 
Member, North Wiltshire District Council 
Member, Swindon Borough Council 


County Museums Officer, Wiltshire County Council 


Officers 


Director, Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum 


G. Chancellor, BSc, PhD, AMA, MIMgt 
P.H. Robinson, PhD, FSA, AMA 

Mrs A.J. Rawlings, MA, AMA 

A.S. Tucker, BSc., AMA 

Mrs L. Haycock, BA, Dip ELH, Cert.Ed. 
Ms J. Harvest, Cert.Ed. 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol: 93 (2000), pp. 1-8 


The Beckhampton Avenue and a ‘new’ Neolithic 
enclosure near Avebury: an interim report on the 


1999 excavations 


by Mark Gillings', Joshua Pollard? and David Wheatley’ 


Excavations to the west of Avebury have led to the discovery of the remains of a second megalithic avenue leading 
from the henge monument, and an unusual earthwork enclosure of probable middle Neolithic date. The existence 
of the second avenue (the so-called Beckhampton Avenue) had been mooted by the 18th-century antiquarian 
William Stukeley, though doubts about its existence had subsequently developed. Excavation revealed both 
buried stones and post-medieval stone destruction pits along its course, together with original stone sockets. 
Oval, and up to 140m in diameter, the enclosure pre-dates the avenue. Consisting of a shallow, semi-segmented 
ditch broken by a wide entrance, it shares morphological similarities with the first phase of Stonehenge. The 
work, undertaken during the late summer of 1999, is part of a collaborative project between researchers at the 
University of Leicester, the University of Wales College, Newport, and the University of Southampton. 


BACKGROUND TO THE 
PROJECT 


The preliminary results described here are from an 
ongoing project within the Avebury World Heritage 
Site, designed to develop a detailed understanding 
of the dynamic of monument construction in the 
later Neolithic of the region, and of changing 
configurations of landscape perception and 
encounter. In part, it builds upon the recent work 
of Alasdair Whittle, John Evans and others, in 
investigating the Neolithic sequence, environment 
and context of the region (cf. Whittle 1993; Evans 
et al. 1993). 

The work so far has included topographic survey 
and stone recording at Avebury, the first stages in 
the production of a series of Virtual Reality 
simulations of the monument complex (cf. Pollard 
and Gillings 1998). Developing from this, the 1999 
field season involved excavation 1.3km to the west 
of Avebury in Longstones Field, Beckhampton (SU 
089693). The excavations were intended to explore 


two features; a cropmark enclosure, visible on aerial 
photographs taken by the RCHME in 1997 
(RCHME 1998), and a section along the course of 
a putative second megalithic avenue (the 
‘Beckhampton’ Avenue) leading from the Avebury 
henge monument. In both aims, the fieldwork 
proved highly successful. 


Previous research 


Longstones Field derives its name from two 
substantial megaliths, colloquially known as ‘Adam’ 
and ‘Eve’. Set c. 27m apart and at right angles to 
each other, both are massive blocks of local sarsen, 
standing c. 4m high and comparable in bulk to some 
of the larger stones within Avebury (Smith 1965). 
Located c. 100m to the east-south-east of the 
Longstones are the extensively plough-damaged 
remains of the South Street long barrow (Ashbee et 
al. 1979), a second long mound (the ‘Longstones’ 
barrow (Barker 1984, 23)) being situated 200m to 
the south-west. 


1 School of Archaeological Studies, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH; 2 Dept. of Humanities & Science, UWCN, Caerleon 
Campus, PO Box 179, Newport NP18 3YG; 3 Dept. of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ 


The first systematic recording of the 
Beckhampton complex was undertaken by the 
antiquarian William Stukeley, who considered the 
extant Longstones to be part of a putative cove and 
stone avenue (the ‘Beckhampton Avenue’) leading 
from the western entrance of the Avebury henge 
(Stukeley 1743). Little work was undertaken on the 
complex until 1913, when the fall of one of the stones 
(‘Adam’) led to its re-erection and a limited 
excavation by Maud Cunnington (Cunnington 
1914). Although no conclusive evidence of date was 
forthcoming, a Beaker inhumation burial uncovered 
at the foot of the stone was evidently secondary to 
its erection. An extensive excavation of the adjacent 
South Street long barrow was undertaken by John 
Evans in 1966-67 (Ashbee et al. 1979). In addition 
to revealing the form of the barrow (constructed in 
the mid-4th millennium BC), this work provided a 
lengthy environmental sequence, and evidence for 
pre-barrow and Beaker episodes of cultivation. A 
programme of extensive surface collection within the 
Avebury environs, undertaken by Holgate and 
Thomas in 1983 (Holgate 1987), included the 
Longstones field, and demonstrated the presence 
there of very low lithic densities. 

Geophysical survey of the field was undertaken 
by Andrew David of the Ancient Monuments 
Laboratory during 1989, in an attempt to 
demonstrate the existence or otherwise of Stukeley’s 
Beckhampton Avenue (Ucko et al. 1991, 195-9). 
Whilst the results of this survey were somewhat 
inconclusive, it did hint at the existence of 
archaeological features (many perhaps pits or 
buried stones) around and to the east of the 
Longstones. Additionally, one of these anomalies 
appeared to describe part of an oval ditched or 
palisaded enclosure adjacent to the standing stones, 
a finding that was confirmed by aerial photographs 
taken by the RCHME in 1997 (RCHME 1998). 
The newly discovered enclosure forms a flattened 
oval, 140 x 100m, with a wide entrance to the east, 
and encloses the eastern-most of the Longstones 
within its circuit. Aligned north-east - south-west, 
its north-western edge appears to run along the 
present field boundary and that on the south-east 
along the line of the Beckhampton Avenue. Its 
course marked by a thin (<2m wide) regular line 
of more luxuriant crop, the form of the cropmark 
bore a strong resemblance to those observed 
marking the late Neolithic palisade enclosures at 
nearby West Kennet (Whittle 1997). 


2 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


RESULTS OF THE 1999 
FIELDWORK 


Geophysical survey 


Prior to the commencement of the excavation, the 
Ancient Monuments Laboratory of English Heritage 
undertook a detailed geophysical survey of part of the 
area to be investigated. Resistivity and magnetometer 
survey were employed on a 60 x 60m area, centred c. 
100m to the north-east of the Longstones, over the 
location of three weak anomalies detected during 
geophysical work in 1989 (Ucko et al. 1991, pl. 63). 
The resistivity survey was successful in locating a 
regular pattern of four anomalies (positive and negative) 
that subsequently proved to indicate the position of 
buried and destroyed stones (David et al. 1999). 


Excavation 
The Enclosure 


The cropmark enclosure was examined by means of 
five trenches (nos. 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15) placed at 
intervals around its circuit (Figure 1). In trench 14 
the northern terminal of the enclosure entrance was 
exposed and excavated, confirming that the original 
eastern entrance is of the order of 60m wide. In all 
the sections the ditch was shallow, steep-sided and 
flat bottomed, up to 2.10m wide and 0.80m deep. 
Despite the regularity in profile, it was markedly 
uneven in plan. This was seen particularly well in the 
5m long section excavated in trench 11, where the 
ditch sides bowed at various points, and the base 
became correspondingly deeper. A semi-segmented 
form to the ditch can also be discerned in the re- 
worked data from the 1989 geophysical survey. The 
impression is of the ditch having been dug as a series 
of separate segments, subsequently joined by 
removing intervening causeways of un-dug chalk. 

A uniform sequence of ditch filling was encountered 
in each trench. A primary fill of chalk rubble was sealed 
by a secondary fill of silty clay and chalk fragments. In 
places, this was overlain by a thin lens of clean brown 
loam, corresponding to a turf- or soil-layer that had 
developed after initial stabilisation of the fills. The ditch 
was finally levelled in a single episode by a backfill 
deposit of compact mixed chalk rubble and silty loam, 
probably comprising material from an associated up- 
cast bank. The weathered nature of the outer edge of 


BECKHAMPTON AVENUE AND A ‘NEW’ NEOLITHIC ENCLOSURE NEAR AVEBURY 


Longstones Field 


a 


Silbury Hill 
-. Sanctuary 
“tag 


So West Kennet enclosures 


NS 2 15 
N\ 


8 
Tr. V4 


aN 
Ridge and furrow 


8 
y 


Longstones 


Figure 1. Longstones Field, Beckhampton: Plan of the excavations 


4 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


the ditch, and the occasional presence of lenses of 
slump material sitting atop the turf-line on the inner 
face, suggest that the up-cast bank was internal. 

Finds from the ditch fill were remarkably few. A 
small amount of animal bone came from the soil at the 
base of the tertiary fill, as did a substantial fragment of 
a single Grooved Ware vessel (from trench 12). Most 
likely placed deposits, in each instance these may have 
been sitting in shallow re-cuts. A number of fresh pieces 
of worked flint were also present, especially in trench 
11. The only finds from the primary fills comprised a 
small spread of bone from the ditch terminal, and a 
sherd of pottery from trench 11, provisionally identified 
by Ros Cleal as earlier Neolithic. 

Although only limited areas of the interior were 
exposed in the trenches, no features were observed, 
nor were pieces of worked flint recognised in the 
ploughsoil over this area. 


The Beckhampton Avenue 


‘The avenue was investigated by means of a single open 
area (trench 10), centred over the four possible stone 


pits located on the 1999 geophysical survey, and 
subsequently extended to the south-west in order to 
investigate two further anomalies faintly visible on the 
1989 survey (Figure 1). A number of features were 
revealed, prominent amongst which were remnants 
of medieval ridge-and-furrow cultivation running 
north-south across the area. Of greater significance 
were six discrete features belonging to the Avenue, 
arranged in two parallel lines running south-west to 
north-east, and directly aligned on the remaining 
Longstones. Consisting of medieval stone burials and 
post-medieval stone destruction pits, the longitudinal 
intervals between each ranged between 22—30m, and 
the transverse intervals 14-17m. Of the six pits, three 
contained buried sarsen stones (F.22, 25 and 26), one 
had evidently contained a stone which had been 
subsequently removed (F.23), and in the remaining 
two were layers of stone destruction debris (F.21 and 
24). The original stone sockets were found 
immediately adjacent to each of the buried stones, 
and another in the base of destruction pit F.24. More 
intensive searching (precluded due to time 
constraints) may well have located those for the two 
remaining stone settings. 


Figure 2. Longstones Field, Beckhampton: Stone burial pit F.26. Note the original stone socket to the left of the pit 


BECKHAMPTON AVENUE AND A ‘NEW’ NEOLITHIC ENCLOSURE NEAR AVEBURY 5 


Figure 3. Longstones Field, Beckhampton: Stone destruction pit F.21 partially excavated, showing the spread of sarsen flakes 
and charcoal 


The alignment of the Avenue is such that it runs 
through the eastern entrance of the enclosure, though 
off-set to the south-east in such a manner that a 
substantial gap (c. 20m) is left between the stones 
and the northern ditch terminal. Correspondingly, 
on the south-east side the stones appear to line up 
with the southern ditch terminal; and it may be that 
at this point the Avenue was reduced to a single line 
of standing stones. 


Stone burials 

Whilst the soil fills of F.21, 23 and 24 made them 
immediately visible following stripping, establishing the 
position and extent of the burial pits F.22, 25 and 26 
involved very careful investigation. The tops of buried 
stones just projected from the chalk rubble backfill of 
F.22 and 25, but the extent of F.26 only became apparent 
after a rain storm (which served to distinguish clearly 
the much cleaner rubble fill from the surrounding 
weathered natural). All the burial pits were regularly 
cut, their shape and size closely matching that of the 
stones. The deepest burial pit was that of F.26 (1.42m 
in depth), and here the side adjacent to where the stone 
had stood was ‘battered back’, presumably to avoid 
destabilising it whilst the burial pit was dug (Figure 2). 


Following the toppling of the stones, the pits were rapidly 
filled with chalk rubble, often highly compacted in the 
top of the fills. The only finds from the pit fills consisted 
of small sarsen blocks (perhaps disturbed packing 
stones), a quantity of worked flint, and a chopped large- 
mammal rib from F.26. 

The stones, like those of Avebury and the West 
Kennet Avenue, were unmodified blocks of sarsen. 
Their shape and size varied, ranging from 2.34 — 
3.00m across. That in F.26 was particularly unusual. 
Its upper face was bisected by a series of large cracks 
and folds in the rock, and there were numerous natural 
depressions and perforations (Figure 2). On the 
southern end three large perforations ran through the 
full thickness of the stone, one being filled with soil 
containing a curious assemblage of worked flint and 
a split large-mammal longbone. On the exposed 
upper surface of the sarsen in F.25 were a number of 
features of anthropogenic origin, including a sub- 
rectangular wedge-hole on its northern end, and a 
set of three stone axe polishing marks on the southern. 
The low position of the polishing marks in relation to 
the presumed original base of the stone (its southern 
end) demonstrates its utilisation for axe working took 
place prior to its erection. 


6 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Stone destruction pits 

Two of the pits, F.21 and 24, clearly relate to post- 
medieval stone destruction events. In contrast to the 
burial pits, these were shallow and irregular features; 
oval, up to 5.40m across and 0.35m deep, with very 
uneven bases. The basal fills comprised extensive 
spreads of flaked and burnt sarsen within a matrix of 
burnt straw and charcoal (Figure 3). These 
destruction deposits were sealed by layers of 
ploughsoil containing small sherds of medieval and 
early post-medieval pottery. Dating for the 
destruction is perhaps provided by fragments of later 
17th century clay pipe from the burning deposits. 


Stone sockets 

Four original stone sockets were discovered (adjacent 
to F.22, 24, 25 and 26); the destruction event 
represented by F.21 perhaps removing the socket in 
that instance, and the incomplete excavation of F.23 
precluding more detailed search and investigation 
here. These were irregular in shape, roughly oval or 
sub-rectangular, and up to 0.50m deep. The primary 
fills comprised some compact chalk packing, 
incorporating sarsen blocks in two instances. Sets of 
post-holes were discovered in the bases of three 
sockets, related either to the setting-up of the stones, 
or forming pre-stone settings. All were filled with 
loose chalk rubble, and none showed evidence of post- 
pipes, indicating deliberate withdrawal of the posts 
rather than in situ decay. 


DISCUSSION 


The results of the 1999 excavations proved more 
successful than anticipated. A ‘new’ Neolithic 
enclosure has been added to the growing corpus of 
prehistoric monuments in the region, and the 
antiquarian observations of William Stukeley have 
been vindicated through the ‘re-discovery’ of the 
Beckhampton Avenue. 

The enclosure lies not far from the southern slope 
of Windmill Hill and is overlooked by its more famous 
neighbour. It is tempting to infer some relationship, 
though both enclosures are of rather different 
character, in terms of form and the known range of 
associated activities. Unlike the ditches of Windmill 
Hill, with their evidence of repeated depositions of 
animal bone, pottery, flint and other materials (Whittle 
et al. 1999), little appears to have entered the ditch of 
the Beckhampton enclosure, at least during its 
primary phase. It might even be regarded as 


anomalously ‘clean’. The same might be said for the 
interior — note the seeming absence of worked flint in 
the ploughsoil — though this remains to be properly 
tested. On these grounds there is certainly no reason 
to assume occupation. The monument might even 
have been deliberately avoided or ‘abandoned’ once 
constructed. Perhaps its location adjacent to two 
earlier long mounds is a clue, the enclosure serving a 
special purpose for mortuary rituals or other special 
practices separated from the routines of living. A range 
of interpretive possibilities presents themselves. 

Until radiocarbon determinations are available, 
the date of the enclosure can only be inferred from 
limited artefactual remains, its morphology and 
relationship to the Avenue. The position of a 
substantial fragment of a Grooved Ware vessel from 
not far above the primary fills (even if in a shallow re- 
cut) would imply construction in the 3rd rather than 
4th millennium cal BC. Morphologically though, the 
enclosure shares many features with earlier enclosures, 
such as the suggestion of an internal bank, and the 
semi-segmented nature of the ditch. Though not of 
the same geometric regularity, it is in this respect 
similar to the first phase of Stonehenge (Cleal et al. 
1995). Other parallels might be provided by 
continuously-ditched earlier Neolithic enclosures in 
Sussex, such as Bury Hill, Houghton (Bedwin 1981). 
A search for more than general analogies may, 
however, prove futile. Within its local context the 
enclosure is unique. It also presents unusual features, 
such as the exceptionally wide entrance through which 
the Beckhampton Avenue later ran. The sequence of 
fills, with a clear episode of backfilling and levelling 
whilst the secondary silts were forming, implies a short 
life for the monument, measurable maybe in tens 
rather than hundreds of years. It remains to be 
determined whether such planned ‘destruction’ relates 
to the construction of the Avenue and Longstones 
‘Cove’, or whether the use-life of the monument was 
prescribed from the outset. 

Whilst the form of the enclosure finds little ready 
analogy within the immediate region, the stone 
settings have a direct parallel in those of the West 
Kennet Avenue leading from the southern entrance 
of the Avebury monument. The longitudinal and 
transverse intervals between the stone settings in each 
monument are identical, as is the range of stone size 
(Smith 1965, 206). Details of the sockets, and perhaps 
by extension the processes of erection, can also be 
matched. The post-holes cut into the bases of the 
stone sockets fit very closely Smith’s description of 
so-called ‘anti-friction stakes’ encountered by Keiller 
during the course of excavations along the West 


BECKHAMPTON AVENUE AND A ‘NEW’ NEOLITHIC ENCLOSURE NEAR AVEBURY ‘fl 


Kennet Avenue (Smith 1965, 219). There is, 
therefore, a temptation to regard both Avenues as part 
of a unitary episode of construction, perhaps also tied 
in with the stone settings inside the Avebury henge. 
Another possibility is for more protracted, perhaps 
episodic, construction. Changes in alignment along 
the West Kennet Avenue could indicate that this was 
built in a piecemeal manner, its final course not being 
determined from the beginning, but developing 
through repeated addition and re-working (Burl 1993, 
45-7). Dating of the stone settings both at West 
Kennet and Beckhampton remains to be resolved (no 
dateable material came from the stone sockets during 
the recent excavations). Only a broad span, most likely 
somewhere in the 3rd millennium cal BC, can be 
offered (Pitts and Whittle 1992). 

Though the precise chronology of the Avenue’s 
construction still remains to be determined, we can 
be more confident about the dates of its destruction. 
The method of stone burial is identical to that 
observed at Avebury, with stones being toppled into 
carefully cut burial pits matching the size and shape 
of the sarsens with precision, and ‘the whole levelled 
so that no trace remained of the operation’ (Smith 
1965, 177). Jope considers that stone buriai in 
Avebury occurred over a short period during the early 
14th century, the motive being provided by 
ecclesiastical disapproval of superstitious practices 
associated with the stones (Jope 1999, 67). Perhaps 
it is significant that the deepest of the burial pits at 
Beckhampton (F.26) contained the most unusual and 
‘featured’ sarsen — the stone most likely to attract 
folkloric practices? 

The second episode of destruction was that 
recounted by Stukeley (1743). Driven by economic 
expediency, and undertaken by local farmers such as 
Griffin and Richard Fowler, this involved breaking 
up the stones through controlled fire-setting and the 
use of sledge hammers. Dating is provided by 
fragments of late 17th century clay pipe. Although 
large quantities of sarsen chips remained in the backfill 
of destruction pits F.21 and 24, in each instance this 
must represent but a small fraction of the original 
stone. Most of the debris comprised flakes produced 
through the trimming and shaping of larger blocks, 
these having been taken away for use as building stone. 

Having established that the Beckhampton Avenue 
exists, that Stukeley’s observations on its course from 
the western of Avebury to Longstones Field are most 
likely accurate, and that it met the same fate in the 
hands of medieval zealots and post-medieval farmers 
as befell Avebury and the West Kennet Avenue, many 
questions still present themselves. Does the Avenue 


terminate at the Longstones, or continue further to 
the south-west as envisaged by Stukeley? If so, could 
there be another Sanctuary-style structure at its 
termination? What is the precise chronological 
relationship between the Avenue and the enclosure? 
Following Stukeley, is the most westerly of the 
Longstones (Adam) the sole remnant of a ‘cove’, and 
are the scale and position of this feature related to its 
location at the point where the Avenue runs over the 
line of the enclosure? Could the Avenue be of more 
than one phase of construction? To an extent, several 
of these questions can be answered by further 
excavation and careful geophysical prospection, which 
are planned for the future. 

Perhaps the most striking result of the fieldwork is 
that it emphasises once again the sheer scale and 
magnitude of monumental construction during the 
later Neolithic of the region. The new enclosure and 
Beckhampton Avenue can be added to a list which 
already includes Avebury itself, the West Kennet 
Avenue, the Sanctuary, Silbury Hill, the West Kennet 
palisaded enclosures, and perhaps several as yet 
uninvestigated small stone circles in the region. All 
these monuments may have come into being over a 
time-span of just a few hundred years, though the exact 
‘periodicity’ or rhythm of monument construction 
needs to be established. Whittle considers that the 
motivation and necessary mobilisation of effort for such 
constructions could have come as much through the 
force of shared religious belief — participation in what 
seemed respectful and proper — than coercion (Whittle 
1997, 165-6). Indeed, the construction of the Avenues 
might be read as a statement of unity, drawing disparate 
fragments of an earlier landscape into a symbolic whole. 
Thus, the Beckhampton enclosure, or at least explicit 
memory of it, was physically drawn into the Avebury 
complex through the construction of the Avenue. 
Given the remarkable cleanliness of the enclosure and 
its location alongside the South Street and 
Beckhampton (Longstones) long barrows, this may 
have been a monument closely associated with dealings 
with the dead and ancestors (whatever form they took: 
Whittle 1998). As one interpretation, by the 3rd 
millennium BC this particular place was set apart from 
the routines of daily practice, already embodying 
associations of deep-time and mythical beginnings 
(note the evidence for early occupation and other 
activities under South Street: Ashbee et al. 1979). 
Though we would not subscribe to the structural 
rigidity of their scheme, Parker Pearson and 
Ramilisonina’s (1998) interpretation of the West 
Kennet Avenue as a pathway for ‘the ancestors’ might 
equally apply to that at Beckhampton. 


8 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Acknowledgements 

First and foremost, we would like to acknowledge the 
friendly co-operation and support given by the owner 
of Longstones Field, Robin Butler. Necessarily, a 
project such as this is the work of many hands, and 
for practical support, input and advice we would 
particularly like to thank Ros Cleal (Alexander Keiller 
Museum), Andrew David (Ancient Monuments 
Laboratory), Dave Field (English Heritage), Rosina 
Mount (for vital camp-site support), and by no means 
least Gill and Robin Swanton (North Farm). Glyn 
Goodrick provided invaluable assistance with the 
excavation supervision. The enthusiastic workforce 
was composed of students from Leicester, Newport 
and Southampton, along with local and more distant 
volunteers. The many visitors to the site offered 
constructive advice and comment. Alasdair Whittle 
and Julian Thomas are thanked for their support of 
the project. The work was generously funded by the 
AHRB, the Society of Antiquaries of London, the 
Prehistoric Society, and the Universities of Leicester, 
Newport and Southampton. 


References 


ASHBEE, P., SMITH, I.F. and EVANS, J.G., 1979, “The 
excavation of three long barrows near Avebury, 
Wiltshire’, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 45, 
207-300 

BARKER, C.T., 1984, ‘The Long Mounds of the Avebury 
Region’, WAM 79, 7-38 

BEDWIN, O., 1981, ‘Excavations at the Neolithic Enclosure 
on Bury Hill, Houghton, W. Sussex 1979’, Proceedings 
of the Prehistoric Society 47, 69-86 

BURL, A., 1993, From Carnac to Callanish: the prehistoric 
stone rows and avenues of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. 
New Haven: Yale University Press 

CLEAL, R.M.J., WALKER, K.E. and MONTAGUE, R., 
1995, Stonehenge in its Landscape: Twentieth-century 
Excavations. London: English Heritage 

CUNNINGTON, M.E., 1914, ‘The Re-erection of Two 


Fallen Stones and Discovery of an Interment with 
Drinking Cup, at Avebury’, WAM 38, 1-11 

DAVID, A., MARTIN, L. and PAYNE, A., 1999, 
Beckhampton, nr. Avebury, Wilts. Draft Report on 
Geophysical Survey, May 1999. Unpublished report, 
Ancient Monuments Laboratory, English Heritage 

EVANS, J.G., LIMBREY, S., MATE, I. and MOUNT, R., 
1993, ‘An environmental history of the upper Kennet 
valley, Wiltshire, for the last 10,000 years’, Proceedings 
of the Prehistoric Society 59, 139-195 

HOLGATE, R., 1987, ‘Neolithic settlement patterns at 
Avebury, Wiltshire’, Antiquity 61, 259-63 

JOPE, E.M., 1999, “The Saxon and Medieval Pottery from 
Alexander Keiller’s Excavations at Avebury’, WAM 92, 
60-91 

PARKER PEARSON, M. and RAMILISONINA, 1998, 
‘Stonehenge for the ancestors: the stones pass on the 
message’, Antiquity 72, 308-3206. 

POLLARD, J. and GILLINGS, M., 1998, ‘Romancing the 
Stones: towards a virtual and elemental Avebury’, 
Archaeological Dialogues 5:2, 143-164 

RCHME 1998, An Enclosure at Beckhampton, Wilts: Aerial 
Photographic Transcription and Analysis. Unpublished 
report 

SMITH, I.F., 1965, Windmill Hill and Avebury: Excavations 
by Alexander Keiller 1925-1939. Oxford: Clarendon 
Press 

STUKELEY, W., 1743, Abury: a Temple of the British 
Druids. London 

UCKO, P.J., HUNTER, M., CLARK, A.J., and DAVID, 
A., 1991, Avebury Reconsidered: From the 1660s to 
the 1990s. London: Unwin Hyman 

WHITTLE, A., 1993, ‘The Neolithic of the Avebury area: 
sequence, environment, settlement and monuments’, 
Oxford Journal of Archaeology 12, 29-53 

WHITTLE, A., 1997, Sacred Mound, Holy Rings: Silbury 
Hill and the West Kennet palisade enclosures: a Later 
Neolithic complex in north Wiltshire. Oxford: Oxbow 
Books. 

WHITTLE, A., 1998, ‘People and the diverse past: two 
comments on ‘Stonehenge for the ancestors”, Antiquity 
72, 852-4 

WHITTLE, A., POLLARD, J. and GRIGSON, C., 1999, 
The Harmony of Symbols: the Windmill Hill 
causewayed enclosure, Wiltshire. Oxford: Oxbow Books 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 9-19 


‘A Very Pretty Seat’: Erlestoke Park, 1780—1999 


by Isabel Ide 


This paper offers a short history of Erlestoke Park, its owners and tenants, including the builder Joshua Smith, 
M.P,, the next occupier, George Watson Taylor, M.P., a long-term tenant, John Cam Hobhouse, M.P., later Lord 
Broughton de Gyftord, the return of the Watson Taylors, and the final dispersal of the estate after the First World 
War, and the fire of 1950. 


ris os sated wis 2) Zot Beate Bact aee 


Ee 


Fig. 1. Erlestoke Park from the east: engraving published by John Britton in 1825 


‘A very pretty seat,’ William Cobbett remarked when 
riding past Erlestoke Park in 1826, noting the black 
swans on the lakes and the clematis-covered cottages 
in the village.! The present-day traveller is more likely 
to observe the ornamental black and gold gates and 
the notice board bearing the legend ‘Her Majesty’s 
Prison Erlestoke Park’. Upon the site there had been 
an Elizabethan manor house on the sheltered 
meadowland of which no trace remains. Peter Delmé 


Rhotteridge Farm, Lower Woodrow, Forest, Melksham, Wilts SN12 7RB 


sold this earlier house to John Smith, a merchant of 
Lambeth, in 1780° and he had it demolished 
immediately in order to make way for a new house. 
Shortly after completing the transaction John Smith 
died and it was his eldest son, Joshua Smith (1732-— 
1819), who was responsible for building the new 
mansion. The architect whom he chose to build 
Erlestoke Park was George Steuart (1730-1806), 
about whom not a lot is known. He is said to have 


10 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


started his working life as a housepainter, but his 
transformation to an architect is shrouded in mystery. 
It has been said that his country house architecture is 
characterised by an elegant restraint verging on 
bleakness.’ ‘Stoke Park’, as the house was originally 
named, had the thinly modelled elevations, chaste 
neo-classical motifs, and compact planning that were 
typical of George Steuart’s designs. 

The new house was considered sufficiently large 
for polite society, but not extravagantly grand. On 
entering the house the visitor would have found 
himself in a hall 40 feet wide by 32 feet deep 
surrounded by Grecian columns. On the right hand 
side was the main drawing room and the dining room. 
Through the hall was a large library. On the other 
side of the entrance hall was the breakfast room, the 
stairs and a dressing room. Above the public rooms 
were eleven bedrooms and one water closet. 

In his design Steuart had omitted any external 
doors to the central part of the house. Behind the 
steps and imposing portico of the principal front were 
three tall sash windows, so the only entry was 
through an inconspicuous door in the west wing. In 
contrast inside the house there were plenty of doors; 
the library alone had four real doors and two false 
ones. The main block was three stories high over the 
basement and cellars; the service wings were two 
stories high. 

While the house was being built the surrounding 
countryside was being converted into a handsome 
park by the landscape designer George Eames and 
completed in 1786.*There is a description of the park 
in its full glory in John Britton’s Beauties of Wiltshire 
(1800): 

The sides and summit of the escarpment edge of the plain 
have been thickly planted with wood, which as it advances 
in growth will give the seat an additional beauty. The Park 
abounds with many fine large elm trees and is enriched 
with a sheet of water, after forming seven different 
cascades in its progress it is collected into a lake of 
considerable dimensions. This spot abounds with a choice 
collection of botanical plants. 


Not only did Joshua Smith spend lavishly on the house 
and its environment; he also improved the village of 
Erlestoke, as Britton recounted: 
‘The poor villagers’ humble cottages were formerly devoid 
of comfort, the houses being situated in a narrow valley, 
subject to the inundations of every trifling flood. This has 
been remedied by the proprietor and a comfortable 
habitation has been provided for the peasant and his family 
with a sufficiency of garden ground to supply them with 
vegetables. 
I feel considerable pleasure in relating these instances 
of benevolent condescension to the wants and distresses 


of the poor; but the pleasure would be heightened into 
rapture, if any encomiums of mine could shame the 
penurious or the inconsiderate to similar actions.’ 


Joshua Smith first stood for Parliament at Penryn in 
1784 as a supporter of Pitt’s administration. Having 
failed to get elected, however, he turned his attention 
closer to his new home and in 1788 stood for the 
parliamentary borough of Devizes.° At this time one 
of the town’s two representatives was Henry 
Addington, later Viscount Sidmouth. Remarkably, 
Addington represented Devizes unopposed for 30 
years from 1783, a feat which Smith emulated from 
1788. This can be partly explained by Smith’s 
generosity. The electors of Devizes benefited from gifts 
from Smith of £500 in 1791 and of £1,000 in 1803 
for improvements to the town. He could not be 
described as an over-active Member of Parliament, 
and there is no record of his ever having actually 
spoken in the House. 

In 1766 Joshua Smith had married Sarah Gilbert, 
the daughter of a judge who was a member of the 
Antigua legislative council. Smith can be described 
as an acolyte of Addington, whose policies were pro- 
slavery, anti-emancipation for Catholics, and very 
much against any hint of Parliamentary reform. After 
his 80th year Smith’s health deteriorated; he took leave 
of absence from the House of Commons in 1816 and 
1817, and finally retired in 1818 at the age of 86. By 
this time three of his daughters had married M.P.s, 
respectively Lord Compton, William Chute and 
Charles Smith.’ 

After Smith’s death in 1819 his daughters sold 
Erlestoke Park to George Watson Taylor, a theatrical, 
profligate, larger than life character. The fourth son 
of George Watson of Sauls’ River, Jamaica, George 
Watson (as he then was) was educated in England, at 
Lincoln’s Inn and St Mary’s Hall, Oxford. He 
originally made his name as a playwright. His play 
England Preserved was performed at the Theatre 
Royal, Covent Garden at George III’s request in 
February 1795, being much applauded for its anti- 
French sentiments!* In addition he was an author of 
poetry and political pamphlets. At the age of 24 he 
was appointed private secretary to the lst Marquess 
of Camden when he was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 
during the years from 1795 to 1798, so Watson was a 
witness to the atrocities that took place in Ireland in 
1798.° Subsequently he held office again in Ireland, 
probably as assistant to Lord Castlereagh while he 
was Chief Secretary for Ireland (1798-1801). 

When Castlereagh was moved to the India Board 
in 1802 Watson continued to be his private secretary, 
but later returned to the service of the Marquess of 


“AVERY PRETTY SEAT’: ERLESTOKE PARK, 1780-1999 sal 


DLrgenwec S Subrtabed ty tyeomn  Aarhivivabver 


Fig. 2. Erlestoke Park: first floor (above) and ground floor (below) plans, 1799 (Wiltshire Buildings Record, file B1664) 


12 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Camden and, through Camden’s influence, was 
appointed in 1806 to a deputy tellership and a 
Commissioner of Excise at a combined salary of 
£2,200 per annum.'° 

When he was 38 George Watson started courting 
Anna Susanna Taylor, the daughter of Sir John Taylor 
of Lyssons in Jamaica. ‘Although it was acknowledged 
that he bears a most excellent character and is much 
esteemed by all his friends and relations, his lack of a 
private income stood in the way of his happiness.’ 
Eventually in 1810 the match was allowed to proceed 
on the understanding that a favourable settlement was 
made on her and any children of the marriage.'! 

Anna Taylor was the niece of Simon Taylor (1740- 
1813), a bachelor, the owner of six sugar estates and 
three cattle ranches, who also acted as a plantation 
attorney for absentee proprietors. He was commonly 
supposed to be the richest man in Jamaica, and was 
determined that his nephew and heir, Anna’s brother 
Simon Richard Taylor, would inherit his fortune and 
thereby become the richest commoner in England.'” 
The years between 1790 and 1799 brought 
unprecedented prosperity to plantation owners, as the 
result of the St Dominican slave revolt and the 
Napoleonic War. Sugar prices doubled and more 
prolific types of sugar cane were imported from Tahiti 
and Bourbon. From 1800 profits declined from both 
sugar and coffee, as production costs rose and customs 
duties were increased. 

At the time of Simon Taylor’s death in April 1813 
he owned the estates of Lyssons, Holland, 
Llanrhumney, and Haughton Court. He had 
additional property of £740,000 bringing in an annual 
income of £47,000.'? His heir, Sir Simon Richard 
Brisset Taylor, sadly died only two years after 
inheriting all this wealth, which then passed to his 
sister Anna Susanna Watson. The fortunate couple 
took the additional name of Taylor, and as Lady 
Charlotte Bury commented: ‘What a wonderful 
change of fortune for these two persons, from having 
an income of two to three thousand a year with tastes 
far beyond such limits, to almost boundless and 
unequalled riches! It is said they are full of projects of 
splendour and enjoyment.’!* 

‘The newly enriched couple embarked on the joyful 
process of house-hunting with a deep purse. One of 
the houses under contemplation was Houghton Hall 
in Norfolk, which had been built for Sir Robert 
Walpole in 1730. In 1819, however, the Watson Taylors 
decided to buy Erlestoke Park and the surrounding 
estates from the executors of Joshua Smith for 
£200,000." Since 1816 Watson Taylor had been M.P. 
for Newport on the Isle of Wight. Between 1818 and 


1820 he had represented Seaford in Sussex and then 
from 1820 until 1826 East Looe in Cornwall.'® His 
reasons for entering Parliament included a desire to 
participate in any debates that concerned the West 
Indies, and particularly Jamaica. By 1808 public 
opinion had slowly begun to move against slavery and 
the import of slaves into British colonies had been 
banned. These moves had a deleterious effect on the 
profitability of the sugar plantations, the source of 
Watson Taylors’ income. George Watson Taylor was 
immediately elected to the standing committee of the 
West Indian Planters and Merchants on his arrival in 
the House of Commons. 

When a vacancy occurred at Devizes in 1826 
Watson Taylor put himself forward, but not all the 
electors were in favour of returning a member whose 
income was dependent on slave labour. A local 
newspaper commented that, ‘MrWatson Taylor of Earl 
Stoke has offered himself to the notice of the electors 
of Devizes, lately represented by Mr Estcourt, and 
will most likely to be returned, unless the Quackery 
of negro emancipation should interfere, Mr Taylor 
being the possessor of between two and three 
thousand slaves.’!’ The ‘Quackery’ was insufficient to 
prevent Watson Taylor being returned. 

Although he attempted to respect his wife’s desire 
that her slaves should be treated with considerations of 
pure humanity, benevolence, justice and liberality, and 
indeed boasted in 1824 that he had spent over £140,000 
in attempting to ameliorate the condition of his slaves, 
Watson Taylor was obdurate in his antagonism to 
abolition, and objected, ‘to the way that itinerant 
adventurers had collected signatures for anti-slavery 
petitions by inflaming the passions of the people’.'* Quite 
suddenly, however, the profits to be made from sugar 
plantations fell due to preferential tariffs being abolished, 
and the replacement of West Indian sugar with sugar 
extracted from home-grown sugar cane.'” 

Despite being commoners the Watson Taylors 
consorted with the highest in the land. In addition to 
Erlestoke Park they had a magnificent mansion in 
Cavendish Square, which was ‘superbly illuminated’ 
on the acquittal of the tragi-comic Queen Caroline 
in the celebrated divorce case brought against her by 
her husband George IV prior to his coronation.”° Mr 
and Mrs Watson Taylor were rarae aves in being on 
friendly terms with both the Duke of Clarence and 
the Duchess of Kent and her younger daughter 
Victoria, The duchess strongly disapproved of her 
brothers-in-law, and would allow the young heiress 
to the throne very little contact with them. 

Already by 1823 George Watson Taylor’s 
extravagance had led him into financial trouble, and 


‘AVERY PRETTY SEAT’: ERLESTOKE PARK, 1780-1999 


he was forced to sell some of his finest books and 
paintings. The sales of the books alone covered nine 
days, the total amount raised being over £30,000. 
Despite this setback they continued with their 
generous hospitality, as shown by the following 
account from the Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette of 
16th August 1827: 


FETE CHAMPETRE AT ERLESTOKE PARK 
Mr and Mrs Watson Taylor, with that munificence by 
which they are characterised, on Tuesday last gave one of 
the most splendid fetes ever witnessed in this part of the 
country. 

The invitations were principally confined to Devizes 
and its neighbourhood, but we observed many of the most 
respectable families from different parts of the county. 
The number on the ground we should suppose could not 
be less than seven hundred. The beautiful scenery of 
Erlestoke Park is well calculated to set off to advantage 
such assemblage of fashion and beauty and display, with 
full effect, the accompanying variety of costume. The 
weather in the morning was lowering and inauspicious, 
but toward mid-day it brightened, and continued free from 
rain until eight in the evening. The gates of the park were 
open at two o’clock, and within a short time afterward, 
the company began to arrive. The carriages drew up at 
the front door, and after passing through a spacious 
entrance hall (the butler announcing the names as they 
entered) the company were received in the Library in the 
most polite and affable manner by both Mrs and Mr 
Watson Taylor. They then passed into a beautiful flower- 
garden, and after promenading here for some time, 
proceeded to the extensive pleasure grounds. The excellent 
arrangement of the walks in these grounds (extending 
over 600 acres) and the order and care in which they are 
kept, excite the admiration of all who visit them. In 
different parts were stationed bands of music, playing 
some of the most popular airs, which greatly added to 
the enchanting pleasures of the day. 

About three quarters of a mile from the house, and as 
an ample lawn, gently rising above the water which winds 
its course through the pleasure grounds into the Park, 
was a temporary erection, seventy feet square, and of 
proportionate altitude. This erection was neatly thatched, 
and the pillars supporting it tastefully decorated with 
laurels and evergreens; within, and on the turf four long 
tables, capable of containing 500 persons were laid; and 
from the variety and fanciful arrangements of the viands, 
they had quite a picturesque appearance. At a short 
distance, a room between 60 and 70 ft in length, with an 
excellent flooring, was erected for dancing, supported by 
columns (rendered exceedingly graceful by wreaths of 
flowers and evergreens) forming a beautiful arcade with 
a piazza on either side. In front of these rooms, on the 
lawn, was the principal promenade before dinner, and it 
is impossible to imagine a more gay and imposing scene. 
No one could view, without delight and rapture, the 


13 


groups of lovely women, glowing with animation and 
gracefully and splendidly attired, parading to and fro upon 
the verdant lawn: they vindicated their just claim to the 
character ascribed to them of ‘giving the country its 
charms’, as in less ostentatious situations they merit that 
of ‘imparting to home its delights’. It was indeed a scene 
of enchantment. A few parties perambulated the various 
walks, where the music now and then break in, in full 
choir upon the air, came with added sweetness because 
unseen. 

Soon after four o’clock, the company crowded to the 
dining room, where there was an ample supply of the 
best and most substantial viands, of the choicest wines, 
and of all the delicacies of the season. Soups, fowls, lamb, 
venison, lobsters, tongues, hams, Etc, Etc, (the soups and 
fowls hot). Confectionery in great variety — under the 
direction of Mr Kemp of South Audley Street, whose 
arrangements evinced great taste and judgement; fruits 
rich and abundant; Sparkling Champagne, Burgundy, 
Madeira, Port, Sherry Etc, Etc. 

The room for dancing was, in the meantime, lighted 
with variegated lamps, formed in festoons; and at about 
half past five o’clock quadrille parties were arranged, and 
quadrilles danced with grace and softened animation, to 
the tones of an efficient quadrille band from Bath. Other 
parties separated to a distant part of the lawn, where the 
more rural country dance was kept up with great spirit; 
but the greater part of the company indulged in the 
pleasures of the promenade. 

Throughout the evening, ices, jellies, with a variety of 
other sweet things, and confectionery, lemonades, Roman 
punch, wines, tea, etc, etc were distributed in abundance. 

Variegated lamps forming two large stars and various 
festoons in different parts illuminated the walk leading 
from the dancing room to the gate at the entrance of the 
village of Stoke, at which place the carriages were brought 
up; but it was between nine and ten o’clock before the 
great bulk of the company thought of separating; the hours 
flew with the wings of birds of paradise; the pace of time 
gave no echo to the sense; and never was the sentiment of 
the poet more entirely realised — 


‘Noiseless falls the foot of Time 
Which only treads on flowers’ 


We do not think the day will ever be forgotten by those 
who were present; it will be ranked among the most happy 
of their lives. The extreme affability and kindness of Mr 
& Mrs Watson Taylor, have excited an impression that 
will never be effaced. All were alike happy — all delighted. 

Silk hats, ornamented with flowers or feathers, were 
generally worn by the ladies, & most of the dresses very 
handsome * * * * 

It affords us sincere pleasure to state, that throughout 
this gay and happy day not the slightest accident occurred. 
Mr Watson Taylor, with his accustomed politeness and 
attention, sent into Devizes on the following morning, to 
ascertain the safe returns of his friends. 


14 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Fig. 3. Erlestoke Park, south front: engraving published by John Britton in 1825 


Between 40 and 50 pairs of horses were ordered from 
the Bear Inn alone, on the occasion; and the excellent 
appearance of those horses, together with the good 
arrangement of the carriages, and the personal attention 
of Mr E. Parsons, reflects on him considerable credit. 


Within a couple of months Mr and Mrs Watson Taylor 
were again entertaining the local gentry. This time 
the report in the Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette gave 
greater details of the furnishing of Stoke Park: 


SPLENDID DINNER 
On Friday last a most Splendid Dinner Entertainment 
was given by Mr & Mrs Watson Taylor, at Erle Stoke Park. 
We have taken some pains to collect the particulars, and 
we believe the following to be correct: — The invitations 
included the resident members of our Corporation; the 
Members for the County; the neighbouring Magistrates 
and other gentlemen of distinction. The company 
assembled in the magnificent and well furnished library 
—aroom of large dimensions, and which, in addition to a 
valuable collection of books, is ornamented with many 
paintings and busts of poets and scientific, literary, or 
remarkable persons:— Pope, Dryden, Lord Byron, Sir 
Walter Scott, Sir Joseph Banks, Dr Johnson, Warren 
Hastings, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Baretti, Etc. It is also 
adorned with splendid mirrors, of great size, and which 
are so placed as to reflect and apparently multiply, the 


various objects of Taste, Literature or vertu with which 
the rooms abounds. 

Here the party was met by the amiable Host and 
Hostess, (attended by their fine young family) and received 
with that kind hearted and well bred courtesy, by which 
Mr and Mrs Watson Taylor are so eminently distinguished. 
After a short interval, the dining room (40 feet by 38, we 
believe) was thrown open, and the company were at once 
struck by the magnificent scene before them. A plateau 
of massy silver gilt, (about 30 feet long, it is said) blazing 
with lights, and surrounded by classical and admirably 
executed Tripods or Candelabra, and groups of figures, 
nearly filled the entire centre of a long table — The 
Sideboards also, resplendent with superb plate and 
numerous lamps and branches rendered the coup d’oeil 
as brilliant as it was beautiful. The figures on the Plateau 
bespoke at once the taste and the opulence of the 
proprietor; whether as related to the designs, the intrinsic 
value (we do not vouch for the exact amount, but we 
have heard £18,000) — or the skill of the artists employed 
in its execution, — The chief subject was ‘The Graces 
unrobed by the Loves’, and we are informed that nothing 
could exceed the voluptuous, yet chaste beauties of the 
one, except, perhaps, the light, airy, and playful archness 
and ardent interest of the others. 

The Sideboards were covered, one with gilt, and the 
others with silver plate, uniting beauty and utility. Some 
of the gilt salvers were of great size, and covered with 
admirably executed designs in alto or basso relievo. The 


“AVERY PRETTY SEAT’: ERLESTOKE PARK, 1780-1999 


dinner service for the first course was entirely of highly 
embossed silver, and for the succeeding one and the 
dessert beautifully painted china. The viands consisted 
of everything rare or excellent, which the season or the 
various elements afforded. Turtle — different sorts of Fish 
—Venison and Game — besides the usual combinations of 
the Cuisine Francaise. The wines were of exquisite 
flavours, and seemed, from variety and number, to have 
laid France, the Rhine, Spain, Portugal and Madeira, all 
under liberal contribution. The liqueurs, also Maraschino 
and Curacao, were excellent of their kinds. The dessert 
was not inferior to the other parts of the repast — the 
pines, in particular, were both unusually numerous and 
fine; ices too were in abundance. 

Nothing could exceed the animated and general 
attention of the amiable hostess, who with Mr Watson 
Taylor, left an impression on the numerous guests, which 
will not soon be effaced. Instead of haughty condescension 
which sometimes marks and disgraces similar 
entertainments, where the ranks of the parties invited are 
not and cannot be equal — the humblest person invited 
felt that he had fully participated in the attentions of the 
day; while those of a higher class received every notice to 
which they were justly entitled, either by birth, rank, or 
official station. Of the corporation, or those connected 
with it, including the worthy mayor (the Rev Mr Bayntun) 
there were twenty present; the other guests were, our two 
county members (Mr Bennet and Sir J. D. Astley) T. G. 
B. Estcourt esq. M.P. for the University of Oxford, Sir 
Edw. Poore, Col. Baker M.P., Mr T. H. Phipps and son, 
Mr Warriner, the Rev Mr Edmonstone, and Dr Segrim, 
who with the host and hostess, and their two elder sons, 
formed a company of 34 persons. We cannot here omit 
noticing that the conduct of Mr & Mrs Watson’s two sons, 
was distinguished by good sense, candour, and manners 
greatly beyond their years, and did such honour to those 
who have the superintendence of their education. 

The party broke up at about 10 o’clock, (after 
partaking of coffee) and returned to their respective 
residences, loud in the praises of what they had witnessed 
and grateful for hospitalities, which are not likely soon be 
equalled — still less surpassed.?! 


George Watson Taylor appears briefly on the pages of 
history in the following anecdote. When the Duke of 
Clarence unexpectedly inherited the throne on the 
death of George IV he was uninterested in royal 
etiquette, having spent his life in the Royal Navy or in 
comparative seclusion surrounded by a large family 
of illegitimate children. In July 1830, five days after 
his brother’s funeral, William IV reviewed his Guards 
_ dressed in uncomfortable uniform, so he decided to 
change into civilian clothes and strolled down St James 
Street. Here he met his old friend Mr Watson Taylor 
and arm-in-arm they were swept along by an 
enthusiastic crowd; the jolly monarch was even kissed 
on the cheek by a street walker. Outside White’s Club 


15 


the crowd brought the two friends to a halt, so 
members of the club rushed out and escorted the pair 
to the safety of St James Palace. The King was 
completely unconcerned and thanking his escort he 
remarked, ‘Oh never mind all this, when I have walked 
about a few times they will get used to it, and will 
take no notice!’*? 

The Taylors’ hospitality was crowned on Saturday 
23rd October 1830 when they were honoured by a 
visit from the widowed Duchess of Kent and her 
daughter Princess Victoria, then aged 11.** The royal 
visitors changed horses at the Bear Hotel Devizes, 
where Princess Victoria was shown a drawing by Sir 
Thomas Lawrence which she later purchased. They 
arrived at Erlestoke Park at 5 o’clock where they 
were met by Thomas Moore the poet, and Mr Fisher 
the Duchess’s chaplain. The whole evening was spent 
in singing, the Duchess and her daughter singing 
several duets. The next morning they all went to 
Church. Later there was a large dinner party, the 
guests including Lord and Lady Sidmouth, the 
members for the County, the members for Devizes 
and the Mayor of Devizes. On Monday morning 
there was more singing and, after lunch, the guests 
departed in order to view Stonehenge. This visit from 
the future Queen Victoria was the apogee of the 
Watson Taylors’ social success. Nemesis, however, 
was close at hand. 

George Watson Taylor was totally incapable of 
adapting his life style to his declining income. Shortly 
after the royal visit he was given leave of absence from 
Parliament on account of the disturbed state of his 
neighbourhood, but Taylor ensured his personal 
popularity by increasing wages, reducing rents and 
ending the preservation of game.” 

The Watson Taylors had tried to ignore the 
diminution of their income, but the end of slavery 
and the exhaustion of the soil in Jamaica by 
overcropping had lowered their income by at least 70 
per cent. There had been sales in 1821 and the one 
already mentioned in 1823 that had raised over 
£30,000, but the problems continued over the next 
few years, and finally in 1832 the crash came, bringing 
down George Watson Taylor and many of his 
dependants. 

The local newspaper commented on his sad 
dilemma: 

Notwithstanding that Mr Watson Taylor was surrounded 
by a degree of splendour, which it has been well said, 
might have excited the envy of royalty itself, his mind 
was scarcely for a moment at ease — he appeared to have 
an insatiable thirst for something he did not possess. He 
could not for a moment have thought of the money he 
was expending.” 


16 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


This time everything had to go. The pictures by 
Rubens, Murillo, Corregio, Parmegiano, Guido, 
Hobbima, Poussin and Zoffany were sold. So, too, 
was all the furniture, porcelain and plate, the library 
of over 4,000 books and no fewer than 5,000 rare 
exotic plants.*° 

By autumn 1832 Watson Taylor was residing in 
Holland and he left the House of Commons at the 
dissolution that December. He was never formally 
declared bankrupt but in 1839 he was still in debt to 
the tune of over £60,000. He died in Edinburgh in 
June 1841. His wife outlived him. Fortunately, the 
Erlestoke and Jamaican estates were entailed and she 
remained in control of them until her death in 1853.°’ 

For five years the great house lay empty, until in 
1837 it was let, the new tenant being John Cam 
Hobhouse. A radical politician and reformer, he was 
a prominent supporter of the Parliamentary Reform 
Bill of 1832. Now, however, he is best remembered 
for his great friendship with Lord Byron. Hobhouse 
was born in Bristol in 1786. His father was a politician 
and his mother a dissenter. He was sent at an early 
age to a Unitarian School and then to Westminster 
School.** From there he went to Trinity College, 
Cambridge, where he was a contemporary of Byron. 
Hobhouse and Byron travelled together to Portugal, 
Spain, Albania, Greece and finally Constantinople. 
Subsequently Byron dedicated the fourth canto of 
Childe Harolde to Hobhouse, and Hobbouse was 
Byron’s best man at the poet’s misconceived marriage 
to Anne Milbanke.’? Hobhouse was present in Paris 
when Louis XVIII entered his capital in May 1814, 
and published an account of the Hundred Days which 
was notably anti-Bourbon and sympathetic to 
Napoleon. This led to his first brush with the law when 
the French translation was seized and the printer and 
translator were fined and imprisoned.* In 1819 
Hobbouse made his first attempt to become a 
Member of Parliament, standing for Westminster as 
a Whig. He was defeated by George Lamb, Lord 
Melbourne’s brother, by 4,465 votes to 3,861.?! 

Meanwhile Hobhouse continued to publish 
anonymous political pamphlets. Unfortunately, one 
of these, entitled A Trifling Mistake, was held to be in 
breach of privilege by the House of Commons” and 
on 14th December 1819 he was committed to 
Newgate prison. In the pamphlet Hobhouse had 
asked, ‘What prevents the people from walking down 
to the House and pulling the members by the ears, 
locking their doors, and flinging the key into the 
‘Thames’, to which he answered, ‘their true practical 
protectors are to be found at the Horse Guards and 
the Knightsbridge barracks’. On appeal on 5 February 


1820 the Court of the King’s Bench refused to 
interfere with the Speaker’s warrant and so Hobhouse 
remained in prison until the dissolution of Parliament 
on 29 February. After his release Hobhouse stood 
again and this time he defeated George Lamb by 446 
votes.*? On Byron’s death in 1824 Hobhouse, who 
was one of the poet’s executors, arranged his funeral 
and persuaded Thomas Moore to destroy Byron’s 
memoirs in order to keep private Byron’s liaison with 
his half-sister. ** 

Hobbouse was very conscious of his diminutive 
stature and comparatively humble origins. After some 
abortive efforts at courtship he finally achieved a 
happy marriage with Lady Julia Hay, the youngest 
daughter of the 7th Marquis of lweeddale. Sadly Lady 
Julia was consumptive and the marriage lasted just 
seven years, leaving Hobhouse a widower with three 
small daughters.” Thus he decided that in addition 
to his house in London he would also need a home in 
the country for his three little girls. He had been 
acquainted with Wiltshire through his friendship with 
the Lansdownes at Bowood, and the Methuens at 
Corsham. Indeed, it was probably Lady Methuen who 
suggested that Hobhouse should rent Erlestoke 
Park.*® The little girls were tended by a French 
governess and took an active interest in village life. At 
Christmas time 1840, Sir John, as he had become, 
distributed clothes to nearly one hundred children 
from Erlestoke and the surrounding parishes while 
his daughters, Julia, Charlotte and Sophia, waited on 
the village children serving them with cakes and ale.’ 

As relaxation from his parliamentary duties 
Hobbouse’s_ greatest pleasure was entertaining his 
friends. He moved in the highest circles, including 
among his close friends King Leopold of the Belgians. 
When Prince Albert and Queen Victoria desired to 
raise the cultural standards of their dinner party 
conversation they consulted Sir John as to which 
scientists and authors would educate and amuse the 
royal couple.** Among Hobhouse’s close friends was 
the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, and he was a 
member of the erudite Holland House set. Visitors to 
Erlestoke during these years included Thackeray, 
Thomas Love Peacock and Disraeli with his rich, 
elderly, silly wife. The normally polite Hobhouse was 
quite acidic about Mary Anne Disraeli, noting in his 
diary that, ‘her £3,000 or £4,000 a year are dearly 
purchased’.*’ 

In January 1841 Erlestoke Park caught fire and 
the house would have been destroyed had Hobhouse’s 
nephew not been woken by the smell of burning. 
Fortunately, this time the fire was extinguished before 
much damage had been done.”’ In 1849 his beloved 


“AVERY PRETTY SEAT’: ERLESTOKE PARK, 1780-1999 


CATALOGUE 


OF THE 


MAGNIRIGAND ASSAMBLAGH 
OF PROPERTY 


ExrlestokeNWiansio: 


NEAR DEVIZES, IN WITS, 


ACCUMULATE! 


> WHTHAN THIS 


FAR-FAMED ABODE OF TASTE ASD Vira, 


During the last Twenty Years, at an enormous expense, the whule selected by 


GEORGE WATSON TAYLOR, Eso. ™.r. 


It is only necessary to observe, that within this classic Residence will be found as extensive a Collection 


of objects of superior clegance and taste as that which adorned 1] HE ABBEY OF FONTHILL; 


WHICH WILL BE SOLD BY AUCTION, BY 


ON-PHE PREMISES, 


On MONDAY, the 9th Day of JULY, 1632, 


And Twenty sneceeding Days, at Twelve o'Clock, (Sundays excepted), 


THE SPLENDID 


FURNWEIT 


Throughout the Mansion is adorned and fitted up in the most superb style of eclesance ; 


THE DRAWING ROOM SUITES comprise very beautiful satin and India silk Preneh curtains, costly carved 

and gilt sofas, ottomans, fantenil and route chairs, cheval screens, solid rose-wood sofas and chairs, nd rich 

Axminster carpets. THE PURNITURE OF THE DINING ROOM is no less complete. To the LIBRARY 

is a range of elegant maltugany bovkcases, winged and single ditto, THE BOUDOSR is furnished with rich 
Indian silk hangings, &e. 


THE BED CHAMBERS 


Are fitted up in a very superior manner, The principal Kooms with splendid solid satin wood.oak and mahog+ 

any bedsteads, with rich silk tabaret and cotton hangings, (altogether upwards of forty,) with bedding com. 

plete; winged and single wardrobes of the choicest gatin-wood and imahogany, wilh every other requisite for 
the Sleeping Apartments. 


THE COLLECTION OF VALUABLE AND 


CELEBRATED PICTURES, 


ERMEBLTS MANY CHIEF DQLUVRES BY 


GUIDO PARMEGIANO —ALBANO N. POUSSIN MURILLO = RUDENS 
HOBBIMA POTTER RUYSDALE  CORREGLO GREUZE te. ke, 


Gallery of Portraits of Distinguished Characters, 


By Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Hagarth, Gainsborough, Debson, Zoifuny, 
Sir P, Lely, Philips, Mopuer, é&c. aud 


THE BOURBON & BUONAPARTE FAMILIES 


By Lefevre, Mignaud, Duplessis and Mirevelt. (TURK OVER.) 


Fig. 4. Erlestoke sale catalogue, 1832 (WRO 1335/1) 


18 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


eldest daughter Julia caught cholera whilst on holiday 
in Guernsey; she died a few days later at Erlestoke at 
the age of eighteen. Affairs of State prevented 
Hobbouse mourning in private, but the Cabinet 
showed him much kindness, particularly Prime 
Minister Melbourne."! 

Here is not the place to go into close details of 
Hobhouse’s political career, but he did much to ensure 
the success of the 1832 Parliamentary Reform Bill. 
While Secretary at War he was responsible for 
restricting flogging as a punishment. Also he is 
supposed to have invented the phrase ‘His Majesty’s 
Opposition’.*” He was created Baron Broughton de 
Gyfford in 1859. His later years were consoled by the 
companionship of his remaining daughters, their 
husbands and, in time, his grandchildren. His diaries, 
Recollections of a Long Life, were privately printed 
in 1865.’ By then, however, another change had 
taken place, and by about 1860 the Watson Taylors’ 
financial situation enabled them to return to Erlestoke, 
so Lord Broughton removed himself firstly to 
Corsham Court and from there to Tedworth House." 

Simon Watson Taylor, like his father, was elected 
a member of the standing committee of the Planters 
and Merchants in 1832, when he was only twenty- 
one. Later he stood for Devizes as a Liberal. Despite 
supporting the total abolition of income tax, however, 
he does not appear to have pleased the electors and 
was only in Parliament from 1857 to 1859.° He 
married Lady Charlotte Hay, the daughter of the 8th 
Marquis of Tweeddale, and it was she who was 
responsible for the demolition of the decayed medieval 
church and its resurrection by George Street in 1880 
in the perpendicular style with a porch tower. In the 
interior some of the Norman bases of the pillars were 
reused. The rebuilding cost £6,000 and Lady 
Charlotte dedicated it to the memory of her father. 
There is a local rumour that something in the 
rebuilding displeased her, and that her ghost haunts 
the mansion.*° Simon Watson Taylor lived to be over 
ninety years old, surviving into the twentieth century. 
His obituary notice in this society’s journal reminded 
readers that for nearly fifty years while the self-elected 
Corporation of Devizes returned two members of 
Parliament, one of these had been the owner of 
Erlestoke Park , and that this process only ended with 
the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832.” 

After Simon’s death in 1902, George Watson 
Taylor inherited a property that stretched from 
Brattton to Urchfont, and north to the outskirts of 
Devizes. These estates remained in the ownership of 
the Watson Taylor family until, like so many other 
estates, they were affected by the financial devastation 


of the First World War. As a result, the estate was put 
on the market. It was reported in the Wiltshire Gazette 
of 25 September 1919 that the estate had been bought 
by a timber merchant and that after the timber had 
been felled the estate was to be divided and resold. 
The new owners were Messrs Green & Co, and the 
new tenant was a Mr Potter of Croydon. The Wiltshire 
Gazette understood that he proposed to use it as a 
‘Spiritual Healing Home’. Mr Potter was a Christian 
Spiritualist and Sir Oliver Lodge was a frequent visitor. 
Potter styled himself as the Rev. J. W. Potter, and 
although he was short of financial resources he had 
grandiose ideas. One of these was to turn the Park 
into the Wiltshire equivalent of Kew Gardens, and to 
further this plan he circulated articles in order to try 
and raise the £8,000 necessary for this project. He 
thought that the garden would provide work for the 
unemployed, of which there was a multitude in 
England in 1935, and that Erlestoke would provide 
an ideal centre for either restful or invigorating 
holidays.** When Mr Potter ran Erlestoke as a guest 
house, there was an impression of damp and disorder, 
mauve distemper and a bath sitting disconsolately in 
the middle of a passage in one of the wings of the 
house.’” But the commemoration gardens remained 
an unfulfilled dream for the Rev Mr Potter, who died 
unexpectedly while undertaking a lecture tour in 
America in 1939.” 

On the outbreak of hostilities in that year Erlestoke 
Park was taken over for a Senior Officers Training 
School. As late as 1940, however, it was still possible 
to trace the outlines of the original gardens along the 
paths besides the lakes, the protective iron fences 
having decayed. After the liberation of Europe in 1944 
officers from many of the Allied Countries, including 
China, Jordan, Iran and Holland undertook courses 
at Erlestoke. As a Senior Officers Training School after 
the end of the War, the house remained fundamentally 
unchanged until the end of June 1950. Then a major 
fire, originating perhaps in a faulty chimney flue, 
caused considerable damage to the first floor and 
completely gutted the second. Fire fighting appliances 
were brought from as far as Bulford, and the fire was 
the largest that the Wiltshire brigade tackled in 1950. 
Water was pumped from the big lake near to Erlestoke 
church, and it was used by three major pumps to feed 
the firefighters at the face of the building, where the 
men of five brigades were directing the jets of water 
into the heart of the flames. Shortly after the arrival 
of the first firemen the whole of the roof crashed in. 
Fortunately there were no casualties and by 11.30 
p.m. the fire was under control.’! The Senior Officers 
School continued in the main wings of the house until 


“AVERY PRETTY SEAT’: ERLESTOKE PARK, 1780-1999 


1961 when, with the addition of many new buildings 
in the park, it became a detention centre for young 
offenders. At the same time the War Office insisted 
on demolishing the bridges across the road which 
linked the separate parts of Joshua Smith’s original 
gardens. 

Despite protests from the village the demolition 
went ahead, the excuse being that the War Office was 
unable to afford the upkeep of the bridges. Erlestoke 
was officially opened as a detention centre for young 
offenders in 1962 and since then it has been a penal 
institution, originally for young offenders and, more 
recently, as a category C adult prison.” In 1993 Alison 
Gomme was in charge of the prison and the television 
drama “The Governor’ by Linda La Plante was loosely 
based on Erlestoke prison. Today the old house is 
almost unrecognisable, surrounded as it is by new 
red brick buildings. The prison library is in one of the 
few rooms in the main house to have survived the fire 
of 1950. It is slightly ironic that the remnants of a 
classical mansion erected by aWhig magnate to display 
his wealth and success are now occupied by the 
failures of our present society. 


Acknowledgements 

The author would like to express her gratitude to 
Valerie Cromwell of the History of Parliament Trust 
for permission to reproduce excerpts from the 
unpublished account of George Watson Taylor, and 
for the assistance of Mrs Margaret Parrot and Ms 
Gill Izzard of the Wiltshire Buildings Record, Mrs 
Pamela Colman and Mrs Lorna Haycock of Wiltshire 
Archaeological & Natural History Society’s Library, 
the librarian of Erlestoke Prison and staff of the 
Trowbridge Reference and Local Studies Library. 
Copyright of any material that has been extracted from 
the History of Parliament is herewith acknowledged. 


Notes 


1 W. Cobbett, Rural rides, 1885 ed., p. 410 

2 VCH Wilts., vol. 7, 1953, p. 85 

3 J. Lever and M. Richardson, Great drawings from the 
collection of the RIBA, c. 1983 (RIBA) 

4_N. Pevsner, Wiltshire, 2nd ed., 1975 (The Buildings of 
England), p. 241 

5 J. Britton, The Beauties of Wiltshire, vol. 2, 1801, p. 203 

6 R. G. Thorne (ed.), House of Commons, 1790-1820, 
1986, vol. 5, p. 197 (The History of Parliament) 

7 Ibid. p. 198 

8 The Times, 23rd Feb. 1795 

9 Centre for Kentish Studies U 840 C90/3 


19 


10 Univ. London, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, 
Simon Taylor MSS VI/A/8 

11 Ibid. 

12 M. Nugent, Lady Nugent’s Journal. . ., rev. ed., 1966 
(Institute of Jamaica) 

13 R.B. Sheridan, ‘Simon Taylor, sugar tycoon of Jamaica’, 
Agricultural History, vol. 45, 1971, p. 290 

14 Lady Charlotte Bury (i.e. C.S. M. Campbell), Diary of 
a lady in waiting, 2 vols., 1908, pp. 181-2 

15 VCH Wilts., vol. 7, 1953, p. 84 

16 Uniy. London, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, 
Simon Taylor MSS VIHT/A/3 

17 WANHS Library, cuttings book 2, p. 180 

18 The Times, 11 Feb. 1824 

19 S.J. and E. F. Hurwitz, Jamaica: a historical portrait, 
1971, p. 30 

20 Devizes & Wiltshire Gazette, 16 Nov. 1820 

21 Devizes & Wiltshire Gazette, 16 Aug. 1827; 4 Oct. 
1827 

22 R. Fulford, Royal dukes: the father and uncles of Queen 
Victoria, 1933, p. 139 

23 Devizes & Wiltshire Gazette, 17 June 1897, diamond 
jubilee edition 

24 Ibid. 9 Dec. 1830 

25 Ibid. 21 and 28 June 1832 

26 Ibid.; sale catalogue in WRO 1335/1 

27 Salisbury & Winchester Journal, 1 Oct. 1832; The Times, 
25 Feb. 1839 

28 Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 9, p. 941 

29 T. Moore, Life of Lord Byron, with his letters and 
journals, 1860 

30 Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. 89 (2), 1819, p. 450 

31 Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 9, p. 941 

32 Parliamentary Debates, vol. 12, pp. 995-6, 998-1004, 
1009-26 

33, Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 9, p. 942 

34 §. Smiles, A publisher and his friends: memoirs and 
correspondence of John Murray, 2 vols., 1891 

35 M. Joyce, My friend H: John Cam Hobhouse. . ., 1948, 
p. 271 

36 Ibid. p. 280 

37 Ibid. p. 295 

38 S. Weintraub, Albert: uncrowned king, 1997, p. 108 

39 Joyce, op. cit., p. 317 

40 Ibid. p. 295 

41 Ibid. p. 320 

42. Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 9, p. 943 

43 Ibid. p. 944 

44 Joyce, op. cit., p. 347 

45 M. Stenton (ed.), Who’s Who of British Members of 
Parliament: a biographical dictionary, vol. 1, 1976, p. 373 

46 Devizes & Wiltshire Gazette, 3 Aug. 1961 

47 WAM, vol. 33, p. 69 

48 brochure in Wiltshire Buildings Record 

49 author’s memories 

50 R. Wightman, Rural rides, 1957, p. 133 

51 Devizes & Wiltshire Gazette, 29 June 1950 

52 information from the Home Office 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Xe Laverstock 
pottery kilns 


Trench 2-7 ' : 
eae ' \ \ 


: | 


= 2 
ee 
Trench 1 
aso 


‘'s Arms 
, 


Ld 


Yj ML. & api 
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Fig. 1. Site Location 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 20-62 


Excavations at Ivy Street and Brown Street, 


Salisbury, 1994 

by Mick Rawlings’ 

with contributions by Michael J. Allen', John Chandler’, P. Hinton’, 

S. Hamilton-Dyer*, Emma Loader’, Lorraine Mepham’, and Sarah F. Wyles' 


Archaeological excavation 1n advance of development revealed evidence of occupation relating to the 
original establishment and settlement of the city of New Sarum in the early 13th century AD. Parts of 
several tenements were examined, with the differences in land use in each tenement being clearly 
defined. A medieval building aligned along the street frontage had at least three rooms and an extension 
to the rear that contained a cess pit. The building continued to be occupied 1n the later medieval 
period and examination of the contents of the cess pit of this period revealed much evidence of the 


sources of dietary material. 


INTRODUCTION 


An archaeological excavation was undertaken at the 
junction of Brown Street and Ivy Street, Salisbury 
(centred on SU 146 298; Figure 1), on land which 
was to be redeveloped for residential purposes. The 
excavation was commissioned and funded by 
Salisbury District Council, and was carried out by 
Wessex Archaeology in July and August 1994. It was 
hoped that evidence of the 13th century AD 
establishment and early development of this part of 
the city would be recovered. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL 
AND HISTORICAL 
BACKGROUND 


The city of New Sarum (Salisbury) was laid out on 
a regular grid pattern commencing in or around AD 
1219 (RCHME 1980), resulting in a series of 
rectangular blocks known as ‘chequers’. The 
excavation site lies on each side of the south-east 
corner of Antelope Chequer, named after the 


Antelope Inn which was located in the central part 
of the chequer. The site is bounded by Ivy Street to 
the south and Brown Street to the east. Ivy Street is 
a continuation of New Street and originally bore that 
name. This street was probably one of the first to be 
laid out during the development of the new town, 
and thus it is presumed that the frontages along New 
Street would have been amongst the first to be 
occupied. 


PROJECT BACKGROUND 


The excavation represented the major component 
of a staged programme of archaeological 
investigation undertaken in advance of the 
construction of a new residential development at the 
site. A major aim of this programme was to locate 
and record structural remains and deposits of 
medieval date, especially those relating to the 
establishment and early development of the city. 
Although material of later medieval, post-medieval 
and modern date was also anticipated on the site, it 
was hoped that information on these periods could 
be provided by documentary research and thus 


1. Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury SP4 6EB 2. Salisbury & South Wilts Museum, 65 The Close, Salisbury 
SP12EN 3. Hillview, Higher Totnell, Leigh, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 6HZ 4. 5 Suffolk Avenue, Shirley, Southampton SO15 5EF 


22 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


excavation resources could be concentrated on the 
earlier levels. 

In order to test the archaeological potential of 
the site, a series of small test-pits was excavated in 
areas which were to be car parking spaces or 
courtyards within the redevelopment block. These 
test pits established that deposits of medieval date 
were sealed by at least one metre of later material, 
mostly of 18th century or later date. Prior to the 
current redevelopment, the land had been used as a 
car park, with a tarmac surface laid directly over 
recent demolition deposits. 


EXCAVATION METHODS 


‘Two trenches were opened at the site; each measured 
c. 160m° and was positioned directly within the 
proposed locations of the buildings that comprised 
the new residential development (Figure 1). In both 
cases the tarmac surface and the underlying layers 
of hardcore, demolition debris and modern concrete 
floors were removed using a 360° tracked excavator 
fitted with a toothed bucket. The underlying material 
was then removed in horizontal spits using a toothless 
bucket until medieval deposits or natural gravels were 
reached. All further excavation was by hand. 


RESULTS 


TRENCH 1 (Figure 2) 

This was located adjacent to the Ivy Street frontage. 
During machine excavation no obvious floor surfaces 
were observed, and only one length of wall was 
recorded; this was quickly investigated but was found 
to be of post-medieval date. Following the 
completion of the machine excavation, all of the 
trench sections were cleaned and recorded, and all 
features seen cutting into the basal gravels were 
investigated. The overall depth of excavation varied 
between 1.3 and 1.75m below current ground levels 
and for reasons of health and safety, a 1m wide step 
was created at a depth of 0.9 - 1.0m below the current 
surface level. 

The lower 0.3-0.4m of the trench fill sequence 
comprised dark loamy soils which contained 
pottery of 13th and 14th century date. Along the 
southern section, close to the Ivy Street frontage, 
two slot trenches, each 1m wide, were excavated 
by hand through the lower step. Both of these slot 
trenches found that along this edge of the trench 
the lower 0.3 - 0.4m of the sequence was made up 
of a series of thin spreads of compact deposits. 


These were predominantly clays and gravels, along 
with at least two layers of crushed and puddled 
chalk and occasional lenses of darker, more organic 
material. Although some of these deposits 
produced no artefacts at all, the pottery that was 
recovered was consistently of later 12th - early 14th 
century date. 

A number of the excavated features in Trench 1 
were found to be of medieval date. A large subcircular 
pit (288) was cut into the gravels to a depth of 1.05m 
and was shown to have just penetrated the current 
groundwater level. Bulk soil samples taken from two 
of the lower fills (281, 287) were discovered to be 
waterlogged and detailed analysis has indicated that 
these deposits contain material typical of that found 
in cess pits. Pottery of 13th - early 14th century date 
was found in these lower fills, along with a fragment 
of Purbeck Marble which appears to be from an 
architectural piece. 

A second pit (234) 0.7m deep was cut wholly 
into the upper fills of pit 288. Although this later 
feature was also subcircular in plan, it was lined 
internally with a number of roughly-hewn chalk 
blocks to form a square setting measuring 1.2m? 
which was recorded to a height of two courses or 
0.6m. These blocks were set against a framework of 
horizontal timbers which were well-preserved in situ. 
Again the fills were found to be waterlogged and to 
contain pottery of 13th - early 14th century date, 
but the subsequent environmental analysis of these 
soils indicated that they did not contain materials 
indicating the presence of cess. 

To the north of the two pits described above was 
a group of three shallow, irregular, intercutting pits. 
The earliest and deepest of these (291) was 0.5m 
deep and filled with a silty deposit which contained 
six sherds of pottery of 13th - early 14th century 
date. The upper part of the pit had been truncated 
by a second pit (290) which again contained medieval 
pottery. The latest pit in this group (233), however, 
contained sherds of later medieval and post-medieval 
date as well as some medieval pottery. It is possible 
that these pits were originally for the purpose of 
gravel extraction or some other function rather than 
refuse disposal. 

A further shallow pit (323), this one having 
distinctive squared corners, was located partially 
within the eastern baulk section. Excavation showed 
this to be 0.6m deep and it was clearly cut through 
the loamy medieval soils which formed the basal part 
of the sequence in this part of the trench. The sides 
and base of the pit were concave and the fills (321, 
322) were dark and humic and again appeared to 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


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24 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


contain cess or similar materials. Only one sherd of 
13th — 14th century pottery was recovered, but 
several fragments of roof tile, including two glazed 
pieces, are also thought to be of medieval date. 

In the north-eastern corner of the trench was a 
large rounded pit (192); this was also cut through 
the medieval loamy soils which made up most of the 
lower step in this area. The full size of this feature 
was not ascertained, but examination of the main 
trench section revealed it to be at least 0.7m deep. 
The main fill (194) contained three sherds of 13th — 
14th century pottery along with a large number of 
cattle horncores, probably representing the waste 
products from industrial activity such as tanning. 

Adjacent to the northern baulk of the trench were 
two more pits. These were both rounded in plan, 
although the full outline of the earliest one (284) 
could not be defined as it had been truncated by a 
later feature. Pit 284 was c. 0.75m deep and 
excavation of part of the fill sequence resulted in the 
recovery of sherds of 13th —14th century pottery and 
fragment of roof tile. A single sherd of post-medieval 
pottery was also found but is considered to be 
intrusive. 

The southern edge of pit 284 was cut by a much 
more shallow example; pit 165. This was only 0.2m 
deep; the single fill (166) contained a substantial 
amount of medieval roof tile fragments and two 
sherds of 13th century pottery. 

Several of the features investigated in Trench 1 
were found to be of post-medieval date in addition 
to pit 233 mentioned above. Two of these were 
conjoined and comprised square pits lined with chalk 
blocks, both located adjacent to the northern baulk 
(301, 302). These were preserved to a depth of c. 
1m and the central party wall included two courses 
of brick in addition to six of ashlar chalk blocks. Both 
this wall and the west wall of pit 301 were mortared, 
suggesting that these formed a single unit, possibly 
a successor to pit 302. No dateable artefacts were 
recovered from pit 302, although several roof tiles 
were recorded in the section. Pit 301, however, 
contained pottery of 18th — 19th century date along 
with pieces of glass of a similar date. 

A further pit (157), this one very square or 
rectangular in plan, was located partially within the 
western baulk. It was 0.75m deep and was excavated 
0.4m into the basal gravels. Pottery of late 17th — 
18th century date was found in several of the fills of 
this feature, along with other materials (glass, clay 
pipe, roof tiles) of similar date. The layers at the very 
base of the feature were waterlogged and some pieces 
of wood were preserved in these deposits. Another 


chalk-lined square or rectangular pit (147) was 
located to the south but was not dated, although it 
certainly cut through the medieval soils which 
formed the lower part of the sequence. 

At the southern end of the main eastern baulk 
was a circular chalk-lined well c. 1m in diameter 
(176). Although this was not investigated and thus 
no artefacts recovered from within it, the level from 
which the feature was initially excavated indicates a 
post-medieval date, probably 17th - 18th century. 

Projecting from the Ivy Street frontage at the 
southern end of the trench was a section of wall 
footing recorded for a total length of approximately 
4m (306). This was 0.5m wide and made up of a 
single course of chalk blocks set in a mortar matrix, 
with occasional large flint nodules. Close 
examination of the material below the wall and also 
of the main southern baulk revealed that the wall 
footing was definitely of post-medieval date. 
Although there were associated surfaces on either 
side of the footing, none of these were within 
buildings (until very late in the sequence) and thus 
the footing probably represents a property boundary 
wall. A number of later walls or footings were built 
directly on top of this one, indicating the continuity 
of this boundary. The most recent of these was made 
up of five courses of red brick and was directly below 
the modern tarmac surface of the car park. 


Summary 

No evidence of medieval buildings was found during 
the investigation of Trench 1. Instead, the frontage 
along Ivy Street appears to have been left as open 
ground, with a series of compact dump deposits 
which may represent attempts to raise the ground 
level, possibly in order to avoid the high water table. 
In the backlands a few pits were excavated, at least 
two of which were cess pits, but over much of the 
area soils were able to develop. This area could have 
been a garden or orchard. 

In the post-medieval period a boundary wall was 
established running from the frontage into the 
backlands, but no major buildings were constructed. 
Again a few pits were excavated in the backlands, 
along with a well. Only two sherds of later medieval 
pottery were recovered from this trench, although 
the paucity of material of this date is a common 
phenomenon within the city and does not necessarily 
indicate a lack of activity. 


TRENCH 2 (Figure 3 and 4) 
This trench was excavated to a depth of 1.1m-1.3m 
below the current surface level, but it was not 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


Trench 2 
Medieval and later medieval features : 
men J) 
e. Ecoe! 


ke Modern 
Petrol tank 


ia 


Mortar 


——}) Chalk blocks 


°°, Flint nodules 


854 
Chalk surface 


ap Greensand blocks Gravel surface 


Later feature 


Post-medieval features 2 
Edge of trench 
pe eared SS - 
898 
Modern ' i i ' 
\ Peirol tank rs] pe 907 


Paving 


_ > 


832 


840 a 836 i as : 
838 


pone , 
{uwSCS Ferruginous sandstone ¢3 ¢?” Greenstone | 
( ae Ss ee 


oye: Flint nodules a », Tile 
0 5 10m 
t I i I | — | 


Fig. 3. Trench 2, all features 


26 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


necessary to create any internal steps in the baulk 
sections. The north-west corner of the trench was 
not fully investigated due to the presence of a large 
subsurface petrol tank sealed within a concrete bund. 
This was disused and had been filled with gravel. At 
the eastern end of the trench, adjacent to the Brown 
Street frontage, the remains of a medieval structure 
were uncovered and excavated. The northern 
boundary of this building was actually a tenement 
plot wall which continued through into the 
backlands. 

Although a number of small postholes were 
found below the chalk floors of the earliest building, 
not all of the floors were removed and so it is not 
clear if these postholes represented some form of 
structure preceding the one which was excavated. A 
detailed analysis of the pottery from this sequence 
could not distinguish any difference between the 
material found below the floors and that from within 
or above them; all of the sherds recovered were of 
13th - early 14th century date. Also below the chalk 
floors, but sealing the postholes, were thin 
interleaving spreads of clayey gravel and more organic 
material which probably represent levelling or make- 
up material and are thus part of the initial phase of 
construction. 

The medieval building at the east end of the 
trench was aligned along the Brown Street frontage 
and was at least 7.5m long and 3.5m wide. 
Estimation of the original position of the medieval 
frontage below the current pavement area suggests 
a true width of c. 5.5m for the building. At the 
northern end of the structure an extension to the 
rear resulted in a potential original width of c. 9.5m. 
This extension was found to be an integral part of 
the building from the initial phase of construction 
rather than a later addition, although examination 
of the floor deposits suggested that it may have been 
a separate room. 

The external walls of the building were founded 
on dwarf wall footings (857, 979, 985), each of which 
comprised a band of gravel and mortar c. 0.3m wide 
with occasional flint nodules set into this mixture. 
There was some evidence for a northern wall directly 
abutting the main tenement wall (984), but this was 
fairly ephemeral and certainly the west wall (985) of 
the building directly abutted the tenement wall and 
appeared to be bonded with it at foundation level. 
Within the backlands, the tenement wall footing 
showed evidence for several stages of alteration and 
rebuilding along its recorded length. In this frontage 
area, however, the wall footing was of consistent build 
type and thickness, and no alterations were noted. 


Where investigated, the wall footings were found 
to be placed directly on the basal gravels and had 
not been placed into any cut or trench through the 
natural deposits. Large crudely-worked blocks of 
greensand were placed at some wall junctions, 
presumably at the base of larger structural members 
within the main timber frame of the building. Within 
the narrower part of the building the ground area 
was divided up into smaller rooms by two narrow 
partition walls represented by beam slots. The most 
southerly of these (854) appeared to have two small 
postholes along its length, suggesting the use of 
vertical timber supports. The other beam slot (964) 
formed the southern side of a wider area of unfloored 
ground, suggesting that the partition wall had 
something built against it prior to any floor being 
laid in this area. The building thus had at least two 
rooms along the frontage; a northern one measuring 
c. 4.5 by 5.5m and a southern one measuring c. 2.5 
by 5.5m. The edge of a third room was also 
uncovered at the southern edge of the trench. The 
rear extension measured 3.7 by 2.1m. 

The floor surfaces were made up of crushed chalk 
and were generally between 40 and 80mm in 
thickness. These deposits were patchy and showed 
signs of repair and replacement. Pottery recovered 
from the surface of these floors was of 13th - early 
14th century date. Although described here as floors, 
it is equally plausible that the actual floors were made 
of timbered planking suspended above these surfaces 
and thus the chalk would have been a sealant of 
underlying materials rather than a floor in its own 
right. 

Located within the rear extension was a rounded 
pit (966) which was 1.5m deep. Most of the fills of 
this pit had been removed by a chalk-lined example 
of later medieval date (590). Pit 966 measured c. 
1.1m in diameter and the waterlogged basal fills (777, 
965) contained sherds of 13th - early 14th century 
pottery. Analysis of one of the fills showed the 
presence of excreta in addition to the remains of a 
variety of plant species. This pit did not appear to be 
lined, and it was almost certainly an integral feature 
within the building, although it clearly was cut 
partially through the edge of the southern wall of 
the rear extension. 

A second medieval pit (932) was recorded 
outside the building but adjacent to the rear 
extension. This example was sub-circular in plan, 
measuring c. 1.8m in diameter but only 0.45m deep. 
A large quantity of 13th - early 14th century pottery 
was recovered from the fills of this pit, along with 
roof tiles and animal bones. A few sherds of post- 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


medieval pottery found in the upper fill layer are 
assumed to be intrusive. 

To the north of the tenement wall there was no 
evidence of buildings located adjacent to the street 
frontage. Instead, a series of thin medieval soils lay 
directly over the basal gravels and no features were 
recorded in this area. Cutting through these soils 
was a square pit (926) lined with blocks of chalk. 
Although the outer dimensions of the feature resulted 
in a pit measuring 1.6m square, the lined part of the 
pit was only 1.15m square internally. The pit was 
excavated to a depth of 0.8m but the base was not 
reached. Each of the ashlar chalk blocks measured 
c. 300 x 150 x 200mm, with the latter measurement 
representing the height of each course. In some 
places ceramic tiles had been used as a levelling 
material between courses. 

The upper 0.65m of the pit was filled with a 
homogenous deposit (925) which contained pottery 
of both 13th — 14th century and 15th —1 6th century 
date, suggesting that this deposit was of later 
medieval date. The lower fill (958) was much darker 
and more organic, and analysis of the plant remains 
from this deposit indicated that this feature was 
indeed a cess pit. 

A similar feature was located in the rear extension 
of the building to the south of the tenement wall, 
cutting through and removing most of the medieval 
cess pit here (966). This later pit (590) was also lined 
with chalk blocks and had internal dimensions of 
1.2 x 1.1m. Excavation proved the full depth to be 
0.9m below the surface of the basal gravels, and at 
the base of the pit was a floor made of two layers of 
planks, the uppermost aligned east/west and the 
lower one north/south. Overlying the timber floor 
was a thin layer of chalky material followed by a very 
dark and organic deposit (594). Once again, analysis 
of this material indicated that much of it was 
composed of cess. This deposit was sealed by a 
further thin layer of chalky material, above which 
were two fills (692, 591) which appeared to represent 
refuse disposal. Pottery of 15th — 16th century date 
was recovered from the upper fill (591), indicating a 
later medieval date for the feature. A few pieces of 
medieval tile were found in the layer of cess but are 
probably residual. Two copper alloy pins were also 
found in these upper fills, one of which has been 

identified as a later medieval type. 
The clear difference between the areas either side 
of the tenement wall was maintained in the 
backlands. To the south of the wall and to the rear of 
the building, a number of pits dated to the post- 
medieval period were recorded. One of these (770) 


Qik 


cut through the south wall of the rear extension of 
the medieval building. This feature was sub-square 
in plan, measuring 1.1m across and 0.75m deep. The 
lower part of a wooden barrel had been placed in 
the base of the pit, rising to a height of 0.55m and 
then provided with a ‘rim’ of ceramic roof tile 
fragments and flint nodules. The wooden staves of 
the barrel were very degraded and could not be 
retained for analysis, although an L-shaped iron 
fitting was recovered and could be part of this 
construction. Although exclusively medieval pottery 
was recovered from this pit, this material is 
considered to be residual as the pit clearly cut 
through an adjacent pit (587) which was definitely 
of post-medieval date. 

Pit 587 was circular in plan, measuring 0.85m 
in diameter. It was only 0.4m deep and had vertical 
sides and a flat base. The upper fill appeared to 
contain lenses of cess along with a considerable 
quantity of pottery of 17th — 18th century date. 
Another pit (585) immediately to the south-west was 
only partially excavated and was found to be irregular 
in form. This pit was also of post-medieval date (1 6th 
—17th century) and appeared to have been used for 
refuse disposal. 

In the frontage area, both within and without 
the medieval building, was an east/west alignment 
of six postholes (Figure 3; 830 - 840). These cut 
through the floors and the western wall of the earlier 
building, and although one of them (838) contained 
a sherd of 13th century pottery and another (836) a 
sherd of 15th century date, this group is thought to 
be of post-medieval date. The postholes varied in 
recorded depth from 0.06 to 0.24m and may not be 
exactly contemporary, but probably represent a linear 
structural feature such as a fence. 

Also located within the earlier building was a 
circular chalk-lined well (865). This lay in the area 
between the main part of the building and the rear 
extension, suggesting that the building was no longer 
in use when the well was first constructed. This 
feature was excavated to a depth of 0.7m below the 
surface of the basal gravels, and the homogeneous 
fill contained much pottery of 17th — 18th century 
date. 

Further into the backlands area, however, beyond 
the pits described above, the trench was not 
extensively excavated. Most of this area appeared to 
be occupied by large and amorphous pits of 19th — 
20th century date (e.g. 559, 867) cutting through 
post-medieval dump deposits. The main feature 
investigated in this area was a surface (869) made 
up of limestone flags surrounded by red bricks, 


28 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Trench 2 


7 


Modern petrol tank 


maat 


LY 


=) 
JDO 


{i 


Be fe 
SSSeasnSses3 


Se ySsc 


Loo 


ICC jcc 


oe 


Brick 
Chalk blocks 


Fig. 4. Trench 2, Paving 869 


located in the north-west corner of the trench. No 
walls were recorded in association with this surface, 
but the chalk rubble layer which formed the bedding 
for the surface contained a single sherd of 17th 
century pottery which provides a terminus post quem 
for the feature. This surface is likely to have been an 
exterior yard rather than a floor within a building. 
‘To the north of the tenement wall the differences 
between the tenements were again clear. In the small 
part of this backlands area which was available for 
excavation, a number of wall footings (882, 907, 978) 
were aligned perpendicular to the tenement wall. 
There were no clear surfaces associated with these 
footings but they were cut through medieval soils 
similar to those recorded at the frontage in this area. 
They were also obviously later than the tenement 
wall, which showed signs of having been rebuilt and 
realigned in this area. These wall footings probably 
represent small outbuildings of post-medieval date. 
The remains of a small pitched-tile hearth or flue 
(898) were also recorded in this area and were 
probably a feature within one of these outbuildings. 


Summary 
‘Trench 2 was found to contain parts of two separate 
tenements. In the northern one, soils which formed 


Flint nodules 


Ferruginous sandstone 


in the medieval period were cut by a later medieval 
chalk-lined cess pit. Within the backlands area, small 
outbuildings of post-medieval date were constructed 
up against the tenement wall, and one of these 
contained a small pitched-tile hearth or flue. 

South of the tenement wall the recorded deposits 
were very different. Along the frontage was a 
medieval building with internal partition walls and 
a rear extension within which was a cess pit. This 
building utilised the tenement wall as the main north 
wall, and otherwise comprised dwarf walls or footings 
on which the timber superstructure would have been 
built. The internal cess pit was replaced in the later 
medieval period by a chalk-lined version similar to 
the one recorded to the north of the tenement wall. 

In the post-medieval period a number of pits were 
excavated to the rear of the building, and an 
alignment of postholes cut through the floors and 
the west wall. A well was also constructed within the 
earlier building. In the backlands a series of modern 
pits had disturbed the post-medieval and medieval 
deposits, but a flagstone floor of 17th — 18th century 
date represented an exterior yard surface. 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


THE FINDS 


THE METALWORK 
by Emma Loader 


The assemblage of metalwork comprises 161 objects; 
147 of iron, 10 of copper alloy and four of lead. Of 
this total, 39 objects came from medieval contexts. 
All iron and copper alloy objects have been X- 
radiographed. Most of the objects which have been 
dated to the post-medieval period are not discussed 
here; details may be found in the archive. 


IRON OBJECTS 

The 36 iron objects from medieval deposits comprise 
one knife, 30 nails and five objects which were too 
corroded for any positive identification. 

A whittle tang knife was recovered from the make- 
up of one of the wall footings (857) for the building 
adjacent to the Brown Street frontage in Trench 2. 
This is acommon medieval type, comparable to knives 
found, for example, at Clarendon Palace (Goodall 
1988, fig. 74, 4). The X-radiograph of this object 
suggests that it is constructed from iron with a steel 
cutting edge. The purpose of combining the two 
metals was to produce a knife with a sharper blade 
but which also did not break easily. Iron is more ductile 
than steel, but it cannot be sharpened to produce a 
good blade, whilst heat-treated steel produces a good 
cutting edge (Wilthew 1987). 

Tylecote (1981) identifies four methods of 
combining steel and iron to produce blades, and all 
four methods were commonly used in the production 
of knives at this time. The method of combining the 
two metals in this instance is comparable with his 
type B whereby the steel cutting edge was welded 
onto the iron strip. This method enables the blade 
to be continually sharpened until eventually the steel 
wears away and the knife is discarded. The indication 
that the steel has not been worn away suggested 
accidental loss rather than intentional discard, as the 
object was still functional. 

Thirty nails were recovered from a number of 
medieval features. Classification has been made by 
visual examination of the objects and the X- 
radiographs. Three types were identified; round- 

headed (seven examples), flat-headed (four 
examples) and T-headed (one example); all types 
have square shanks. Other nails were unidentifiable. 
All types were probably used in woodworking, and 
no horseshoe nails or large masonry nails were 
observed. 


29 


Of the five unidentified objects, two are lumps 
of iron, possibly large nail heads. Another object is 
possibly an L-shaped fitting, which was recovered 
from the base of post-medieval pit 770 in Trench 2, 
in which the remains of a wooden barrel were 
identified. Another L-shaped piece of unknown 
function was recovered from the fill of a beam slot 
for one of the partition walls within the medieval 
building adjacent to Brown Street in Trench 2. The 
fifth object consists of five fragments of iron and is 
completely unidentifiable. It was recovered from a 
medieval soil layer immediately to the rear of the 
same building. 


COPPER ALLOY OBJECTS 

The two objects of copper alloy recovered from the 
earlier deposits comprise one pin and one pin/needle, 
both found in the fill of pit 590 in Trench 2 and 
associated with pottery of 15th— 16th century date. 
The pin is very fragmented, with a head formed by 
wrapping wire once or twice around the shaft and 
shaping this to create a globular head. This type is 
comparable to the small type 2 pins found at 
Colchester (Crummy 1988) and is likely to be of 
later medieval date. The pin/needle has a flattened 
head with three small perforations. The end of this 
object is hooked, probably unintentionally, and its 
function is uncertain. 


LEAD OBJECT 

A flat triangular piece of lead was recovered from a 
soil layer to the rear of the medieval building along 
the Brown Street frontage in Trench 2. It has two 
cut marks at the wider end and is probably a waste 
fragment from a larger object. 


THE POTTERY 
by Lorraine Mepham 


The complete pottery assemblage recovered during 
the excavations at Ivy Street/Brown Street amounts 
to 1671 sherds (24,712g), all of medieval to post- 
medieval date, of which 1069 sherds (13,775g) from 
stratified medieval contexts have been analysed in 
detail and are discussed here. 

This is an assemblage of relatively modest size, 
but as it represents the first stratified medieval pottery 
assemblage of any size from Salisbury to be 
published, analysis has been undertaken in some 
detail in order to establish a type series for Salisbury 
which can be used as the basis for future analyses. 


30 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Reference will be made to other, as yet unpublished, 
assemblages from Salisbury (Mepham and 
Underwood n.d.) in order to support chronological 
and other conclusions drawn here. 


METHODS 

Analysis of the medieval pottery has followed the 
standard Wessex Archaeology recording system 
(Morris 1992), involving the identification of fabric 
types on the basis of the range, size and frequency 
of macroscopic inclusions, and the grouping of these 
types according to the dominant inclusion type or 
known source. In this instance the fabric series 1s 
based around the Laverstock-type fabrics coded 
within Wessex Archaeology’s ‘established wares’ 
series (Group E); other fabrics fall into two fabric 
groups: sandy fabrics (Group Q) and limestone- 
tempered fabrics (Group C). Fabric totals are 
presented in Table 1. 

Vessel forms have been defined using rims and 
other diagnostic sherds, and follow the 
recommended nomenclature for medieval vessel 
forms (MPRG 1998). Details of surface treatment, 
decoration, manufacture and evidence of use have 


Table 1: Pottery fabric totals (medieval contexts) 


Fabric No. Weight % of 
type sherds (g) group 


% of total 


LAVERSTOCK TYPE COARSEWARES 


E422a 9 140 1.5 

E422b 222 4627 49.7 

E422c 432 4539 48.8 

Sub-total 663 9306 67.5 


LAVERSTOCK TYPE FINEWARES 


E420a 25 323, 7.6 

E420b 74 684 16.2 

E42la 130 1263 29.9 

E421b 68 1301 30.8 

E421c 83 655 15-5 

Sub-total 380 4226 30.7 


OTHER FABRICS 


“Tudor Green’ 2 6 2.5 

C400 1 2 0.8 

F400 1 8 33 

Q400 4 76 31.3 

Q401 18 bowl 62.1 

Sub-total 26 243 1.8 


Overall total 1069 13775 


also been recorded; detailed pottery records by 
context are held in archive. 

Pottery from post-medieval contexts has not been 
subjected to the same level of analysis, but has been 
scanned for medieval types not represented amongst 
the stratified assemblage. Post-medieval pottery types 
are briefly summarised at the end of this report. 

In the fabric descriptions below, the terms used 
to describe the density of inclusions follow Terry and 
Chilingar (1955), and are defined as follows: rare 
(1-3%); sparse (3-10%); moderate (10-20%); 
common (20-30%). The fabrics identified are 
discussed below within groups according to known 
or putative source. 


LAVERSTOCK-TYPE WARES 

The overwhelming majority of the medieval 
assemblage comprises coarseware and fineware 
sherds which are comparable to products of the 
Laverstock kilns located just outside the city (Musty 
et al. 1969). The coarsewares are sufficiently visually 
similar throughout the medieval assemblage as to 
represent variations of a single fabric (E422); this 
has been subdivided here into three fabrics on the 
basis of the size of the quartz inclusions. Two basic 
fineware fabrics have been defined (E420, E421); 
again, both have been subdivided on the basis of 
inclusion size. These subdivisions are somewhat 
arbitrary, but have been made in order to determine 
whether variations in coarseness may be explained 
by chronological factors, or whether they are 
influenced rather by vessel form. 

The putative source for these fabrics is, of course, 
the Laverstock kilns. The excavated kilns, however, 
have a restricted estimated life span of 1230-75 (ibid. 
93), although there 1s indirect documentary evidence 
for the operation of kilns in the Laverstock/ 
Clarendon Park area during the period 1318-23 
(bid. 83, footnote). References to pottery production 
near Milford Bridge in 1270 probably apply also to 
Laverstock (Robinson 1988, 170). 

It is apparent that Laverstock-type fabrics 
continued to be produced after the known date of 
the excavated kilns, and there is no evidence either 
from this assemblage or from other medieval 
assemblages excavated in the city that other pottery 
types made significant inroads at any point into the 
Laverstock monopoly. Tantalising hints at pottery 
production within the city itself were revealed during 
construction of the inner ring road in 1972/3 - a pit 
filled with possible potting clay and containing a 13th 
century baluster jug was observed at London Road/ 
Rampart Road (WAM 68, 137), and a group of 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


‘wasters’ recovered elsewhere along the route (not 
mentioned in the WAM notes, but cited by Spoerry 
(1990, 3); this may be the basis for Robinson’s 
reference (1988, 170) to a kiln at Guilder Lane, but 
there is no other mention of kiln structure(s)). Two 
‘wasters’ are also known from West Grimstead and 
Ashley Hill near Petersfinger (1bid. 170). 

Whilst it is highly likely that a production centre 
existed in or close to the city throughout the medieval 
period, either at Laverstock or nearby, it should be 
pointed out that visually similar coarseware and 
fineware fabrics are common throughout south-east 
Wiltshire and east Dorset. Recent chemical analysis 
(Spoerry 1990) has failed to differentiate between 
coarseware pottery samples from Laverstock and 
south Dorset, while a documentary search has 
demonstrated the likelihood of the existence of 
further medieval production centres exploiting the 
clays of the Reading Beds and London Clay which 
outcrop in a band from south-east Wiltshire to 
Purbeck, particularly in the area of the post-medieval 
Verwood industry (Spoerry 1988). 


Coarsewares 


E422a Hard, moderately coarse matrix; common, fairly 
well sorted, subangular/ subrounded quartz, sometimes 
iron-stained, <l1mm; rare iron oxides. Handmade; firing 
varies from completely oxidised to completely unoxidised; 
‘pimply’ surface finish. 


E422b As E422a but with quartz <0.5mm; slightly 
‘pimply’ surface finish. 


E422c As E422a but with quartz <0.25 mm. 


The range of coarseware vessel forms is limited, and 
consists largely of jars, generally round-based 
although some have a barely discernible basal angle. 
The term ‘jar’ is used here deliberately, in line with 
recommended nomenclature (MPRG 1998), and in 
preference to ‘cooking pot’, although from the 
presence of sooting on many of these vessels a 
cooking function may be implied. Four main jar rim 
forms may be defined: 


Type 1: Everted, long, slightly thickened, rounded rim; 
everted at approximately right angles to the body; the 
_ orientation of the rim varies from flared to almost 
horizontal, to give either a rounded or more upright 
(convex) body profile (Figure 5, 1). Equivalent to 
Laverstock rim type I (Musty et al. 1969, fig. 7). 


Type 2: Everted long, slightly thickened, rounded rim as 


31 


Type 1, but with a slight lid-seating (Figure 5, 2). 
Equivalent to Laverstock rim type II (ibid.). 


Type 3: Everted, long, thickened and slightly moulded rim, 
sometimes with slight lid-seating, and with a more 
noticeable neck zone than Types 1 and 2 (Figure 5, 3). 
Broadly equivalent to Laverstock rim type II (ibid.). 


‘Type 4: Everted, short simple rim, squared, sometimes 
with groove along the top to give an almost bifid profile 
(Figure 5, 4). 


Jars with rim type 1 represent the survival of a form 
which is common in the Salisbury area at least from 
the late 11th century, and they were found in some 
numbers in 12th century pits at Laverstock. 
However, their occurrence in such numbers at Ivy 
Street/Brown Street and their association with glazed 
jugs in the Laverstock kiln groups amply 
demonstrates that they continued in use well into 
the 13th century. The other three rim types, all 
attested at Laverstock, do not appear before the 13th 
century. 

Jars are frequently scratchmarked on both 
exterior and interior surfaces below the rim. This 
scratchmarking ranges from deeply incised marking 
which is restricted to exterior surfaces to a finer 
marking which occurs on both exterior and interior 
surfaces. Generally speaking, the coarser the fabric 
variant, the deeper the scratchmarking, the most 
pronounced marking nearly always (but not 
exclusively) occurring on vessels in fabric E422a. 
There is no certain evidence of glaze on any of the 
jars, and only one rim is embellished in any way; a 
type 3 rim with finger impressions around the inside 
of the rim (Figure 5, 3). All vessels are handmade, 
although the rims are invariably wheel-thrown or at 
least wheel-finished. 

Variants of the basic jar form include two handled 
jars. The first was probably double-handled, and has 
a convex profile, flattened everted rim and vertical 
loop strap handle(s) (Figure 5, 5); a closely 
comparable example came from a 12th century pit 
at Laverstock, recut probably in the 13th century, 
(Musty et al. 1969, fig. 9, 31). The second is a jar 
with a type 4 rim, slightly concave to produce a slight 
lid-seating, with a vertical strap handle springing 
from the rim. The vessel is partially glazed internally. 
Again this may have been double-handled, and could 
have been a cauldron, examples of which were also 
found at Laverstock in 13th century contexts (ibid. 
fig. 11, 48). 

Other vessel forms are uncommon. There are two 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Fig, 5. 


c 
> 
| 
eS 


7 


Medieval Pottery 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


dishes, both in the finer variant E422c. One is 
partially glazed internally, and has stabbed 
decoration along the top of the rim (Figure 5, 6); 
other internally glazed sherds may derive from similar 
open vessels. The illustrated example is sooted on 
the exterior, indicating a probable use in cooking. 
Two thickened rims from open vessels with slightly 
convex profiles (Figure 5, 7) are likely to represent 
bowls - comparable forms are known from 
Laverstock, some of them handled (Musty et al. 
1969, fig. 12, 55) - although the possibility that they 
could be curfews should not be entirely ruled out. 
In addition, one acute base angle from an inturned 
or ‘West Country’ dish, in fabric E422c, was 
recognised (ibid. fig. 11, 41-4). 


Finewares 


E420a Hard, fine matrix; common, well sorted, 
subrounded/subangular quartz, not iron stained, <0.5mm; 
rare iron oxides. Handmade or wheel-thrown; oxidised 
(very pale-firing: buff to cream). 


E420b As E420a but with quartz <0.25mm. 


E42la Hard, fine matrix; moderate to common, well 
sorted, subrounded quartz, iron-stained, <0.5mm; rare iron 
oxides. Handmade or wheel-thrown; oxidised (pale-firing: 
buff to pale salmon pink). 


E421b As E421a but with quartz <0.25mm. 


E421c As E421b but quartz not iron-stained. 


A similarly restricted range of vessel forms is found 
in the fineware fabrics; these are represented almost 
entirely by jugs of various forms and decoration. 
These jugs have a long upright or slightly everted 
neck, occasionally collared, and a flattened rim of 
triangular profile; handles are of strap or rod form 
(Figure 6, 8-12). Most vessels are at least partially 
glazed, on the upper part of the body, and glaze is 
either colourless (appearing yellow) or an even to 
mottled apple green. No complete profiles were 
reconstructable, which has hampered close dating 
since the chronological progression from baggy, 
rounded body profiles to more slender, baluster 
forms during the lifetime of the kilns has been 
_ demonstrated at Laverstock (Musty et al. 1969, 
112). One specific, more unusual form, however, 
could be identified: a strut jug with incised struts 
and rod handle, sherds of which were recovered 
from various contexts (Figure 6, 10). Strut jugs were 
found in three of the Laverstock kilns which fall in 


33 


the middle of the chronological sequence (ibid. fig. 
21, 166-8). 

Some chronological clues may also be gained 
from the decorative treatments. The earliest groups 
of jugs from Laverstock have a range of linear and 
curvilinear combing, applied foliage motifs, and 
stamping straight onto the body or on applied clay 
elements; one example from within the medieval 
building on the Brown Street frontage has ring-and- 
dot stamps around the bridge spout and on clay pads 
around the rim (Figure 6, 9). This is closely 
comparable to a jug from the earliest kiln group at 
Laverstock (ibid., fig. 13, 68), and there are other 
examples of similar stamping as well as a few comb- 
decorated sherds. 

Later jugs display a much greater range, although 
often less well executed, of applied and stamped 
motifs. At Ivy Street/Brown Street slipped decoration 
is well in evidence: pellets, pads, scales and strips, 
which themselves may be stamped, impressed or 
incised. The slip is either brushed or trailed on in a 
thin solution, or applied in a thicker, more plastic 
form; the slip colour is generally red, contrasting with 
the pale body colour, although purple-brown 
(manganese) colouring is also used (e.g. Figure 6, 
8). The fragmentary nature of the assemblage means 
that decorative schemes are rarely reconstructable; 
the most complete example displays a vibrant design 
of applied scales and stamped pellets (Figure 6, 12). 

Other fineware vessel forms are limited to a small 
number of shallow saucer-shaped forms, internally 
glazed, occasionally with pulled or pinched lips 
(Figure 6, 13); these are probably the bowls from 
saucer lamps (see Musty et al. 1969, fig. 24, 185). 


NON-LOCAL FABRICS 

Four other fabrics were identified, all coarsewares, 
one limestone-tempered, one flint-tempered and two 
sandy. They are described as follows: 


C400 Soft, moderately coarse matrix, slightly micaceous; 
common, poorly sorted, subangular limestone fragments 
<lmm; rare iron oxides. Handmade; unoxidised. 


F400 Hard, moderately coarse matrix; sparse, poorly 
sorted, subangular flint <2mm; rare subrounded quartz 
<0.5mm; rare iron oxides. Handmade; oxidised (pale- 
firing). 


Q400 Hard, moderately coarse, micaceous matrix; 
sparse, poorly sorted, subangular/subrounded quartz 
<1mm; sparse, poorly sorted, subangular limestone <]mm; 
rare iron oxides. Handmade; oxidised with unoxidised core. 


34 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Fig. 6. Medieval Pottery 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


Q401 Hard, moderately coarse, micaceous matrix; 
moderate, fairly well sorted, subangular/subrounded quartz 
<0.25mm; rare subangular limestone fragments <0.5mm; 
rare iron oxides. Handmade; oxidised (pale-firing) with 
unoxidised core. 


All four fabrics occur in very small quantities, 
constituting between them less than 2% of the total 
medieval assemblage by weight (see Table 1). Two 
rim sherds are present: one probable jar rim, everted 
and externally thickened, with a thin colourless 
external glaze, in fabric F400; and a triangular 
sectioned rim from a long-necked jug or pitcher in 
fabric Q400. Other sherds are plain, unglazed and 
undiagnostic. The micaceous wares C400, Q400 and 
Q401 find general parallels amongst assemblages 
from sites in north-west Wiltshire, such as Knook 
shrunken settlement, Market Lavington and 
Warminster (Mepham 1993; Mepham forthcoming; 
Smith 1997); such wares have a potential source in 
the putative production centre at Crockerton near 
Warminster. Micaceous fabrics are recorded from 
various 12th century contexts at Laverstock, 
Gomeldon and Old Sarum (Musty et al. 1969; 
Musty and Rahtz 1964; Musty and Algar 1986), but 
outside Salisbury have a longer life-span, at least into 
the 13th century. Flint-tempered fabrics are also 
known in north Wiltshire and fabric F400 could have 
a similar source area and date range, although a 
source closer to Salisbury cannot be ruled out. This 
fabric does not have a micaceous matrix, and the 
quartz grains resemble those from the Laverstock 
type coarsewares described above. 


LATER MEDIEVAL/POST-MEDIEVAL 
POTTERY 

Later medieval/post-medieval pottery has been 
examined in less detail, and has been quantified by 
broad fabric type, on the basis of known wares, e.g. 
Verwood-type earthenware, or ware groups, e.g. 
stonewares (Table 2). The difficulties of isolating later 
medieval wares are explored further below, but for 
the purposes of discussion certain transitional later 
medieval/early post-medieval types are included here; 
these are visually quite distinct from the medieval 
wares described above. 


“Tudor Green’ ware, which is not a single type, and 
is a somewhat misleading term, is now generally 
taken to refer to thin-walled vessels in a fine white 
fabric without visible inclusions, and was probably 
made at more than one centre within the Surrey/ 
Hampshire border industry from the late 14th 


35 
Table 2: Pottery from post-medieval contexts 
Ware No. sherds Weight (g) 
Residual medieval PIER 2219 
“Tudor Green’ 1 2 
Redwares 8 228 
Slipwares 5 44 
Verwood 193 3993 
early Verwood 23 396 
Staffs/Bristol types 4 Wi 
Stonewares Pa 1634 
Tinglazed earthenware 21 102 
Whitewares 7, 316 
Creamware 12 544 
Agate ware 1 4 
White saltglaze 19 46 
Porcelain 3 6 
Total 333 7330 


century into the 15th century (Pearce and Vince 
1988).Three sherds were found at Ivy Street/Brown 
Street. 


Verwood-type earthenwares, as produced in the 
Verwood area of east Dorset from at least the mid 
17th century (Algar et al. 1979); documentary 
references to medieval pottery manufacture in this 
area, as noted above, are not as yet supported by 
archaeological evidence. The group from Ivy Street/ 
Brown Street includes probable examples of 
products from the earliest known kiln at Horton, 
distinctive by the marked iron flecking within the 
glaze (Copland-Griffiths 1989, plate 1), and also 
examples of the anomalously-named Wiltshire Brown 
ware, an 18th century type made at several of the 
kilns (Algar et al. 1979, 16). Verwood-type 
earthenwares are the most common post-medieval 
type found at Ivy Street/Brown Street, and occur 
mainly in a range of bowl forms; one example of a 
small handled bowl has an interesting graffito on 
the underside of the base, possibly the owner’s initials 
(Figure 6, 14). 

A small group of sherds have been tentatively 
identified as earlier products of the Verwood kilns, 
of later medieval or early post-medieval date. These 
wares are visually similar to the Verwood type 
earthenwares, but are slightly coarser. They are more 
frequently unglazed but where glaze is present this 
often has a pitted appearance and is more unevenly 
applied than on the later wares. On other sites in 
Salisbury, these wares have been found mainly in 
thin-walled vessel forms, including jars, and are 
frequently associated with “Tudor Green’ and other 


36 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


transitional later medieval/early post-medieval wares 
(Mepham and Underwood n.d.). 


Coarse redwares, both glazed and unglazed. A 
number of potential sources are known, including 
Crockerton near Warminster in north Wiltshire and 
Wanstrow in east Somerset; there were probably 
similar centres in Hampshire. Redwares are relatively 
scarce in Salisbury, occurring mainly in early post- 
medieval contexts (Mepham and Underwood n.d.); 
from the 18th century the paler-firing Verwood-type 
earthenwares swamped the market almost to the 
exclusion of other coarsewares. 


Slipwares, here consisting of redwares decorated 
with trailed slip. These are characteristic of the West 
Country production centres such as Wanstrow and 
Donyatt, which may be seen here as supplying a 
specific type not produced by the Verwood kilns. 


Staffordshire or Bristol type slipwares and brown- 
glazed wares of 17th— 18th century date; cups/bowls 
and plates/dishes in a pale-firing fabric, with a clear 
lead glaze over trailed slip decoration, and one 
cylindrical mug in a similar fabric with a streaky 
brown (manganese) glaze. In this instance Bristol, 
being the nearer source, is the more likely. 


Tinglazed earthenwares, here considered as a single 
group, with no attempt to distinguish English from 
imported wares, although the group from Ivy Street/ 
Brown Street is unlikely to contain any imports. 


Stonewares, here grouped together. They include 
examples of German wares, such as Raeren, 
?Frechen and Westerwald, as well as English wares, 
which here include the later white salt glaze. 


Industrial wares of the mid 18th century and later, 
which here include small quantities of agate ware, 
creamware, pearlware, porcelain and later fine 
whitewares. 


CERAMIC SEQUENCE/CHRONOLOGY 

The construction of a ceramic sequence for 
Salisbury, either overall or for single sites, has 
previously been hampered by the relatively small 
quantities of medieval pottery recovered, and by the 
even smaller proportion recovered from undisturbed 
medieval contexts. From nine sites excavated up to 
1990, fewer than 1,000 medieval sherds came from 
undisturbed contexts (Mepham and Underwood 
n.d.). There has also been a general dearth of 


diagnostic material and a scarcity of either good 
stratified sequences or well- stratified groups (i.e. 
pit groups). This problem has been compounded by 
the lack of comparative material from kiln sites which 
post-date the late 13th century, and the life-span of 
vessel forms observed within the 13th century kiln 
groups is therefore unknown. 

The assemblage from Ivy Street/Brown Street 
unfortunately does little to redress this imbalance. 
The proportion of stratified medieval pottery from 
this site is relatively high, yet within this group little 
or no definite ceramic sequence can be discerned. 

The best stratigraphic evidence for the medieval 
occupation of the site comes from the building 
adjacent to the Brown Street frontage. From this 
sequence, however, only 187 sherds were recovered, 
the overwhelming majority (172 sherds) from the 
levelling/make-up layers below the chalk floors. This 
earliest group includes the full range of Laverstock- 
type coarseware and fineware fabrics, in jar and 
decorated jug forms which are well paralleled 
amongst the published 13th century kiln groups 
(Musty et al. 1969). The jugs carry decorative 
schemes of both ‘earlier’ (e.g. Figure 6, 9) and ‘later’ 
type (e.g. Figure 6, 10). Succeeding phases within 
the building produced insufficient pottery for the 
construction of any possible ceramic sequence. 

Pottery from other medieval layers and features 
at Ivy Street/Brown Street would all likewise fit within 
a 13th century date range, which leaves an obvious 
hiatus in the ceramic sequence for the 14th and 15th 
centuries, even allowing for the continuation of the 
13th century vessel forms described above into the 
early part of the 14th century, as is entirely possible. 

This dearth of later medieval assemblages has 
been noted elsewhere in the city, although the 
apparent increase in popularity of the fineware fabrics 
E420 and E421 at the expense of the coarseware 
fabric E422 later in the stratigraphic sequence at 
certain sites has been tentatively taken as a real 
phenomenon, possibly linked to the increasing use 
of metal cooking vessels in the later medieval period 
(Mepham and Underwood n.d.). This is more 
difficult to demonstrate at Ivy Street/Brown Street, 
since the fineware fabrics are well-represented from 
the earliest contexts, and it may be that the differing 
coarseware/fineware ratios observed across the city 
have instead a functional explanation. 

The difficulties of ascertaining the date range of 
Laverstock type wares has already been discussed, 
and the possibility that these wares continued in 
production and use far beyond the known life-span 
of the excavated kilns must be considered. However, 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


given the almost complete absence at Ivy Street/ 
Brown Street of any vessel forms in these wares which 
might be considered as later medieval, such as 
bunghole jars or pitchers, or bifid rim jars, the 
apparent hiatus would appear to be real. There is 
just one exception - a jar rim (type 4) in fabric E421b 
from pit 590 with a broad horizontal applied 
thumbed strip, a decorative trait paralleled, for 
example, in early 16th century forms from the 
Donyatt production centre (Coleman-Smith and 
Pearson 1988, fig. 53, 1/124). 

This is not to say, however, that later medieval 
pottery is completely absent from the site. A handful 
of sherds of ‘Tudor Green’ ware, as well as sherds 
which have been tentatively identified as early 
Verwood wares, fall within a potential date range of 
late 14th to mid 16th century. Features which might 
date to this period include pit 590 and pit 926. 

Post-medieval contexts are, unsurprisingly, 
dominated by the well-known Verwood type 
earthenwares of the late 17th century onwards. Other 
coarse earthenwares are conspicuous by their 
absence and those redwares which are present occur 
either as slipwares, a type not produced by the 
Verwood kilns, or as plainwares likely to pre-date 
the massive expansion of the Verwood market in the 
18th century. Other wares - stonewares, tinglazed 
earthenware and later industrial wares - indicate the 
continuation of the sequence through the 18th 
century and into the modern period. 


THE CERAMIC BUILDING 
MATERIALS 
by Emma Loader 


The assemblage of ceramic building materials 
comprises a total of 572 pieces (32,463g) from 
features dated to the medieval, later medieval and 
post-medieval periods. They were quantified for each 
context by the following types: 


flat roof tile, including peg tile 
ridge tile 

finial 

floor tile 

brick 


ME SS 


No complete bricks were recovered, and this category 
is not discussed further here. 


Bi, 


ROOF TILES 

Flat roof tiles formed the majority of the ceramic 
building material and made up 86% by weight of 
the total assemblage. The most commonly occurring 
diagnostic fragments were peg tiles with round holes, 
and, less frequently, square holes. The latter were 
restricted to post-medieval pit 233 in Trench 2. Of 
the total number of roof tiles, 27% (by number) were 
glazed, the colour of the glaze ranging from clear to 
mottled green or greenish-brown. Fabric analysis has 
not been carried out on the tiles, but it may be 
observed that the predominant fabric of the tile is 
poorly-wedged, sparsely sandy with prominent iron 
inclusions and is conspicuously pale-firing, ranging 
in colour from buff/pink to pale orange. A number 
of tiles appear to be burnt, indicating probable reuse 
in the make-up of hearths. 

The main areas of manufacture of roof tiles for 
this region extends from Hampshire to Wiltshire, 
along the line of the Reading Beds (Hare 1991).The 
fabric of the tiles produced, and the methods of firing, 
produce widely-distributed tiles which are very 
similar in appearance. It is difficult therefore to 
accurately identify the source of the tiles. Production 
of roof tiles in Wiltshire was dominated by kilns at 
Alderbury for the first three quarters of the 14th 
century, and this centre may have been in operation 
by the 13th century, supplying Clarendon Palace 
(ibid. 89). It is probable that many of the tiles 
recovered from Ivy Street/Brown Street were 
manufactured at this centre, which is about 5km (3 
miles) to the south-east of the city; most consuming 
centres would have been within 8-16km (5-10 miles) 
of the tile kilns (ibid. 97). 


RIDGE TILES 

A small number of ridge tiles were recovered, making 
up less than 1% by weight of the total assemblage. 
The majority were glazed with a green glaze although 
no other diagnostic features were present. One 
fragment shows the remains of a knife-cut triangular 
crest, a feature of ridge tiles which first occurred in 
the Oxfordshire region in the late 13th century; the 
fabric is conspicuously sandy and pale-firing, and 
matches the pottery fabrics of the Laverstock-type 
coarsewares described above. Evidence of ridge tile 
manufacture has been found at Laverstock (Musty 
et al. 1969). 


FINIALS 

The evidence for other roof fittings is rare, with 
only three possible fragments of finials being 
identified, two of which are green-glazed and 


38 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


probably derive from the same object. The third 
fragment is in a sandy fabric comparable to the 
Laverstock-type coarseware pottery fabrics, and may 
derive from the same source. 


FLOOR TILES 

Floor tiles are less common and make up 10% by 
weight of the total assemblage. The majority are 
unglazed and undecorated, with only one 
decorated fragment. This fragment features a four- 
petal rosette which forms part of a larger design. 
Possible sources include the Clarendon and 
Naish Hill production centres which were both 
in operation during the 13th and 14th centuries, 
but the fragment is too small for positive 
identification. Floor tiles from some contexts 
appear to have been burnt, suggesting that these 
tiles were reused in a hearth. 


THE GLASS 
by Emma Loader 


The glass assemblage comprises a total of 45 pieces 
(1613g) and includes one almost complete bottle, 
as well as other bottle and window glass fragments. 
All of the glass is of post-medieval date. 

The bottle glass dates from the mid 17th century 
or later. Identifiable bottles include one almost 
complete onion bottle of late 17th - early 18th 
century date (Hume 1961, type 4/5), at least one 
other onion bottle of unidentifiable type, and a 
cylindrical bottle with a high domed kick, probably 
late 18th — early 19th century (ibid. type 20/22). A 
small clear glass phial of early 18th century date, 
probably used for pharmaceutical purposes, was also 
recovered. 


THE STONE 
by Emma Loader 


Two fragments (2,265g) of worked stone were 
recovered during the excavations; one of these was 
found in the fill of a posthole sealed below the floor 
of the medieval building in the frontage area of 
Trench 2, the other was in the fill of pit 288 in Trench 
1, thus both pieces and are clearly dated to the 
medieval period. Both of these fragments are of 
Purbeck Marble and have at least one worked 
surface; they are assumed to be architectural pieces, 
although of uncertain origin. 


THE CLAY PIPE 
by Emma Loader 


The assemblage of clay pipes from this site comprises 
74 pieces (372g), 62 pieces of which are plain stems 
and 12 are diagnostic bowls. Five of these bowls have 
makers’ marks: 


1. THO/HVNT incuse on stem of pipe within a shield. 
Spurred bowl, polished. Thomas Hunt is known as a 
Marlborough pipemaker. His work spans the transition of 
bowls with marked heels to those with spurs. This particular 
stamp dates to 1685 - 1750 (Atkinson 1965, fig. 2). 


2. Three pipes have the stamp used by the Gauntlet 
workshop in Amesbury. Two stamps are represented: the 
‘monkey’s paw’, dated to 1670-80, and the plain hand, a 
mid-17th century stamp (Atkinson 1970, 179). All three 
pipes appear to have been polished, and their forms appear 
consistent with those produced at Amesbury, although it 
is not impossible that they may be imitation pipes given 
the large number of Gauntlet imitations being produced 
during this period and later. 


3. Large serif letters IM moulded in relief, on a spurred 
bowl. The stamp is that of John Morgan I, a Salisbury pipe 
maker, and is datable to between 1800-20 (Atkinson 1970, 
appendix E). 


The remaining seven bowls range from forms with a 
small bowl and pedestal foot, dating to 1600-40, 
through to the later spurred pipes produced in the 
late 18th century. 


THE WORKED BONE 
by Emma Loader 


‘Two fragmented, undecorated combs were recovered 
from the site. One was a one-piece, double-sided 
comb with coarse teeth on one side and fine teeth 
on the other (Figure 7). This was found in the fill of 
the construction trench for the 17th — 18th century 
well (865) in Trench 2. Similar bone combs have 
been found at High Street C, Southampton, and are 
dated to 1630 - 1640 (Platt and Coleman-Smith 
1975, fig. 249). The second comb was found in the 
fill of the post-medieval pit 233 in Trench 1, although 
there are also artefacts of medieval date from this 
feature. It is possibly made from antler or horn, and 
the teeth of the comb are aligned with the grain, 
resulting in a stronger comb (MacGregor 1985, 28). 
It is uncertain whether this comb was originally a 
one-piece, double-sided comb or a single-sided 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 39 


O 20mm 
{/-———~e! 


Fig. 7. Bone Comb, Well 865 


comb, since teeth are present on one side and on 
the opposite side cut marks are present, but the break 
appears to have been smoothed over and polished. 
The comb may have been reutilised following the 
loss of teeth on one side. There are no comparable 
antler combs from Southampton sites, although 
MacGregor (ibid. 81) notes that earlier medieval 
combs were often of horn or wood, these materials 
being preferable to bone, and it is possible that this 
comb is of medieval date. 


THE LEATHER 
by Lorraine Mepham 


Leather was recovered from two features, medieval 
_ cess pit 288 (Trench 1) and later medieval cess pit 
590 (Trench 2). 

Cess pit 288 produced a complete turnshoe sole 
with oval toe, together with part of the upper; the 
style of shoe is unknown. A second turnshoe sole, of 
similar form, came from cess pit 590, together with 


five small waste pieces, probably representing debris 
from cobbling. 


THE WOOD 
by Lorraine Mepham 


Samples of worked wood were retained from 
waterlogged contexts within three features excavated 
in Trench 1 (medieval cess pits 288 and 323, and 
post-medieval pit 157). 

The pieces from cess pit 288 (from lower fill 
281 and from a secondary fill) comprise six small 
plank fragments, all approximately 20mm thick and 
ranging in length from 100 to 340mm, which may 
originally have formed some kind of lining to the 
pit. All the planks are tangentially split, and as far 
as can be ascertained, have been well shaped. No 
joints or traces of methods of attachment were 
observed. 

One small fragment (65 x 35 x 35mm), possibly 
part of a squared stake, came from cess pit 323. One 
end appears to be sawn, but otherwise this piece is 
too small for detailed identification. 

Two plank fragments, plus nine further small 
fragments which probably originally derived from 
planks, were retained from post-medieval pit 157. 
The two planks are both tangentially split. The larger 
of the two (455 x 35 x 10mm) is well-shaped, with 
one slightly convex surface, tapering slightly at both 
ends; this could be a barrel stave which, as for pit 
770, may have formed part of the lining of the pit. 


THE ENVIRONMENTAL 
MATERIALS 


THE PLANT REMAINS 
by Pat Hinton 


A total of thirteen bulk samples were taken from 
sealed and datable contexts. All were processed for 
charred plant remains using 10-15 litres of sample 
by standard flotation methods. The flot was retained 
on a 0.5mm mesh and the residues on a 1mm mesh. 
Following preliminary processing it was obvious that 
six of these samples were waterlogged. The treatment 
of these samples was therefore modified and after 
fractionation (>2.5mm - 0.5mm) they were stored 
in Industrial Methylated Spirit (IMS). 


40 


Table 3: Plant Remains 


Key: (_) = identification uncertain 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


charred 


mineralised _frs = fragments 


* 


totals estimated. 


Feature 
Context 
Sample volume (litres) 


234 


288 


590, 


287 594 


| 
235 
10 


281 
10 


10 10 


592 
10 


966 
7717 
10 


Cereals 

Triticum cf aestivum s.1. - grains 
- rachis 

fragment 

Hordeum vulgare L. - grains 


- rachis 
frag 
Secale cereale L. 
Avena sp. 


ent 


Cerealia indet. 


bread wheat 


hulled barley 


cereal grain 
fragments 


Pulses 


Vicia faba L. - seed fragments 
- hila 
Pisum sativum L. - seed fragments 
-hila 


broad bean 


Ficus carica L. 


Rubus cf idaeus L. 
Rubus fruticosus agg. 


Fragaria vesca L. 


Prunus spinosa/ insiutia 


Prunus domestica s.1. 


Prunus avium (L.) L. 


wild strawberry 5 4 3200* 
13" 
sloe and bullace 108 + 
frs 
10 + frs 28 + frs 


wild cherry 


Malus sylvestris/domesuca - seeds 


crab or cultivated 


& 


GRE ‘ 
a z 
eo a 


ii 
\o 
nw 
— {bt 
Sina 
=n 


Rumex sp. 


Brassica cf migra black mustard 6*(60*) Dye 
Coriandrum sativum L. coriander Laz 
Foeniculum vulgare (Miller) fennel 1 
Anethum graveolens L. 20h ay ea a | 6” 
Apium graveolens L. (ane es ee es oe ae 
Cannabis sativa L. hemp 3 
Linum usitaussimum L. 
Arable &/or ruderal 
Papaver rhoeas/dubium | —{| — 23% 
Fumaria sp. 2 
Uruca dioica L. stinging nettle —  |--}2+—— 22m 
Chenopodium album L. fat hen aw ae ee ee) 54% ole 
Fata ee 
common orache 
chickweed 
a Ee ial 
Agrostemma githago L. Boor 31 irs: 
frs 
Persicaria Japathifolia (L.) Gray 13 
Polygonum aviculare s.1. knotgrass 3 
Fallopia convolvulus (L.) A.Léve black bindweed 6 eas 
Rumex cf crispus curled dock 5 lie hos 
Rumex obtusifolius L. broad-leaved dock i Sa ee 
ae eee 
ewan an | 


Malva cf moschata 


Malva cf sylvestris 


musk mallow 
common mallow 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


field pansy/violet 


= 


smooth tare 


Euphorbia helioscopia L. 


Vicia cf tetrasperma 
Vicia/Lathyrus sp. 


vetch or vetchling 


Scandix pecten-veneris L. shepherd’s needle 


Aethusa cynapium L. 


fool’s parsley 


Bupleurum rotundifolium L. 


1 

| _Lamium cf purpureum | reddead-newle | | 
|_Galeopsis terrahitL. | commonhemp-newtle | | 
|_Lithospermum arvenseL. | field gromwell | | 
| Centaurea cyanusL. | comnflower_ | || 
| Sonchus cfoleraceous | smooth sow-thistle || 


Chrysanthemem segetum L. 


Tmpleurospermum inodorum (L.) 


Schulz-Bip 


UW 


thorow-wax 


Bromus hordaceous/secalinus 


Grassland 
Ranunculus acris/repens/bulbosus 
Vicia sauva L. 


buttercup 1 
common vetch 1) 


cf Trifolium sp. clover aS etoae 


Pasunaca/Heracleum sp. parsnip or hogweed 
Torilis japonica (Houtt.) DC upright hedge-parsle 


Myosots sp. 


forget-me-not 1 


Prunella vulgaris L. 


Plantago lanceolata L. ribwort plantain 


| Euphrasiasp. eye bright 
Odontutes vernus/Euphrasia sp. red bartsia/eyebright 


Euphrasia sp. 


Cirsium cf eriophorum 


self -heal 


woolly thistle 


Cirstum cf vulgare 


spear thistle 


Cirsium sp. 


Hypochaeris radicata L. 
Leontodon autumnalis L. autumn hawkbit =a 


cf Crepis sp. 


thistle 


hawk’s-beard 


; 


; 


_ 
im 


16* 


70*(12) 
28* 


_ 
_ 


: 


; 


_ 


Lactuca serriola L. 


prickly lettuce 


Anisantha sterilis (L.) Nevski 
Poaceae 


Scrub or wood margin plants 


Salix sp. - buds 


Sambucus nigra L. 


Stachys sylvatica L. | hedge woundwort_ |_| 


barren brome 


grasses 2(4) 


liillowsse eee tet 2 3 


elder 


cf Viburnam Jantana 


wayfaring tree 


Heathland plants 


Preridium aquilinum L. - pinnules 


Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull - shoots 
- flowers 
- seeds 


Erica cinerea L. - leaves 
- flowers 


bracken 


bell heather 


Potenuilla erecta (L.) Rausch 


tormentil 


Damp/wet area plants 


Sphagnum sp. - fragments 


bog moss 


Musci indet. - stem frag 
Caltha palustris L. 
Ranunculus flammula L. 
Lychnis flos-cucult L. 


Apium nodiflorum (L.) Lagasca 
Bidens cernua/tripartita 


Potamogeton cf polygonifolius 


eee) 
| Conium maculatumE, “| hemlock | | 
aa 


indeterminate mosses 
marsh marigold 


lesser spearwort 
ragged robin 


fool's water-cress 
nodding or trifid bur 
marigold 


bog pondweed 


41 


42 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


common or slender 
spike-rush 


Eleocharis palustris/uniglumis 


Carex cf demissa 


common sedge 


Carex nigra (L.) Reichard 


jistlesesntee fff 


sedges 


The ‘flots’ and residues were large, several 
>500ml, but in all cases the whole of the larger 
fractions were searched. The smaller fractions were 
scanned but in the case of large numbers of very 
small seeds only those from sub-samples were 
counted. Sorting and most identifications were made 
with a stereo microscope at x 7-40 magnification. 
Higher magnifications with transmitted light were 
used when studying some plant tissues. For 
identification it was often necessary to allow items, 
a few at a time, to partially dry so that surface features 
could be more easily seen. Extracted seeds (the term 
is used loosely to include fruits, caryopses, nutlets 
etc.) were then stored in alcohol and the remainder 
returned to IMS. Fruit stones were allowed to dry 
and later measured by eye-piece graticule, taking 
thickness to be the distance between the ventral and 
dorsal edges and breadth to be from side to side 
(Behre 1978). Nomenclature follows Stace (1991), 
using scientific names only at first mention. 

In Table 3 all taxa are represented by seeds unless 
otherwise stated. Totals are unavoidably inaccurate 
but are used to provide some means of comparison 
between samples or contexts. Some seeds are 
accompanied by many fragments. 

The remains are listed in terms of categories and 
most likely original habitats of the seeds but, as always, 
this cannot be applied too rigidly. Many plants in the 
arable, ruderal and grassland categories are not 
restricted to specific conditions and some wetland 
plants could have occurred occasionally as weeds in 
damper patches of fields. 


PIT 234 —TRENCH 1 

A sample from the main fill (235) consists mainly of 
compacted lumps of soil, bone, charcoal and small 
fragments of wood, mostly reddened; very few seeds 
were identified. There are numerous small, black, 
apparently charred, fungal sclerotia. These are mostly 
spherical, (c. 0.5mm - 2.0mm diameter), which when 
broken show a relatively thick wall and dense 
amorphous core. A few are lighter in colour and 
possibly have not been burned. 


PIT 288 —TRENCH 1 

The sample from fill layer 281 is very different and 
the contents are characteristic of cess pits. They consist 
largely of light brown concretions ranging from very 


small crumbs up to 20 — 30mm, appearing as parts of 
a compacted mass. Most are friable but some are 
partly or completely mineralised. Many can be seen 
to incorporate small bones, stem and leaf fragments, 
and occasionally stones of Prunus species (sloes, 
plums) etc. and also voids left where fruit stones, seeds, 
and other fragments have become dislodged. 

Apart from this compacted material there is a large 
volume of free plant remains, some of which are 
mineralised. The main constituents are fine shreds 
and occasionally larger fragments of charcoal, wood, 
twigs and monocotyledonous stems which have not 
been identified. Identified items include plum and sloe 
stones, seeds and endocarp (core) fragments of Malus 
sp. (wild or cultivated apple) and some Ficus (fig), 
Fragaria (strawberry) and Rubus sp. (blackberry/ 
raspberry) seeds. Other edible plants are represented 
by the seeds of Brassica nigra (black mustard), Apium 
graveolens (wild celery) and Anethum graveolens (dill) 
which may have used as spices or flavourings. Two 
detached hila are the only identified evidence of Vicia 
faba (broad/field bean) but small featureless fragments 
may be parts of legumes. 

Cereals are represented only by a mineralised 
wheat grain, a few charred fragments and one seed 
of Bromus sp. (chess/rye brome). A mineralised seed 
of Linum usitatissimum (flax) may well have been 
consumed but possibly the plant was grown for 
fibre. There are small numbers of characteristic field 
weeds, of which Agrostemma githago (corn cockle) 
represented mostly by fragments, is the most 
significant. The only variants to these plants and 
weeds of supposedly domestic origin are a shoot of 
Calluna vulgaris (ling, heather) and a few fragments 
of moss, suggesting usage of heathland plant 
material. 

Another sample from the basal fill (287) of the 
same feature, with quantities of flint and chalk rubble, 
has a similar content of charcoal and wood, but there 
are more mineralised concretions. Plant remains are 
similar to those in the later fill but there is a wider 
range of seeds of weeds and ruderals. Both Triticum 
(wheat) and Hordeum (barley) are present as charred 
grains, and the many fragments of corn cockle suggest 
that these were ingested with cereal products. 
Fragments of heather and of Pteridium aquilinum 
(bracken) are further indications of heathland, with 
more fragments of several species of mosses. 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


Both of the samples from pit 288 consist largely 
of faecal material and comprise obviously digested 
plant foods. Other items probably represent the 
disposal of kitchen and other household rubbish. 


PIT 590 —TRENCH 2 

A sample from the basal fill layer (594) is also 
composed of very characteristic cess pit components, 
i.e. compacted masses, some of which can be broken 
down and many others which are mineralised. These 
include very small shreds of stems or other vegetation, 
and as before incorporate fruit stones, smaller seeds 
and bone fragments. Cereals occur only as mineralised 
and are uncertainly identified but there is a large 
amount of comminuted vegetable material. Little 
attempt has been made to identify this but 
examination at x200 and reference to Dickson (1987) 
shows that there are many fragments of testa and 
integuments of cereals, i.e. ‘bran’. Other fragments 
are probably remains of other leafy foods. 

Plum and sloe stones, whole, and in very many 
cases smaller fragments to only c. 2mm, seeds of apples 
and of Vitis vinifera (grapes), figs and the wild fruits 
such as strawberry and blackberry or raspberry form 
a large part of the assemblage. Beans and Pisum 
sativum (peas) appear only as detached hila and 
probable testa fragments, occasionally incorporated 
in a buff-coloured matrix which is almost certainly 
excrement. There are fewer seeds of field or grassland, 
but these include several very characteristic field 
weeds, in particular mineralised whole seeds and many 
fragments of corn cockle. No heather, bracken, or 
mosses were found in this sample which appears to 
consist almost entirely of food remains. 

Another sample from a later fill (692) contains 
little plant material. There are two fragments only of 
charred probable cereal, a few mineralised seeds of 
fig and strawberry and fragments of sloe or plum 
stones. These appear to be chance inclusions of 
probable kitchen debris. 


PIT 966 —TRENCH 2 
The sample taken from the basal fill (777) is more 
informative since it contains not only obvious excreta 
but, with the food remnants, more seeds of crop weeds, 
grassland and ruderals. Charred wheat and barley, 
and one mineralised grain of Secale cereale (rye), 
‘together with seeds of corn cockle, Centaurea cyanus 
(cornflower), Chrysanthemum segetum (corn 
marigold), and Anthemis cotula (stinking chamomile) 
are present in greater numbers than in the previously 
examined samples. Large fruit stones are absent from 
this sample but there are some seeds of smaller fruits 


43 


and possible spices. There is a larger presence of 
heathland plants, and plants not only of damp or 
wet grassland but, in the form of Potamogeton 
(pondweed) seeds, possibly open water. 


PIT 926 —-TRENCH 2 

A sample of the lower fill (958) included very many 
compacted lumps of faecal material and mineralised 
concretions. In some it is possible, as before, to detect 
traces of included seeds, insect pupae or voids left by 
their loss. Loose seeds found in the sample, with the 
exception of Cannabis sativa (hemp) and a few weed 
seeds (which may well have been inadvertently 
consumed), are almost entirely those of fruit or other 
edible plants, mostly preserved by waterlogging but 
many by mineralisation. 

Fruit stones and seeds of figs, grapes and gathered 
soft fruits are abundant and seeds of flavourings slightly 
more numerous than in other samples. More unusual 
is aseed of Euphrasia sp. (eyebright), a complex series 
of plants usually of grass or damp heathland, but an 
infusion of this plant has been used medicinally 
Johnson 1862). Sub-fossil seeds of Euphrasia species 
and Odontites verna (red bartsia) are difficult to 
distinguish but in this case the mineralised seed is 
perfectly preserved and definite identification possible. 
Apart from one small carbonised shoot tip, heathers 
and bracken were not found in this sample but there 
are a few fragments of one moss species. However, some 
fragments of concretions incorporate lengths of what 
may be mineralised fragments of a moss. 


DISCUSSION 

Of the seven pit fills examined, two appear to be refuse 
deposits with only few chance inclusions of plant 
remains, but the other five are closely associated with 
the likely original use of the pits. The contents are 
typical of cess-pits of medieval date and, although 
there are many stem and straw fragments, the greater 
part consists of food residues which have passed 
through the human alimentary system. Remains of 
non-edible plants form a lesser part. 

The larger fruit stones of plums, sloes and cherries 
and the small seeds of other fruits are the most 
noticeable components. Domesticated plums, 
distinguished by their greater size and relatively lower 
breadth are less in evidence than the smaller wild sloes. 
The sloe stones range in size from 7.0 x 5.3.x 5.8mm 
to 13.5 x 9.0 x 10.1mm and their range of 
measurements is similar to that from fruits collected 
recently in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Dorset. The 
modern hedgerow fruits included the very astringent 
small sloes through to larger and sweeter bullaces or 


44 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


wild plums, reflecting the many cross-fertilisations 
of native and introduced species. 

Despite their size, the stones may have been 
swallowed and there is unequivocal evidence of this 
from York (Kenward and Hall, 1995) where a sloe 
stone (max. diameter 9mm) was found embedded in 
human faeces. The degradation of fragments of 
Prunus stones in these samples, particularly that from 
the lower fill of pit 590, also suggests that these may 
have been digested. The apple seeds have not been 
distinguished as from wild or cultivated trees. 
Blackberries, raspberries and strawberries would have 
been gathered from the wild but the fully formed seeds 
show that the figs were imported. Grape seeds may 
perhaps have arrived in imported dried fruits but vines 
could have been in cultivation locally. 

However, the large quantities of fragments indicate 
that a great part of the consumed food was in the 
form of leafy vegetables, salads and cereal products. 
The very small fragments of cereal bran have not been 
identified but charred and mineralised grains indicate 
wheat, barley and rye. Bread, or pottage, made from 
incompletely cleaned grains, could account for the 
many testa fragments of corn cockle and probably for 
many of the other seeds. 

Weeds such as corn cockle (which has toxic effects 
if eaten regularly), Scandix pecten-veneris (shepherd’s 
needle), Bupleurum rotundifolium (thorow-wax), 
cornflower, Anthemis cotula (stinking chamomile) 
and Chrysanthemum segetum (corn marigold), which 
have now disappeared from cereal crops were once 
frequent contaminants. 

Brassica seeds are notoriously difficult to identify 
and the separation of ‘vegetable’ types such as cabbage, 
turnip etc. from B. nigra (black mustard) is not often 
possible. Occasionally, however, the reticulation on 
the testa surface of some of the Brassica seeds is 
comparatively conspicuous and suggests the higher 
cell walls of black mustard. These are perhaps more 
likely to occur in cess-pits than the seeds of plants of 
which only leaves or roots are eaten, but the 
identification of many is uncertain. Other plants which 
might have been used as flavourings include 
Coriandrum sativum (coriander), Foeniculum vulgare 
(fennel), dill, and celery. The first three are not native 
plants but had been introduced earlier to England 
(Harvey 1981).Wild celery grows in wet soils although 
more frequently found in brackish conditions nearer 
the sea. 

The seeds of flax may have been consumed when 
used in food preparation but it is probable that this 
plant, and also hemp, were grown for fibre. As these 
plants require steeping in water (often near the site of 


cultivation) at a preliminary stage in processing, they 
are not uncommonly found in places where 
preservation of plant remains is by waterlogging. 
Urtica dioica (stinging nettle), apart from the young 
leaves used as a pot-herb, also provides fibres which 
have been used as a substitute for, and even considered 
superior to, flax (Johnson 1862). 

Other plants may have had uses which are 
unfamiliar today, not only as food but perhaps for 
medicinal purposes. Hyoscyamus niger (henbane) 
provides a narcotic and Conium maculatum 
(hemlock) has also been used for this purpose, 
presumably with considerable care since this is a 
particularly poisonous plant. Even the leaves of sloes 
and wild plums, in addition to the use of the fruits, 
may have been used as an infusion; they were so used 
in the nineteenth century for adulterating tea. The 
bark too can be used as an astringent medicine and 
the flowers as a laxative. In fact, there is scarcely any 
plant which does not have some use, whether 
nutritional, medicinal, magical, or as a source of dye, 
fibre or fuel. 

Bracken and heathers, prominent in samples from 
pit 966 and in lesser evidence in one from pit 590, 
were presumably gathered from heathland for use as 
bedding, flooring or fuel, but the seeds of wet grassland 
and water-side plants seem inappropriate, and even 
more so the pondweed seeds. Caltha palustris (marsh 
marigold), Lychnis flos-cucull (ragged robin), 
Eleocharis sp. (spike-rush) and the Carex (sedge) 
species suggest wet grassland but Apium nodiflorum 
(fool’s watercress) and Bidens species (bur marigolds) 
are more common at muddy stream sides. Pondweeds 
are aquatics, normally growing in either still or flowing 
waters and a possible explanation might be that they 
were introduced with water carried in from nearby 
watercourses, used for domestic or hygiene purposes, 
and discarded in the cess-pits. However, Potamogeton 
polygonifolius, identified from Jessen’s (1955) key, 
although typically growing in shallow water such as 
streams and ditches, frequently grows sub-terrestrially 
in flushes (Preston and Croft 1997). This plant is a 
calcifuge so its provenance may well have been the 
same as the bracken and heathers. 

Mosses may have been introduced with the 
heath or wetland plants, perhaps unintentionally, 
possibly as wipes for toilet use. If the mineralised 
fragments in the sample from pit 926 are indeed 
moss this might account for their presence in this 
faecal deposit. Alternatively they, and other damp 
loving plants, may have been part of the 
immediately surrounding flora but this is perhaps 
unlikely in the case of Sphagnum sp. (bog moss) 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


found in pit 966. Time has not permitted further 
work on moss identification. 

Stems of grasses, cereals and other plants occur 
in all cess-pit samples, and may indicate bedding, 
thatch or fodder. Seeds of grassland plants are more 
numerous in a couple of samples but are not sufficient 
to confirm the presence of hay. 

There is some variation in the cess-pit contents 
in terms of species represented and numbers of seeds. 
The sample from pit 966, for instance, includes only 
a small number of fruit seeds but a greater range of 
seeds of non-edible plants, whereas in the sample from 
pit 926 the latter are scarcer and food plant remains 
are more abundant. These differences might be 
explained in terms of usage, if one household enjoyed 
a more varied diet than a neighbour, or conditions of 
preservation. 

Similarly there is little by which the users might 
be distinguished or their social status inferred, unless 
the absence of less common fruits such as Mespilus 
(medlar) and Morus nigra (mulberry) could be taken 
to indicate a more lowly status. Both trees were valued 
in medieval gardens (Harvey 1981; Roach 1985), but 
the quoted inventories are usually those of aristocratic 
or monastic gardens. Alternatively it may be that 
evidence is lacking at this site, and it must be 
emphasised that many fragments, particularly those 
that are mineralised, are unidentified and even with 
more time may remain so. 

Compared with the results from similar cess-pit 
deposits of this period, e.g. Worcester (Greig 1981), 
Chester (Greig 1988), Taunton (Greig 1990), 
Hastings (Hinton 1993), Canterbury (Hinton 
unpublished) and from documentary evidence (Green 
1984), these conform in many respects. Cereal bran, 
arable weed seeds, fragments of beans and peas, plum, 
sloe and cherry stones and seeds of gathered soft fruits 
are almost universally present and often associated 
with other plants such as flax, hemp, heather, bracken 
and mosses, and occasionally wetland species. 


THE MARINE SHELLS 
by Sarah F. Wyles and Michael J. Allen 


A total of 156 shells were retrieved during the course 
of the excavations, and a further four were recovered 
from bulk soil samples. The shell, although fairly 
ubiquitous, was never recovered in large quantities 
from any one context. Only four deposits produced 
more than 10 shells and the largest assemblage was 
only 18. Generally all of the shells were in good 
condition and the majority were oyster (Ostrea 


45 


edulis). There was also one scallop (Pecten sp.), one 
whelk (Buccinum undatum) and occasional mussel 
fragments (cf. Mytilus edulis). 


THE FAUNAL REMAINS 
by Sheila Hamilton-Dyer 


Much of the faunal material derives from pits and is 
of medieval date. A smaller amount of post-medieval 
material is briefly noted. The remains were from both 
hand-—excavation and sieved samples. 


METHODS 

Identifications were made using the modern 
comparative collections of S. Hamilton-Dyer. The 
fragments have been recorded to species and 
anatomy where possible, undiagnostic fragments 
have been classified as horse/cattle-sized (LAR) and 
sheep/pig-sized (SAR). Some small fragments could 
not be ascribed to any group and are recorded only 
as mammalian (MAM). Measurements were taken 
using a vernier calliper and are in millimetres. In 
general these follow the methods of von den Driesch 
(1976) for mammals and birds, and Morales and 
Rosenlund (1979) for fish. Sheep withers heights 
are based on factors recommended by von den 
Driesch and Boessneck (1974). The archive gives 
full details of the individual bones and includes 
further information on butchery, ageing, sex 
measurements and so on not in text. Archive table 
Al lists all the species identified and their printout 
codes. 


RESULTS 

Over 2,000 bones were recovered for study, mainly 
from Trench 2. Sieving of bulk soil samples 
contributed almost half of this total, and almost all 
of the fish bones, which formed the bulk of the sieved 
bone. Much of the material is in excellent condition 
and includes several bones with an ivoried 
appearance. A few bones had been burnt and some 
had brown/green concretions adhering, typical of 
cess deposits. Gnawing is at a low level and mainly 
localised in just a few contexts. 

Mammal species include the expected large 
domestic ungulates; cattle, sheep and pig, as well as 
some remains of dog, cat, hare, rabbit, and fallow 
deer, but no horse. Bird bones are frequent and 
mainly of fowl and goose. Many bones are of fish, 
mainly eel. Occasional bones of mice and amphibians 
were also encountered. A summary of the 
distribution of taxa is given in Table 4, details of the 


46 


Distribution Summary 


ee ae ie pais 


Species 


Table 4 


Hare and 


3 
é 
& 
S 
= 


Sheep-size 


Cattle-size 


4 


aaa] 


Cess pit 234 
Cess pit 288 


Percent 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


wn] elanlo tls 
a“ va +N 


N 


= BSc Paes See 
an aS ae 


2 


3 

Se ES ee SS SS] 

7 ne Ee es ae 
9 


2 


0.4 


Sa EE Ee ee a 
isd [94 [72 | D 


Cess pit 590 


% cattle, 
% cattle, 
Pit 770 
Percentage 
overall 

% cattle, 


4 


[2 | went 86s 


Undated 


BSS SSS brie 


ter medieval 
Post-medieval 
cera | 172 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


Details of sieved bone and fish distribution 


SARA ca a ee | | 


Table 5 


Flatts 


Bullhead 


Cyprinid 


Cyprinid 


Whiting 


Conger 


Feature 


Hand-collected fish 
Context 
ys 953 
y 957 
584 
Porcent 


elu eo |< - > 
= N 
= 
n n atx 
s 


ne ' q T 
Herring 


Sheep-size 


Context 
859 
97 
592 
Percent 


Medieval 
medieval 


48 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


fish and sieved material is given in Table 5 and a 
complete listing of the number of fragments of the 
taxa from each context is given in archive Table A2. 


MEDIEVAL AND LATER MEDIEVAL 
The total number of bones from contexts assigned 
to medieval and later medieval date is 1,347. Well 
over half of these were recovered from sieved samples 
and most of these were of fish, primarily from the 
later medieval cess pit 590 in Trench 2. 

Apart from the fish, most of the bones are of the 
expected main domestic ungulates; cattle, sheep and 
pig and also fragments probably of these animals. 
Overall, sheep bones dominate but cattle occur in 
more contexts and probably represent a greater 
weight of meat. Of the 53 cattle bones, most are from 
prime meat areas with the remainder from the feet 
or the head, but including only one loose tooth. Six 
of the head bones are horncores chopped from the 
skull, presumably for hornworking. 

In the unidentified large ungulate material, 
assumed to be all of cattle, a high proportion of the 
fragments are of ribs. Many of these had been 
chopped, as had several of the other bones. Most of 
the bone can be interpreted as kitchen or plate waste 
rather than primary slaughter and butchery waste. 
‘There is some evidence for secondary products in 
the case of the horncores, indicating bone from a 
mixture of sources. Due to the small number of bones 
and the high degree of fragmentation, almost none 
of the bones was measurable. 

Bones from immature animals include eight of 
very young calves (including examples from cess pit 
234 and cess pit 590). These are mainly meat bones, 
some chopped, and represent veal remains rather 
than stock mortalities. Although calf bones can be 
found from any period, they are more often to be 
found in post-medieval contexts reflecting an 
increasing interest in veal. Further examples of bones 
from young calves were recovered from several post- 
medieval contexts. 

The more numerous bones of sheep (78) also 
show a biased pattern in the anatomical distribution. 
In this case many of the bones are of feet. Head 
fragments are also frequent, although only two loose 
teeth were recovered, an indication of the good state 
of preservation. The metapodial bones of the foot, 
along with the distal tibia and distal humerus, are 
often well-represented as they fuse early and are more 
resistant to erosion, dog gnawing and other 
taphonomic factors. Here, however, there are just 
two fragments of humerus and four of tibiae and 
one of these is an unfused proximal end. In contrast 


the total of foot bones is 36, 46% of all the sheep 
bones. The material is well preserved and this bias 
in favour of the feet appears to be genuine. Bones 
from the limbs, scapula and pelvis account for the 
rest of the assemblage. The proportion of rib 
fragments in the sheep/pig-sized material is very high; 
several of these are almost certainly of pig but a high 
proportion matched sheep. No bones were identified 
as goat, whilst a number were positively identified 
as sheep. These included horned and hornless 
animals. 

Measurable bones are present including two 
complete ones from which withers height estimates 
can be made. These are a metatarsus from cess pit 
234 which gives an height of 0.567m and a large 
radius in cess pit 590 which gives an height of 
0.631m. The smaller is typical of the animals 
reported from medieval Southampton (Bourdillon 
1980). The largest (and latest) is substantial for later 
medieval material, though some from Saxon 
Southampton exceed this measurement and it is 
not large by modern standards. An increase in the 
size of post-medieval sheep has been reported by 
several researchers (e.g. O’Connor 1995), but the 
few previous examples of later medieval and early 
post-medieval date from Salisbury have been of 
quite small animals, between 0.49 and 0.60m (Coy 
1986). 

The high number of foot bones may imply waste 
from processing skins, but there is also some kitchen 
and plate waste represented in the assemblage. The 
foot bones are not concentrated in any one feature. 

The pig bones are more evenly spread across the 
body and no anatomical concentrations were 
noticeable. This is a very small sample of only 37 
bones and also the pig carcase, including the head 
and feet, has more meat value than cattle and sheep. 

Other mammal remains are very rare; there is 
one bone of hare (cess pit 590) and two of a mouse 
(probably house mouse) in the same feature. No dog 
bones were found in dated medieval contexts but 
some bones were gnawed. 

Most of the bird bones are of domestic fowl. 
These occur sporadically throughout the assemblage 
but not in any concentrations. Some bones can be 
attributed to hens in lay (Driver 1982). Other birds 
represented are goose (7), woodcock (1), kite (see 
pit 192 below) and finch (cess pit 590). The goose 
bones match greylag/domestic; some are large. At 
this date they are all likely to be of domestic birds. 
Woodcock is often one of the most common wild 
birds in assemblages and makes good eating; this 
bone is a femur. 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


Pit 192 in Trench 1 contained 14 bones; three of 
bird, six cattle and a few scraps of other bone. The 
interest in this small pit lies in the bird bones. These 
comprise a femur, radius and ulna of a kite. There 
are two species of kite in Europe; red kite (Milvus 
milvus) and black kite (Milvus migrans). The red 
kite is rare but still present in Britain whereas the 
former distribution of the black kite is not known 
but has certainly been absent in recent records. 
The bones here are small and therefore this latter 
species cannot be ruled out. Kites hunt small 
mammals but are also carrion feeders and were 
once common in towns (Reid-Henry and Harrison 
1988). They may also have been considered a threat 
to young poultry, in the same manner as buzzard 
and crow, and destroyed as vermin. 

The eleven bones of a small passerine recovered 
from bulk soil samples taken from cess pit 590 could 
be from any one of a number of related songbirds 
but they most closely match the greenfinch. One of 
the largest of the common finches, this resident bird 
could have been a pet or eaten as food. 

As indicated above, the 787 fish bones were 
mainly recovered by sieving of bulk soil samples, 
particularly from the later medieval cess pit 590 in 
Trench 2. Only 14 of these bones were recovered by 
hand-collection, all bones or fragments of large fish. 
Details of the material from the processed samples, 
and of the overall fish species distribution is given in 
Table 5. 

Bones of conger, cod and flatfish were identified 
in the hand-collected material; other fragments were 
undiagnostic. The four bones of conger found in a 
medieval soil layer in Trench 2 were vertebrae and 
head bones of a large fish, probably about 2m long. 
A fifth bone recovered from the underlying layer was 
another large vertebra which had been chopped both 
axially and across, implying that the fish had been 
split in half and further divided into sections. One 
of the reasons for splitting such a fish is for 
preservation. Divided congers were found in the 
stores of the Mary Rose (Hamilton-Dyer 1995). 

Almost all of the fish bones recovered from bulk 
soil samples were from cess pit 590, but there were 
also a few bones of herring, eel and unidentified 
fragments from a soil layer. The species identified 
from cess pit 590 include ray, eel, herring, cyprinids, 
~ stickleback, and bullhead (Table 5). Most of these, 
well over 400 bones, were of common eel. These 
remains were mainly vertebrae but also included head 
bones and cleithra. Herring bones were also 
common, in this case vertebrae and prootic bones. 
None of the other head bones was identified, but 


49 


since most herring bones are very thin and fragile 
and may not have survived, some of the unidentified 
fragments may be of herring. 

The nine ray remains are of teeth and denticles, 
including some positively identified as male 
thornback, the most frequently caught of the ‘skate’ 
family. The 81 cyprinid bones included 29 inferior 
pharyngeals from at least 15 fish. These are diagnostic 
elements and all were identified as dace; the other 
cyprinid bones are probably of the same species. 
Dace can achieve a length of 0.25m and a weight of 
0.6kg but these specimens are from much smaller 
fish, no more than a few centimetres long. The 
stickleback and bullhead are also small fish. All of 
the fish bones from this feature are small and a 
number had been crushed. Such damage occurs 
when fish are eaten by humans (Jones 1984; 1986) 
and, along with the botanical evidence, confirms the 
supposition that this pit was used for cess disposal. 
Very few other bones were found in this feature, but 
the sieved remains included five of the very small 
peripheral toes of pig, one of which was partly 
digested, and many small scraps of mammal bone 
associated with mineralised cess accretions. 


DISCUSSION 

This assemblage, though not large, is important as 
it comes from the centre of the medieval town. 
Although some faunal analysis has been previously 
undertaken on material recovered from Salisbury, 
there was little material from sealed and well-dated 
medieval material and reports have not yet been 
published. 

The initial impression of the assemblage from 
the excavations at Ivy Street/Brown Street is of well- 
preserved material broadly similar to that from other 
medieval urban deposits in the area. 

The mammal bones are mainly of sheep, cattle 
and pig. Individual contexts vary but overall more 
sheep bones were recovered than cattle. This may 
not reflect the true picture of meat usage however, 
as cattle have a much greater meat weight and their 
larger bones may have been partly disposed of 
elsewhere. Pig bones are relatively common; at 
Gigant Street, although the sample sizes are small, 
pig bones appear to show a decrease over time (Coy 
1986). Pig bones were also low in numbers at 
Andover (Hamilton-Dyer n.d.), and in the post- 
medieval material at Romsey (Bourdillon n.d.). Part 
of the problem of interpreting small assemblages is 
the bias of context types, and their position in the 
settlement. Large semi-industrial waste dumps are 
different in character from the material in rubbish 


50 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


and cess pits in the backyards of houses, and even 
pits on the same property can be variable, for 
example at Bull Hall, Southampton (Driver n.d.). 

Horse and goat are absent from this small 
assemblage. There are no dog bones either but there 
is indirect evidence of dog with gnawing on some 
bones. Wild mammals are represented only by one 
bone of hare and two of a mouse. Birds include the 
expected fowl and goose together with a few 
fragments of other species including woodcock, 
greenfinch and a kite of uncertain species. 

The marine fish, thornback, conger, herring, cod 
and plaice, almost certainly came through the port 
of Southampton, as indicated by documentary 
records (Coy 1996), and these species are frequently 
found in excavations in the town. Some may well 
have been preserved in salt, pickled or both 
(particularly cod and herring) and possibly smoked 
in the case of conger. The Brokage Books of 
Southampton record many barrels of herrings and 
sometimes carts of congers (Stevens and Olding 
1985). Herring, conger and codfish could have been 
brought from some distance, as there are records of 
boats from Plymouth and the Channel Islands. Other 
marine fish are likely to have been locally caught in 
the Solent. 

The eel is anadromous but the remains here 
are all of small eels, neither elvers nor silver eels, 
and were almost certainly caught locally. The dace, 
bullhead and stickleback were probably incidental 
catches but utilised anyway. Nets and wicker traps 
are the most likely method of collection. If caught 
together the source is likely to have been a clean 
stream or shallow river with a stoney bed, rather 
than a pond. The botanical evidence indicates the 
accessibility of plants from similar habitats, though 
not from the same pit as the fish. There is no 
shortage of suitable streams and rivers round 
Salisbury. 

The remains of these small fish probably 
represent cess deposits, as quite a number of the 
vertebrae are characteristically crushed sideways 
(Jones 1984; 1986). Isaak Walton (1633) describes a 
recipe for ‘minnow tansies’, a kind of herbed fish 
omelette, and these small fish here could have been 
treated in this way or fried as ‘whitebait’. The bones 
are small and could easily have been eaten and passed 
through the digestive system. A similar mixture of 
eel, herring, ray and small freshwater fish was found 
in a cess pit in Andover (Hamilton-Dyer n.d.), and 
in the castle garderobe at Southampton (Hamilton- 
Dyer 1986). 

Butchery marks were frequently observed, in part 


because the material is very well preserved. Almost 
all of the butchery was carried out with a heavy 
bladed cleaver or axe; knife marks were very rare. 
Precise para-median chopping on sheep and pig 
vertebrae indicate carcase division of the type 
described by Bourdillon (1980; n.d.) and others 
for medieval sites in the area. There is evidence 
that geese too were divided in half, and jointing 
appears to be carried out by chopping. Some of 
the cattle bones had been reduced to small 
fragments, probably for stews, and all types of ribs 
were frequently chopped neatly into small sections. 

Few metrical data are available but the sizes of 
the animals are similar to those from other sites both 
in Salisbury (Coy 1986) and elsewhere (Bourdillon 
1980; Hamilton-Dyer n.d.). 

Excepting cess pit 590, which has its totals 
boosted by the small fish bones, the features are not 
rich in terms of bone density. Cess pit 288 offered 
26 bones from several fills, and rubbish pit 932 only 
seven (the largest number came from the post- 
medieval pit 585, which contributed 125 from a 
single fill). Most features were half sectioned but even 
small parts of some medieval pits at the Lower High 
Street site in Southampton produced many hundreds 
of bones (Hamilton-Dyer in prep.). Whether this 
paucity is standard for Salisbury or is peculiar to the 
site is not clear. At other Salisbury sites the bone 
assemblages do not appear to be large, but a 
meaningful comparison requires extraction of 
detailed information from the archives. 

Apart from cess pit 590, none of the other 
features which had been used for cess disposal, as 
indicated by the botanical remains, contained this 
concentration of fish and other bone which almost 
certainly originated from the cess itself. Those pits 
intended for cess disposal do not appear to have been 
much used for general bone waste; most bone in 
these features is from the secondary backfill. 

The material overall does not appear to originate 
from high status households. Wild resources, other 
than fish, are poorly represented and several of the 
sheep bones are of possible craft waste. Some of the 
cattle bones are also of low value parts of the carcase, 
yet they include veal bones and overall the remains 
give the impression of mainly domestic waste. The 
marine fish bones show the probable ultimate 
destination of some of the fish leaving Southampton, 
while the freshwater species indicate that local 
resources were also being utilised. Urban refuse 
disposal in the medieval period is often variable and 
selective, and only limited aspects of the faunal 
economy can be suggested from a small assemblage 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 51 


such as this. Nevertheless, it has provided a rare 
opportunity to examine material from the heart of 
the town. 


POST-MEDIEVAL AND UNDATED 
Cattle, sheep and pig are the main species identified 
in the post-medieval assemblage of 469 bones. Bones 
of other species include all of the dog and cat remains 
as well as a few bones of fallow deer, rabbit, fowl, 
goose, cod and haddock. Cattle form a slightly higher 
proportion of the bones than in the earlier material. 
Several bones were again from veal calves; this is 
consistent with a post-medieval date at other urban 
sites while here they are also frequent in the medieval 
assemblage (though it should be remembered that 
both samples are relatively small). 

Several of the sheep bones from well 865 are 
large; a complete metacarpus gives an estimated 
withers height of 0.694m. This is larger than the size 
expected for medieval material. The 18th century 
saw the development of ‘improved’ sheep and the 
origins of recognisable breeds such as the Southdown 
and the Leicester Longwool. This bone is relatively 
slim and could indicate a slow maturing type like 
the Leicester (O’Connor 1995). However, a radius 
from pit 585 gives an height of 0.559m which would 
be considered of average size for medieval material. 
There is also a very small metacarpus from the same 
feature. This bone gives an estimated withers height 
of only 0.482m, comparable with the very smallest 
values from medieval Southampton (Bourdillon 
1980) and smaller than any previously recorded from 
Salisbury from medieval and post-medieval material 
(Coy 1986). 

Well 865 (Trench 2) also contained sawn cattle 
ribs; this type of butchery is usually associated with 
assemblages of a late, even modern, date. Pit 157 
(Trench 1) contained a group of sheep metatarsal 
distal ends, the bones having been broken or chopped 
off mid-shaft. These may represent tanning waste. 

The only other notable bone assemblage is from 
the pitched-tile hearth (898) in Trench 2. All but 
one of the 15 fragments are calcined, eight are 
elements of a sheep forefoot. Given that this is a 
hearth and that burnt bones were almost absent from 
the rest of the assemblage, these are likely to be 
contemporary with use of the hearth. 

The small number of bones from undated 
contexts is mainly composed of sheep and sheep- 
sized bones. Other species include cattle, pig, fallow 
deer, rabbit, fowl, goose, conger, ling and red 
seabream. These general clearance contexts 
contained bones of small sheep comparable with the 


medieval material; a complete metacarpus gives an 
estimated withers height of 0.551m, and a distal tibia 
measurement of only 21mm is also very small. 


DOCUMENTARY REPORT 
by John Chandler 


INTRODUCTION 

This report was undertaken in 1997 as part of the 
programme of analysis following the excavations of 
1994. The aim of the documentary research has been 
to use maps, printed and manuscript sources in order 
to comment on the land use history of the site. 
Research has been conducted in the Wiltshire and 
Swindon Record Office, Trowbridge (hereafter 
WRO), the Salisbury Cathedral Archives (hereafter 
SCA), Salisbury Local Studies Library, and 
Trowbridge Reference and Local Studies Library. 
Unfortunately, because of the indisposition of the 
Salisbury Cathedral Librarian, Suzanne Eward, it 
has not been possible to examine all relevant sources 
in SCA. 


RESEARCH STRATEGY 

The corner site occupied by the building now known 
as the Queens Arms Inn was the property of the Dean 
and Chapter of Salisbury Cathedral from the early 
15th until the late 19th century. There has been an 
inn on the site since the 16th century or earlier, 
known first as the Maiden Head, then the Blue Lion, 
and by the 17th century under its present name. It 
has thus provided a landmark for deeds, lists and 
surveys, and has been used as a reliable point of 
reference in this research. 

‘Brown Street’ was thus named by the late 13th 
century, but the name ‘Ivy Street’ is not recorded 
before c. 1600; it was earlier regarded as part of New 
Street, of which it is the eastern continuation. The 
chequer in which the site lies is now known as 
Antelope, but has also been called White Bear and, 
around 1600, Blue Lion Chequer. The chequer lay 
in the parish of St Thomas, and in Martins ward. 
This report discusses the corner tenement and the 
excavation site together during three periods; 
medieval, post-medieval and modern. A brief 
summary is appended. 

Sources for the medieval and later history of 
properties in Salisbury survive in profusion, notably 
among the records of Salisbury City Council (WRO 
G23), the city parishes (St Thomas’s is WRO 1900), 
and the muniments of the Dean and Chapter (SCA). 
In the WRO are also relevant collections deposited 


52 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


by museums, solicitors, and individuals. Many 
deeds have not, however, been catalogued in 
sufficient detail to locate easily the properties to 
which they refer, and so research of this nature is 
somewhat frustrating, since it is very likely that 
relevant material has been overlooked. 


THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD 

The standard size of Salisbury burgage tenements, as 
laid down in the bishop’s charter of 1225, was 7 x 3 
perches (RCHME 1980, xxxii), which is the 
equivalent of 115.5ft x 49.5ft, or approximately 35 x 
15 metres. Antelope Chequer, as is clear from Naish’s 
1716 map (RCHME 1980, pl. 16), was laid out with 
the long axis of tenements running east-west, and a 
straight boundary line bisecting the chequer north- 
south. If, therefore, the standard size was adhered to 
in the area of the site, it and the corner plot would 
have impinged on the three southernmost tenements 
fronting Brown Street, and the rear of the two 
southernmost tenements fronting Catherine Street. 
However, because of their prestige and commercial 
possibilities, it is clear that from an early date corner 
tenements and adjacent land were subdivided and 
rearranged in various ways. A notable example of this, 
which has been studied in detail, was Balle’s Place at 
the corner of Winchester Street and Rollestone Street 
(Bonney 1964; RCHME 1980, 135-7). 

The earliest reference to the corner tenement 
discovered by this research is the will of Richard de 
Berewyke, proved in 1361 (WRO G23/1/212, f.22v). 
The relevant passage may be translated thus: ‘Also I 
leave and bequeath to William de Berewike to sell 
after the death of my wife Edith, all that [corner] 
tenement of mine in which I dwell, which is situated 
in the foresaid city [New Sarum] in New Street and 
Brown Street, with its gardens, curtilage, and all 
things pertaining, together with one plot of garden 
ground in St Martin’s Street annexed to the said 
tenement, which I hold by concession of Agnes my 
former wife...’. It is not clear from the wording 
whether the tenement as well as the separate garden 
came to Richard via his first wife. The St Martin’s 
Street garden cannot have been literally adjoining 
his tenement. A copy of part of the same will, 
transcribed on the recto of the same folio, adds the 
word ‘angular’ (corner) as indicated above. 

In fact the property was sold less than a year 
later, in 1362, by Richard’s executor, Stephen de 
Botelesham, to Thomas de Hungerford (SCA press 
1, boxes 13-15, Sal 3/63). The property is described 
as a corner tenement in New Street and Brown 
Street, with garden and curtilage; and a site in St 


Martin’s Street. Thomas was a citizen and merchant 
of Salisbury, and served as mayor, a kinsman of (or 
even the same as) Thomas Hungerford of 
Heytesbury, founder of the Hungerford dynasty (see 
Kirby 1994, xvi). Thomas either let the property or 
sold it, by the 1390s, to Alice Rusteshale (see below), 
who appears to have been related to its next owner, 
John Caundel, a ‘mattins clerk’ in the cathedral. 

In his will, proved in 1400 (WRO G23/1/213, 
f29), John Caundel bequeathed to his servant 
Margaret Deneman, for the term of her life, his 
tenement in which he lived in New Street. After her 
death, it appears to have been Caundel’s intention 
(although the wording is not altogether clear) that 
the house should be sold and the proceeds used to 
endow a chantry or obit for prayers for his soul and 
those of John Dewel and Alice Rusteshale, who was 
once Dewel’s wife (this suggesting that Caundel 
himself was related to Rusteshale). In the event the 
property was granted to the Dean and Chapter by 
Margaret Deneman’s executor after her death in 
1410 (WRO G23/1/213, f.92). 

This deed is important, because it gives the 
earliest firm indication discovered during this 
research of the ownership of the plots on either side 
of the corner tenement. The deed’s description of 
the premises may be translated thus: ‘All that corner 
tenement with everything pertaining to it in which 
the foresaid testator, John Caundel, lived, and before 
him Alice Rusteshale, situated in New Sarum in New 
Street and Brown Street, between the tenements of 
William Warmwell on both sides’. William Warmwell 
was a prominent citizen who in c. 1399 was living in 
Market ward, and who was one of the highest- 
assessed contributors to a tax levied in that year 
(Chandler 1983, 263, no. 39). He died in 1412, and 
his will (WRO G23/1/214, f.88) refers to a number 
of city properties, but none that can be identified 
with the site. He may have sold it before his death, 
although a search of enrolled deeds in the Domesday 
Books (WRO G23/1/213-14) did not discover any 
evidence for this. Alternatively he may have retained 
it, but regarded it as too insignificant to be separately 
itemised in his will. In any event, it is important that 
the corner tenement was already by this date 
surrounded by land in single ownership (as it 
continued to be for several centuries), suggesting that 
the original arrangement of tenements had broken 
down by c. 1400 and been replaced by something 
more complicated. 

There is a little evidence (Helen Bonney, pers 
comm.) that the c. 1399 ward lists reflect the 
topographical sequence of householders, and if this 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


is the case we may surmise that the names adjacent 
to John Caundel’s in the list were his neighbours. 
The sequence, with their tax assessments, was as 
follows (WRO G23/1/236, transcribed in Chandler 
1983, 268, nos. 653-9): John Route (6d); Cristina 
Handle (8d); William Busshel (4d); John Caundel 
clerk (40d); the wife of William Pobeman (4d); 
Thomas Denham (4d); Richard Pympol (4d). If the 
list is sequential we may deduce that the value of the 
building on the corner tenement, or of its owner, 
was a great deal more than any of the neighbours. 

Cristina Handle appears to have been involved 
in the cloth trade, since an aulnage return of 1396/7 
reveals that the alnager sealed 40.5 of her cloths, 
making her the 52nd highest (out of 292) Salisbury 
cloth-producer in that year (derived from list in 
Chandler 1983, 260-2). It should be noted that the 
east range of the present Queens Arms Inn is 
regarded as being of 14th century origin (RCHME 
1980, 111, no. 225), and so dates from the time of 
Caundel and his predecessors. 

The next positive evidence of the corner site 
occurs in a bishop’s rental of the whole city, the Liber 
Niger, dating from 1455 (Nevill 1911). Listed among 
the chapter property is: a tenement formerly of Alice 
Rusteshale in New Street and Brown Street, assessed 
at 5.5d (ibid., 69). All the other relevant properties 
are doubtless listed, but it is impossible to locate 
them precisely. An indication that, despite Salisbury’s 
wealth and rising population during the early 15th 
century, houses in this area of the city were being 
demolished to make way for tentering racks and 
gardens, comes in a deed of 1433 (WRO 164/1/11) 
which relates to, ‘my toft with racks adjoining the 
toft, which lies between tofts with racks and gardens 
in Gigant Street and Brown Street... and a toft with 
adjoining garden in New Street near Barnwell Cross’. 

No evidence for the site during the later 15th or 
early 16th centuries has been found. 


THE POST-MEDIEVAL PERIOD 
Throughout this period the corner tenement 
belonged to the Dean and Chapter, who leased it to 
individuals. Sometimes the lessee sublet it to a tenant. 
The earliest book of chapter leases begins in 1533 
(WRO CC Bishoprick 460) and extends to 1561, 
but includes no relevant lease. The next book (WRO 
CC Chapter 207), spanning 1563-1608, has a lease 
of 1570 (p. 104) to Robert Stephens of New Sarum, 
‘weafer’, of: 
‘All that theyre corner tenemente little courte and stable 
roomes commonly called the Mayden hedd with all and 
singuler their appurtenances nowe in the tenure and 


53 


occupation of George Vynynge bocher sett lyinge and 
beinge in the ... streate there called New Streate and 
Browne strete between the lands sometyme belonginge 
to Thomas Chaffyn the eldre late deceassid nowe in the 
severall tenures and occupations of the said George 
Vinynge and Nicholas Dycar currier on the weste and 
northe parties, and the Queenes highe wayes on the east 
and south parties.’ 


Thereafter the renewals of the lease may be traced 
through the chapter lease books (SCA 41-59) up to 
the beginning of the 19th century. The dates of the 
leases, with lessees’ names and occupations, and 
document references, are as follows: 1637, George 
Mustin, innholder (SCA 42, f.36); 1699, Thomas 
Jatt, wheelwright, formerly Peter Dove of Pyt House 
(SCA 47, 376); 1715, Thomas and Mary Martin, of 
the Close (SCA 49, f.151); 1729 and 1743, as 1715 
(SCA 50, f.113; SCA 51, f.107); 1757, John Wilkes, 
innholder (SCA 52, f.126; alsoWRO 1075/001/90); 
1771, Elizabeth Wilkes (SCA 53, f.95v); John Mills, 
cordwainer (SCA 56, f.7v); 1806, Jasper Fawconer, 
of Charlton in Downton (SCA 57, f.97); ?1821, 
James Sutton and Thomas Budden; 1835, John and 
Mary Grimes (SCA 59, f.92). By 1637 (and indeed 
somewhat earlier, see below) the name Maiden Head 
had been replaced by Blue Lion, and by the 18th 
century the name changed again, to the Queens 
Arms. From 1699 the descriptions include the phrase 
‘lately rebuilt’ in parentheses. 

The descriptions of the premises and the abuttals 
included in these leases are of limited value, because 
nearly all details are merely copied from the previous 
lease. The information to be gleaned from the 
abuttals is discussed below. In addition, however, 
there are two more detailed descriptions of the 
premises, dating from 1644 and 1649. The will of 
Elizabeth Mustion (WRO Cons Sarum wills 1644) 
includes a room-by-room inventory, and the rooms 
are listed as: hall, parlour, little buttery within the 
parlour, room next to parlour, room next to wash 
house, wash house, great chamber, chamber over 
parlour and drawing chamber within it, chamber next 
the street called road chamber, two chambers over 
the hall and taphouse, taphouse, backsides. The 1649 
Parliamentary survey of church property in Salisbury 
(SCA 11, f.5) describes the premises as: a hall, a 
parlour, two tapp houses, a little buttery, three 
drinking rooms, a little parlour, five chamberes, two 
other over roomes, two stables containing two bayes 
of building with a little courtyard of 20 feet square. 

More important for present purposes than the 
information about the Queens Arms is the evidence 
which these leases and other documents give about 


54 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


the adjoining properties to north and west. The 
1570 lease quoted above refers to Thomas Chaffyn 
the elder, deceased, as the former owner of the 
surrounding land, and George Vinynge and Nicholas 
Dycar as the current tenants. Vinynge, a butcher, 
also occupied the corner tenement, and Dycar was 
a currier. The owners and tenants given as abuttals 
at later dates (so far as they are not merely repetitions 
of names from earlier documents) are as follows: 
1637, Thomas Chafin the elder, gent (owner), 
George Mustin and Margarett Lawrence, widow 
(occupiers); 1649, the inn called the Antelopp to the 
north, the land of Mistress C. Chafyn, widow, or 
her assigns, to the west; 1715, Thomas Chafin Marks 
(owner), Richard Petty, wheelwright, and Thomas 
Durdall (present or former occupiers). 

Thus the owners of the Ivy Street portion of the 
site, west of the corner tenement, from before 1570 
until after 1715, were members of the Chafyn family. 
The 1623 heralds’ visitation of Wiltshire includes a 
pedigree of this family (Squibb 1954, 36-7) which 
suggests that the Salisbury branch was one of several 
claiming as a common ancestor Thomas Chafin of 
Warminster, who must have flourished in the early 
15th century. They were well-established in Salisbury 
by 1545, when Thomas Chaffyn senior and Thomas 
Chaffyn were two of the most highly rated citizens 
for a tax (Ramsay 1954, 38-9). Both died c. 1558/9 
(Squibb op. cit.), but the younger’s son and heir, 
Thomas Chafin, appears to have lived until 1619. 
At his death he was a major landlord in Salisbury, 
owning no fewer than 46 properties, as well as 22 in 
Warminster, and others elsewhere (Fry and Fry 
1893, 196). 

He was succeeded by his son, also Thomas, who 
was born c. 1582, and died in 1646 (Matthews and 
Matthews 1906). Indexes of wills proved in the 
Prerogative Court of Canterbury have been checked 
to 1700, and reveal that Charles Chafyn, gentleman, 
Dorothy Chafyn, widow, and William Chafin, 
gentleman, all of Salisbury Close, died in 1657, 1659, 
and 1665 respectively (Blagg 1936; Morrison 1935); 
and that Edmund Markes, apothecary of Salisbury, 
died in 1675 (Ainsworth 1942). No relevant wills of 
the Chafyn or Marks families have been found via 
WRO indexes. 

The property which they owned west of the 
Queens Arms Inn was presumably the house of 
c.1500 now known as No. 7 Ivy Street (RCHME 
1980, 111, no. 226). Its lessee at the time of her death 
in 1644 was Elizabeth Mustion of the Queens Arms, 
since her probate inventory (WRO Cons. Sarum 
wills, 1644) includes, ‘one other chattell lease of a 


tenement and garden with the appurtenances 
adjoining to the foresaid tenement [Queens Arms] 
held from Thomas Chafyn gent for certain years yet 
to come’. It had perhaps been leased by the occupant 
of the Queens Arms for many years, since George 
Vyninge of the Queens Arms appears to have held 
the lease in 1570 (see above). Stephen Grist, who 
inherited the Queens Arms from Elizabeth Mustion, 
also occupied this tenement immediately after her 
death, according to a land tax assessment (WRO 
G23/1/174). 

The Brown Street property abutting the Queens 
Arms on the north also belonged to the Chafyn 
family in 1570 and 1637 (see above), whose tenant 
in 1570 was presumably the currier, Nicholas 
Dycar. In 1637 the tenant was Margaret Lawrence, 
widow, who was the licensee of the important inn, 
the Antelope, which lay to the north-west in the 
centre of the chequer (Gordon n.d., 33). In 1649 
the Antelope is named as the northern abuttal, and 
this area seems to have continued to have formed 
part of the Antelope well into the 18th century. A 
lease of 1768 (WRO 952/2) includes the Antelope 
Inn together with, ‘all that piece or parcel of ground 
on the east side of the inn and the backhouse 
adjoining lying in Brown Street, formerly converted 
into two tenements but now used as stables, and 
also three other stables in Brown Street part of and 
adjoining the Antelope Inn’. By the mid 18th 
century the Antelope was becoming an important 
coaching and post-chaise inn (Gordon, n.d., 33-6, 
451), which would explain the conversion of 
tenements to stables. Former tenants of the 
Antelope, according to the 1768 lease, were William 
Little, Thomas Shuter, George Petty, and Widow 
Stephens. 

With so many names of occupiers, both of the 
Queens Arms and adjacent properties, it should be 
possible to tie the evidence from leases with that from 
topographically arranged tax lists. There survives in 
the St Thomas parish records a notable series of 
Easter offerings books, listing from c. 1573 to c. 1602 
adult parishioners including wives and servants, and 
arranged by street or chequer. Some are too fragile 
to be produced, but books from 1574, 1584, 1600, 
c. 1600, 1602, and two undated 17th century books 
have been examined (WRO 1900/44; 45; 51; 52; 54- 
6). Unfortunately only two, of c. 1600 and undated 
(WRO 1900/52; 55), appear to have any names which 
correspond with those in the leases; both list George 
Mustian at the head of the section for Blue Lion 
chequer, and his neighbours in each case are Robert 
Hatt, Thomas Soper, and Bridgett Gibbes. However, 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


it is not clear whether the sequence of names is 
running north along Brown Street or west along 
Ivy Street. 

More promising is a list of taxpayers for a royal 
aid in 1667 (Nevill 1910, 427). This includes a 
sequence: ‘Land of Mr Chaffin, tenant Widow 
Durdall; land of Mr Chaffin, tenants John Taylor and 
John Coombes; land of Mr Doves [i.e. the Queens 
Arms], tenant John Gumbleton; land of Mr Chaffin, 
tenants widow Gower, widow Williams, John 
Gumbleton a stable’. 

A generation later, beginning in 1703, there is a 
series of land tax assessments for Martins ward, and 
these have been checked to 1717 (WRO G23/1/182). 
Through this period Thomas Jatt (or Iatt) was lessee 
of the Queens Arms until his death in 1709 (WRO 
Sub-Dean Wills, 1709), then his widow to 1716, and 
thereafter Mr Martin. On one side of him Thomas 
Durdall was the lessee throughout, and appears to 
have lived in the property himself with two sub- 
tenants. On the other side the land belonged to Mr 
Marks until 1715, whose tenant was Richard Petty; 
in 1716 Thomas Wigmore acquired the land, but 
Petty remained lessee. It is not clear which was the 
northern and which the western abuttal, but the 
reference to a George Petty in the 1768 lease (WRO 
952/2: see above) as a former occupant of the 
Antelope militates in favour of Durdall occupying 
No. 7 Ivy Street, and Richard Petty, wheelwright, 
the Brown Street property. 


THE MODERN PERIOD 

As might be expected, sources of information about 
the site become more prolific and varied from the 
18th century onwards, and include for the first time 
large-scale plans. For the recent period sources have 
been examined selectively. 

Throughout the period, and to the present day, 
the Queens Arms appears to have existed as an inn. 
The list of lessees taken from Dean and Chapter 
leases up to 1835 is given above. The lessees were 
not necessarily the occupants; a list of Queens Arms 
innkeepers compiled from directories and other 
sources (Gordon n.d., 7) offers the following: 1743, 
George Rattew; 1809, James Ainsworth; 1822, Aaron 
Vousden; 1836 and 1842, Ann Vousden; 1851, 
George Moore; 1867, John Hibberd. It is also 

- possible that the Queens Arms and the Antelope were 
being run together, since a 1773 ratebook (WRO 
1900/200) brackets together John Wilkes and Mrs 
Best with a single assessment. It is known that 
Martha Best was landlady of the Antelope until her 
death in 1798 (Gordon n.d., 33), and a 1773 


5) 


newspaper advertisement includes the instruction, 
“Enquire of Mr Wilks at the Queens Arms Inn’ (ibid., 
6). In 1779 Martha Best paid a similar assessment 
alone (WRO 1900/200), suggesting that she was then 
responsible for both establishments. 

During the 19th century both the Queens Arms 
and No. 7 Ivy Street were held, from 1849, by a 40- 
year lease granted to Ann Vousden (WRO 1075/001/ 
90), the landlady since at least 1836. But during the 
1870s the premises were occupied (and the lease 
probably purchased) by Messrs. Weeks and Son, the 
Weyhill Brewery. In 1877 the Ecclesiastical 
Commissioners, as successors to the Dean and 
Chapter, finally sold the property, consisting of the 
Queens Arms itself together with No. 7 Ivy Street 
and a cottage fronting Brown Street which was 
attached to the northern range of the inn. It was 
described (WRO 1075/001/90) as a public house, 
brewhouse and tenement lately occupied by Messrs. 
Weeks and Son. The abuttals were a stable yard to 
the west (Ivy Street) and stables and stores to the 
north (Brown Street), all occupied by Messrs. Weeks 
and Son. 

Sale catalogues of 1879 (WRO 374/130/110) and 
1888 (WRO 1075/001/90) included the same 
premises, and the latter described No. 7 Ivy Street 
as a tenement, late the Weyhill Brewery Office. In 
1891, according to the census returns, Harriet 
Norton, a 78 year old widow, lived alone as innkeeper 
at the Queens Arms, and No. 7 Ivy Street was 
occupied by a carpenter, John Foot, and his family. 
The cottage forming part of the complex north of 
the inn was occupied by a dressmaker, Martha 
Maton. 

The sequence of occupation has been traced 
through Salisbury directories up to 1962. From 
before 1925 until after 1947 the licensee was A. 
Mitchell and then Mrs F. Mitchell (presumably his 
widow). E.L. Scammell, and from 1935 Mrs 
Scammell occupied No. 7 Ivy Street until after 1950. 
By 1953 No. 7 Ivy Street was part of the Queens 
Arms, but from 1959 it was used as stores for the 
neighbouring Farway Garage (see below). 

Turning now to the land west and north of the 
corner tenement, the best starting point is the 
sequence of maps, which begins in 1716. Naish’s 
map of that year (Figure 8) shows the Brown Street 
frontage entirely built up, with (north of the Queens 
Arms) three rectangular backlands running back to 
a straight rear boundary which is not, however, 
parallel with the street. On the Ivy Street frontage 
there is a considerable gap in the building line, 
around the mid-point, leading to an open area 


56 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


) Vee 
Tif Loe 
Queen's Arms‘A \ 

/ af 


/ Queen's Arms 


Fig. 8. Cartographic regression analysis 


behind the Queens Arms. An enclosed courtyard 
within the inn complex is also shown. This map was 
revised in 1751, but the only difference in this area 
appears to be the addition of a watercourse along 
the centre of Ivy Street (perhaps accidentally 
omitted from the first edition). 

The earliest really detailed plan of the area is 
found on a series of maps of Salisbury drawn in 1854 
in connection with the Board of Health’s enquiry 


into the sanitary condition of the city (WRO G23/ 
701/1PC: see Figure 8). This distinguishes by colour 
between dwellings, other buildings and pavements, 
and open areas. By comparing this with the 
Ordnance Survey plan at 1:500 scale, surveyed in 
1879 and published in 1880 (sheet Wiltshire 66.15.4: 
see Figure 8), it is possible to distinguish between 
other buildings and pavements on the Board of 
Health plan. Other useful 19th century cartographic 
sources are plans on deeds (in WRO 1075/001/90), 
and two undated (but c. 1870) plans of the Queens 
Arms (WRO CC Maps 45/11 and 45/18). 

Trench 1 would appear to have impinged on 
the rear of three cottages, subsequently numbered 
Nos. 1, 3, and 5 Ivy Street, together with their rear 
courtyards and outbuildings. The course of a 
prominent north-south boundary wall, presumably 
part of the centreline of Antelope Chequer as 
originally planned, runs the length of the trench, and 
seems to have been picked up at its southern end 
during the excavation. To the west of this line was 
open land in 1716/51, but had been largely covered 
by non-dwelling buildings by 1854. 

Little has been discovered about these cottages 
before the 19th century. Earlier tax lists and 
ratebooks give the impression that lowly-rated 
domestic properties extended both west and north 
of the Queens Arms from at least the 16th century 
onwards. The 1716/1751 maps suggest that there 
was then no passageway west of No. 7 Ivy Street, 
but continuous building along the frontage. If so, it 
may perhaps be assumed that the block of cottages 
which existed until the 1960s (Nos. 1-5 Ivy Street), 
was part of the Chafin property traced above. The 
undated Church Commissioners plans of c. 1870 
(WRO 45/11 and 45/18) both describe the land west 
of No. 7 Ivy Street as Mr Weeks’s stables, but by 
1880 a plan attached to a deed (WRO 1075/001/90) 
attributes this area, and the stables to the north, to 
Mr Thomas Crutcher. He in 1891 (census return) 
was the occupant of No. 5 Ivy Street, and described 
himself as a horse dealer. The cottages appear to have 
continued as private dwellings until the 1960s. 

Trench 2, which explored tenements north of 
the Queens Arms fronting Brown Street, appears to 
have impinged on the stables and courtyard which 
belonged to the Queens Arms and/or the Antelope. 
The lease of 1768 (WRO 952/2) described above 
seems to refer to this area as the Antelope stables, 
but a newspaper advertisement in 1772 (Gordon 
n.d., 6) mentions houses in Brown Street between 
the Queens Arms stables and Mr Brooks’ house. 
If, as suggested, the two inns were being operated 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


in tandem at this period, the stables presumably 
served for both. The 1854 map implies that the 
buildings in this area were still stabling, or at least 
in non-domestic use, and this is confirmed by the 
abuttal recited on an 1877 deed (WRO 1075/001/ 
90). In 1880 they were used by the horse dealer, 
Thomas Crutcher. 

During the 20th century these premises were 
used variously as a mineral water factory, smith’s 
shop and builder’s workshop (1925), a tinsmith and 
motor engineer (1927), a cabinet maker (1931), and 
a motor cycle dealer (1935). By 1959 part of the site 
was occupied by Farway Garage, motor car agents 
and dealers, who disappeared c. 1965, by when 
Colletts Garage had established itself along the 
Brown Street frontage to the north. 


SUMMARY 

The excavation site lies within one of Salisbury’s 13th 
century ‘chequers’ surrounding its south-eastern 
corner. It may be assumed to have impinged on parts 
of five original tenements, and the north-south rear 
boundary dividing them. The corner tenement 
occupied by an extant medieval building, known 
since the 17th century as the Queen Arms Inn, can 
be traced intermittently in documents since 1361, 
in particular through the leasebooks of the Dean and 
Chapter of Salisbury, to whom it belonged from 1410 
until 1877. Although in the 14th century it was a 
high-status private house, it appears to have become 
by the 16th century an inn, which it remains. 

By 1570 the adjoining cottage west of the inn 
fronting Ivy Street (now No. 7 Ivy Street) was in the 
same occupancy as the inn, and later it seems to 
have been acquired by the Dean and Chapter. Land 
and buildings further west and to the north, with 
which the excavation was concerned, never belonged 
to the corner tenement, but were in the hands of 
wealthy Salisbury landowners, including William 
Warmwell in c. 1400, and the Chafyn family, c. 1550 
-c.1715. 

Although names of occupants in the general area 
abound in medieval and later documents, it is rarely 
possible to identify their premises. No documentary 
evidence has been found of particular industrial 
buildings or high-status dwellings on the site; rather, 
both street frontages appear to have been lined by 
“cottages. The western half of the site continued to 
be occupied by modest dwellings and their backyards 
until the 20th century. An important inn, the 
Antelope, lay to the north-west of the site, and by 
the 18th century its stables extended to Brown Street. 
The northern half of the site became stables, a 


Dil. 


courtyard, and associated outbuildings, associated 
with both the Antelope and the Queens Arms Inn, 
and taken over by a horse dealer in the late 19th 
century. In the 20th century this area served various 
small industrial functions, including prior to its 
clearance a motor garage. 


DISCUSSION 
by Mick Rawlings 


The excavations at Ivy Street/Brown Street have 
produced a substantial amount of evidence 
concerning the nature of settlement in this part of 
Salisbury, particularly during the period immediately 
after the establishment of the new city in the first 
half of the 13th century. The importance of the work 
lies not only in the information recovered concerning 
the arrangement of activities within the tenements 
or burgages and in the details of construction of the 
buildings along frontages, but also in the wealth of 
environmental data retrieved from waterlogged 
deposits in the lower parts of some pits. 

In the decade preceding these excavations, a 
number of pieces of archaeological fieldwork had 
been undertaken within the limits of the medieval 
city (Figure 9). These were mainly excavations 
carried out by the Trust for Wessex Archaeology in 
association with other parties and were aimed at 
fulfilling the aims of a Project Research Design 
which had itself resulted from earlier concerns over 
the potential loss of archaeological deposits as a 
result of proposed development (cf. Borthwick and 
Chandler 1983). All of this work remains 
unpublished, except in the form of a number of 
very preliminary summary reports (e.g. WAM 1988, 
178). However, a document presenting the outline 
results of the programme was produced (Hawkes 
n.d.) and the work at Ivy Street/Brown Street can 
be assessed against the information presented in 
this document. 

The pattern of excavated medieval structures in 
the eastern chequers was previously shown to be 
mainly single-roomed buildings with rear yards 
containing a well, and subsequent developments 
comprising extensions at the back. The dimensions 
of the rooms were in line with those recorded here 
in Trench 2, but in this instance the building was 
clearly aligned along the frontage and had at least 
three rooms plus an extension at the rear. 

The walls of this building, however, did conform 
to the type previously recorded, representing flint- 


58 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


defences 


Known line of city 


Blue Boar 


Market 
Place 


Sd 


BROWN STREET Rolfe’s 
/IVY STREET | 
EXCAVATIONS 


ei Approximate area 


; WA excavations 1984-1990 
® Location 


Watching brief 


Fig. 9. Archaeological Fieldwork in Salisbury, 1984-1990 


EXCAVATIONS AT IVY STREET AND BROWN STREET, SALISBURY, 1994 


and-mortar dwarf walls which would have supported 
timber-framed buildings. The external walls were 
free-standing and of variable width, with greensand 
blocks often (but not exclusively) incorporated at 
corners and wall junctions. The internal partition 
walls were represented by narrow beam slots, 
whereas the previous investigations had found that 
this build-type was exceptional and that internal walls 
were more usually based on dwarf walls which were 
similar to, but narrower than, the external walls. 

Floors were previously recorded as being mostly 
composed of layers of compacted chalk up to 70mm 
thick separated by levelling layers of sand, soil or 
occasionally of clay. At Ivy Street/Brown Street this 
pattern was repeated, although the levelling material 
was most often clay or gravel, or a mixture of both. 
There was no indication that the floors had been 
tiled, although the possibility remains that the actual 
floor surface was made up of timber planking 
suspended above the compacted chalk. However, the 
presence within the floors of numerous episodes of 
patching, repair and replacement makes this unlikely. 

The backlands at Ivy Street/Brown Street showed 
limited evidence of pit-digging in the medieval 
period, with the exception of cess pits. There are 
several potential explanations for the almost 
complete absence of refuse pits, including the 
possibility of alternative refuse disposal systems such 
as collection for removal to extra-mural areas or 
direct disposal into the street water-courses. On the 
other hand, it may just have been the relatively high 
water table which provided the deterrent. This 
absence of refuse pits of medieval date was noted 
during the previous campaign, although the 
investigation of a site on the projected line of the 
northern city rampart revealed the presence of more 
than 20 pits, thus lending further credence to the 
suggestion that extra-mural disposal was the more 
favoured option (Hawkes n.d., 11). 

The cess pits appear to have started out in the 
medieval period as rounded, unlined excavations into 
the basal river gravels, but by the 15th century these 
were replaced by well-built square or rectangular pits 
lined with ashlar chalk blocks. It is the pits of this 
type investigated at Ivy Street/Brown Street which 
have provided the great wealth of environmental data 
described in this report. This represents the first time 
in Salisbury that such material has been recovered 
and examined in detail, and it has thrown up a 
number of points and questions around which future 
research aims and objectives can be set. 

Although the evidence recovered does not 
suggest that the occupants of the Ivy Street/Brown 


59 


Street site were of especially high social status, access 
to a rich and varied diet can be assumed. This may 
not have been a consistent phenomenon, but those 
cess pits which were examined revealed that the 
available foods included both local orchard and 
hedge fruits (apples, plums, sloes, strawberries, 
raspberries, blackberries) along with imported ones 
such as figs and possibly grapes. A number of types 
of birds were available for consumption (chickens, 
geese, woodcock and even finches) and these were 
bred or caught locally. Sheep, cattle and pigs were 
all found as kitchen or plate waste, and it is likely 
that the shellfish (oysters, scallops, whelks and 
mussels) were also brought to the site as comestibles. 

Perhaps the most informative faunal remains are 
the fish bones. This assemblage shows the 
importance of fish in the diet, both of locally caught 
freshwater species (eel, dace, stickleback, bullhead) 
and of other types imported from the coast, probably 
Southampton. This latter group included conger, 
cod, herring, flatfish and rays, mostly thornback. In 
the post-medieval period this list was expanded to 
include ling and red sea-bream. The cod and herring 
could have been salted and/or pickled, and the conger 
was split for the purpose of transport and possibly 
for salting. The freshwater fish were almost certainly 
from the local chalk streams, and the predominance 
of eel within the assemblage indicates that this was 
available in some considerable quantity. 

The stability of tenement layout was emphasised 
in the sites examined in the 1984-90 campaign, with 
both building plans and property boundaries being 
maintained right through to the 19th century, even 
during the wholesale replacement of timber-framed 
buildings with brickwork structures. This element 
of continuity can be seen clearly in Trench 2 at Ivy 
Street/Brown Street, where the tenement wall formed 
the boundary at the frontage until the 19th century 
and probably in the backlands until the same period. 
The lack of any structure on the frontage immediately 
to the north of the tenement wall suggests the 
presence here of an access through to the backlands. 
This is a common occurrence in Salisbury, where 
the grid street layout precludes the establishment 
and use of back lanes (RCHM 1980, xlii). 

The documentary survey which has been carried 
out as part of this report serves to emphasise the 
richness of the available material and the rewards of 
being able to link archaeological excavation and 
historical research. This union deserves to be a crucial 
aspect of any work undertaken in the medieval core 
of Salisbury. In the case of the excavations at Ivy 
Street/Brown Street, the availability of such a rich 


60 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


source of documentary material was offset against 
the necessary expedience with which the excavation 
was undertaken, i.e. the loss of information caused 
by the machine-excavation of the upper levels of the 
site was to a great extent compensated by that which 
was recovered by the documentary survey. 


The archive 

The archive has been deposited at Salisbury and 
South Wiltshire Museum, Salisbury, under the 
project code W7924. 


Acknowledgements 

The project, including the publication of this report, 
was commissioned and funded by Salisbury District 
Council, initially through the Relph Ross 
Partnership. Wessex Archaeology would like to thank 
the officers of the District Council and the staff of 
the Relph Ross Partnership for their assistance 
throughout the course of the project. The 
collaborative assistance of the staff of the County 
Archaeological Service, in particular Helena Cave- 
Penney, is also appreciated. 

The excavation was managed by Kit Watson, and 
was directed in the field by Mick Rawlings with the 
assistance of Dave Murdie and Rod Brook. Much 
of the initial post-excavation work was undertaken 
by Nicholas A. Wells, with the finds analyses co- 
ordinated by Lorraine Mepham and the 
environmental analyses by Michael J. Allen. The 
illustrations were prepared by Elizabeth James. 


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WRO Sub-Dean wills: Thomas Iatt, 1709 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 63-70 


The Great Bustard in Wiltshire: Flight into Extinction? 


by James Thomas 


Once a proud resident of Wiltshire, the Great Bustard, the largest land bird in England, was systematically 
eradicated by various forces and agencies. Its form and treatment between 1500 and 1850 are here subjected to 


analysis and comment. 


At first sight there would appear to be little or no 
connection between an Indian state, a noted English 
naturalist, and coats of arms for two English counties. 
And yet, as if by coincidence, nothing could be further 
from the truth. In an article published early in 1999 
headed ‘Great bustard of Rajasthan is close to 
extinction’, the Daily Telegraph’s correspondent in 
New Delhi, Jan Stock, recounted how this large, 
cumbersome bird, frequently over four feet tall and 
weighing up to 40 lbs., was being slaughtered 
indiscriminately by poachers for its meat and preyed 
upon by wealthy hunters for sport. Taking a long while 
to be airborne, it is, in consequence, the journalist 
noted, an easy prey for hunters. Stock cited the 
national outcry in 1980 when a Middle Eastern prince 
planned to visit Rajasthan to hunt this seemingly 
inoffensive bird, an outcry which forced the potentate 
to abandon his trip. Stock also cited a spokesman for 
the Bombay Natural History Society as stating 
“People don’t realise how near to extinction this bird 
is”.! Substitute Salisbury Plain for the remote areas 
of Rajasthan’s Thar desert, where the Great Bustard 
can be found today, and there is a repetition of what 
took place in Wiltshire and other parts of England in 
the nineteenth century. Greed, farming and the desires 
of sportsmen spelt doom to the bird. To understand 
the bird’s significance in the context of Wiltshire, 
however, it is necessary to consider three questions. 
What were the bird’s prime characteristics? How did 
‘it fare in early modem England? What happened to it 
in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? When 
answers are provided to these questions it should 
become abundantly clear why it was so fitting that in 


1937 Wiltshire should have been granted a crest 
described in heraldic terms as: ‘On a wreath of the 
colours, A Bustard, wings elevated and addorsed, 
proper’; and why, three decades later, a badge should 
have been granted: ‘On a rounded barry of eight 
argent and vert a Bustard, wings addorsed, proper’.’ 


Outs tarda, as the Great Bustard is known officially to 
ornithologists, belonged to the Order of Rasores (now 
Stuthioniformes) and to the family Struthionidae. It 
was the largest British land bird, and Wiltshire ‘was 
probably its last breeding ground in England’. Though 
habitually shy, it was nevertheless capable of being 
aggressive, as in 1856 when a wounded specimen bit 
a boy’s fingers. The eggs, larger than those of a swan, 
are usually two in number and are olive brown in 
colour with darker spots. Its courting habits were 
pronounced, if not to say extreme. The gular pouch, 
running down the thorax in front of the windpipe, is 
accentuated in males at this time. The tail is turned 
back revealing the white under-tail coverts, while the 
primaries are crossed over the back so as to hold down 
the inverted tail. The head is sunk on the back, plume 
feathers project upwards on each side, resulting in a 
white fluffy mass totally unlike the normal bird. Thus 
arrayed, the male struts before the female, producing 
a guttural ‘hoc, hoc, hoc’ noise, which the hen appears 
to take no notice of.’ In mid-January 1853 William 
Yarrell, Vice President of the Linnean Society’, read 
a paper to the Society entitled ‘On the Habits and 


School of Social and Historical Studies, University of Portsmouth, Mildam, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3AS 


64 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


The Great Bustard, drawn by Joseph Reed and engraved by T. J. Smyth, published in WAM, 1856 


THE GREAT BUSTARD IN WILTSHIRE: FLIGHT INTO EXTINCTION? 65 


Structure of the Great Bustard. (Otis tarda of 
Linnaeus)’, noting early in his presentation ‘the great 
scarcity, or rather, the now rare occurrence of the bird 
in this country, affording but few opportunities for 
observations’. One of his correspondents noted his 
experiences in Spain: ‘I may add that the bustards 
when flushed generally fly two miles or more, 
sometimes at least a hundred yards high. They never 
try to turn;... They fly with a regular flap of the 
wings, and much faster than they appear to go’.’ 
Straight-billed with the point of the upper mandible 
curved, the bustard had long, strong, muscular legs 
and was three-toed. Its head and neck were a bluish 
grey, while its back and upper breast were buff orange; 
all of its underparts were white. The female was 
generally about a third of the male in terms of size. 
Prone to roving and being polygamous, the bustard 
was both wild and difficult to approach.°® In this 
respect it may have been seen as more of a challenge. 


I 


How did this seemingly ungainly bird fare in the early 
modern period? Contemporaries and historians are 
at one in their thinking on the subject. It was hunted, 
it was served up as food and, as an example of early 
Tudor benevolence and paternalism, it was protected 
by legislation. The Household book of L’Estranges 
of Hunstanton in Norfolk provides vivid evidence of 
the bustard being hunted, with the entry: “The xljst 
weke —Wedynsday: It[e]m, vii) malards, a bustard andj 
hernseme, kylled w[i]t[h] ye crosbowe’.’ An early 
seventeenth century manuscript account of Wiltshire 
life extolled the virtues of both the bustard and the 
hunter, the author observing: 
And last of all the Courser may have his belly full of rideing, 
as well as his doggs of running, if not at the Hares in the 
Hare warren about Wilton, yett at that Rare and Excellent 
Creature, the English Aestrich (as I call a Bustard), which 
the Grand-father of this present Earle of Pembroke used 
to catch with his Greyhounds.® 


Writing in the second half of the seventeenth 
century John Aubrey waxed lyrical about the bird, 
pointing out that they were to be found on Salisbury 
Plain ‘especially about Stonehenge’ and ‘in the fields 

-above Lavington’, though ‘they doe not often come 
to Chalke’. Later in his work, as if to emphasise the 
point, he noted “These plaines doe abound with hares, 
fallow deer, partridges, and bustards’.’ Britton, who 
produced an edition of Aubrey’s work, observed: ‘It 
was formerly very numerous on these plains, but the 


murdering tube of the sportsmen, and pilfering hand 
of the shepherd, have nearly exterminated the whole 
race’. Gilpin perhaps came closer to the truth when 
he noted ‘as he is so noble a prize, the flesh so delicate, 
and the quantity of it so large, he is of course 
frequently the object of the fowler’s stratagem’.!° It 
should come as no surprise, therefore, to learn of the 
bustard being served up at table. In 1519 bustard was 
served to the Lords of the Star Chamber on three 
occasions. In one instance 4s. was defrayed for it; on 
the other two days it cost 2s. 10d.'! Such prices 
indicate, indirectly, that it was already considered 
something of a delicacy. The selling price of a bustard 
at Salisbury’s Poultry Cross Market in 1555 was 10s. 
a bird and such was its prolific nature on the Plain 
that that community’s Mayor used to include it in 
the menu for his inaugural feast, certainly up to 
1800.” 

Well before this time, however, the bustard had 
been protected by legislation, an early and intriguing 
example of concern for the environment and the 
wildlife it supported. By legislation enacted in 1535 
the taking of the Great Bustard’s eggs was prohibited, 
a maximum penalty of 20d. being imposed for each 
egg removed.!’ As always with early Tudor legislation, 
however, it was one thing to pass it and another to 
make it work. By a proclamation of May 1544 prices 
‘to sell all manner of wild foul and poultry wares’ 
were set, so that ‘the best crane, bustard or stork, not 
above the price of 4s’. Furthermore, it was ordered 
that ‘no foreign or foreigners sell or cause to be sold 
within the markets of Leaden Hall, Cheapside, and 
Newgate market, or any of them, or elsewhere within 
the... city of London and suburbs of the same .. / 
the mean bustard at 2s. and the best bustard at 2s. 
8d.'* As a further means of protection, there is 
evidence to show that bustards were included in early 
menageries. During his visit to the Low Countries in 
1641 John Evelyn (1620-1706) recounted with both 
relish and detail many of the sights he had 
encountered. In Brussels early in October he noted, 
having visited the riding school and gardens, with their 
impressive backdrop of fountains and music: 

There is likewise a faire Aviary; and in the Court next it 
are kept divers sorts of Animals, rare and exotic fowle; as 
Eagles, Cranes, Storkes, Bustars, Pheasants of Severall 
Kinds, and a Duck having 4 Wings and c: In another 
division of the same Close, Connys of an almost perfect 
yellow Colour: There was no Court now in the Palace, the 
Infanta Cardinal, who was the Governor of Flanders being 
dead but newly, and every body in deepe Mourning, which 
made us quitt the Towne sooner than happily we should 
else have don.!” 


60 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


II 


It was the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 
however, that were to spell doom to this magnificent 
bird. The naturalist Gilbert White (1720-93), who saw 
bustards as large, somewhat ungainly creatures, also 
pointed to their passing in his highly detailed journals. 
Thus for 13 February 1770 he noted: ‘Saw bustards 
on Salisbury plain: they resemble fallow-deer at a 
distance. Partridges pair. Wild-geese in the winter do 
damage to the green wheat on Salisbury plain.’ 

Three years later, however, he noted that bustards 
were being bred in the Sussex parish of Findon. In 
November 1787, by contrast, he was able to record a 
conversation with a carter on Mr Treadgold’s North 
downs farm between Andover and Winchester. While 
the farm was ‘much annoyed with Norway rats’, the 
carter noted changes in local life. He ‘also told us 
that about 12 years ago he had seen a flock of 18 
bustards at one time on that farm, and once since 
only two. This is the only habitation to be met with 
on these downs between Whorwel and Winchester. !° 
White’s correspondent Thomas Pennant felt them to 
be more common in Wiltshire at this time, observing 
that “in autumn these are generally found in large 
turnip fields near the downs, and in flocks of fifty or 
more.!’ 

While specimens were offered for sale, such as 
the “Three fine BIRDS’ put up by William Hussey at 
Tilshead near Market Lavington early in November 
1788,'* change was under way. Towards the close of 
the century the bird’s eggs were systematically 
gathered for incubation and hatching under hens. 
Such was their increasing rarity value that 10s. 6d. 
per egg was often paid while the young, when not 
fully grown, frequently commanded 10-12 guineas a 
pair.'” Here could be seen the beginning of the end, 
for the greater the obtainable price the rarer the bird 
was likely to become, and thus a vicious downward 
spiral would begin to take hold. But the egg hunter 
and specimen collector caused only part of the 
problem, for the poor bustard appeared to be fighting 
an unwinnable war on three fronts. While the egg 
hunter and his associates constituted one threat 
danger came, too, from the advance of enclosure and 
of the sportsman with his ‘murdering tube’. The bird 
was being driven from Wiltshire and, it should be 
noted, from elsewhere as well, by the simple but lethal 
process of eradication. The late eighteenth century 
rise in wheat prices, succession of bad harvests and 
war-time restrictions on grain imports meant that the 
area under the plough had to be extended and the 
type of cultivation intensified. As a result, the bustard 


was driven from a large area that had once 
constituted its natural habitat. But it was not just a 
matter of the appearance of the egg collector and 
the relentless advance of enclosure. The rise of the 
sportsman also did more than a little to end the 
bustard’s days in Wiltshire. 

Game and its acquisition was an important 
dimension of landed society in the late eighteenth and 
early nineteenth centuries. As sport rose in social and 
economic significance so the game laws grew harsher 
and the poacher became ever more devious. On many 
a Wiltshire estate the gamekeeper, who had to be 
licenced, and the shepherd were viewed as the top 
hands. Landowners could become irate when supplies 
of game were not forthcoming. Salisbury solicitor John 
Hodding, Receiver of the Duke of Queensberry’s 
estates in Wiltshire, most of which were centred on 
Amesbury, from 1788 onwards, was moved to write 
to his employer as follows in mid-September 1807: 

I have received Mr Douglas’s Letter, with a Copy of a 
Letter from Mr Dubois to the Gamekeeper at Bentley; 
and the Gamekeeper has been with me on the Subject of 
it — he seems much hurt that your Grace should think he 
sells or gives away Game, which he declares he never did. 

The Season for killing game at Bentley is not yet 
arrived, there being no partridges or any Land there to 
which they resort —- And no Game but Pheasants, Hares 
and Woodcocks, are to be found there, and the time for 
shooting them, does not arrive, until the first of October; 
immediately after which he will supply Your Grace with 
all the Game he can possibly procure.”° 


Significantly the steward made no mention of the 
availability of the bustard on the ducal estate, 
suggesting that it had perhaps disappeared by then. 
By the same token, the pre-printed Game Book 
completed by members of the Penruddocke family 
between 1823 and 1848, recording shooting activity 
on their lands at Compton Chamberlayne and 
Baverstock, both to the west of Salisbury, make no 
mention of the bustard. Moorhens, snipe, rabbits, 
pheasant, rooks and other birds fell victim to their 
guns, but of bustard there was no mention.”! The 
evidence would appear to point to the bird’s 
disappearance from Wiltshire by this time. Indeed, a 
combination of written and early oral history would 
also appear to confirm that conclusion. 

Over time bustard numbers, encounters and 
sightings in Wiltshire were to decline considerably. In 
1818 William Chafin recalled a bustard hunt on the 
downs near Winterslow Hut in the late 1760s. There 
were about 25 birds in the flock and although he took 
a pot shot at one, he failed to bag it. With a certain 
amount of prescience he observed ‘I believe such a 


THE GREAT BUSTARD IN WILTSHIRE: FLIGHT INTO EXTINCTION? 67 


number of bustards will never again be seen together 
in England’.*? In c.1785 or 1786 came record of 
another sighting, this time of several near Chitterne 
Bam, while the authority, who employed the initials 
‘J.S.’, noted that he had heard local farmers talking 
of reasons for the bird’s relative scarcity, which they 
attributed ‘to the heath, ..., being broken up and 
converted to tillage, and to the corn being weeded in 
the spring, whereby the birds were disturbed and 
prevented making their nests’. Within a year the same 
person saw a pair flying ‘over our heads and within 
gun shot, and I could distinctly see the colour of their 
plumage’. In c. 1792 a young bird was taken between 
Devizes and Salisbury and given to Mrs Steedman 
who kept the Red Lion in that city. She tamed it and 
within three months ‘it could eat off the table in the 
bar’. She was offered 10 guineas for the bird but 
declined it, only to subsequently lose it when a pointer 
gained entry to the parlour and slaughtered it.*? Four 
year later Dew, an observant and credible sportsman, 
saw seven or eight together on the Downs near 
Winterbourne Stoke but, added the author, G. Maton, 
‘IT have not met with any one since who has actually 
seen the bustard in Wiltshire subsequently to that 
year’.*? 

John Britton took a particular interest in the birds, 
recording seeing a brace in the summer of 1800, 
feeding on a pasture track near Tilshead: ‘I felt much 
gratified in beholding and examining these rare and 
majestic birds; and having amused myself by looking 
at them for some time through a telescope, I 
approached within eighty yards, when they sprang 
immediately from the ground.” 

Even when away from his beloved Wiltshire, 
Britton was kept apprised of relevant information by 
his fellow county devotee and scholar William 
Cunnington. Thus late in July 1802 Cunnington wrote 
to him as follows: 

Dear Sir 

I was duly favored with your Book and Letter and 
inclosed I return you a Guinea and half for the former 
also all the Drawings we have left as part were returned 
before I purposed sending you an account of the Bustard 
but am disappointed in not receiving the information 
promised me from Tilshead — but in a fortnight I shall see 
the person who kept the Bird and I will then write you — I 
don’t see what I can write so as to be of any service to you 
— Camps Barrows Religious Circles and c. are so numerous 

that single details would be of no service to you.*° 


Britton’s knowledge upon this increasingly rare 
inhabitant of the county was considerable and he 
supplied Yarrell the noted ornithologist with much 
valuable material for his paper entitled, “On the habits 


and structure of the Great Bustard’. Thus he 
recounted the experience of the rider en route from 
Tinhead to Tilshead very early on a June morning in 
1801. A large bird, ‘which afterwards proved to be a 
bustard’, landed in front of the horse and ‘indicated a 
disposition to attack, ...’. After an hour-long struggle 
the rider secured the bird, offering it to his host, J. 
Bartley of Tilshead. Kept in a staked cage, it soon 
became tame and lived on a diet of sparrows, charlock 
flowers, rape leaves and the odd mouse as a nutritional 
supplement. Some two weeks after this particular 
incident Farmer Grant of Tilshead, while returning 
from Warminster Market, was attacked in a similar 
fashion by, it was thought, the same bird’s mate.*’ 
Other reports occur of encounters with the 
bustard in early nineteenth-century Wiltshire, but they 
all predate Waterloo in 1815. In 1801, for example, 
Reverend Wyndham’s grandfather recorded in his 
game book seeing a hen bustard in flight whilst riding 
to Upavon. In 1803 and 1804 John Waters, renting 
Normanton Farm on the Salisbury side of Amesbury, 
killed what he maintained was the ‘last of the bustards 
seen about at that date’. On this count, however, he 
was mistaken. From Lake and from Eastcott, from 
West Lavington, from Broad Hinton to Langley came 
sightings and reports of bustards being brought down. 
In 1802 Montagu observed that the bustard was to 
be found only upon the large extensive plains and 
that Wiltshire was virtually its last home ‘where they 
had become very scarce within these few years’. 
Increasingly, authorities referred to the bird’s scarcity, 
with the ornithologist Graves explaining in 1821: 
the enclosing and cultivating those extensive downs and 
heaths in various parts of Great Britain, on which formerly 
this noble species was seen in large flocks, threatens within 
a few years to extirp ate the bustard from this country; 
instead of being met with in flocks of forty or fifty birds, it 
is a circumstance of rare occurrence that a single individual 
is now seen.”* 


Just four years later Selby maintained that the 
bustard was ‘extinct upon our extensive downs, of 
which it once formed the appropriate ornament’.”” 
Thereafter it was a matter of sightings and the 
occasional shooting or capture of visiting specimens, 
some of which may well have flown off course. 
(Examples are given in Appendix B.) 

Although the bustard had disappeared from its 
native habitat of Wiltshire, it was not forgotten. Firstly, 
it lingered on in local folk memory, enabling Canon 
Bennett, Shrewton’s incumbent, to write in 1861 “The 
oldest inhabitants remember the Bustards existing in 
flocks but “very shy” on the downs east of Shrewton’. 
There were very occasional sightings of the bird, such 


68 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


as that captured in the neighbourhood of Hungerford 
early in January 1856. One was seen at Berwick St. 
James in 1870, while during the following year at least 
seven found their way to Salisbury Plain, with sightings 
at Berwick St. James, Maddington, Market Lavington, 
and Shrewton. Accounts survive, with varying degrees 
of accuracy, of what fate befell them, while there are 
attempts at explaining why they should have arrived 
back in their native habitat. One theory was that they 
were refugees from the Franco-Prussian War, being 
frightened away by the roar of incessant gunfire.*” 
Whatever the reasons, there were a number of sightings 
and shootings in Wiltshire early in the 1 870s. 

One female specimen was shot at Maddington 
Manor Farm in January 1871 by a keeper named 
Stephen Smith, who was in the employ of Mr. E. 
Lywood. The bustard was shot at a range of over 100 
yards and was downed with a ‘marble’. The bird, 
accompanied by two other specimens, suffered a 
broken wing before crashing to the ground, one of its 
two erstwhile companions wheeling round in a 
seemingly frantic search for it. Measuring 31 inches 
in the body and with a 62 inch wingspan, the bird 
was presented by Mr. Lywood to the Salisbury and 
South Wiltshire Museum. Seemingly this specimen 
was one of a flock of eight, at least two of which had 
been shot and stuffed in neighbouring Somerset. They 
fetched up in the hands of Reverend Murray 
Matthews, Vicar of Bishops Lydeard near Taunton 
and Mr. Cecil Smith, squire of the same parish, ‘both 
of whom have large and very perfect collections of 
our British birds’.*! 

This particular incident led to three developments. 
Firstly, Henry Blackmore, formerly of Salisbury, and 
A.P. Morres, who subsequently wrote a very useful 
article about the bustard, consumed a hearty lunch 
of bustard flesh. Secondly, Mr. King of Warminster, 
preserved and stuffed the bird for posterity and the 
benefit of natural historians. Morres wrote 
subsequently: “There are now 2 pairs of these grand 
birds in our Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, 
one pair coming from Yorkshire, killed in 1825, and 
the pair from our own plain — 1871. 

The third development was the sending of a letter 
to the local journal, entitled ‘A Plea for the Bustards’, 
which read as follows: 

Sir - may I request your valuable assistance by inserting a 
plea for the lives of the beautiful pair of Bustards which 
are still walking over the lands of this and the parishes 
adjoining, as doubtless they would breed, the close time 
being so very near, and thus pleasantly add to the 
unexpected novelty of their re-appearance in our 
generation. 


In the event, however, the plea was wasted for, as 
Morres noted, “They soon, however, disappeared’.*? 

And yet, although they had disappeared, there 
was little or no chance of them being forgotten in the 
county because of place and allied name evidence. 
Near Martin was Bustard Farm, put up for auction 
on 6 October 1796, with live and dead stock, four 
wagons, a cart, ploughs, six ‘good horses’ and ‘208 
sound sheep’.*! By the side of the old road across 
Salisbury Plain is the area known as the Bustard. 
Immediately to the north of Rollestone Bake Farm 
was the original Rollestone Camp, while opposite the 
Bustard and occupying both sides of the road was 
Bustard Camp. Indeed, one of the results of the army’s 
arrival on the Plain was the decision to revive the 
Bustard Inn which stands on the edge of the ranges 
less than a mile to the north of the present-day 
Rollestone Camp.” In Trowbridge today can be found 
the Bustard Club, a social venue for county council 
employees. Though gone, the bustard 1s not forgotten. 


IV 


During the last thirty years there have been efforts 
made to return the bird to its native Wiltshire habitat. 
A Great Bustard Trust was established and attempts 
made from 1970 onwards to breed the bird on land 
at Porton Down, using birds and eggs imported from 
Germany and Russia. As the bird lays only two eggs 
per annum, however, numbers would be slow to 
recover once stocks have been allowed to fall, while 
the necessary habitat was no longer found to exist in 
Wiltshire. In the end the Trust was forced in January 
1998 to admit defeat and disband itself.*° While there 
was a breeding programme at Whipsnade Wildlife Park 
in 1997 and one extant specimen called ‘Keto’, it was 
felt to be unlikely that ‘the magnificent great bustard 
will be seen roaming the Wiltshire countryside 
again’.*’ When, therefore, visitors to Devizes Museum 
stop and look at the two bustard specimens on display 
there, they should perhaps spare a thought or two for 
them. Enclosure, the seed drill, the horse hoe, 
predators of various sorts whether human or in the 
form of Vulpes Vulpes, and the wilful sportsman 
together made sure that England’s largest land bird 
was driven and eradicated from Wiltshire. And the 
real tragedy is that the bustard, as the great Chinese 
ornithologist Cheng T’so-Hsin explained, was ‘the bird 
most beneficial to agriculture’. Perhaps the final 
remarks should be the observations of that evocative 
observer of rural life W.H. Hudson (1862-1922), who 
commented in the early part of this century: 


THE GREAT BUSTARD IN WILTSHIRE: FLIGHT INTO EXTINCTION? 69 


Wiltshire, like other places in England, has long been 
deprived of its most interesting birds — the species that 
were best worth preserving. Its great bustard, once our 
greatest bird — even greater than the golden and sea eagles 
and the ‘giant crane’ with its ‘trumpet sound’ once heard 
in the land — is now but a memory. Or a place name: 
Bustard Inn, no longer an inn, is well known to the many 
thousands who now go to the mimic wars on Salisbury 
Plain; and there is a Trappist monastery in a village on the 
southernmost border of the county, which was once called, 
and is still known to old men as, ‘Bustard Farm’. All that 
Caleb Bawcombe knew of this grandest bird is what his 
father had told him; and Isaac knew of it only from hearsay, 
although it was still met with in South Wilts when he was 
a young man.*® 


References 


1 Daily Telegraph, 11 February 1999. 

2 D. Buckeridge, Heraldry in Wiltshire, Vol.1(1995), n.p. 

3 C. Straton, ‘The Great Bustard’ in The Festival Book of 
Salisbury 1864-]914 (Salisbury, 1914), pp. 11-13. A 
member of W.A.N.H.S., Straton died on 22 February 
1918, aged 75: WAM 40 (1917-19), pp. 199-201. 

4 Carl Linnaeus (1707-78), was a Swedish natural historian 
who contributed much to the concept and application 
of classification. He was the first to enunciate the 
principles for defining genera and species. 

5 Yarrell’s paper was reported in The Morning Chronicle. 
William Yarrell (1784-1856) was a noted zoologist and 
bookseller based in London. A Fellow of the Linnaean 
Society in 1825, he served as its Treasurer between 1849 
and 1856 and was an original member of the Zoological 
Society in 1826. His published work included History 
of British Fishes (1836) and History of British Birds 
(1843): D.N.B. 

6 Rev. A.C. Smith, “The Great Bustard’, WA.M. 2 (1856), 
pp. 129-30. Smith was incumbent of Yatesbury, a few 
miles to the east of Calne. 

7 H. Fraser Fortescue, ‘A Lost British Bird: the Great 
Bustard’, The Badminton Magazine (July 1903), p. 92. 

8 H.C. Brentnall, ‘A Longford Manuscript’, WA.M. 52 
(1947-8), p. 20. 

9 J. Aubrey, The Natural History of Wiltshire (ed.) J. Britton 
(Wiltshire Topographical Society, 1847), pp. 64, 108. 

10 J. Britton, The Beauties of Wiltshire, vol. 2 (1801), p.114. 

11 A.L. Simon, A Concise Encyclopaedia of Gastronomy 
(1983 edn.), p. 515. 

12 C. McKeown, ‘Gone Forever? Wiltshire’s Lost Birds’, 
Wiltshire Life, September 1997, p. 25; R. Whitlock, A 
Victorian Village (1990), p. 182; A Tryon, ‘Return of 
the Great Bustard’, Country Life, 26 July 1973, p. 244. 

13 H. Fraser Fortescue, p. 92. 

14 H.E.S. Fisher and A. R. J. Jurica (ed.) Documents in 
English Economic History: England from 1000 to 1760 
(1984), pp. 484-5. 

15 E.S. de Beer (ed), The Diary of John Evelyn (5 vols., 


1955), vol. 2, p. 72. Evelyn was in error about the 
Cardinal Infanta’s death as Ferdinand died 31 October 
1641. 

16 W. Johnson (ed), Journals of Gilbert White (1982), pp. 
20, 69, 280. Rattus norvegicus or Rattus decumanus, 
the brown rat, had probably reached England in the 
late 1720s aboard ships trading with Russia and had 
spread rapidly: Johnson, Gilbert White (1982 edn.), p. 
76. 

17 Quoted Rev. A. C. Smith, “The Great Bustard’, WA.M. 
3 (1856), p. 132. Thomas Pennant (1726-98), traveller 
and naturalist, produced British Zoology (1766) and 
History of Quadrupeds (1781): D.N.B. 

18 Salisbury and Winchester Journal, 3 November 1788. 

19 H. Fraser Fortescue, pp. 95-6. 

20 John Hodding to the Duke of Queensberry, 15 

September 1807: WRO 377/1. Bentley Woods, located 

in West Dean parish, contained about 672 acres, 

producing in tmber and underwood felled and sold, 
approximately £450 per annum for the Duke. 

WRO 332/282, Game Book 1823-48, np. 

R. Whitlock, A Victorian Village (1990), p. 182. 

J. S., ‘The Bustard’, WA.M. 1(1854), p. 212. 

4 G. Maton, “The Natural History of a Part of the County 
of Wiltshire’ (1843), p.5. Copy contained inW.A.N.H.S. 
Library, Wiltshire Tracts no. 2. 

25 J. Britton, The Beauties of Wiltshire, vol. 2, (1801), p.115. 

26 William Cunnington to John Britton, 21 July 1802: 
W.A.N.H.S. Library, MS. 2600, Cunnington MSS., Box 
326, n.f. At this time Britton (1771-1857), the noted 
antiquary and topographer, was residing at no. 18, 
Wilderness Row, Goswell Street, London. 

27 Rev. A. C. Smith, ‘The Great Bustard’, WAM. 3 (1856), 
pp. 134-5. Mr. Bartley subsequently sold his bustard to 
Lord Temple for 30 guineas. Temple was already in 
possession of one specimen. 

28 A.P. Morres, ‘On the Occurrence of some of the Rarer 
Species of Birds in the Neighbourhood of Salisbury’, 
WAM. 20 (1882), p. 179. At least one downed specimen 
at this time was sent to the Duke of Queensberry. No 
acknowledgement of the gift was received. Morres was 
incumbent of Britford, to the south-east of Salisbury. 

29 Quoted Rev. A. C. Smith, “The Great Bustard’, WAM, 3 
(1856), p. 138. John Prideaux Selby (1788-1867) 
naturalist, was High Sheriff for Northumberland in 
1823. Between 1825 and 1834 he published I//ustrations 
of British Ornithology. In 1842 he published British 
Forest Trees: D.N.B. 

30 WAM 46 (1932-4), notes, p. 392; 25 (1891), p. 360; B. 
McGill, Village under the Plain: The Story of Market 
Lavington (1995), p. 121. 

31 Devizes Advertiser, 2 February 1871; A.P. Morres, ‘On 
the Occurrence of some of the Rarer Species of Birds in 
the Neighbourhood of Salisbury’, WAM 20 (1882), p. 
181. 

32 Morres, p. 182. For a bustard recipe — Bustardu Double 
Beurre — see A. L. Simon, p. 515. Taxidermy, private 
and museum acquisitions deserve closer study in the 


be 


NS Ww bw bo 
Q 


70 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


county. A Great Bustard shot in Allington Mead on 
the banks of the Avon in early February 1891 was sent 
to Foot the Bath taxidermist for preservation: WAM 
25 (1891), p. 361. A male Great Bustard, captured 
near Hungerford in January 1856, was among the 
articles exhibited in a temporary museum at the town 
hall in Warminster in August 1856. The town’s Literary 
and Scientific Institution also exhibited a specimen. 
Articles contributed to the Loan Museum in 1875 by 
S. A. Jeffreys of Melksham included two specimens of 
bustard. In 1868 William Cunnington purchased a 
specimen from the Warminster Institution for £15 and 
disposed of it to the W.A.N.H.S. Council ‘on the 
condition that in the event of the Society being broken 
up, the specimen was to be offered, at the same price, 
to me, or to members of my family’. By comparison 
£18 6s. 7d. was spent in the same year on ‘Stationery, 
postage, Carriage, Advertising and c.’: WAM, 3 (1857), 
pp. 267, 268; 15 (1875), p. 138; 12 (1870), interleaved 
vol., note by Cunnington. 

33 Quoted A. P. Morres, p.181. 

34 Salisbury and Winchester Journal, 3 October 1796. 

35 N.D.G. James, Plain Soldiering: A History of the Armed 
Forces on Salisbury Plain (1987), p. 124. 

36 S. O’Neill, ‘Time and space run out for the Great 
Bustard’, Daily Telegraph, 20 January 1998. 

37 C. McKeown, ‘Gone Forever? Wiltshire’s Lost Birds’, 
Wiltshire Life, September 1997 pp. 24-5. Other sources 
dealing with the re-establishment programme include 
a pamphlet produced by the Great Bustard Trust and 
A. Tryon, ‘Return of the Great Bustard’, Country Life, 
26 July 1973, p. 244. 

38 W. H. Hudson, A Shepherd’s Life (1946 edn.), p. 84. 


Appendix A 
Ornithology and Wiltshire Inns, 
1800 — 1850 


Set out below are details of the Wiltshire towns containing 
inns with bird names. While they show a certain amount of 
continuity, they may also provide food for thought for other 
researchers. Of particular note is that 14 of the 23 
establishments involved the swan, important for its regal pose 
and its role as a symbol of innocence. Of these, four were the 
White Swan suggesting, perhaps, a greater degree of innocence. 
The sole Black Swan, located in Devizes, may have had 
connections with empire. The black swan (Chenopis atrata), 
native to Australia, was introduced to New Zealand. Aboard 
the French vessel Naturaliste, held at Gosport in May 1803, 
were two black swans, a pair of emus and many potted plants: 
William Cole to Sir Joseph Banks, 31 May 1803:W.R. Dawson 
(ed.), The Banks Letters (1958), p. 223. 


BRADFORD 
Swan 1822 - 1838 


CHIPPENHAM 

Cock 1822 

Swan 1838 - 1848 
DEVIZES 

Black Swan 1809 - 1844 

Pelican 1830 - 1848 

White Swan 1838 - 1848 
HIGHWORTH 

Swan 1830 
HINDON 

Swan 1830 
MALMESBURY 

Swan 1830 
MERE 

Swan 1830 
SALISBURY 

Bird in Hand 1822 

Chough 1822 

Falcon 1838 

Pheasant 1822 

Spread Eagle 1822 

Swan 1830 

Three Swans 1830 

White Swan 1822 
TROWBRIDGE 

Swan 1830 - 1848 

White Swan 1822 
WARMINSTER 

Cock 1822 

Swan 1822 

White Swan 1838 - 1848 


Sources: Holden’s Triennial Directory (1809); Pigot’s 
Directory (1822), (1830); Robson’s Commercial Directory 
of London and the Western Counties, vol. 2 (1838); Hunt 
and Co’s Directory (1848) 


Appendix B 
Sightings of the Bustard, 1877 — 1998 


1877 Salisbury Plain 2 

5 Dec 1879 Woodham Ferrers, Essex 1 
8 Dec 1879 St. Clement, Jersey 2 

Dec 1879 Romney Marsh, Kent 1 


1880 Great Chard, near Ashford, Kent 1 


10 Jan 1880 Cranborne Downs, Dorset 1 

Jan 1880 Wye, Kent 1 

6 Feb 1880 West Wickham, Cambridgeshire 1 
1958 — 98 Twenty sightings 20 

Nov 1998 Poole, Dorset 1 


Sources: A. P. Morres, ‘On the Occurrence of some of the 
Rarer Species of Birds in the Neighbourhood of Salisbury’, 
WA.M, 20 (1882), p. 182; Daily Telegraph, 20 Jan 1998; 
Sunday Telegraph, 8 Nov 1998. 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 71-81 


Beaker Pits at Crescent Copse, near Shrewton, 
Wiltshire, and the Effects of Arboreal Fungi on 


Archaeological Remains 


by Michael Heaton! and Rosamund M J Cleal’ 
with contributions by Peter Higgins,’ Peter Bellamy,* Sheila Hamilton-Dyer’ 
and John Wilson® 


Excavation of six pits of ‘Beaker’ date during the summer of 1997 revealed, in addition to prehistoric materials, 
evidence of extensive, and possibly recent, fungal activity, resulting in an almost total absence of identifiable 
organic remains despite the presence of large quantities of charcoal dust. Because of the small scale of the work, 
the resultant report does not attempt to draw wide-ranging conclusions about the topographic or temporal 
distribution of Beaker pits, but presents descriptions of the principal assemblages together with some observa- 
tions on the action of fungal mycelia on buried organic remains. Published studies on soil micro-organisms 
suggests that these may have spread from the adjacent conifer plantation, either as the natural result of afforesta- 


tion on otherwise dormant soil fungi, or as a result of fungi introduced with the pine trees. 


INTRODUCTION 


Crescent Copse is situated at the head of one of the 
tributary dry-valleys of the Till catchment, 3.5km 
WSW of the village of Shrewton, on the chalk massif 
of the Salisbury Plain Training Area - hereafter ‘SPTA’ 
(Figure 1). The adjacent section of Track 21G, one 
of a network of un-surfaced routes that criss-cross 
the SPTA, had, by winter of 1996, become sufficiently 
impassable to warrant upgrading. In line with the 
guidance of PPG16, the Defence Estates Organisation 
(Lands) South-West (hereafter DEO(L)SW) 
considered the likely archaeological impact warranted 
evaluation and, if necessary, mitigation. Accordingly 
the impact of the proposed works was evaluated by 
Wessex Archaeology (Wessex Archaeology 1996), 
leading to targeted excavation of selected features by 
Michael Heaton the following year. The entire project, 
from evaluation to publication, has been carried out 
under the aegis of Gifford and Partners. 


The excavation concentrated on two adjacent 50m 
and 125m stretches of the track. Topsoil stripping 
revealed three groups of potential archaeological 
features; two of which, at the northern end of the site 
and its centre, proved not to be anthropogenic, but 
included a cluster of six small pits (numbers 125-7, 
131, 150 and 159) at the northern end in which sherds 
of prehistoric pottery were visible. One of the pits had 
been masked by a thick layer of vehicle-compacted 
chalk. There were no extensive soil or colluvial 
deposits. 


METHODOLOGY 


The upper profiles of all six pits (not considered to be 
pit fills per se) were excavated rapidly without 
sampling, and artefacts within them were recorded as 
bulk finds only. All other artefacts from the lower layers 
- the pit fills proper - were recorded to individual 3D 


1.12 Victoria Road, Warminster, Wiltshire. BA12 SHE 2. Alexander Keiller Museum, Avebury, Wiltshire 3.Southern Archaeological Services Ltd., 


Unit 7 Kingsbury House, Kingsbury Road, Southampton, SO14 OJT 4.51 Fordington High Street, Dorchester, Dorset, DT 1 1LB 5.5 Suffolk 
Avenue, Shirley, Southampton SO15 5EF 6.5 Stuart Place, East Twerton, Bath. 


&, 
si 
Sea] 
, 


Fig. 1. The Site and its situation 


‘ 


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-’ <__Rellestone Camp 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


y 
, 
iY Nor 
\ ie 
N 


< / 
Robin Hood"s "Bail 


\ 
Crescent Copse_ 
pig LJ ers 


1 


SU 45 
Carkhill 
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edges of strippe 


BEAKER PITS AT CRESCENT COPSE NEAR SHREWTON 


positions for which numeric references (2000>) were 
assigned. These positions were recorded on levelled 
1:10 single context plans of each layer. Where groups 
of more than one object were superimposed or 
situated immediately adjacent to each other (generally 
<5mm apart), they were recorded as decimal 
subdivisions of one object position; e.g. 2012.1, 
2012.2, etc. All the soil from these layers was passed 
through a lcm sieve on-site to remove chalk and flint 
lumps, and the residues retained for flotation 
separation of their palaeo-environmental component. 


RESULTS 


The six pits had been excavated into bedrock chalk 
immediately adjacent to each other within an area of 
approximately 5 x 5m (Figure 1). All were slightly 
oval, approximately 0.70m in diameter, with depths 
varying between 0.30m and 0.70m, and had slightly 
rounded bases. They shared elements of a common 
stratigraphic sequence, represented by Pit 127 (Figure 
2): 


A. Compacted topsoil containing fragments of coal, 
and therefore of recent derivation, which had been 
pushed down into the tops of the pits to a depth of 
between 0.10-0.15m. 

B. Shingly ‘A/C’ horizon of patinated flint pieces, 
largely natural but containing some worked pieces. 
This layer is present at the base of the ‘natural’ soil 
sequence across much of the chalk downs and is 
considered to be a natural sorting product of 
pegogenesis. It filled, level, a deep depression in the 
surface of the underlying layer. 

C. Pit fills. Three recognised: an upper fill of yellowish 
brown silty loam, forming an inverted cone up the 
sides of all of the pits; a middle fill of almost black 
silty loam permeated by extensive fungal mycelium, 
in most of the pits; and a Jower fill of very powdery, 
ashy, grey silty dust lying across the base of one or 
two of the pits, also penetrated by a network of fungal 


1 


mycelium. Within these, however, no finer horizon 
boundaries were discernible, despite incipient 
layering/grouping being evident in the distribution of 
stones. 


>z 


\ Flint 


A Burnt flint 

@® Pottery 

— Bone 
Sandstone 


Fig. 2. Pit 127. Horizontal and 
vertical distribution of artefacts 


0 10 20 30 40 


I dis 1 0 A a MB cts 


Within each pit, the bulk of the artefacts and animal 
bone were contained within the dark ashy layer. There 
appears to be no other significant spatial patterning, 
the majority of the material being principally around 
the edges of each pit, sometimes with a weighting to 
one side, and without any apparent patterns in the 
vertical distribution. There were no groups of artefacts 
or significant single artefacts lying on the base of any 
of the pits. This distribution appears similar to that 
noted at Dean Bottom, considered there to represent 
incidental incorporation within the pit fills. Total 
artefact and animal bone quantities appear to reflect 
pit volume; the deepest (125 and 127) producing 
the largest amounts of worked flint and pottery 
(Table 1). 


Table 1. Finds totals per feature. Quantities given as number/weight (g). Burnt worked flint is counted as worked flint. 


FEATURE 125 126 
MATERIAL 

Worked flint 45/975 26/225 
Burnt flint 21/1340 5/192 
Pottery 9/68 4/35 
Animal bone 9/38 1/1 


Stone 1/6 0/0 


127 131 150 159 
47/725 14/189 9/124 4/216 
4/250 8/318 4/246 5/302 
11/171 4/20 1/4 0/0 
7/59 0/0 0/0 0/0 
2/24 2/24 0/0 0/0 


50cm 


74 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Artefacts 


POTTERY (Figure 3) 
by Rosamund M. J. Cleal 


The assemblage comprises 28 sherds (weighing 291g), 
representing at least seven vessels. With the exception 
of one sherd from F127 (2030), which is perhaps 
intrusive, all are assignable to the Beaker tradition of 
the later 3rd millennium or earlier 2nd millennium 
cal BC. Counts, weights and ‘P’ numbers are given 
in Table 2, by context. ‘P’ numbers indicate identifiable 
separate vessels, for each of which only a few sherds 
have survived; not all are illustrated here. 

The recovered pottery has been examined by using 
a x10 hand lens. Fabrics were defined on the basis of 
the non-plastic inclusions (1.e. the non-clay materials 
present in the clay either as naturally occurring 
inclusions or added by the potter). Frequency of 
inclusions was estimated by eye by surface area (using 
comparative charts) and should be regarded as 
approximate. 


Description 

P1. Seven sherds of a single vessel decorated with square- 
tooth-comb impressions and other impressions. The fabric 
is soft, with a hackly fracture, containing approximately 10- 
15% small to moderate bone (<4mm, most <2mm), sparse 
sand (mostly fine) and rare flint (<6mm) (Fabric code BS:1). 
The bone mainly comprises small white fragments and 
appears to have been well crushed into small pieces, 
including fragments with rounded edges as well as angular 
pieces. A minority of fragments are bluish-grey, at least in 
part. Exterior and interior sherd surfaces: medium red- 
brown; core dark grey. The condition is fair, with some 
abrasion; where the original surfaces survive they are 
smoothed. The decoration has been applied with two 
different implements, one a comb with roughly square teeth, 
the other perhaps a worn comb (the condition of the sherd 
precludes a certain identification). 

Six sherds were from the middle and upper fills of feature 
125, and one from feature 127. Because of the soft, friable 
nature of this fabric it is unlikely that the sherds had been 
exposed for a long period before being deposited in the 
feature. 


P2. Single body sherd in a soft fabric with a smooth fracture 
and slightly sandy feel, containing moderate fine sand and rare 
coarse sand. Some fine (<Imm) grog (crushed potsherd) is 
present but it is difficult to distinguish from the matrix; there 
are rare fine calcareous fragments (too small for certain 
identification), possibly chalk (Fabric GS:1). Exterior and 
interior sherd surfaces: pale orange brown; core: dark grey. 
‘The edges and surfaces are in fair condition. The decoration is 
incised. From lower fill of pit 126. 


P3. Single sherd in a soft fabric with a smooth fracture and 
feel. Fine grog (<1mm) is present, probably sparse, but it is 
difficult to distinguish from the matrix; there is also sparse 
to moderate fine sand (fabric code GS:2). Exterior surface: 
pale brown; interior surface pale grey brown; core: grey. 
The sherd is in fair condition and the decoration is of shallow 
closely-spaced grooves. From middle fill of pit 125. 


P4. (Not illustrated) Single rim sherd in fabric GS:2. It is 
probably an everted rim, but the rim angle is uncertain. 
The decoration is of horizontal lines of small square-tooth- 
comb impressions. Exterior orange; interior: grey brown; 
core: bi-coloured as for surface colours; the sherd is in fair 
condition. From upper fill of pit 125. 


P5. Two large body sherds, conjoining along an ancient 
break, and one sherd not joining, of a large, thick-walled 
vessel decorated with large applied pellets or bosses of clay; 
four other plain sherds are almost certainly of this vessel. 
The fabric is soft, but brittle, with a hackly fracture and 
rough texture; 1t contains moderate (c. 10-15%) angular 
flint (<4mm, most <3mm), sparse to moderate grog (<10%; 
although it is difficult to distinguish from the matrix and 
could be present in greater frequencies than this), and sparse 
sand, mostly fine (fabric code FGS:1). Exterior surface: 
orange brown; interior: dark brown; core bi-coloured, 
exterior third orange, interior two-thirds black. The 
orientation of the sherds is not certain. The sherds are in 
fair condition. From the fill of pit 127. 


Po. (Not illustrated). Three plain body sherds almost 
certainly of one vessel in a soft fabric with a hackly fracture 
containing moderate to common grog (c. 20-25%, <3mm, 
most <lmm, but difficult to distinguish from the matrix), 
rare fine calcareous fragments (?chalk; too small for certain 
identification) and some sand (fabric code GS:3). Exterior: 
orange-red; interior pale brown; core: black. The sherds are 
in fair condition. One sherd was in the A/C horizon at the 
top of pit 127, one in its fill and one from the fill of pit 131. 


P7. (Not illustrated) One decorated body sherd and one 
fragment probably of the same vessel, in a soft fabric with a 
hackly fracture and slightly sandy feel, containing sparse, 
heat-crackled flint fragments (<3mm, most <Imm) and 
sparse to moderate coarse sand. Exterior: orange-brown; 
core: dark grey; interior: orange-brown. The decoration is a 
filled horizontal band demarcated on at least one edge by 
an incised line. The filling is of oblique incised lines, possibly 
similar to Clarke’s Motif no 10 (Basic European Motif 
Group 1, Clarke 1970, 425), but the sherd is too fragmentary 
to be certain of the motif. From the fill of pit 126. 


Other sherds 
Six other sherds were not assignable to a particular 
vessel, although all were probably derived from them. 


BEAKER PITS AT CRESCENT COPSE NEAR SHREWTON 


Table 2. Catalogue of pottery 


Feature No. Object No. Context No. Qty Weight 
125 2049 (136) 1 4g 
2053 (137) 1 5g 
2056 (137) 1 4g 
2059 (137) 1 4g 
2060 (137) 1 2g 
2074 (138) 1 7g 
2088 (138) 3 42g 
Totals 9 68g 
126 2097 (else) 1 lg 
2109 (158) 1 4g 
2110 (158) 1 25g 
2110 (158) 1 2g 
Totals: 4 35g 
127 2003 (129) 1 10g 
2011 (130) 4 Og 
2019 (130) 1 7g 
2022 (130) 1 54g 
2026 (130) 1 20g 
2030 (130) 1 66g 
2030 (130) 1 2g 
2033 (130) 1 3g 
Totals iat 171g 
131 2034 (132) 1 2¢ 
2035 (134) 1 12¢ 
2035 (134) 1 4g 
2043 (134) 1 2g. 
Totals: 4 20g 
Grand total: 28 291g 


Vessel Observations 
pointed rim with single incised line; not assignable to a 
vessel; fabric GS:2 is black on surfaces and along 
ancient broken edges, possibly from burning in 
antiquity 

Pal 

Pal 

Pil 

P4 

P3 

Pl 


P7? 
Pi 
P2 


conjoining along ancient break with sherd from 2022 


possibly intrusive 


crumbs, with some flint 

Po 
plain body sherd, flint tempered 
sandy 


A single small rim from pit 125 in fabric GS:2 could 
belong to P3 on the grounds of fabric, but this seems 
unlikely on the grounds of the decoration (see Table 
2). It also appears to have been burnt as a sherd. It is 
possible that this represents another vessel, not 
otherwise represented. 


Discussion 

This is a small assemblage but is important in two 
respects: firstly because it is one of a relatively small 
number of non-funerary Beaker assemblages in 
Wiltshire; and secondly because it is one of only a handful 
of known occurrences of bone used as an added non- 
plastic material in pottery production at this period. 


Wiltshire (and the Wessex region in general) is 
well-known as an area rich in funerary Beakers; it is 
much less rich, however, in Beakers from other 
contexts and in particular in what have traditionally 
been referred to as ‘domestic’ Beakers (e.g. as by 
Gibson 1982). Isolated finds do occur, but larger 
assemblages are rare. This is not universally true of 
Beaker finds in Britain as in some areas, such as East 
Anglia, there are both plentiful burial finds and many 
non-funerary assemblages. 

The classification of Beakers such as those in the 
features here is not easy, as the vessels are each 
represented by only a few sherds, and the classification 
even of whole Beakers is still a matter for debate. In 


76 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Fig. 3. Pottery vessels P1, P2, P3 and P5 (with inset) 


terms of date it is only possible to state with confidence 
that they are likely to belong to the period 2600-1800 
BC (Kinnes et al. 1991) and probably to within c. 
2400-1800 BC). Humphrey Case, however, in a 
recent reassessment of Beaker typology and dating 
(Case 1993) has revisited his earlier scheme (Case 
1977) and proposed a series of Beaker groups, A - E, 
with a chronology slightly more refined than this. In 
addition, he has made a particular examination of 
Wiltshire Beakers (Case 1995a) in which he classifies 
the majority as falling within his groups B and D. Group 
B generally is dominated by Case’s style 3 Beakers 
(formerly ‘Late Style’) and D largely by those of style 
2 (formerly the ‘Middle Style’). Group D he suggests 
as emerging around the middle of the 3rd millennium 
BC, surviving until perhaps the second quarter of the 
2nd millennium, with Group B emerging at about the 
same time, in northern Britain, spreading to the 
south during the fourth quarter of the 3rd millennium 
BC (Case 1993, 1, 4). (This is of necessity a highly 
simplified and abbreviated account, to set the 
Crescent Copse assemblage in context.) 

The form of none of the Crescent Copse vessels 
is certain. The whole vessel illustrated (Figure 3), is 
intended to suggest the general type of vessel rather 
than to be a reconstruction of P5, which is too 
fragmentary for even the profile to be at all certain 


although it is perhaps likely to have been slightly 
slacker than that illustrated. Coarse, thick-walled 
vessels with heavy plastic rustication are a feature of 
‘domestic’ beaker sites in East Anglia and elsewhere, 
and such vessels are assigned by Case to his Group 
B, particularly in East Anglia (Case 1993, fig. 13). 
Case notes the occurrence of three Group B non- 
grave groups in south Wiltshire, noting particularly 
that from Butterfield Down, near Amesbury (8km 
south-east of the present site) (Case 1995, 4). The 
use of such distinct bosses as on P5 is unusual, 
particularly in such a rusticated manner; it is more 
usual to find them as a single row, such as at 
Stonehenge (Cleal 1995, P17, 363) and indeed no 
close parallels for the decorative scheme on P5 are 
known to the writer. Such decoration is, however, 
more nearly represented among Dutch Beakers, as 
illustrated by Gibson (1982, figs N MISC 1, 3 and 
4). 

Of the other vessels little can be said, given the 
broad range of the motif types represented. Those of 
P1 and P2 are ubiquitous, falling into Clarke’s motif 
group 1, the Basic European group (Clarke 1970, 425) 
but the horizontal grooves of P3 are more unusual 
and suggest a northern contribution. This type of 
decoration (Clarke’s Motif 21 in his late Northern 
British motif group, op cit 426) is usually found on 


BEAKER PITS AT CRESCENT COPSE NEAR SHREWTON 


the neck, which is often fairly straight (as illustrated 
in Case 1995a, fig. 2: 6), but in this case it is 
impossible to determine the location of the sherd on 
its vessel. This hint of northern-ness, however, is in 
keeping with a classification of the assemblage as 
Case’s group B. This being so, the suggested date 
for it, according to Cases’s chronology, is probably 
no earlier than the last quarter of the 3rd millennium 
BC (Case 1993, 254, 257). 

At Butterfield Down, one of the geographically 
closest sites with Group B Beakers, cited by Case, an 
exceptionally large Group B vessel with incised 
decoration was found in a small pit in which a finger- 
pinched vessel and a comb-decorated vessel were also 
represented. The two latter were tempered with bone 
(Cleal 1996), giving another point of similarity with 
the Crescent Copse assemblage. It seems that bone 
must only rarely have been used as a tempering 
material or it would have been more widely recognised 
by now, but new cases occasionally come to light. 
When the two Butterfield Down vessels were 
recognised as having bone, only two other occurrences 
in Wiltshire were known to this writer, through the 
publication of a list of such occurrences by Smith and 
Darvill (1990, 152). Of the seven cases listed by them 
the two Wiltshire occurrences were a sherd 
presumably of earlier Neolithic bowl from Robin 
Hood’s Ball (Thomas 1964, table 1; type of pottery 
not specified but the rest of assemblage is bowl) and 
a sherd from the henge ditch at Avebury (Gray 1935, 
138, note 1). The latter is published as Peterborough 
Ware (Gray 1935, 138, fig. 7, 163) but appears from 
the illustration to be perhaps Beaker or another 
Bronze Age type (the sherd has not been examined 
by this writer, but Smith notes that there is almost 
certainly no Peterborough Ware among the sherds 
identified by Gray as such, suggesting instead that 
they include Beaker, Collared Urn or Biconical Urn 
and sherds in a Bronze Age type fabric, Smith 1965, 
229). In addition to these, and to the Butterfield Down 
and Crescent Copse Beakers, there is now a Grooved 
Ware vessel from Marlborough (personal information 
and writer’s own observation; publication in 
preparation by Cotswold Archaeological Trust), and 
a Beaker from a probable post-hole on Overton Hill, 
Avebury parish (unpublished, Site SY72, Alexander 
Keiller Museum, Avebury; identification by the 
writer). 

The Butterfield Down assemblage, as well as 
including bone as a temper, is also exceptional due to 
the unusually large size of the incised Beaker, which 
has an estimated volume of about eight litres. This is 
at the extreme end of the range of Beaker volume, 


tate 


which is generally under two litres (Case 1995b, 
56). At Crescent Copse there is also clearly a very 
large Beaker, represented by the sherds of P5. As a 
sherd of P1 occurred in the same feature (F127) as 
the sherds of P5 and the two are, therefore, likely to 
have formed part of the same assemblage, it can be 
suggested that Crescent Copse is demonstrating a 
similar pattern of deposition to Butterfield Down in 
that at both sites there are very large vessels probably 
accompanying smaller, finer ones, including crushed 
bone in at least one of the vessels. Whether this 
represents a pattern repeated over many years and 
generations, or is the result of a restricted group of 
people moving around a fairly limited area over a few 
years or generations is impossible to say. More light 
may be shed on this by future finds and by radiocarbon 
dating of material associated with such finds, or dating 
material within the vessel walls themselves as that 
becomes increasingly common. 


WORKED FLINT 
by Peter Bellamy 


The flint assemblage comprises 154 pieces weighing 
a total of 2603g, plus a further 20 unstratified pieces 
recovered during the evaluation. The artefacts are all 
made from ‘chalk flint’. The nodules have many 
thermal surfaces and many of the pieces exhibit faults 
and fractures, suggesting that the raw material was 
obtained from the surface, rather than quarried flint. 
All the pieces are white or white/grey patinated, some 
with calcareous concretions. Generally they are in a 
fresh condition, indicating that most of the pieces were 
buried not long after manufacture. 

The flint from all the pits is similar in character 
and probably derives from a single industry. The 
material from the topsoil and ‘A/C’ horizons is also 
similar. The vast majority of the pieces are waste 
primary and secondary core-trimming flakes, most 
of which have fairly thick plain butts and were 
probably removed with a hard hammer. A very small 
number of small blade-like flakes are also present. 
There are three cores, together with four pieces of 
naturally thermally-fractured flint with one or two 
flakes removed (the result, either of testing of the raw 
material, or of shattering at an early stage of 
preparation). Two of the cores are small, with several 
platforms exhibiting traces of small flake removals. 
All the cores were exhausted. The only implements 
present are six scrapers (from pits 126, 127, 131 and 
150). Three of the scrapers (2028.1, 2047, 153) have 
regular semi-abrupt retouch on fairly thick flakes; two 


78 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


(2102, 2012.2) have fine regular retouch on small 
thin flakes; and one (2099) had coarse, almost 
denticulate retouch on a small broken thermal blank. 
There is little chronologically diagnostic material 
present in this assemblage, but it does exhibit some 
characteristics of a late Neolithic/Beaker industry 


Palaeoenvironmental materials 


PLANT, INSECT AND MOLLUSC 
REMAINS 
by Peter Higgins 


The retained pit fills were disaggregated in dilute 
hydrogen peroxide, wet sieved and floated over a 
250 micron mesh, dried, scanned under low 
magnification and sorted. The assemblages are 
summarised numerically in Tables 3-4. With the 
exception of mollusc shells and animal bone 
fragments (see below) the results of flotation 
separation were disappointing. Plant remains, with 
the exception of hazelnut fragments, were virtually 
non-existent, whilst the poor condition of all 
arthropod remains precluded identification to 
species. Terrestrial molluscs were present in larger 
numbers, though many were damaged, accounting 
for a relatively high number of ‘indeterminate’ 
identifications. Many of the shells were from 
immature individuals. Of the species identified (see 
Table 4), Helix sp. is probably Helix apersa, though 
this is not a secure identification; this species was 
introduced in the Ist century AD, is often found 
near human habitation, and hibernates by burrowing 
into the soil. It is thus probable that human 
occupation of the area was not confined to the 
Neolithic/Bronze Age and that contamination of 
these deposits has occurred. Discus rotundatis, 
Pupiula muscorum and Vellonia costata occur 
together in open, watered grassland. Nesovitrea 


Table 4. Catalogue of molluscs. (NB: Helix sp. present 
only as small fragments, therefore recorded only as 
present (P)) 


FEATURE 125 126 127 131 159 


TOTAL 368 146 553, 155 362 
SPECIES % 
Indeterminate 18.5 26.03 6.87 12.9 16.48 
Discus rotundatus 31 29.54 40.5 51.61 24.59 
Pupilla muscorum 9 16.44 33.81 29.03 30.39 
Velloniacostata 12 0 0 0 0 
Nesovitrea 

hammonis 21 Lida 9.2 0 0 
Oxychilus alliarius 6 14.38 5.97 6.45 14.09 
Columella 

edentula 0.6 26.03 7.23 12.9 20.8 
Punctum 

pygmaeum 0 0 0 0 4.14 
Helix sp. Pp P 12 P 1e 


hammonis and Punctum pygmaeum are sometimes 
found in association with them, although it seems 
more likely, given the presence of Oxychilus alliarius 
and Columella edentula, that these four species are 
from open wooded habitat. Both these habitats could 
be present at the same time in the area, or they could 
represent a succession. However, the presence of all 
these species together in most deposits suggests a 
degree of pre-deposition mixing. 


ANIMAL BONE 
by Sheila Hamilton-Dyer 


The small assemblage of animal bone is summarised 
in Table 5. The charred and calcined fragments were 
fragile but comparatively well preserved; the other 
bones were all much eroded. None of the fragments 
was sufficiently well preserved for the observation of 
gnawing or butchery marks, and most were too small 


‘Table 3. Catalogue of all materials recovered during flotation 
separation 


FEATURE 127 131 125 126 159 


MATERIAL 

Animal bone 5/<lg I/<lg  6/2g I/<lg 0 
Mollusc 553 155, 368 146 362 
Arthropod 6/<lg 0O 0 0 0 
Hazelnut shell 0 I/<lg I/<lg 0 0 
Pottery Z2<1ig: 0 I/<lg 0O 1/<lg 


Burnt flint 18/lg 5/6g 21/3g 19/lg 5/4g 


Table 5. Catalogue of animal bone (combined manual 
recovery and sieving results) 


FEATURE 125 126 127 131 
TOTAL 5 2) 12 1 
SPECIES 

Unidentified 1 1 4 1 
Pig 1 2 

Pig-sized 1 3 

Cattle 1 
Cattle-sized 3 2 


BEAKER PITS AT CRESCENT COPSE NEAR SHREWTON 


for precise identification. Heavily charred bone from 
Pit 125 included parts of one or more cattle; that from 
Pit 127 comprised several bones comparable with pig, 
from the forelimb and the heel, and part of a cattle 
humerus. Uncharred bone fragments were too eroded 
and fragmentary to be certain of identification, but 
matched pig better than the other possibilities, such 
as sheep or dog. 


DISCUSSION 


Salisbury Plain encompasses one of Europe’s most 
extensive surviving tracts of prehistoric, Romano- 
British and historic landscape. The SPTA borders the 
UNESCO Avebury and Stonehenge World Heritage 
Site, and Crescent Copse is intervisible with 
Stonehenge itself. In addition to the numerous long 
barrows, round barrows, linear earthworks, deserted 
settlements, colluvial accumulations and field systems 
that characterise the archaeology of the Plain, 
Crescent Copse is directly overlooked by the Neolithic 
causewayed enclosure of ‘Robin Hood’s Ball’ situated 
approximately 400m to the north (Figure 1). 

Pits are ubiquitous amongst the archaeological 
features of almost all periods of Britain’s past, but 
those of small surface area (<0.5m?’) for which 
utilitarian functions are not readily apparent are 
typical of the Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Unlike 
ditches, settlement earthworks and other extensive 
archaeological deposits which are detectable by aerial 
photography, geophysical survey or by linear 
evaluation trenches, these small earlier prehistoric 
pits are invariably revealed as chance finds during 
the investigation of larger archaeological sites. As 
result, their geographic distribution is poorly 
understood. 

Nonetheless, within a 20 x 20km area centred on 
Crescent Copse there are approximately 14 published 
sites of pits dated by ‘Beaker’ pottery, of which most 
comprise 2-3 individual pits, and most are situated at 
the heads of tributary dry valleys. They are 
characterised by surface diameters of less than 1m, 
slightly rounded profiles invariably less than 0.30m 
deep, containing at least one layer of dark, ashy loam 
with a wide variety of artefacts and palaeo- 
environmental materials. Although individual cases 
have produced considerable quantities of pottery such 
as at Butterfield Down near Amesbury (Rawlings and 
Fitzpatrick 1996) or large flint and palaeo- 
environmental assemblages such as at Dean Bottom 


19 


near Ogbourne St Andrew (Gingell 1992), others 
have proved to be almost culturally sterile. They remain 
one of the more enigmatic of Britain’s archaeological 
‘type’ features, but are generally recognised to be of 
non-utilitarian function, especially because of the 
otherwise almost entirely funerary distribution of 
Beaker pottery, particularly within the vicinity of 
Stonehenge (Cleal, in Richards 1990). 

The pits revealed here, therefore, are of a not 
uncommon form. They are undistinguished in the 
range, quantity, and, with the singular exception of 
the small pottery assemblage, quality of materials 
recovered from them. Their principal significance lies 
in their pottery assemblage, their topographic 
situation isolated from funerary monuments at the 
head of a watercourse, and the apparent post- 
depositional de-pauperisation of their organic content. 


PREHISTORIC CONTEXT OFTHE SITE 
by Rosamund M. J. Cleal 


The condition of both the flint and pottery from the 
pits suggest that they were used and deposited within 
a fairly short period of time. Neither artefact type 
shows the sort of wear which would result from 
trample or even only from exposure to weather on a 
ground surface. 

Because the organic component of the pits has 
apparently been impoverished by post-depositional 
processes, it is difficult to reconstruct much of the 
surrounding environment or of the economic activities 
in which the users of these materials would have 
engaged, but the site is important nonetheless because 
it joins a relatively small number of non-funerary sites 
with Beakers in the region. If isolated finds of a few 
sherds are disregarded, the list of Beaker non-funerary 
finds in Wiltshire is a short one. If low density surface 
scatters such as are known from the Stonehenge area 
and parts of the Marlborough Downs are also 
excluded the list barely reaches double figures. This 
may be in part a reflection of lack of excavation in 
those areas which do have low density scatters and of 
the destruction of material in the ploughsoil, but 
despite the considerable amount of archaeological 
monitoring of ground disturbing works over large 
areas of the county, the number of finds remains low. 
It seems likely then that this represents a real state of 
affairs; that is, that occupation did not occur 
intensively in limited areas but was generally transitory 
and did not routinely include the digging and filling 
of pits. 


80 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Only a few larger sites are known, those in 
southern and central Wiltshire comprising Easton 
Down (Stone 1930/32), 17 km east of Crescent 
Copse, Downton (Rahtz 1962), 25 km to the south 
and Robin Hood’s Ball, less than 1 km to the north 
of the site. In each of these cases there are 
circumstances which may have made the location 
particularly attractive for settlement: in the case of 
Downton, just off the chalk, it was probably the 
proximity to the resources of a river; at Easton Down 
it was presumably the availability of flint, while Robin 
Hood’s Ball seems to fit a pattern seen elsewhere, of 
causewayed enclosures being later a focus for 
settlements of more than usual duration or size - 
compared to the majority of sites in this region (as at 
Windmill Hill, in the north of the county: Smith 
1965). The site just outside Robin Hood’s Ball is as 
yet unpublished but is noted as Group D by Case 
(1995a, 4). 

It may be that the proximity of Robin Hood’s Ball 
and the Beaker period occupation outside it had a 
direct influence on the nature of the Crescent Copse 
occupation. As noted, the occurrence of a group of 
pits must be regarded as unusual and, as discussed 
above, there are features of the ceramic assemblage 
which are certainly rare. The struck flint, however, 
shows no special features, nor are there any obvious 
reasons to suggest that the deposit was a carefully 
selected one. It is difficult to conclude other than that 
this was a fairly short occupation which for some 
reason was marked, perhaps on completion, by burial 
of some of the occupation debris. In that alone it is 
still a welcome addition to the small corpus of 
settlement evidence from this still enigmatic period 
of Wessex prehistory, for which such evidence remains 
so perplexingly rare. 


FUNGAL ACTIVITY IN 
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DEPOSITS 


Neither the poor palaeoenvironmental assemblages 
nor the presence of fungal mycelia aroused much 
interest until the actions of arboreal fungi on adjacent 
organic materials were explained during a lecture 
attended by the excavator as part of his continuing 
studies in building conservation. Prior to that, the 
excavator had assumed, perhaps glibly, that fungi 
attacked organic remains immediately after insertion 
into, or removal from, the burial environment; the 
possibility that fungi could be introduced to a burial 
environment had never been considered. Informal 
consultation with mycologists, specifically Alan 


Rayner (President of the British Mycological Society), 
who specialises in the association of trees and fungi, 
suggested that the results of the excavation warranted 
consideration from a different viewpoint. Whilst it is 
recognised that more detailed examination of the fungi 
on-site would have been desirable, two observations 
are pertinent to the conclusions of this report. 

Firstly, organic materials would be anticipated in 
this calcareous burial environment. Protected from 
the overlying argillaceous soils, the bone content of 
chalkland archaeological features invariably survives 
in excellent condition as do mollusc shells and 
carbonised plant remains - it is a characteristic of 
chalkland archaeology. Furthermore, these features 
had once contained organic materials; fine charcoal 
dust was evident throughout, and flotation separation 
recovered much plant and animal material identifiable 
to type, but not to species, all of it in very poor 
condition. Whilst charcoal is ubiquitous in 
archaeological deposits, it invariably survives as 
identifiable fragments, not just dust. Pre-depositional 
attrition may have been responsible, but the condition 
of neither the pottery nor the flint support this, and 
the incorporation of some un-eroded material would 
be expected; the fact that none was, suggests that an 
explanation has to be sought for the apparent 
destruction of this material in situ. 

Secondly, the fungal mycelia were active; they were 
white and ‘fluffy’, and were extending westwards from 
the direction of the adjacent pine plantation into the 
pits, not out from them. Only the pit fills proper were 
permeated by them, not the overlying A/C horizon or 
the compacted topsoil above, or the fills of any of the 
other features investigated. There can be little doubt, 
therefore, that the fungi were a recent arrival and had 
selectively exploited these deposits. 

Fungi are an active component of all ecosystems, 
essential for the propagation and decay of all life 
(Dommergues 1977, Rayner 1995). Whilst each 
ecosystem has its own characteristic fungal 
population, the spores of thousands of other species 
are also ubiquitous in air, soil and water as dormant 
organisms that can be activated on encounter with 
suitable hosts, including plants (Gwynne-Vaughan 
and Barnes 1951).Trees - particularly pine trees - are 
mutually dependent upon a wide range of fungi, the 
mycelia of which can extend beneath the ground over 
hectares in search of organic carbon, water and 
minerals (Rayner 1998). Indeed, some species of 
woodland fungi in Northern America constitute the 
largest single living organisms on the planet. 
Alterations in hygrography, plant succession or land 
use, can create major imbalances in the fungal 


BEAKER PITS AT CRESCENT COPSE NEAR SHREWTON 


population, leading to rapid changes in cycles of 
growth and decay that may have been stable for 
millennia. Coniferous afforestation schemes are 
particularly pernicious in this respect (Dommergues 
1977) because breakdown of the leaf litter, unpalatable 
to other life forms, requires and favours a wider range 
of fungi than does that of deciduous forest, many of 
which supplement their diet by sub-surface mycelial 
‘foraging’ (Rayner 1995). The introduction of 
coniferous trees to a chalkland landscape will, 
therefore, also introduce a range of otherwise alien 
fungi to a relatively nutrient-poor environment, that 
will then seek out additional sources of nutrients in 
the vicinity. This much, at least, is scientifically 
accepted fact. 

The mycelia observed in these pits bore all the 
characteristics of woodland species and were clearly 
radiating from the direction of Crescent Copse. What 
cannot be proven - post-excavation - is whether they 
actually emanated from the pine trees and whether 
they alone were responsible for destruction of the 
organic remains in these pits, though the excavator 
believes this is the case. Given the serious implications, 
for archaeological deposit survival, of these 
assumptions being correct, and in the absence of 
contradictory experimental data, the excavator 
believes that this conclusion should be accepted until 
proved wrong by experiment. The ramifications for 
the environmental management of Salisbury Plain - 
and all archaeologically sensitive areas - are serious; 
afforestation of hitherto stable un-wooded landscapes 
is likely to encourage the outward spread of 
archaeologically destructive fungi, well beyond the 
immediate area of afforestation. 


Note 

1. The identification of the bone in both the Butterfield 
Beakers and the Crescent Copse Beaker was in the 
first instance by the author, but was subsequently 
confirmed by Jacqueline McKinley, a human bone 
specialist. In neither case was it possible to establish 
whether the bone was human or animal because of 
its fragmentary nature. 


References 


CASE, H.J., 1977, ‘The Beaker culture in Britain and 
Ireland’, in R.J. Mercer (ed.), Beakers in Britain and 
Europe, 71-101. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports 

CASE, H.J., 1993, ‘Beakers: Deconstruction and After’, 
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 59, 241-68 


81 


CASE, H.J., 1995a, ‘Some Wiltshire Beakers and their 
contexts’, WAM 88, 2-17 

CASE, H.J., 1995b, ‘Beakers: loosening a stereotype’, in I. 
Kinnes and G. Varndell (eds) ‘Unbaked urns of rudely 
shape’. Essays on British and Irish pottery for Ian 
Longworth, 55-67. Oxford: Oxbow Books 

CLARKE, D.L., 1970, Beaker pottery of Great Britain and 
Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 

CLEAL, R.M.J., 1995, ‘Earlier prehistoric pottery’, in 
R.M_J. Cleal, K.E.Walker and R. Montague, Stonehenge 
in its landscape. Twentieth-century excavations, 349- 
367. London: English Heritage 

CLEAL, R.M.J., 1996, ‘The pottery from pit 2’, in M. 
Rawlings and A. P. Fitzpatrick, ‘Prehistoric Sites and a 
Romano-British Settlement at Butterfield Down, 
Amesbury’, WAM 89, 1-43 

DOMMERGUES,.Y.R., 1977, ‘The Plant-Micro-organism 
system’, in Dommergues and Krupa (eds), Interactions 
between non-pathogenic soil micro-organisms and 
plants. Amsterdam: Elsevier 

GIBSON, A.M., 1982, Beaker Domestic Sites. Oxford: 
British Archaeological Reports 107 

GRAY, H. St G., 1935, “The Avebury Excavations, 1908- 
1922’, Archaeologia 84, 99-162 

GWYNNE-VAUGHAN, H.C.I., and BARNES, B., 1951, 
The Structure and Development of The Fungi. 
Cambridge 

KINNES, I., GIBSON, A., AMBERS, J., BOWMAN, S., 
LEESE, M. and BOAST, R., 1991, ‘Radiocarbon dating 
and British Beakers: the British Museum programme’, 
Scottish Archaeological Review 8, 35 - 68 

RAHTZ, P.A., 1962, ‘Neolithic and Beaker sites at 
Downton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire’, WAM 58, 116-41 

RAYNER, A.D.M., 1995, ‘Fungi, a vital component of 
Ecosystem Function in Woodland’, in Allsop, Colwell 
and Hawksworth (eds), Microbial Diversity and 
Ecosystem Function. Oxford: CAB International 

RAYNER, A.D.M., 1998, ‘Fountains of the forest- the 
interconnectedness between trees and fungi’, 
Mycological Research 102 (12), 1441-1449 

SMITH, LF., 1965, Windmill Hill and Avebury. Excavations 
by Alexander Keiller 1925-1939. Oxford: Clarendon 
Press 

SMITH, I.F. and DARVILL, T., 1990, ‘The prehistoric 
pottery’, in A. Saville, Hazleton North. The excavation 
ofa Neolithic long cairn of the Cotswold-Severn group, 
141 - 152. London: English Heritage Archaeological 
Report No. 13 

STONE, J.E.S., 1930/32, ‘A settlement site of the Beaker 
period on Easton Down, Winterslow, S. Wilts.’, WAM 
45, 366-72 

THOMAS, N., 1964, ‘The Neolithic causewayed camp at 
Robin Hood’s Ball, Shrewton’, WAM 59, 1-27 

WEBSTER, J., 1970, Introduction to Fungi Cambridge 

WESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY, 1996, Track 216 Crescent 
Copse SPTA; archaeological evaluation. Unpublished 
client report 


82 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 
Ce) Manors held by Thomas Tropenell 


Corsham according to his IPM 
& Church 


Castle 


y% Great 
© re] Chalfield Manor House 


m Ilrowbridge 


e Great Cheverell 


West 
Codford 


0 E 
© Maiden Bradley : ee 


@  Chicklade 
Little © 
Hindon © Durnford 


SALISBURY © 


East Harnham 


miles 5) 
(ee ——— eee ———— aed 


Figure 1. Principal interests of Thomas Tropenell as given in the text 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 82-89 


A ‘Perillous, Covetous Man’: the career of Thomas 
Tropenell Esq. (c. 1405-88), a Wiltshire lawyer, 
Parliamentary burgess and builder of Great Chalfield! 


by J. T: Driver 


During the course of a very long life Thomas Tropenell spent much of his energy establishing his rights to various 
manors, especially that of Great Chalfield, three miles north of Trowbridge, where his fine manor-house still 
stands. His legal training stood him in good stead when It came to estate litigation, but an equally important 
factor was his long connection with the leading family of Hungerford, staunch backers of the Lancastrian 
government. Tropenell took his part in the usual tasks 1n local government. He was elected twice to the Commons, 
first in 1429 and again in 1449, and served as a Justice of the Peace. 


Thomas Tropenell of Great Chalfield, Neston, 
Salisbury and elsewhere, was born c.1405, the son of 
Henry Tropenell and his wife, Edith, the daughter of 
Walter Roche. Through the marriage of his forebear, 
Walter Tropenell, to Katherine Percy he could trace 
his ancestry back directly to the Percy family who 
had held Great Chalfield in the thirteenth century.’ 
Tropenell married twice. By 1431 he had wed Agnes, 
widow of Thomas Burton of Burton in 
Gloucestershire, and Atworth in Wiltshire. By 1456 
he had married Margaret, widow of John Erley, who 
had been elected to the Commons for Ludgershall in 
1450. She was the daughter of William Ludlow of 
Hill Deverill, a royal official under the Lancastrians 
and parliamentary burgess for Ludgershall in 1432, 
1433, 1435, 1453 and possibly in 1455, and for 
Salisbury in 1439.’ 

During his life Thomas Tropenell was to build up 
a modest estate as a Wiltshire squire, take some part 
in local administration as befitted his status as a 
gentleman and lawyer, and, perhaps most important 
of all, to build the manor-house at Great Chalfield. 
Initially, however, his public and professional career 
should be examined, and his contacts with 
contemporary notables discussed. 

Tropenell must have been in his mid-twenties 
when elected as second burgess for Bedwin to the 
parliament which met at Westminster on 22nd 


September 1429.* This would seem to mark the 
beginning of his career. For the next few years he 
appears to have taken no other part in local affairs, 
but his presence among the Wiltshire electors in 
December 1436 is an indication of his rising status.’ 
Indeed, under the statute passed in the parliament of 
1429-30 the county franchise was limited to the 40s. 
freeholder. Tropenell attended the elections at Bath 
in January 1437 and ten years later again took part in 
the shire elections.° Furthermore, his name was put 
down as one of the manucaptors (i.e. sureties for 
appearance in parliament) for John Fortescue, one of 
the parliamentary knights for Wiltshire elected in 
December 1436.’ 

By this stage in his career Tropenell was already 
associating with several south-western gentry, some 
of whom, as himself, were both lawyers and clients or 
servants of the important Hungerford family. An early 
example of such involvement came in March 1438 
when he, Henry Long, Richard Chokke, John 
Fortescue and John Whittokesmede, all lawyers, were 
feoffees or trustees for Sir Walter Hungerford.* A few 
years later Tropenell was admitted to Lincoln’s Inn 
in Michaelmas term 1445, being granted ‘special 
admission’ to that Society in 1470.” Meantime he 
had been elected to the second seat for Bath in the 
parliament which met at Westminster on 12th 
February 1449.'° In September 1450 he was a 


46 Crossley Crescent, Hoole, Chester CH2 3EZ 


84 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


member of a commission, headed by Sir Robert 
Hungerford and Henry Long, to summon the king’s 
lieges in Wiltshire; and in the following year he was 
among those ordered to enquire into two cases of 
robbery in Salisbury and Swindon.'! For some eight 
years or so Tropenell seems to have been absent from 
official commissions. The 1450s were a time of 
growing political tension between the supporters of 
the increasingly ineffectual Lancastrian king, Henry 
VI, and their opponents led by Richard, Duke of York. 
Among those who followed the latter were the 
Herberts. It is of significance, therefore, that Tropenell, 
as one having close attachments to the Lancastrian 
Hungerfords, should have been included in a body to 
arrest the Yorkist squire Thomas Herbert in Somerset 
in June 1459."" 

In the same month, he and others were appointed 
to ascertain what lands Sir Robert, Lord Hungerford 
had held.'? Once again there is a lack of evidence 
about Tropenell’s public activities, except for service 
as bailiff of Salisbury for the year 1462-3, and as 
alderman of the city in 1461—2 and 1479-80.'" He 
was probably occupied with his own matters regarding 
property, and with building Great Chalfield. Another 
possible reason for his lack of involvement in more 
public affairs could have been political, in that the 
1460s were essentially years of Yorkist ascendancy, 
when people such as Tropenell with ‘Lancastrian’ 
affiliations were excluded from positions of local 
authority. It is particularly interesting that, despite 
Tropenell’s Lancastrian connections, he was able to 
enlist the support of Edward, Earl of March (later 
Edward IV) in recovering Hindon and Chicklade 
manors in 1460.'" What should also be noted, 
however, is that he sued for a number of official 
pardons during these years: in July 1459, for breaking 
one of Henry VI’s statutes; and in 1464, 1468 and 
1471.'° On the last occasion he was, in fact, described 
as ‘of London, gentleman’. 

However, in October 1470 his name was included 
with Henry Long and John Whittokesmede in an 
investigation into felonies, murders and homicides 
committed in Wiltshire;!’ and on 18 November he 
was made a Justice of the Peace in the county, though 
he was not nominated to the quorum. In the event 
Tropenell was only to be a member of the bench for a 
few months — until 20 June 1471.'* The most likely 
explanation for such a short tenure of office was that 
his appointment had been made under the Readeption 
parliament of Henry VI, and that he had been removed 
by the restored Edward IV soon after his final victory 
at Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471. However, his 
appointment to the Wiltshire bench by the Readeption 


government, eight days before the meeting of 
parliament on 26 November 1470 could possibly give 
some support to the claim that he sat in that 
parliament. After his nomination in August 1473 as 
one of the commissioners to look into the neglect of 
the sheriff of Wiltshire to return royal farms to the 
Exchequer, Tropenell does not seem to have figured 
on any more official government bodies.'” 

Central to his career and the building-up of his 
estate were his connections with the Hungerford 
family, which lasted throughout much of his life. As 
demonstrated already, his links with the Hungerfords 
were established by 1438.That he was clearly a trusted 
servant is indicated by a reference in the account of 
John Mervyn, receiver-general for 1447-48, that on 
23 November 1447 Tropenell had paid to Lord 
Moleyns (i.e. Robert Lord Hungerford) £16 13s. 4d. 
by hand.”° By 1448 he had been given the important 
post of receiver-general for Sir Walter, first Lord 
Hungerford, and after the latter’s death in the 
following year he retained the office under Sir Robert, 
second Lord Hungerford, until 1458.7! In 1449 he 
was one of anumber of Hungerford feoffees, including 
Richard Chokke, John Fortescue and John 
Whittokesmede, in the manors of Imber and 
Winterbourne Homington [Homanton in 
Maddington] in Wiltshire and of Folke in Dorset.” 
Six years later, in February 1455, he was one of the 
witnesses along with Sir Edmund Hungerford, a 
younger brother of Sir Robert, to a charter concerning 
Little Chalfield manor.’ It was, however, with Sir 
Robert, second Lord Hungerford, his wife, Margaret 
Lady Botreaux, and their son, Robert Lord 
Hungerford and Moleyns, that his links were closest. 
Although the significance should not be stressed too 
much, it is important to note that Tropenell seems to 
have had a central role in the Hungerford ‘circle’ for 
many years from the 1440s, and especially from the 
1450s when the family was hard-pressed to meet the 
heavy ransom of Robert, third Lord Hungerford, who 
had been captured in 1453." A clear mark that 
Tropenell stood high in Hungerford favour was that 
Robert ‘the elder’ bequeathed him a silver cup 
engraved with the family arms and that Lady Margaret 
made him her steward, executor and feoffee.” 

The connection enjoyed by Tropenell with the 
Hungerfords gave him wide contacts with local 
notables, gentry and lawyers. On 31 March 1460, 
for instance, his name was listed among a large panel 
of feoffees for Sir Robert Hungerford ‘the younger’ 
in the manors of Chippenham, Warminster, Imber 
and elsewhere; and in another document, dated the 
same day, he was given as a witness with John 


A‘PERILLOUS, COVETOUS MAN’: THOMAS TROPENELL (c. 1405-88) 85 


Mompesson and others to a grant of manors to Sir 
Robert and his mother, Lady Margaret.”° When, in 
September and October 1463, Lady Margaret 
established trusts for her lands in Cornwall and 
Wiltshire, Tropenell was among an impressive list of 
feoffees, some of whom were of more than local 
standing, in particular George Neville, bishop of 
Exeter, Chancellor of England, Richard Beauchamp, 
Bishop of Salisbury, and the important knight Roger 
Tocotes, who had married the widow of Bishop 
Beauchamp’s brother. A further member of this 
panel of trustees was Gregory (or George) Westby, 
quondam receiver-general for Lady Margaret 
Hungerford.*’ 

In October 1467 Tropenell and Tocotes were 
named as principal witnesses to a grant of Little 
Cheverell by Lady Margaret to John Mompesson; in 
June 1470 he and the substantial squire and royal 
servant, Avery (or Alfred) Cornburgh, witnessed a 
charter of Walter Hungerford, son of Robert, third 
Lord Hungerford. In January 1471 he was listed as a 
Hungerford feoffee with the south-western justice Sir 
Richard Chokke.** His links with the Hungerfords 
continued until the end of his life for, in April 1486, 
Tropenell was mentioned as one of the patrons of 
Mildenhall in Wiltshire, along with Mompesson and 
Mervyn, all feoffees of the late Robert, Lord 
Hungerford and Homet.”’ 

Such an intimate and lengthy involvement with 
the staunchly Lancastrian Hungerford family would 
suggest a similar alignment of Thomas Tropenell, too. 
Yet there is some evidence to suggest that, politically 
speaking, he managed to tread a careful path. Indeed 
he was described as a squire, ‘which had the lyvereys 
of Kyng Harry the vj and of Kyng Edward the iiij"’.*° 
Furthermore, as ‘Thomas Tropenell of Neston, 
gentleman’ , he had been included in a general pardon 
issued under Edward IV in 1464, and was to receive 
another pardon under Richard III.*! 

It is, however, not possible to prove how politically 
committed Tropenell was during this difficult and 
disturbed period. If his intimate attachments lay with 
the Hungerfords, they could well have been essentially 
personal and professional. Certainly his involvement 
with the family could have proved politically 
embarrassing in the 1460s, when Robert, Lord 
Hungerford and Moleyns, and his son Sir Thomas 
both suffered execution for rebellion against Edward 
IV. What does seem possible is that Thomas Tropenell 
was astute enough to concentrate upon what were 
his own essential interests — that of taking a modest 
part in the accepted round of local office-holding, as 
was appropriate to his status as a member of the 


county squirearchy, including occasional service in 
parliament, and of building up his estates in Wiltshire. 
The former aspect of his career has already been 
considered. It is time now to focus on the latter, 
beginning with his struggle to establish his claim to 
the manor of Great Chalfield. 

In the thirteenth century, possibly even in the late 
twelfth century, this had belonged to the Percy family. 
Tropenell’s claim was based upon the marriage of 
Walter Tropenell, his direct ancestor, to Katherine, 
daughter of Sir William Percy.*? However, at some 
point between 1437 and 1443 a dispute arose when 
William Rous argued that, at Tropenell’s request, he 
(Rous) had enfeoffed him (Tropenell) and his 
associates Richard Chokke and Henry Long in the 
manor of Great Chalfield.*? Rous later claimed that 
Tropenell had not fulfilled the trust’s condition and 
proceeded to law. However, when the case came up 
Rous failed to appear and so Tropenell was left in 
possession. Nevertheless, other legal actions were to 
follow before Tropenell finally secured possession. In 
1444—45 another protagonist appeared in the person 
of Thomas Beverley, who unsuccessfully sued 
Tropenell and his co-feoffees, Long and Chokke, for 
the estate. 

Two years later, in 1447, Tropenell and his 
colleagues conveyed Great Chalfield back to Rous, 
who then settled it upon his second wife, Isabel, and 
their issue. In spite of that arrangement Rous soon 
afterwards leased Great Chalfield to Tropenell, who 
claimed to be the tenant when Rous died in 1452. 
Isabel, however, contested the matter and actually 
entered the manor, only to be ejected by Tropenell. 
In 1454 she surrendered her claim for 100s. and in 
1459 Tropenell finally settled with her by a 
composition of £53. Unfortunately, he still had others 
with whom he had to contend before he achieved 
complete possession. In 1454 Thomas Beverley 
renewed a claim, but then released his rights to 
Tropenell; and in 1459 he tried once more to acquire 
the manor, but Tropenell produced documents to 
retain his right. Moreover, at the same time, Tropenell 
faced another challenge to Great Chalfield from an 
aunt of William Rous, Joan Beaushyn, who, in the 
event, relinquished her interest. At last, in 1467 
Tropenell finally secured the estate, but only after yet 
another lawsuit brought against him by Beverley. The 
latter, in fact, won his case, but then sold his rights to 
Tropenell.** His persistence in fighting for the estate 
could partly have owed something to his desire to 
become a man of substance, but most likely to his 
determination to secure a property which he believed 
was rightly his through inheritance from Walter 


86 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Tropenell and ultimately from the Percy family. 
Although it is not possible, at this stage, to establish 
the costs of his lawsuit in his pursuit of his claim to 
Great Chalfield, they must have been quite substantial. 
The cost of the final composition with Beverley was 
no small amount in fifteenth-century terms. Thomas 
Tropenell’s determination to secure his rights to Great 
Chalfield with the accompanying office of the 
constableship of Trowbridge is revealed in the 
comment that, “Tho. Tropenell, in 1) the last yeres of 
the said Kyng Harry the sixte, oft tymes sued to the 
counseil of the seid duchie of Lancastre, for the seid 
offices [i.e. the constableship of Trowbridge], shewyng 
his evidence and title to theym thereof, and prayed to 
be amytted therto.’” 

In addition to Great Chalfield, Tropenell acquired 
other manors and properties. One was Fisherton 
Anger near Salisbury, which consisted of two small 
estates, obtained in 1457 and 1465.*° Another was 
Little Durnford which he apparently purchased of 
John Wodehull esquire and others in 1474—75.*” At 
the time of Tropenell’s death the manor was valued 
at 100s.** His tenacity in pursuing his claims suggests 
that he was a determined hard man of business, a 
characteristic borne out by his acquisition of Hindon 
manor. Tropenell had apparently acquired it in 1452, 
when Robert Hardell mortgaged it to him. Four years 
later he occupied Hindon, together with lands in 
Milton, East Knoyle, and'Tollard Royal, for which he 
paid £40 to Robert Hardell and his wife.*” Included 
in the transaction were valuable assets such as 19 
messuages or dwellings, a dovecote, a bull and 700 
sheep, all of which suggests that Tropenell could have 
been farming on quite a large scale. Indeed, though 
firm evidence is lacking, he could have been involved 
in the wool-trade. At his death Hindon was said to 
have been held of the Bishop of Winchester.*" A few 
years earlier, in 1451, Tropenell bought the Bell Inn 
at Chippenham, for which he paid 22 marks (£14 
13s. 4d.) to William Jerveys and his wife, Isabelle, and 
10 marks (£6 13s. 4d.) to Hugh London (or 
Bushyn).*! Tropenell also obtained the manors of 
Maiden Bradley and Chicklade which, with Hindon, 
were valued at his death at twenty marks a year. In 
addition to these estates Tropenell held the manor of 
East Harnham, three messuages and land in West 
Codford, worth 30s., and a messuage and land in East 
Codford, worth 10s.” 

It should be noted that the Hungerford family 
were involved in Tropenell’s acquisition of Codford, 
together with the advowson of Great Cheverell. A 
confirmation and release of Codford and the 
advowson in 1469 referred to an earlier grant by 


Robert, second Lord Hungerford, on 9th December 
1447, to Thomas Tropenell and his wife, Agnes. A 
further deed of May 1465 recorded a grant of parcels 
of land, rents and two cottages in West Codford 
[Codford St Peter] by Margaret, Lady Hungerford 
and Botreaux, to Thomas Tropenell ‘esquire’, for the 
annual payment of a red rose at the Nativity of St 
John the Baptist (24th June).™ 

By c.1465—67 Tropenell had succeeded in building 
up an estate of several manors and properties in 
Wiltshire which must have brought a steady income. 
Without the survival of a rental, however, it is not 
possible to estimate the size of his income and 
expenditure. Nevertheless, although his total holdings 
were not extensive they must have provided much of 
the resources needed to re-build his imposing manor 
house at Great Chalfield and the Tropenell chapel in 
the church of All Saints. It would be extremely 
interesting to know the cost of the building projects 
at Great Chalfield. Unfortunately, however, no 
building contracts or accounts have so far come to 
light, though some have survived for properties 
elsewhere in the fifteenth century. The architectural 
features of Great Chalfield and the chapel have already 
been described by various authorities.” Here it is 
appropriate only to draw attention to some of the 
principal features, taking first the chapel, which dates 
from c. 1480. It has a panelled wagon roof and a stone 
screen which includes five shields describing 
heraldically the principal families connected with the 
manor. These include the arms of Tropenell impaling 
Percy; Tropenell (Gules, a fesse engrailed argent 
powdered ermine, between three griffons’ [1.e. 
griffins’] heads of the same erased); and Tropenell 
impaling Ludlow — the last referring to his second 
wife, Margaret, daughter of William Ludlow.’° Indeed, 
similar heraldic devices relating to the Tropenell and 
Ludlow families can be seen in various parts of the 
house, as well as on the tomb of Thomas and 
Margaret at Corsham.”’ In the house itself Tropenell 
arms are displayed on the bosses in the bays at the 
east end of the hall and were once on wooden bosses 
there. Still to be seen on the original timbers are his 
painted motto Le jong tyra belement (‘The yoke pulls 
well’) and his badge of a double ox yoke. By such 
visual means did Thomas Tropenell esquire announce 
his arrival into the ranks of the gentry. 

However, more important perhaps, is the high 
quality and beauty of the architecture itself at Great 
Chalfield. In particular there are the two fine oriel 
windows on the north front, the well proportioned 
hall, whose ceiling has moulded beams, and the very 
arresting three spy-windows in the form of masks of 


A‘PERILLOUS, COVETOUS MAN’: THOMAS TROPENELL (c. 1405-88) 87 


a bishop, a devil and another face. Perhaps even more 
significant still is that many of the windows have 
uncusped lights, which were rather ahead of their time. 
Again this underlines the unusual quality of a building 
erected by aman whose estate was by no means large 
and whose social rank did not rise above that of 
‘esquire’. This prompts the question as to how he 
secured the services of masons and other craftsmen 
of such high calibre. Perhaps his connections with 
the Hungerfords, whose seat was not far away at 
Farleigh Hungerford, enabled him to obtain highly- 
skilled men to build and adorn his splendid new house 
at Great Chalfield? Although Tropenell enjoyed a close 
relationship with the Hungerfords, the part they 
played in his grand project at Great Chalfield must 
essentially have been confined to providing useful 
contacts rather than financial support, since they 
themselves were going through a time of financial 
embarrassment in the late fifteenth-century.”” Again, 
Tropenell could well have taken some ideas from the 
manor house at nearby South Wraxall, which belonged 
to the Long family. That there were such skilled 
craftsmen locally is given added support by the 
magnificent south chapel of St Nicholas’ church, 
Bromham, which was built some four or five years 
after Tropenell’s death by his former associates, Sir 
Richard Beauchamp and Sir Roger Tocotes. 

In August 1486, possibly conscious of his 
advancing years, Tropenell made a grant of an annual 
rent from his lands in Chicklade to his son, 
Christopher, and his heirs.*° Just over a year later, on 
28 October 1487, his name appeared as one of the 
patrons, as a co-feoffee of the late Robert, Lord 
Hungerford and Homet, in the institution of Henry 
Mompesson to the living of Mildenhall in Wiltshire.”! 
Some eight days later, on 5 November, he drew up 
his will, probate of which was eventually granted on 
26 February 1488. A fortnight or so after making his 
will the writ diem clausit extremum was issued on 22 
November which ordered an enquiry as to his lands.” 
The resulting inquisition, held at Wilton on 3 May 
1488, listed his principal holdings as the manors of 
Great Chalfield, Maiden Bradley, Chicklade, Hindon, 
Little Durnford and East Harnham, with properties 
and lands elsewhere. To ensure that the provisions of 
his will were carried out Tropenell enfeoffed Sir 
Richard Beauchamp and a judge, Sir John Catesby. 
His heir was stated to be his son, Christopher, aged 
twenty-five or more. The jurors further stated that 
Tropenell had died on the last day of January last 
(i.e.1488).** In his will he asked to be buried in the 
south chapel of Corsham church in the tomb made 
for himself and his second wife, Margaret. Among 


the several monetary bequests were 6s.8d.each to 
Salisbury Cathedral and Corsham church; 26s.8d. to 
the rector of Edington; and 13s.4d. to the Prior and 
community of Bath Abbey. More revealing, perhaps, 
as an indication of his personal wealth, taste and 
religious devotion, was his gift to Robert Cheverell of 
two silver candlebra and a missal. Unsurprisingly, 
Tropenell did not forget his long-lasting ties with the 
Hungerfords in his provision for a priest to pray for 
the souls of Robert, late Lord Hungerford, his wife 
Lady Margaret, and their grandson, Sir Thomas.” 
His charity even extended to a grant of thirty sheep 
to the church of Codford St Mary. 

Thomas Tropenell esquire and lawyer appears to 
have spent most of his life in the south-west, especially 
in Wiltshire. In fact he does not seem to have cut much 
of a public figure on a wider stage — though he was 
certainly elected twice to the Commons in his earlier 
years and held most of the usual offices appropriate 
to that of a country gentleman, except that of sheriff. 
The real significance and importance of his career is 
threefold: first his long association with the 
Lancastrian Hungerfords; second his building of the 
fine manor house at Great Chalfield; and third the 
unusually full and rare collection of deeds relating to 
his properties, which he began to gather together in 
1464, and which were published by the Wiltshire 
Archaeological and Natural History Society in 1908 
as The Tropenell Cartulary. This collection of deeds, 
many of which go back to the early fourteenth century, 
reflect clearly the character and determination of this 
Wiltshire lawyer to assert and retain his rights. Indeed, 
they seem to lend substance to the pejorative comment 
made of him that he was a ‘perillous covetous man’. 

Perhaps most fascinating of all is the mural 
painting in the dining room at Great Chalfield which 
could well be that of Thomas Tropenell himself. The 
subject depicted is of a man of mature age, substance 
and authority. He is shown with five fingers on each 
hand. Should this portrait indeed be that of Tropenell, 
then it could be the earliest known painting of a 
member of the gentry and a parliamentary burgess.”° 


Notes 


1 I should like to thank Professor C.T. Allmand and Dr J. 
H. Thomas for reading an earlier draft of this article and 
for their constructive suggestions, and my wife for 
preparing the typescript. 

2 J. Silvester Davies (ed.), Trop(enell)Cart(ulary), 1908 
(WANHS, Devizes), vol. 1, pp. x-x1; facing p. 272 (geneal. 
tables); 272-88; vol. 2, p. 163. Tropenell was described 


88 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


as ‘gentleman and merchant’ [of Salisbury] in 1452, Ibid. 
vol. 2, p. 28; ‘of Neston in the County of Wiltshire, 
gentleman’, Select Cases on the Law Merchant, Selden 
Society (1929), vol. 2, 20); and as armiger [esquire] in 
1458, Trop.Cart. vol. 1, p. 369. 

3 Ibid. vol. 1, pp. 122-23; vol. 2, pp. 163-64; J. C. Wedgwood 
and Anne D.Holt, History of Parliament: Biographies of 
the Members of the Commons House, 1439-1509, 1936, 
H.M.S.O., p. 875. For the career of William Ludlow, see 
Ibid:, p:561. 

4 PRO €219/13/6, pt.1, no. 91. Official Return of Members 
of Parliament (The Blue Book), Pt.l, 1213-1702, 1878, 
p. 317. Tropenell took second place to Richard Bridges 
of Salisbury, who was probably a lawyer. No date was 
given for the borough election. 

5 PRO €C219/15/I, pt. 3, no.105. The elections were held at 
Wilton for the parliament which met at Westminster on 
21st Jan.1437. 

6 PRO C219/15/), pt. 3, no.105; C219/15/5, no. 14. 

7 PRO C219/15/), pt. 3, no.105. 

8 Calendars of) P(atent) R(olls), 1436-42, p.152; J. L. 
Karby (ed.), Abstracts of fines relating to Wiltshire, 1377- 
1509, 1986, (Wiltshire Record Society, vol. 41), no. 511. 

9 W. B. Baildon (ed.), Admissions Book of Lincoln’s Inn, 
1420-1893, 1896, vol. 1, pp. 10, 18. ‘Special admission’ 
generally implied one or more of three privileges: 
exemption from keeping vacations, exemption from 
holding certain offices, and the right to sit at the Masters’ 
(i.e. Benchers’) Commons. In a letter written by Sir Miles 
Stapleton to his ‘Right welbeloved and trusty freende’, 
Thomas Tropenell, he refers to the receipt of 100s. via 
Tropenell’s clerk, Robert, which could suggest that, as a 
lawyer, Tropenell had a small staff (Trop. Cart. vol. 2, p. 
93). The money was for three closes in Codford which 
‘Tropenell wanted to have. 

10 PRO C219/15/6, no. 88. 

11 C.PR., 1446-52, pp. 434, 443. 

12 Ibid. 1452-61, p.518. 

13 Ibid. p. 496. Robert, second Lord Hungerford, died 
early in the summer of 1459. For his career, see 
G.E.Cokayne et al (ed.), The Complete Peerage, 2nd 
edn., vol. 6, pp. 617-18. 

14 WRO G23/1/2, ff. 58v.,55v.,135v. 

15 Trop.Cart. vol. 2, pp. 63-65. 

16 C.PR, 1452-61, p. 509. Wedgwood and Holt, (op. cit., 
pp. 875-6) suggested that the description ‘of London’ 
used of Tropenell in 1471 could have pointed to his 
election to the Readeption Parliament of 1470-71, but 
more substantive proof would seem needed to assert that 
he was an M.P. in this body. However ‘of London’ could 
more plausibly suggest that’Tropenell had a house there. 

17 “CPR: 1467-77, p-247, 

18 Ibid. p. 635. It should be noted that his associates, Henry 
Long and John Whittokesmede, were made ‘of the 
quorum’: PRO C66/491, mm. 25d, 26d. 

19 C.PR., 1467-77, p. 406. 

20 PRO SC6/1119/12. 

21 J. L. Kirby, “The Hungerford Family in the Later Middle 
Ages’, unpublished London M.A. thesis (1939), p.112. 1 


am indebted to Mr Kirby for allowing me to cite from his 
work. ‘Two accounts of Tropenell’s immediate predecessor, 
John Mervyn, have survived for the financial years 1444— 
45 and 1447-48 (PRO SC6/1119/ 11, 12). The next 
surviving roll (SC6/1119/ 13) is without a heading. Since 
‘Tropenell took over from Mervyn in 1448, this last roll 
must have belonged to the period of Tropenell’s time as 
receiver-general. 


22 C(alendar of) C(lose) R(olls), 1447-54, pp. 147, 148. 
23 C.C.R., 1454-61, p. 55. 
24 For Robert, third Lord Hungerford, see Complete 


Peerage, vol. 6, p. 618. After his release from French 
captivity he continued to support the Lancastrian cause, 
for which he was to be attainted in 1461 and executed 
after the battle of Hexham in 1464. 


25 Wedgwood and Holt, op. cit., p. 875; F. W. Weaver (ed.), 


Somerset Medieval Wills, 1901 (Somerset Record Society, 
vol. 16), pt. 1, p. 189; N. H. Nicolas (ed.), Testamenta 
Vetusta, 1826, vol. 1, pp. 311-20. 


26 C.C.R., 1454-61, pp. 439, 441. Mompesson sat for 


Wilton in the parliament of 1453-54. He, too, was a lawyer 
with Hungerford connections. He was appointed, as was 
Tropenell, to the Wiltshire bench on 17th Dec.1470 by 
the Readeption government, but removed when the 
Yorkists returned to power: Wedgwood and Holt, op. cit. 
pp. 599-600 


27 C.C.R., 1461-68, p. 271; J. L. Kirby (ed.), The 


Hungerford Cartulary: a calendar of the Earl of Radnor’s 
Cartulary of the Hungerford Family, 1994 (Wiltshire 
Record Society, vol. 49), no. 666. Sir Roger Tocotes of 
Bromham married Elizabeth, widow of Sir William 
Beauchamp, Lord St Amand. Tocotes was returned for 
Wiltshire in 1467 and 1472-75. Towards the end of his 
life he and his stepson founded the splendid chantry at 
Bromham: Wedgwood and Holt, op. cit., pp. 858-9; J. T. 
Driver, “The Parliament of 1472-75, with particular 
reference to the personnel of the Commons’, unpublished 
Liverpool Ph.D. thesis (1982), vol. 2, pt. 3, pp. 949-59. 
For Westby as receiver-general, see Kirby “The Hungerford 
Family’, p. 114.’Two accounts survive from his period as 
receiver-general, one for 4-5 Edward IV (1464-65), and 
the other for 14-15 Edward IV (1474-75): PRO SC6/1119/ 
14, 16. 


28 C.C.R., 1468-76, pp. 65, 142, 171. For Cornburgh, 


who served the governments of Henry VI, Edward IV, 
Richard III, and Henry VI, see Wedgwood and Holt, op. 
cit., pp. 223-24. 


29 Kirby, Hungerford Cartulary, no. 690; D. P.Wright (ed.), 


The Register of Thomas Langton, Bishop of Salisbury, 
1485-93, 1985 (Canterbury and York Society, vol. 74), 
no. 48. 


30 Trop.Cart. vol. 2, p. 163. 
31 C.PR., 1461-67, p. 339; British Library, Harl. MS. 433, 


f. 83b , see now R. Horrox and P. W. Hammond (ed.), 
BL.Harleian Manuscript 433, 1979 (Richard III Society), 
vol. 1, p. 230. The entry reads: “Thomas Tropenelle of 
Chaldefeld in the Countie of Wiltshire Squier hathe a 
generale pardone’. 


32 Trop. Cart., vol. 1, introduction, p. x1. 


A‘PERILLOUS, COVETOUS MAN’: THOMAS TROPENELL (c. 1405-88) 89 


33 For this outline of Tropenell’s efforts to recover Great 
Chalfield, the account in V.C.H. Wilts., vol. 7, 1953, p. 
61 has been used. See also the evidence in Trop, Cart., 
vol. 1, pp. 272-96. 

34 Ibid. vol.1, pp. 396-98. 

35 Ibid. vol. 1, p. 295. 

36 V.C.H.Wilts., vol. 6, 1962, p. 186; Trop.Cart., vol. 1, 
pp. 152, 153, 166, 170. 

37 C.C.R., 1468-76, pp. 348, 347, 63-64; V.C.H. Wilts., 
vol. 15, 1995, p. 84; Trop. Cart., vol. 2, pp. 286-90, 298- 
99; R. Colt Hoare et al, The History of Modern Wiltshire: 
Hundreds of Everley, Ambresbury and Underditch, 1826, 
pp. 126-28. 

38 Cal(endar of) I(nquisitions) P(ost) M(ortem): Henry 
VIL, vol. 1, 1898, no.351. 

39 Kirby (ed.), Wiltshire Fines, no. 628. 

40 V.C.H. Wilts., vol. 11, 1980, p. 99, n.13; Trop. Cart., 
vol. 2, pp. 17-18, 27-28; Kirby (ed.), Wiltshire Fines, no. 
628. In an obligation, taken by Hardell before the mayor 
of Salisbury in Oct.1452, to secure Tropenell’s rights to 
lands and properties in Chicklade and Hindon, the latter 
was described as ‘gentleman and merchant’ . More 
interesting, however, is that in the fine printed in Trop. 
Cart. (vol. 2, p. 17) and that printed in Wiltshire Fines 
(no.628) are two parts of what was probably originally a 
tripartite indenture, the third part of which would have 
been given to Hardell and his wife, and which has now 
been lost. It is quite rare for more than one part of a 
tripartite indenture to have survived. 

41 Trop .Cart., vol. 1, pp. 89, 91-92. 

42 Cal.I.P.M., Henry VII, vol. 1, no. 351. 

43 Ibid. 

44 C.C.R., 1468-76, pp. 63, 64; ibid. 1485-1500, p. 47. 

45 J. Silvester Davies, ‘The Manor and Church of Great 
Chalfield’, Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire 
Archaeological Society, vol. 23, 1900, pp.193-261; H. Avray 


Tipping, ‘Great Chalfield Manor’, Country Life 15th Aug. 
1914, pp. 230-7; 29th Aug. 1914, pp. 294-301; N. Pevsner, 
Wiltshire. 2nd ed., 1975 (The Buildings of England), pp. 
257-9; Great Chalfield Manor, Wiltshire, 1966 (National 
Trust). 

46 Trop. Cart., vol. 1, p. xii. The advowson of Great 
Cheverell remained in the hands of the Tropenells until 
1553. The church was much remodelled between 1476 
and 1553: Trop. Cart., vol. 2, p. 269; V.C.H. Wilts., vol. 
10, 1975, pp. 49, 51. 

47 Trop.Cart., vol. 1, p. xvi; Great Chalfield Manor 
(National Trust), pp. 7, 10. 

48 Pevsner (op. cit., pp. 257-58) points out that such a 
feature belongs to the period of Henry VIII rather than 
that of Henry VII. The stone for the house came from 
the quarries at Hazelbury in which Tropenell had 
acquired an interest in 1465: V.C.H. Wilts., vol. 4, 1959, 
p. 247. 

49 K. B. McFarlane, The Nobility of Later Medieval 
England, 1973 (Oxford), pp. 29-30. 

50 C.C.R., 1485-1500, p. 58. 

51 Wright (ed.), Register of Thomas Langton, |xxiv, no. 
133% 

52 PRO Prob. 11/8 (P.C.C., 7 Milles). 

53 PRO C/142/3/103; Cal.IL.P.M., Henry VII, vol. 1, no. 
351; Calendar of Fine Rolls, 1485-1509, p. 70. 

54 This statement seems to conflict with the issuing of the 
writ diem clausit extremum in November 1487, since that 
would presume that Tropenell had already died. One 
possible explanation could be that the jurors or a clerk 
had stated or written ‘January’ instead of ‘November’ at 
the inquisition. If so, then Tropenell’s death would have 
taken place late in 1487 and not early in 1488. 

55 Sir Thomas had been executed at Bemerton in 1469: 
Complete Peerage, vol. 6, p. 621. 

56 Great Chalfield Manor (National Trust), p.11. 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 90-104 


Excavations along the Littleton Drew to Chippenham 


Gas Pipeline 
by Clifford Bateman 


with contributions by Fiona Roe, Jane Timby and Tracey Stickler 


In 1997 Cotswold Archaeological Trust undertook a continuous watching brief and associated excavations along 
the route of the Littleton Drew to Chippenham gas pipeline. This report details the findings of two excavations 
undertaken during the programme of works, one a multi-phased site with evidence of early to middle Iron Age 
and Romano-British activity, the other a hitherto unknown area of Romano-British activity. A gazetteer of isolated 
features and findspots of all periods identified during the watching brief is also included. 


Cotswold Archaeological Trust was commissioned by 
Transco to undertake an archaeological watching brief 
along the route of the Littleton Drew to Chippenham 
gas pipeline (ST 8335 7950 to ST 9140 7535), a 
distance of approximately 12km, through a landscape 
of proven archaeological interest. The pipeline crossed 
the predominantly limestone geology of the Cotswold 
dipslope, which largely comprises middle Jurassic 
Great Oolite and Cornbrash. Middle Jurassic Forest 
Marble Clays and upper Jurassic Kellaways Clay, 
associated with the North Wiltshire Clay Vale, are 
more prevalent at the south-east extent of the scheme. 
‘Topographically, the pipeline route consisted of gently 
undulating ground along the north-west section, 
becoming more uniform 3.5km towards the south- 
eastern end of the route. At its north-western extent 
the pipeline lies at approximately 130m OD; the 
south-eastern end lies at approximately 90m OD. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND 
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 


Within the Chippenham environs, evidence has been 
recorded indicating occupation and activity from the 
earliest prehistoric period up to the present day 
(Figure 1). Prehistoric activity is attested by the lithic 
scatters (Tucker 1985) and funerary monuments 
identified within the immediate hinterland of the 
pipeline. However, evidence of contemporary 
settlement within this area remains limited. Iron Age 


and Romano-British activity is concentrated to the 
west of the pipeline upon the Cotswold dipslope. 
Evidence for Iron Age settlement is dominated by 
Bury Camp hillfort (Wiltshire SAM 130), although 
isolated findspots of Iron Age pottery have also been 
recorded, most commonly associated with Romano- 
British settlement. The spatial distribution of 
Romano-British settlement activity within the general 
area is focussed upon the Fosse Way (PRN 300), the 
major Roman road linking Exeter to Lincoln. A 
roadside settlement at Nettleton Shrub (Wiltshire 
SAM 311, PRN 302) containing twenty six buildings, 
a temple and cemetery was excavated between 1938 
and 1967 (Wedlake 1982). A villa complex and 
associated cemetery were excavated at Truckle Hill, 
North Wraxall, in 1859-60 (Jackson 1862). No sub- 
Roman or Anglo-Saxon activity is recorded within 
the immediate vicinity of the pipeline, although the 
excavation of a Saxon sunken-featured building to 
the south-west of Chippenham (NGR ST 898 727) 
suggests occupation in the area (Anon 1991). 

The pipeline route itself passed through three 
previously identified archaeological sites. At ST 8397 
7937 it crossed a section of the Fosse Way (Area A). 
At Down Farm, Heywood, (ST 8880 7653) the route 
crossed an area where an assemblage of early 
prehistoric flints (PRN 052) had previously been 
found (Area B).The lithic material includes flint cores, 
scrapers, blades and flakes from the Mesolithic period. 
At Lodge Farm, Heywood (Area C), the pipeline 
intersected an area of cropmark features previously 
identified from aerial photographic evidence (PRN 


Cotswold Archaeological Trust, Headquarters Building, Unit 9, Kemble Business Park, Cirencester, Glos GL7 6BQ 


91 


EXCAVATIONS ALONG THE LITTLETON DREW TO CHIPPENHAM GAS PIPELINE 


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92 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


625). The cropmarks, centred on ST 8982 7656, 
include ring ditches, linear features, a D-shaped 
enclosure and a possible Romano-British building. 
Archaeological fieldwalking and excavation 
immediately south of the cropmarks complex recovered 
Romano-British pottery and tile (PRN 301 and 304). 

Other archaeological sites within close proximity 
to the pipeline route include a probable long barrow 
at Green Barrow Farm (PRN 600) (ST 8545 7782), 
which is no longer extant (having been levelled in 
1852), and an undated semi-circular enclosure (PRN 
606) north of Park Farm at ST 8650 7810. 


METHODOLOGIES 


The archaeological recording was undertaken by a 
staged approach. The initial phase comprised the 
machine stripping of topsoil within three previously 
identified archaeological areas in advance of the main 
phase of construction, namely: 


Area A: 100m either side of the Fosse Way (PRN 
300) 

Area B: 400m centred on the area of the flint 
scatter (PRN 052) 

Area C: 500m through the cropmark complex 
(PRN 625) 


A site meeting was held with representatives from 
Wiltshire County Council Archaeological Service and 
Transco, to determine the extent and nature of any 
further works. It was agreed that archaeological 
excavation should continue by hand within Area C, 
but the limited archaeological evidence from Areas A 
and B did not justify full-scale excavation. 

A watching brief was to be maintained during all 
intrusive groundwork along the pipeline corridor, with 
further contingency for excavation 1n the event that 
significant archaeological deposits were encountered. 
One such site, Area E centred on ST 8790 7698, was 
identified and subsequently excavated. 


RESULTS OF THE ARCHAEO- 
LOGICAL RECORDING 


Excavations at Area C 


The site was located on gently undulating agricultural 
land, ranging from 104.45m OD at the western extent 


to 99.61m OD at its eastern limit. The underlying 
geology consisted of middle Jurassic Cornbrash. An 
area totalling 510m in length by 1.8m in width was 
machine stripped to the top of the natural substrate, 
with archaeological excavation continuing by hand 
thereafter (Figure 2). 


Early to middle Iron Age 

Ditches [536] and [542] correlate closely with linear 
cropmarks, which may now be interpreted as of early 
to middle Iron Age date. Aerial photographic evidence 
suggests that ditch [536] may represent an antenna 
ditch associated with the D-shaped enclosure 65m 
south of the pipeline. 


Romano-British 
Ditch [503] continues the alignment of a north-east 
to south-west orientated cropmark, which may now 
be provisionally dated to the lst — 2nd century. Its 
close proximity to ditch [534], aligned perpendicular 
to the cropmark, may suggest that the two ditches 
formed the north-eastern corner of a Romano-British 
agricultural enclosure or paddock. Such an 
interpretation would suggest that the linear alignment 
of undated shallow pits [549], [551] and possibly 
[553], adjacent to ditch [534] are inside the postulated 
enclosure, and are broadly contemporary in date. 
Ditch [507] and stone-lined culvert [512] correlate 
closely with the alignment of previously identified 
linear cropmarks, and represent the western limit of 
activity identified from both the aerial photographic 
evidence and the excavation. Artefactual material 
retrieved from culvert [512] might indicate that the 
cropmarks are 2nd century in origin, although its close 
proximity to a similarly aligned redundant post- 
medieval field boundary may suggest the pottery is 
residual. The quality of dressed limestone utilised 
within the construction of the culvert, in conjunction 
with the deliberate sealing of the structure with non- 
local blue-green clay (514), suggests it was designed 
to carry a water supply rather than function as a land 
drain. The alignment of the culvert suggests it is 
associated with an amorphous depression, measuring 
approximately 20m in length by 15m in width, visible 
15m north of the pipeline. The depression may 
represent an infilled water source subsequently 
channelled towards the area of contemporary 
settlement. Such a hypothesis would suggest the area 
of occupation lies to the south-west of the study area. 
Ditch [562] correlates with the projected 
alignment of a cropmark, which may now be 
interpreted as a 2nd — 3rd century agricultural 
boundary. The two phases of recuts within this ditch 


93 


EXCAVATIONS ALONG THE LITTLETON DREW TO CHIPPENHAM GAS PIPELINE 


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3° 
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ST89800 


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94 


suggest longevity in its function as a boundary. 
Interpretation of pits [510], [520] and [530] is limited, 
although the moderate quantity of daub retrieved from 
the features reinforces the hypothesis of occupation 
within the immediate vicinity. 


Undated 

Ditches [528], [544], and [560] remain undated. 
Although they correlate closely with known cropmark 
alignments, the paucity of datable artefactual material 
retrieved from the features prohibits their 
interpretation. 


Finds 


POTTERY 
by Jane Timby 


‘Twenty-two body/base-sherds (137g) of Iron Age date 
were recovered. Although the pottery was in relatively 
fresh condition, the lack of diagnostic sherds frustrates 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


close dating of the material which is all fossil shell and 
limestone-tempered. Ditch [542] produced exclusively 
coarse shell-tempered sherds (fabric H1) normally 
typical of the earlier Iron Age. Ditch [536] produced 
limestone and shell-tempered sherds (fabrics L3, L4), 
probably of early or middle Iron Age date. 

Sherds of Roman pottery were recovered from 
seven individual features with an additional 30 sherds 
of unstratified material. Few of the features produced 
chronologically viable groups, with only two pits [520] 
and [530] yielding in excess of ten sherds. Most of 
the material would appear to belong to the 2nd 
century AD suggesting a hiatus in activity in the later 
Iron Age/early Roman periods. Pit [520] is probably 
slightly later, extending activity into the 3rd century 
AD. Sherds of Oxfordshire colour-coated ware from 
the unstratified material would confirm use of the area 
in the second half of the 3rd century but there is 
limited evidence for the 4th century. The majority of 
the wares are local products from the Wiltshire 
industries including jars from the Savernake Forest 
kilns. Imports are limited to two sherds of Dorset black 
burnished ware and two small scraps of samian. 


Table 1. Pottery quantities (sherd count and weight) from Areas C and E 

AREA C 
FABRIC No % WT ( % No % WT (g) | % 
IRON AGE 
HI 9 a Bee ae 
13 3 2.75 E 2.40 en Rese 
L4 10 9.00 4 6.15 
ROMAN: native wares 
eI ee ee ae aan ee 
ee 
MALVLI 2 
: Semis eee 
GROG 6 1.60 44 1.05 
ROMAN: local wares 
SAV 13 12.00 23 28 16 4.40 1115 26.45 
WMBBW 14 12.80 fe 3 fe 23 6.40 89 Dall 
WILOX 1 0.95 23 3.00 eerie 
SWOX 4 3.50 12 1.60 10.80 10.00 
ROMAN: traded wares 
SAM 3.50 7 0.95 ll 3.00 134 3.20 
BBI 2 1.80 10 1.35 35.60 | 1493 35.40 
Oxce 9 8.25 87 11.60 1.40 15 0.35 
SVW 3 2.75 44 5.90 3 0.85 30 0.71 
MICGW 4 3.50 25 3.33 16 4.40 248 5.90 
ROMAN: source unknown 
Rl 1 0.95 2 
R2 i 6.40 20 
R3 1 0.95 9 
R4 l 0.95 10 
R5 3 2.75 7 
R6 3 2.75 24 
R7 
Misc. reduced 12 11.00 64 
Misc. oxidised 6 5.50 13 : ‘i 
Total 110 100.3. | 749 100 362 99.99 [| 4213. [100 | 


EXCAVATIONS ALONG THE LITTLETON DREW TO CHIPPENHAM GAS PIPELINE 95 


Table 2. Pottery fabrics and date 


Description and forms 


IRON AGE 
Handmade. Brown paste with a sparse to moderate density of | Early Iron Age 
Piso see eee 
medium-fine fossil shell and limestone 
ROMAN: Native Wares 


Ital Handmade brown or orange-brown ware with a high density | Ist to 2nd century 
of very fine discrete ooliths of limestone with occasional larger 
fragments 


L Brown medium-fine sandy ware with sparse fragments of 
fossil shell/limestone 


GROG Handmade grog-tempered wares. Form: jar ee eo. Sloe hae, Seer 


MAN: Local Wiltshire Wares 


SAVGT Savernake ware (Annable 1962). Form: Large storage jars 


WMBBW Wheel-made black burnished ware (cf Rigby 1982, 153, 
Cirencester TF 5). Form: Necked jars 


a 


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WILGW 


WILRE 
WILOX 
SWOX 


South-west orange sandy ware. Gritty feel. Forms: Small 
flagons, white-slipped mortaria, necked everted rim jars/bowls 


ROMAN: Traded Wares 


SAMCG Central Gaulish samian. Forms present, Dragendorff 30, 38, | Mainly 2nd century types 
31, Curle 35 


DORBB1 


Bidwell 1991). Forms: Jars, straight-sided dishes, flat-rimmed 
bowls and grooved rim bowls 


OXCC Oxfordshire colour-coated ware (Young 1977). Forms: | Later 3rd to 4th century 
tablewares and mortaria 


NECC New Forest colour-coated ware (Fulford 1975). Form: beaker | Early 4th century. 


MICGW Grey or brown micaceous sandy ware. Forms: copies of 
DORBBI forms, jars, straight-sided dish 


ROMAN: Source unknown 


Thin walled, hard, black medium sandy wheelmade ware. Ses 
Forms: jars, beaker 


Fine, sandy ware with blue grey surfaces and a red-brown 
inner core. Wheelmade. Forms: Handled jug with vertical 
burnishing on the neck 


ve) 


ALE 


R3 Black sandy, finely micaceous ware with a brown core 
Finer, black sandy ware with a slightly gritty feel. ?Originally 


with a white slip 


R5 A fine or medium grey sandy ware with occasional buff clay 


pellets 
R A dense medium sandy ware with a speckled grey surface 
ROO/R15 Miscellaneous reduced wares 


000/015 Miscellaneous oxidised wares 


Ww 
Q 


96 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Table 3. Animal bones from Area C 


Early to Middle Iron Age 


No frags | Species Identified 


Ditch 536 26 


Romano-British 
i 
19 
| Ditch 524 [18 | 14 cattle, 2 sheep 


1 dog tooth 
1 fox tooth 


Pit 530 


1 Red deer, 1 sheep, 1 cattle 


1 adult horse; 4 cattle, 1 sheep, 1 Small 


1 red deer tooth, 1 sheep, 6 LAR, 2 SAR 


Comments 
1 cattle butchered, 1 Small green 
fractured; root damage, condition poor 


Poor condition, possibly exposed 


1 butchered, 1 green fractured 

Root damage, 2 gnawed 

Adult cattle metatarsal with unusually 
large proximal articulation foramen, 
withers height 1236.4mm 


bt a oe i nC! ho a ee) 


ANIMAL BONE 
by Tracey Stickler 


For material from the excavations at Areas C (Table 
3) and E (Table 4), where possible, specimens were 
identified to species, or to higher order taxa of: LAR 
(large artiodactyle); SAR (small artiodactyle); or 
Small. The osteological differences between sheep and 
goat were identified after Boessneck (1969), 
weathering stages were assigned after Lyman (1994), 
and animal ages ascertained from epiphyseal fusion 
and tooth eruption after Silver (1969), and from tooth 
wear after Grant (1982). Measurements were taken 
as outlined by Von den Driesch (1976), and withers 
height calculations as presented by Matolsci (1970). 
Details can be found in the archive report. 

In Area C the material associated with the Iron 
Age ditches is of very poor condition. This is probably 
due to extensive root action. The condition of the 
Romano-British material is better in general than that 
of the Iron Age, with less evidence of root damage. 
The high level of fragmentation is probably associated 
with the extraction of bone marrow, indicated by green 
fracturing and heating to melt the fats. Marrow 
extraction also continues to be strongly suggested by 
the post-medieval material. The presence of a naturally 
cast antler may indicate a local environment 
supporting established populations of deer. 


DISCUSSION 


‘The excavation at Area C revealed the presence of 
early to middle Iron Age and Romano-British activity. 
The strong correlation between the excavated features 
and the aerial photographic transcription has enabled 


the provisional dating of a number of components of 
the previously identified cropmark complex. 

The early to middle Iron Age activity identified is 
restricted to two ditches at the eastern extent of the 
excavations. Detailed interpretation of the features is 
limited, even allowing for their correlation with known 
cropmarks by the excavation, although ditch [536] 
may be interpreted as an antenna originating from 
the D-shaped enclosure. 

Romano-British activity is more dispersed in 
nature, and largely comprises ditches of field 
enclosures and paddocks. Artefactual evidence 
retrieved from these deposits suggests 2nd — 3rd 
century activity, although the pottery retrieved from 
ditch [503] may hint at an earlier, lst century 
presence. Although no evidence of contemporary 
settlement was identified during the excavation, the 
identification of Roman tile during previous 
fieldwalking throughout the study area suggests 
occupation within the immediate environs. The 
significance of stone-lined culvert [512] remains 
undetermined due to its close proximity to both an 
undated cropmark and relict post-medieval field 
boundary. 


Excavations at Area E 


Area E, centred on ST 8790 7698, was initially 
revealed during the watching brief (Figure 3). It 
quickly became apparent that the significant 
archaeological deposits could not be recorded in 
tandem with the construction of the pipeline and 
contingency archaeological recording was 
implemented. This comprised the recording and 
planning of all features exposed within the wayleave, 


EXCAVATIONS ALONG THE LITTLETON DREW TO CHIPPENHAM GAS PIPELINE 


ST87900 


Ww 
Zz 
Oo 
Kk 
ep) 
WwW 
= 
= 


Grove Farm 


ST87300 


ST76700 


Figure 3. Location plan showing Areas E and F 


97 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


98 


WOG 


t90S ZS0S 


aoueqinisip 
UWJapol 


Mojaq panuljuod 


OOLS 


ued :q boy ‘fF ons] 


EXCAVATIONS ALONG THE LITTLETON DREW TO CHIPPENHAM GAS PIPELINE 99 


and the excavation of features affected by the cutting 
of the pipe trench. An area totalling 220 x 6m was 
machine stripped to the top of the natural substrate, 
with archaeological excavation continuing by hand 
(Figure 4). 

The site is located on moderately sloping 
agricultural land, ranging from 120.5m OD to 117m 
OD. The underlying geology consists of middle 
Jurassic Cornbrash and Forest Marble clay. The 
excavation results can be assigned broadly to two main 
phases of activity, with evidence for the deliberate 
infilling of features in the late 3rd - early 4th century 
AD. 


Phase 1 (1st to 2nd century AD) 

The earliest activity was concentrated upon the 
gentle slope demarcating the Cornbrash from the 
Forest Marble clays. Ditch [5013] and gully [5011] 
may be interpreted as boundary ditches forming the 
north-western corner of a lst century enclosure or 
paddock, the 1m wide gap between the respective 
termini of the ditches representing an entranceway 
to the enclosure. It remains undetermined whether 
pit [5015], containing the articulated skeletons of 
two sheep/goats, was contemporary with this 
enclosure. Ditches [5009] and [5064] were more 
substantial in construction. Both were orientated 
approximately east to west, cutting across the natural 
slope of the land. 

Interpretation of postholes [5004], [5006], and 
[5008] is problematic. They appeared to form a 
curving alignment, suggestive of a building. A similar 
north-western return of postholes was not identified 
during the excavation, although such may have been 
truncated by 2nd — 3rd century ditch [5018]. Given 
such an interpretation, the structure would have been 
centrally positioned between ditches [5009] and 
[5064], suggesting they formed a boundary around 
the building. Based solely upon three postholes, and 
given the high level of modern truncation within the 
general vicinity, such a hypothesis may be seen as 
speculative and interpretation as the corner of a fenced 
boundary could be of equal validity. 


Phase 2 (2nd to 3rd century AD) 

At the junction of the Cornbrash and Forest Marble 
clays were two wells. The close proximity of these to 
each other suggests they were not in contemporary 
use, but were situated to exploit the change in the 
local geology and utilise the same water resource. No 
evidence for the date of construction of well [5087] 
was retrieved, although artefactual evidence from the 
deliberate infilling of the shaft suggests it was 


redundant by the late 2nd — 3rd century. The 
construction technique utilised to form the shaft of 
well [5066] suggests it had originally contained a 
lining, presumably of wood or wicker, with 
redeposited clay (5068) between the lining and the 
original well cut. Artefactual evidence from this 
deposit suggests it was constructed in the 2nd or 3rd 
century. 

The relationship between ditch [5027] and well 
[5087] remains speculative, but it is possible that 
[5027] and associated recut [5048] acted as a 
drainage outlet from the well, feeding the excess 
water into drainage ditch [5033]. Gully [5021] is 
broadly contemporary with ditch [5027], although 
its function remains undetermined. The construction 
of stone-lined ramp [5059] on the south-western side 
of ditch [5027] was undoubtedly to allow access to 
the ditch, in all probability for livestock. 
Furthermore, the irregularity of the southern side 
of the ditch may also have resulted from the 
encroachment of livestock poaching the ground 
along the edge of the ditch. The function of pits 
[5057] and [5061] identified to the north of ditch 
(5027], immediately opposite the stone-lined ramp, 
remains undetermined. 

Ditches [5041] and [5043] delineate the south- 
eastern extent of activity identified during the 
excavation, and may form an agricultural enclosure/ 
paddock, utilising drainage ditch [5033] as its western 
boundary. Ditches [5018] and [5092] were revealed 
on the higher ground cutting phase 1 ditch [5064], 
and may represent further agricultural field systems. 
Pit [5100] was revealed adjacent to ditch [5092], and 
is broadly contemporary. 


Phase 3 (late 3rd to early 4th century AD) 

Deposit (5053)/(5072), consisting of small fragments 
of limestone rubble within a clay matrix, sealed the 
north-western extent of ditch [5027] and wells [5066] 
and [5087]. The deposit is likely to represent an 
attempt to consolidate an area of increasingly wet/ 
marshy ground for continued use. Artefactual material 
retrieved from the deposit suggests that these features 
had become redundant by the early 4th century. 


Unphased 

At the northern limit of the excavation, ditch [5073] 
was flanked on its southern side by an elongated sub- 
oval pit [5077] and by two postholes [5075] and 
[5096]. This arrangement was mirrored on its 
northern side by pit [5081] and posthole [5079]. The 
lack of artefactual material retrieved from these 
features prohibits their dating. 


100 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


O 100mm 


O 50mm 


Figure 5. Early prehistoric pebble-hammer stone and Romano-British copper alloy brooch 


Finds 


POTTERY 
by Jane Timby 


An assemblage of 363 sherds (4214 g) was recovered 
from Area E (see Table 1). The pottery suggests 
activity from the ist century through to the early- 
mid 4th century. Particularly large assemblages were 
recovered from ditches [5027] and [5033], and from 
well [5087], which account for 58% of the assemblage. 
The majority of the wares are of local origin 
supplemented in the later Roman period by products 
of the large regional industries. Foreign imports are 
limited to a few samian tablewares. 

Amongst the earlier Roman features investigated 
was ditch [5064], which produced later Ist century 
material. Further small groups of potential 1st century 
wares were recovered from features [5013] and [5018]. 
Second century wares are more prolific and include 
several pieces of samian, further Savernake ware, wheel- 
made black burnished ware, along with greywares. 
Features with typical 2nd century material include 
[5004], [5011], [5015], [5018], [5025], and [5048]. 

Pottery spanning the later 2nd — 3rd centuries was 
recovered from wells [5066] and [5087], in particular 
fills (5068) and (5089) respectively, and from ditches 
[5027] and [5092]. Wares dating to the second half of 
the 3rd century into the 4th century were associated 
with the upper fill of well [5087] and deposit (5053/ 
5072): 


WORKED STONE 
by F. Roe 


Part of a pebble-hammer stone was retrieved from 
Romano-British ditch [5033] (Figure 5). It was 


broken across the hour-glass shaped shafthole, the 
surviving end being somewhat battered. It appears to 
have had a secondary use as a whetstone. The original 
pebble would have been more rounded in shape, but 
both sides are now flattened by wear, and there also 
appears to have been some use on the top and bottom 
surface. 

The stone is a grey, slightly micaceous sandstone, 
possibly originating in the Cretaceous Lower 
Greensand. It may have been collected as a pebble 
from local gravels belonging to the River Avon, or 
else from local Pleistocene Drift. 

This type of shafthole implement is early 
prehistoric in date, but is difficult to date more 
precisely than to a generalised Mesolithic to Bronze 
Age date range (Woodcock et al 1988, 30; Roe 1979, 
36). Pebble hammers also occur quite frequently as 
apparently residual finds in Iron Age or Roman 
contexts, but the re-use as a whetstone is unusual, 
and seems likely to be contemporary with the finds 
of 3rd century-pottery from the ditch. It is difficult to 
know what the purpose of these drilled pebbles may 
have been, but use as weights for bow drills or small, 
all purpose hammers are possibilities. In Wiltshire, 
other examples of pebble hammers include finds from 
Neolithic sites at Durrington Walls and Windmill Hill, 
and an Iron Age site at Fifield Bavant. 


ANIMAL BONE 
by Tracey Stickler 


That activity occurred in the Ist century in Area E is 
about all that can be deduced from the material. The 
2nd century is similarly represented with the exception 
of pit [5015], which produced articulated skeletons 
of sheep/goat. Unfortunately, taphanomic 
interpretation is not possible and the conditions of 


EXCAVATIONS ALONG THE LITTLETON DREW TO CHIPPENHAM GAS PIPELINE 101 


deposition cannot be ascertained, but there is no 
evidence for a period of exposure or scavenger activity, 
suggesting intentional burial rather than refuse pit 
discard. The consistent presence of Red Deer teeth is 
likely to indicate an established local population, 
which was utilised in the 2nd — 3rd century at least. 
The 2nd — 4th centuries also saw active marrow 
extraction. 


DISCUSSION 


The rapid response excavation revealed a hitherto 
unknown area of dense Romano-British activity. 
Analysis of the artefactual evidence suggests that 
activity spans the Romano-British period, with a 
noticeable concentration of activity within the 2nd 
— 3rd centuries. Detailed interpretation of the activity 
is restricted by the limited confines imposed on the 
excavation, but the general character of the deposits 
pertains to an agrarian landscape. The initial Ist — 
2nd century activity is restricted to the higher 


Table 4. Animal bones from Area E 


First century 
Context 

Ditch 5064 
Second century 
PH 5004 

PH 5008 

Ditch 5009 

Pit 5015 


Ditch 5092 
Second to third centu 
Ditch 5018 


Second to early fourth 


Ditch 5027 


Ditch 5027 


LAR 


Well 5087 
Layer 5091 


Red deer 


Species Identified Comments 
1 Small Root damage and chop marks 


Heated 


1 Small Fractured when green and heated 
4 cattle, 2 dog Wermien Sts? Anis ee ce ee 


166 1 Sheep/goat skeleton, 1 sheep skeleton 1 Mature, ?male sheep/goat;1 
immature sheep 
Ditch 5025 1 Juvenile sheep, 1 Small, 1 horse 


ee ee | Practived wher green and/heated 


19 11 Red deer, 2 SAR 1 Red deer green fractured and 
butchered; 1 unidentified carbonised 


2 Red deer, 8 LAR, 2 SAR 


1 Horse, 2 SAR, 2 LAR 


5 Cattle, 1 LAR, 1 Small, 1 horse, 2 sheep, 1 


Ditch 5033 16 9 Cattle Cattle humerus either butchered or 
worn from suspension after most of 
meat removed 


ground, with expansion of activity into the heavier, 
low-lying Forest Marble clays during the later 2nd 
and 3rd centuries. 

No evidence of the contemporary settlement 
associated with the features was revealed. Such a 
settlement is likely to be situated on the higher 
(presumably drier) ground associated with the 
Cornbrash. As no further Romano-British features 
were revealed to the north-west of Area E, it may be 
suggested that the settlement lies either to the west of 
the study area, in the general vicinity of Grove Farm, 
or to the north-east of the pipeline. 


A Gazetteer of Archaeological Sites 
Noted Along the Littleton Drew to 
Chippenham Gas Pipeline 


The following gazetteer provides details of the 
archaeological sites identified during the watching 
brief maintained throughout all intrusive groundworks 
along the pipeline route (Figure 1). 


Small butchered; horse green 
fractured; 4 unidentified burned 


Butchered scapula 
4 LAR green fractured, SAR and 8 
unidentified heated 


SAR heated and butchered; LAR 
heated and green fractured 


2 Small green fractured, heated and 


punctured; 5 unidentified green 
fractured and heated 


102 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


AREA A. ST 8397 7937 

Two linear ditches were recorded in section, on either 
side of, and parallel to, the existing road between The 
Gibb and Grittleton. Ditch [103], 3.5m wide and 
0.4m deep, was 1.75m east of the modern road. Ditch 
[105], 3.2m wide and 0.75m deep, was 7m west of 
ditch [103], and was partially sealed by the modern 
road. Although no artefactual material was retrieved 
from either of the ditches, and no evidence of Roman 
road surfaces encountered, they may be interpreted 
as the Roman roadside ditches of the Fosse Way. 


AREA B. ST 8880 7653 
Advance topsoil stripping centred on the previously 
identified Mesolithic flint scatter (PRN 052) identified 
three features. A sub-square pit [201], 2.5m wide and 
0.65m deep, was revealed at ST 8862 7660. Six 
undated worked flint flakes were retrieved from the 
pit as well as 55 animal bones, which included four 
cattle teeth of mid-range wear. All fragments were 
unaltered and showed no signs of weathering or 
modification. Feature [208] was revealed at ST 8893 
7643, measuring at least 0.85m long, 0.4m wide, and 
excavated to a depth of 0.2m. No artefactual material 
was retrieved from this. Ditch [206], at ST 8878 7653, 
was orientated north-north-west to south-south-east, 
and measured 1.1m wide and 0.5m deep. One sherd 
of post-medieval pottery was retrieved from its fill. 
A Romano-British copper alloy disc brooch dated 
to the mid-1st - late 2nd century (Hattatt, 1982, 137) 
was retrieved from the ploughsoil at ST 8894 7644 
(Figure 5). The brooch is decorated with a central 
raised ring, the centre of which contains a small 
recessed boss. The outer edge of the brooch is 
moulded with a further area of raised moulding 
midway between the edge and central ring. Small 
traces of gold leaf are apparent between the outer edge 
and the central raised ring. The hinged pin was 
missing. The lack of contemporary features within the 
immediate vicinity suggests the brooch represents a 
stray find. 


AREA D. ST 8492 7868 

A sub-oval pit [403], 1.1 x 0.6m and 0.1m deep, 
produced one sherd of 2nd — 3rd century AD pottery 
and a worked flint flake. Pit [405] was revealed 2m 
north-east of [403]. Measuring 1.2 x 0.9m, and 0.07m 
deep, it contained no finds. A small flint assemblage, 
consisting of six flakes, one broken flake, two broken 
blade flakes and two burnt worked pieces was 
recovered from the ploughsoil within the general area. 


This material is broadly late prehistoric in character, 
although two flints may be Mesolithic. 


AREA FE. ST 8771 7716 

Ditch [601] was orientated north-south and measured 
1.7m wide and 0.45m deep. Three sherds of Iron Age 
pottery (now lost) were retrieved. 


AREA G. ST 8676 7762 

A ‘bowl shaped sub-circular pit [703], 0.5m in 
diameter and 0.15m deep, contained a significant 
concentration of charcoal and slag suggestive of in- 
situ smithing activity. No datable artefactual material 
was retrieved. 


OVERALL CONCLUSIONS 


The programme of archaeological recording 
undertaken during the construction of the gas pipeline 
has revealed seven sites of interest. Two topographical 
zones were crossed by the pipeline: the majority of 
the route lay on the limestone geology of the 
Cotswolds, while the final section from Kington 
Langley to Chippenham cut through the Kellaway 
clays of the North Wiltshire Clay Vale. Observations 
made on the pipeline have helped elucidate the pattern 
of past settlement at the southernmost limit of the 
Cotswolds. 

Archaeological deposits of varying significance 
were encountered along the lengths of the pipeline 
that crossed the known archaeological Areas A, B and 
C. The watching brief succeeded in identifying 
significant and hitherto unknown Romano-British 
deposits at Area E, as well as a number of isolated 
features that ranged in date from prehistoric to post- 
medieval. Although the limited nature of the 
groundworks and the nature of the topsoil stripping 
reduced the ability to interpret the archaeological 
features encountered during the watching brief, the 
methodologies employed were sufficient to identify 
archaeological deposits and to retrieve artefacts from 
within the topsoil/ploughsoil. 

The earliest activity detected is represented by six 
flint artefacts from Area B, the Mesolithic flint scatter 
previously identified by Tucker (1985, table 1, 
Allington 2; Anon 1985, 254 (5)). Unfortunately none 
of the newly discovered flint was diagnostic, and there 
can be no certainty that the few cut features found in 
this area have any association with the overlying 
surface scatter. A second flint scatter was found at 


EXCAVATIONS ALONG THE LITTLETON DREW TO CHIPPENHAM GAS PIPELINE 103 


Area D, which contained two pieces suggestive of 
Mesolithic technology. Little further comment can 
be made on these two sites, save to note that they are 
typical of the scatters recorded by Tucker (1985) in 
the Chippenham region, and which occur across the 
southern Cotswolds generally (Saville 1984). They 
presumably indicate the sites of temporary camps 
utilising woodland and riverine resources. A number 
of finds of Neolithic-Bronze Age flintwork have been 
found in the general vicinity of the pipeline (Figure 
1), although their distribution is more a reflection of 
the location of individual survey programmes than of 
past settlement patterns. 

A pebble-hammer stone was found in a Roman 
ditch at Area E. Such artefacts have a generalised 
Mesolithic to Bronze Age date range. While 
noteworthy in its own right, its subsequent re-use (in 
the Roman period?) as a whetstone means that it need 
not have originally been deposited within the vicinity 
of Area E. 

The earliest period for which we have structural 
remains is the early to middle Iron Age activity 
identified at the eastern extent of Area C. Pottery 
recovered from the pipeline suggests that part of the 
cropmark complex previously identified from aerial 
photographs is of this date. Although the D-shaped 
enclosure to the south of the pipeline was not 
investigated, its possible association with ditch [536] 
suggests that it may now be interpreted as an early to 
middle Iron Age enclosed settlement. The D-shaped 
enclosure (internal area approximately 500m’) 
appears to be associated not only with linear (?field) 
boundary [536] but also with a sinuous ‘antenna’ 
ditch. This ditch was sectioned in the pipe trench as 
[528]. It contained 30 fragments of animal bone but 
no dating evidence. If an early-middle Iron Age date 
is accepted for the enclosure it can be classified 
alongside the ditched farmstead enclosures of the 
Wessex chalklands (Cunliffe 1984). A number of the 
other ditches might be part of a contemporary field 
system. Area C lies 8km north-east of Bury Wood 
Camp, a hillfort which has produced evidence of 
intensive occupation in the middle Iron Age (4th — 
2nd century BC) (King 1967). Other Iron Age finds 
from the general vicinity (Figure 1) comprise small 
collections of pottery recovered from various sites 
examined in advance of the Chippenham bypass and 
ring main pipeline, and a stray find of a gold stater of 
Corio from near Yatton Keynell. 

The study of the Romano-British settlement 
pattern in this part of North Wiltshire has traditionally 
focused upon the rich villas, and Branigan (1977, 24- 
31) has stressed the importance of proximity to both 


roads and the town of Bath in their siting. It is 
noticeable that the villas to the north-west of Bath 
(such as North Wraxall) are concentrated to the west 
of the deeply incised valley of the By Brook which 
must have hindered east-west communications. 
Further south, villas tend to concentrate close to the 
Bath-Mildenhall road, especially around the small 
town of Sandy Lane ( Verlucio). The area to the north- 
west of Chippenham, although away from the main 
concentration of villas, was not devoid of settlement 
in this period as the results from Areas C and E testify. 
The majority of the small pottery assemblage in this 
period from Area C seemingly dates to the 2nd or 
3rd century, and there is no evidence, or requirement, 
to seek continuity from the previous early-middle Iron 
Age occupation. The material recovered in the pipeline 
excavation may be added to the 20 sherds of pottery 
retrieved during fieldwalking by Chippenham College 
Archaeology Group in 1984, and the further pottery 
and tile found in a small excavation by the same group. 
The tile suggests the presence of a building in the 
Roman architectural tradition somewhere on the site. 
The pottery from Area E dates to the mid-1st to mid- 
4th century, and includes a number of imports from 
outside the region. Oxford and New Forest colour- 
coated wares, and Central Gaulish samian, indicate 
that the site had access to systems of regional trade, 
and the inhabitants were clearly above subsistence 
level. Nevertheless, there is currently no evidence to 
suggest that either site need be classified as a villa 
(and certainly none to make them fall within the 
definition of a villa adopted by RCHME (1976, 
Xxxvili) for the Gloucestershire Cotswolds). It is 
noteworthy that amongst the small animal bone 
assemblages from both sites there is evidence that the 
local environments supported established populations 
of deer. Due to the small size of the assemblages, 
interpretation of the significance of deer within the 
local economy must be viewed as speculative. It 
remains undetermined whether the bone is 
representative of the ad hoc subsistence killing of deer, 
or whether deer were managed either for recreational 
hunting, or as a resource to provide food and skin on 
a commercial basis. 

Previously unknown Romano-British field systems 
in the area around Chippenham have come to light 
during development works over the last few years 
(Anon 1993; Bateman and Enright 2000). Associated 
settlements (although perhaps not rich villas) must 
await discovery. The results of the pipeline 
investigations help to fill out a picture of a managed 
agricultural landscape in this part of North Wiltshire 
in the Romano-British period. 


104 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Acknowledgements 

The archaeological recording along the Littleton 
Drew to Chippenham pipeline was funded by Transco. 
The author would like to thank Paul Swinbourne, 
Mike Jefferies and Andy Leach (Transco) and Duncan 
Coe (Wiltshire County Council Archaeological 
Service) for their assistance during the course of this 
project. The project was managed by Neil Holbrook. 
The excavations at Areas C and E were directed by 
Clifford Bateman and the watching brief supervised 
by Mark Brett and Simon Roper-Presdee. The 
illustrations were drawn by Richard Morton. The 
project archive has been deposited at Devizes 
Museum. 


Bibliography 


ANNABLE, F. K., 1962, ‘A Romano-British pottery in 
Savernake Forest, kilns 1-2’, WAM, 58 

ANON 1985, ‘Wiltshire Archaeological Register for 1983’, 
WAM, 79, 254-9 

ANON 1991, ‘Excavation and Fieldwork in Wiltshire 1989: 
Chippenham Without’, WAM, 84, 143 

ANON 1993, ‘Excavation and Fieldwork in Wiltshire 1991: 
Chippenham’, WAM, 86, 159 

BATEMAN, C. M., and ENRIGHT, D., 2000, ‘Excavations 
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Chippenham Western Bypass A4 to A350 Link’, WAM, 
93, 233-8 [this volume] 

BOESSNECK, J., 1969, ‘Osteological differences between 
sheep (Ovis aries Linne) and goat (Capra hircus Linne)’, 
in D. Brothwell and E. S. Higgs (eds), Science in 
Archaeology, 331-58. London 

BRANIGAN, K., 1977, The Roman Villa in South-West 
England 

CUNLIFFE, B., 1984, ‘Iron Age Wessex: Continuity and 
Change’, in B. Cunliffe and D. Miles (eds), Aspects of 
the Iron Age in Southern Britain 12-45. Oxford: 
University Committee for Archaeology 

FULFORD, M. G., 1975, New Forest Roman Pottery. 
Oxford: British Archaeological Reports 

GILLAM, J P., 1976, ‘Coarse fumed ware in North Britain 
and beyond’, Glasgow Archaeological Journal 4, 57-80 

GRANT, A., 1982, “The use of tooth wear as a guide to the 
age of domestic ungulates’, in B. Wilson, C. Grigson, 
and S. Payne (eds), Ageing and Sexing Animal Bones 


from Archaeological sites, 91-108. Oxford: British 
Archaeological Reports 

HATTATTER., 1982, Ancient and Romano-British Brooches. 
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HOLBROOK, N., and BIDWELL, P.T., 1991, Roman Finds 
from Exeter. Exeter: Exeter Archaeol Report 4 

JACKSON, J.E., 1862, ‘On a Roman Villa discovered at 
North Wraxhall’, WAM, 7, 59-80 

KING, D.G., 1967, ‘Bury Wood Camp, Excavations in 
the Area of the South-West Opening’, WAM, 62, 1- 
15 

LYMAN, R.L., 1994, Vertebrate Taphonomy. Cambridge: 
Cambridge University Press 

MATOLSCI, J., 1970, ‘Historische Erforschung der 
KorpergroBe der Rindes auf Grund von ungarischem 
Knochenmaterial’, Zeitschrift f. Tierzuchtung. und 
Zuchtungsbiologie 87, 89-137 

RCHME 1976, Ancient and Historical Mounuments in the 
County of Gloucester; Volume I Iron Age and Romano- 
British Monuments in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. 
RCHME 

RIGBY, V., 1982, “The pottery’, in J. S. Wacher and A. D. 
McWhirr, Early Roman Occupation at Cirencester, 153- 
200. Cirencester Excavations 1 

ROE, F., 1979, ‘Typology of stone implements with 
shaftholes’, in T. H. Clough and W. A. Cummins (eds), 
Stone Axe Studies, 23-48. London: Council for British 
Archaeology, Research Report 23 

SAVILLE, A., 1984, ‘Palaeolithic and Mesolithic evidence 
from Gloucestershire’, in A. Saville (ed.), Archaeology 
in Gloucestershire, 59-79 

SILVER, I.A., 1969, ‘The ageing of domestic animals’, in 
D. Brothwell and E. S. Higgs (eds), Science in 
Archaeology, 283-302 

TUCKER, J.H., 1985, ‘Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic 
Sites in the Chippenham Area’, WAM, 79, 226-228 

VON DEN DRIESCH, A., 1976, A Guide to the 
Measurement of Animal Bones from Archaeological 
Sites. Harvard 

WEDLAKE, W.J., 1982, The Excavation of the Shrine of 
Apollo at Nettleton, Wiltshire, 1956-1971 

WOODCOCK, A.G., KELLY, D.B., and WOOLLEY, A.R., 
1988, ‘The petrological identification of stone 
implements from south-east England’ in T.-H. Clough 
and W.A Cummins (eds), Stone Axe Studies Volume 2, 
21-33. London: Council for British Archaeological, 
Research Reports 67 

YOUNG, C. J., 1977, Oxfordshire Roman Pottery. Oxford: 
British Archaeological Reports 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 105-19 


Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Wiltshire 


by Oliver H Creighton 


The evidence for early castles in Wiltshire 1s reviewed in order to establish a list for the county more reliable than 
those hitherto available. Further understanding of these enigmatic sites can only be achieved through integrated 
analysis of topographical, documentary and, where possible, archaeological evidence. The above ground remains 
of these sites are usually complex and multi-phase field monuments that dety analysis through simple classificatory 
schemes. A holistic approach to early castles emphasises their important contribution to the medieval landscape, 
as evident in their interrelationships with settlement topography, patterns of ecclesiastical provision and teneurial 


geography. 


INTRODUCTION 


Previous studies of Wiltshire castles have tended to 
focus upon a small number of the more major sites: 
primarily baronial and royal castles which are both 
fully documented and associated with upstanding 
masonry remains. This paper aims to go some way 
towards redressing the balance in favour of more 
minor, predominantly rural, early castle sites (i.e. 
those with likely occupation during the period c. 1066- 
1216). The majority of these sites, which have suffered 
a dearth of academic scrutiny, have little or no 
contemporary documentation and survive as 
earthworks that are often ill-defined and heavily 
eroded. The interpretation of earthworks is thus a vital 
tool in the study of early castles and will form an 
important component of this study. It is also 
important, however, to frame these sites within the 
context of contemporary medieval landscapes. The 
early castles of Wiltshire, as elsewhere in lowland 
England, were suspended within the web of medieval 
landscape at a variety of levels. As military sites with 
strategic or tactical roles, mottes and ringworks were 
often sited to dominate key resources and routes of 
communication, yet as manorial centres, many were 
related closely to networks of estates and functioned 
as integral components within medieval settlement 
patterns. In addition, as centres of élite consumption 
and symbols of seigneurial power, early castles were 
powerful icons of Norman lordship. 


WILTSHIRE CASTLE STUDIES 


Summary accounts of Wiltshire castles have appeared 
within national listings of castle sites (Renn 1968; 
King 1983). Likewise, other nationally based lists 
relating to certain classes of castle earthwork, or castles 
of a certain period, have included the relevant evidence 
from the county (Brown 1959; King and Alcock 
1969). However, synthetic studies of the castles of 
Wiltshire in their own right are somewhat lacking. 
An inventory purporting to list all Norman castles 
within the county was published in the Wiltshire 
Archaeological and Natural History Magazine early 
this century (Downman and Goddard 1919), drawing 
upon a remarkable series of earthwork plans 
commissioned by the Society and executed by Rev. 
Downman in the period 1901-09." These illustrations 
form part of a series of seventy Wiltshire earthwork 
plans that, along with the accompanying annotations 
and summary, provide a unique insight into the 
condition of several early castle sites prior to 
destruction or mutilation. However, the limited scope 
of Downman and Goddard’s list ensures that a more 
comprehensive and updated statement is essential. 
This study, based on an unpublished thesis 
(Creighton 1994), presents the evidence for early 
castles in Wiltshire with the benefit of recent advances 
in castle studies, not least a major reassessment of 
the importance of earth and timber fortification 
(Higham and Barker 1992). A preliminary section of 


School of Geography and Archaeology, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4QE 


106 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Ashton Keynes 
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Fig. 1. Location of sites mentioned in the text 


EARLY CASTLES IN THE MEDIEVAL LANDSCAPE OF WILTSHIRE 107 


this paper synthesises the results of archaeological 
research relating to urban castles in the county. The 
remaining sections deal thematically with the evidence 
for lesser Norman castles, drawing particular attention 
to questions of earthwork interpretation, pre-castle 
occupation and the landscape context of these 
enigmatic sites. Figure 1 presents a location map of 
the sites discussed. 

The field archaeology of early castle earthworks 
is well established, not least owing to the contribution 
of three seminal papers that have established the 
existence of two distinctive forms of Norman 
fortification among others: the motte and the ringwork 
(Renn 1959; King and Alcock 1969; King 1972). 
Detailed studies of castle earthworks at a local or 
regional scale demonstrate, however, the existence of 
a catena of intermediate earthwork forms between 
the motte and the ringwork, as opposed to a strict 
dichotomy between the two (Higham 1982, 109-110). 
In essence, any clear-cut distinction between mottes 
and ringworks is ultimately misleading, as it neglects 
the sheer variety of early castle forms and their 
reference to existing landscape features, in addition 
to the fact that many earthworks are the amalgam of 
several phases of development. Accordingly, this study 
uses the terms ‘motte’ and ‘ringwork’ as convenient 
labels as opposed to watertight and inflexible 
categories. 


Major Castle Sites: Excavation and 
Fieldwork (Figures 2-4) 


Only two early Wiltshire castles have been excavated 
systematically in the modern era. Excavations at 
Trowbridge (ST 856579), conducted on an intensive 
rescue basis, have added substantially to our 
understanding of the castle’s defences, if not its 
internal structures. Significant questions also remain 
concerning the chronological development of the site: 
although Humphrey de Bohun’s castle was besieged 
in 1139, the excavations did not establish whether or 
not the defences were established substantially before 
this date, nor demonstrate whether the putative motte 
~ and two baileys were the product of a unitary phase 
of construction or a process of longer-term 
development (Graham and Davies 1993, 57-77, 147- 
48). On the basis of morphological evidence alone, 
however, a likely scenario appears to be the secondary 
addition of motte to a pre-existing sub-rectangular 
ringwork (cf. Goltho, Lincs.: Beresford 1987). 
Remarkable evidence was also revealed of a Saxo- 
Norman manorial settlement that was cleared to make 


way for the castle, and a church and cemetery that 
were incorporated within its perimeter (Graham and 
Davies 1993, 146). 

At Ludgershall (SU 264512), a programme of 
research excavation between 1964-71 revealed a 
complex sequence of continually rebuilt timber and 
stone buildings within the double ringwork (Addyman 
1969; 1973), allowing remarkable correlation with an 
extensive corpus of royal documentation (Colvin et 
al. 1963, 729-31; Stevenson 1992, 70-72). The 
excavated sequence provides a sobering reminder of 
the manner in which the final phase of a castle 
earthwork can potentially shroud multiple phases of 
development. For instance, the first timber-revetted 
earthwork defences were preceded by a cluster of 
modest stone and timber structures associated with 
stake fences that may, in common with Trowbridge 
Castle, indicate an antecedent phase of manorial 
occupation (Addyman 1973, 8, 11). The final 
publication of the excavations includes a valuable 
analysis of the castle within the context of its 
immediate environs and wider regional context that 
emphasises how the castle’s surroundings - 
earthworks, parks and borough - were manipulated 
in order to create an ornamental setting 
commensurate with the castle’s status (Everson et al. 
forthcoming). 

The great foreland ringwork at Devizes (SU 
002613) is associated with two concentric D-shaped 
baileys, the outer constituting a town ward. Evidence 
for the castle is summarised adequately elsewhere, as 
is the site of Old Sarum (SU 138327), where the 
largest ringwork in the country is set within the 
defences of an iron age hillfort that similarly enclosed 
a castle-dependent borough (Cunningham 1945-47; 
Rahtz and Musty 1957; RCHM 1980, 1-15, 173-74). 
More obscure are the earthworks on the site known 
as the Moot, Downton (SU 181214). Here, the castle 
earthworks have been modified radically from the 
eighteenth century to create a formal designed 
landscape in the grounds of the mansion known as 
Moot House (Clark 1875, 305-09; Squarey 1906, 3). 
Although remodelled as a remarkable earthwork 
theatre with associated fishpond, terraces and a 
hexagonal Temple of Mercury, the earliest identifiable 
earthworks can be rationalised as a large ringwork 
with a single bailey to the east. Whilst conceivable 
that the ringwork is only partial, forming a crescent 
backing onto the River Avon, the manner in which 
the north-west corner of the ringwork bank shows 
signs of deviating to the south suggests, however, that 
the west side of a formerly oval earthwork has been 
removed during quarrying. Raised in 1138 by Henry 


108 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and almost certainly 
slighted in 1155, the fortification was apparently short- 
lived (Schortt 1947, 166; Biddle 1969, 30-31). 

The ringwork lies immediately east of the Old 
Court site, separated from it by a post-medieval mill 
leat. Here, substantial masonry remains thought to 
be indicative of the Bishop’s Palace have been noted, 
while a large Saxon gravel pit nearby in Castle 
Meadow was almost certainly used to provide make- 
up for the site (Rahtz 1964; Musty 1966). These 
observations raise the distinct possibility that the castle 
was conceived as an appendage to an extant 
archiepiscopal palace site, and thus represented the 
temporary transfer of functions to a fortified nucleus 
as opposed to the creation of a new seat of lordship. 
The identification of Castle Meadow as the site of 
the siege castle erected in opposition to Downton in 
1148 (Squarey 1906, 30-31) is thus almost certainly 
erroneous. Whilst feasible that the siege castle is lost, 
it can probably be identified as the ringwork and 
double bailey erected within an Iron Age hillfort at 
Godshill, Hants., c. 5.5km to the south-west at SU 
166162 (Renn 1968, 173). 

The castle at Marlborough (SU 184687) was a 
royal foundation and is documented extensively from 
1110 when Henry I stayed there (Stevenson 1992, 
72-73). Interpretation of the present field monument 
is problematic due to extensive landscaping from the 
seventeenth century, which included the cutting of a 
spiral walkway on the motte and the insertion of a 
summer house and pond on its summit (VCH Wilts. 
XII 1983, 169-70). Opinion is divided concerning the 
origin of the castle mound. A recent review of the 
evidence does not rule out the possibility that the great 
conical earthwork, c. 14m in height, is a de novo 
Norman creation (Whittle 1997, 169-70). The 
combination of the size of the earthwork, the origins 
of Marlborough’s place name (‘barrow of Maerla’) 
and the recovery of red deer antler fragments from 
the mound early this century, argues strongly, 
however, that the nucleus of the motte is formed by a 
prehistoric barrow (Haslam 1976, 41-42; Stevenson 
1992, 70). In addition, sufficient vestiges remain to 
suggest the former existence of a single quadrilateral 
bailey to the south-east of the motte, provided with 
moated defences fed by a branch of the River Kennet, 
as depicted on the Tithe Map.’ 

Evidence for a number of other urban castles is 
marginal. Anarchy-period fortifications are 
documented at Calne, Cricklade and Wilton, although 
their sites are unknown and remain the subject of 
speculation based on topographical and place-name 
evidence (Thomson 1958-61, 71-72; Haslam 1976, 


13, 18, 68-69). The evidence for an undocumented 
motte immediately west of the Market Place in 
Chippenham (ST 922732) is fragmentary yet 
suggestive. During urban development early in the 
nineteenth century a large earthen mound was 
described in conjunction with masonry remains that 
included a Romanesque doorway (Ibid., 16). Whilst 
tradition dictates that a Saxon palace lay in the vicinity, 
this evidence is not inconsistent with a motte. Further 
interpretation is undermined, however, by a lack of 
corroborative documentation. 


Rural Mottes and Ringworks 
(Figures 3 and 4) 


Two Wiltshire ringworks are distinguished by their 
isolated positions within the landscape as well as their 
small size and lack of a bailey or outworks: Lewisham 
Castle, Aldbourne (SU 244739), and Cam’s Hill, 
Malmesbury (ST 941858). Lewisham Castle survives 
as a powerful univallate earthwork that commands 
much of Aldbourne Chase from a locally prominent 
ridge-top position. The circular interior of the work 
has been consolidated with a compact layer of flint 
nodules, ensuring that it is raised slightly above the 
surrounding terrain. Whilst unexcavated, medieval 
activity at the site is confirmed by the recovery of 
thirteenth-century pottery and iron arrowheads 
(Carrington 1855, 127-29; Brentnall 1945-47, 472- 
73).The Cam’s Hill earthwork is of similar, if slightly 
more compact, form and occupies the point of a ridge, 
c. 1.5km south of the town, overlooking an important 
crossing of the Avon. There is little reason to doubt 
the thesis that this work is one of the three erected to 
besiege Malmesbury castle in 1144, although the 
linear earthworks at the base of the ridge, between 
Cam/’s Hill and the Avon, appear to be field 
boundaries/flood defences as opposed to a siege-line 
(see King 1983, 499). It is possible that Lewisham 
Castle could have similar origins as a minor 
fortification erected out of short-term military 
necessity, as in April 1217 the mercenaries of Louis 
the Dauphin, following expulsion from Marlborough 
Castle, were ensured safe passage to ‘their own place’ 
following the despoliation of Savernake Forest 
(Brentnall 1945-47, 472-73; see also Stevenson 1992, 
74). Whilst credible that the castle was thus a 
temporary raiding base, it cannot be discounted that 
it originated as, or continued to function as, a hunting 
lodge, situated admirably for the administration of 
the surrounding chase and the accommodation of 
hunting parties. 


EARLY CASTLES INTHE MEDIEVAL LANDSCAPE OF WILTSHIRE 


109 


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EARLY CASTLES INTHE MEDIEVAL LANDSCAPE OF WILTSHIRE 1g 


The ringwork at Stapleford (SU 069379) is 
horseshoe-shaped in plan, due to its setting adjacent 
to the River Till, which deviates to skirt the west of the 
earthwork and feed its moated defences. Within the 
interior of the ringwork a series of indistinct scarps 
doubtless represent the vestiges of internal masonry 
structures, although they form no coherent plan (Offer 
and Hoare 1825, 22).The large right-angled earthwork 
enclosure appending to the north and west of the 
ringwork, enclosing an area of floodplain in excess of 
2.5 hectares, appears too weak and extensive to 
represent a bailey enclosure with military or defensive 
functions. In terms of construction, this enclosure 
appears a secondary addition to the powerfully- 
defended ringwork. For instance, the western bank of 
the rectangular fishpond set within the east side of the 
enclosure continues to run along the northern 
counterscarp bank of the ringwork, implying that it is 
either contemporary with, or later than, the ringwork. 
The earthworks at Stapleford thus illustrate that a well- 
sited, lowland earthwork castle with room for expansion 
could continue to operate in a manorial capacity long 
after military needs had declined, hence the addition 
of the fishpond and suite of paddocks. 

The earthwork known as Hall’s Close, Ashton 
Keynes (SU 049945) comprises an irregular 
embanked platform suggestive of a ringwork, adjoined 
by a single sub-rectangular bailey. Although the 
earthworks presently appear rather weak, the opening 
of a trial trench in 1959 revealed a substantial wall 
that surmounted the ringwork, and demonstrated the 
surrounding spring-fed ditch to be revetted with 
timber and lined with puddled clay (Knocker 1958- 
60, 241-42; Wilson and Hurst 1960, 156). The 
material assemblage from the excavation included 
floor tiles, and both glazed and unglazed pottery of 
early-twelfth through to thirteenth-century date 
(Wilts. Arch. and Nat. Hist. Soc. 1974, 187; 1975- 
76, 137).To the south of the ringwork can be identified 
the vestiges of linear earthworks that are suggestive 
of a series of former adjoining closes, thus adding to 
the impression that the site represents an intermediate 
stage between a ringwork and bailey and a moated 
- manor. None of this evidence contradicts the 
hypothesis that the Hall’s Close earthwork (also 
known locally as ‘The Battlefield’) is the site of the 
castle captured by King Stephen in 1139, said to be 
at South Cerney (Potter 1955, 62; Renn 1968, 314). 
Indeed, the form of the earthworks and excavated 
evidence are entirely consistent with a short-term 
fortification that was subsequently adapted as a 
manorial residence of the de Keynes household 
(Knocker 1958-60, 242). 


An earthwork at West Dean (SU 257275), whilst 
undoubtedly originating as a medieval fortified site, has 
been modified radically as an ornamental feature within 
a formal garden setting. The present field monument 
comprises a circular entrenchment of c. 60m diameter 
with an interior raised little more than c. 2.5m. Given 
the large diameter of the earthwork, which argues against 
it originating as a motte, the most likely scenario is that 
the rampart of a ringwork has been flattened in the post- 
medieval period to form the raised bowling green 
recorded early in the nineteenth century (Master 1855, 
242). The artificial reduction of a former rampart also 
seems likely given the dimensions of the surrounding 
ditch (c. 1.2m deep yet over 12m wide), which appears 
to have been substantially filled in. Immediately to the 
west, the flanks of the gentle ridge that the earthwork 
surmounts have been modified through the creation of 
a series of successive garden terraces. In part, these 
earthworks are almost certainly on the site of a bailey 
enclosure that formerly enclosed the parish church of 
St Mary’s (RCHM 1987, 119-210), thus demonstrating 
the juxtaposition of a seat of secular power with a private 
ecclesiastical foundation. 

Norwood Castle, Oaksey (ST 985944), represents 
what has often been accepted as the ‘classic’ form of 
a motte and bailey, yet on a tiny scale (Wilts. Arch. 
and Nat. Hist. Soc. 1952, 227). The motte, little more 
than c. 1.5m in elevation, is adjoined to the north- 
west by a single bean-shaped bailey. This site is not to 
be confused with the earthworks south of the 
churchyard in Oaksey village (ST 992934) that 
indicate the former position of the defended manor 
of the Duke of Lancaster described by Aubrey in 1670 
as ruinous (Jackson 1867, 298-99). 

The motte and bailey at Castle Orchard, Stourton 
(ST 769319) is adapted from a natural promontory. 
A circular motte, supporting the base of a small keep, 
is isolated from an oval bailey by a rock-cut ditch; a 
subsidiary enclosure on lower ground to the north is 
defined by a linear rampart and ditch and a natural 
scarp running along the west bank of the upper Stour 
(VCH Som. II 1911, 517-18). Twice in the late 
nineteenth century, areas of the earthwork were 
sampled archaeologically during investigations into 
the origins of the ‘Pen Pits’ (see Lane-Fox 1879; Pitt- 
Rivers 1884; Winwood 1884). The excavations 
confirmed that a number of the pits were the by- 
product of quarrying for mill-stone, yet also sectioned 
the rampart at the extreme west end of the bailey, 
which was demonstrated to overlie such a pit (Lane- 
Fox 1879, 11), and showed the motte ditch to contain 
greensand rubble and to have silted to a depth of c. 
4ft (c. 1.2m) (Winwood 1884, 150-51). 


ge THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


The Castle Orchard motte and bailey must, 
however, be understood as one of a group of three 
closely-spaced early castles, two of which lie within 
Somerset. A complex earthwork castle at Cockroad 
Wood, Charlton Musgrove (ST 746323), and another 
known as Balland’s Castle, Penselwood (ST 753311), 
are, in association with the Castle Orchard site, 
disposed around Penselwood village in a triangle with 
sides of c. 1.7km, 1.2km and 2.1km. King (1983, xxix- 
xxx) has defined three potential reasons for the 
existence of multiple castles in a restricted area: the 
successive occupation of sites; the raising of a siege 
castle against another; or the sites having separate 
administrative histories.’To this model may be added 
the scenario of two or more sites existing 
contemporaneously within a unified strategy (Lewis 
1989, 167). In the absence of any supporting 
documentation, or any archaeological dating of the 
sites, their interrelationship remains a matter for 
speculation. Topographically, however, the manner in 
which the sites are deployed, almost in mutual 
support, would favour the hypothesis that, at some 
stage, they formed elements within a coherent and 
unified programme of castle building. In seeking a 
possible historical context for these fortifications, it 
may be significant that a cluster of Domesday manors 
in the Penselwood-Bruton area of eastern Somerset 
show a marked reduction in value during the period 
1066-86, presumably as a result of Norman 
subjugation in the wake of the 1069 rising against 
Montacute (Welldon Finn 1971, 289-90). Although 
the origins of these early castles may well owe to these 
events, they appear not to have been short-term 
fortifications: Balland’s Castle may have been 
associated with a small deserted medieval settlement 
and church; the Cockroad earthwork indicates the 
addition of a motte and bailey to a primary ringwork; 
and the Castle Orchard site was fortified with a 
buttressed rectangular keep (VCH Som. IT 1911, 513- 
17; Aston 1982, 125). 


Aspects of Pre-Castle Occupation 
(Figures 2-4) 


The notion that a castle mound lies between 
Bishopstrow Farm and Bishopstrow House at ST 
898443 (Cunnington 1949, 155; VCH Wilts. I(i) 1957, 
160) is undoubtedly mistaken, and apparently based 
on confusion between the tradition of a castle in the 
village and the mis-identification of a mutilated round 
barrow. The identification of a complex of earthworks 
immediately east of Bishopstrow Farm (ST 901440) 
as a motte and bailey seems, however, correct.’ 


Although the earthworks, lying in an area known 
locally as ‘motte field’, are now almost totally mutilated 
by agriculture and partly obscured by buildings, aerial 
photographs reveal an enditched mound of c. 17m 
diameter at the centre of two successively larger 
enclosures. Limited excavation in 1981 has given 
further credence to the notion that the earthworks may 
represent, in part, a medieval fortified site, as a small 
trial pit in the north-west sector of the ‘motte’ ditch 
recovered two sherds of glazed pottery of probable 
twelfth-century date from the upper fill.t The wealth 
of residual iron age pottery scattered throughout the 
sub-soil in this test pit, combined with the excavation 
of a pit cluster of similar date immediately south of the 
mound? suggests, however, that the motte may be a 
short-term fortification sited within the extant 
earthworks of an iron age domestic complex (Scott 
and McOmish 1989, 103). 

The suggestion that Si/bury Hill (SU 100685) is 
a Norman motte, erected de novo, has occasionally 
been made (e.g. Downman and Goddard 1919, 352). 
Whilst this is patently mistaken, excavation has 
provided tantalising evidence that the mound was 
modified as a defensible feature at an indeterminate 
date. The evidence centres on two enigmatic terraces 
at the summit of the mound: an upper terrace 
surrounding the summit entirely, and a lower, 
discontinuous, feature. It is unclear whether either or 
both terraces were topographical features in the 
Neolithic period or originated as the result of 
subsequent modification. The terraces were, however, 
vertically revetted with timber secured with iron nails 
at some stage; both were associated with Saxo- 
Norman wares, and a single coin of Ethelred IIT (AD 
1009-16) was recovered in close association (Atkinson 
1970, 314; 1978, 170; see also Whittle 1997, 22). The 
excavator was keen to interpret this evidence as a 
defensive feature raised against a Viking threat, yet 
the motte-like aspect of the defences cannot be denied. 
Indeed, subject to detailed re-interpretation of the 
ceramic evidence, there is no compelling reason to 
discount the possibility of Norman re-occupation of 
Silbury Hill as an expedient fortification or sentinel 
post overlooking the Roman road. 

Excavation of the elliptical motte known as “The 
Mount’, Great Somerford (ST 963831), whilst limited 
and poorly recorded, has afforded remarkable insight 
into antecedent occupation on the site. In 1811, and 
again in 1910, the mound was opened, revealing 
substantial masonry remains at its core; these 
comprised a length of walling pierced by a doorway, 
and two windows of Romanesque form (Goddard 
1930, 88-89). 


EARLY CASTLES IN THE MEDIEVAL LANDSCAPE OF WILTSHIRE 


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114 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


This evidence could be interpreted in one of a 
number of ways. Given the dimensions of the motte, 
the possibility that the earthwork is the product of 
rubble derived from the masonry structure 
consolidating and grassing over (cf. Middleton Stoney, 
Oxon.: Rahtz and Rowley 1984, 61), seems unlikely. 
Equally, the earthwork is of sufficient magnitude not 
to have constituted an earthwork abutment to a small 
keep (cf. Ascot Doilly, Oxon.: Jope and Threlfall 
1959). Whilst feasible that the masonry remains 
indicate a manorial precursor to the castle site after 
the manner of Sulgrave, Northants. (Higham and 
Barker 1989, 50-51), the available evidence favours 
the notion that the motte has been imposed over a 
church site in order to overlook a ford over the Avon 
that lies immediately to the north. A church at Great 
Somerford is documented from the late twelfth 
century (VCH Wilts. XIV 1991, 202), and the present 
parish church of St Peter and St Paul, lying adjacent 
to the motte, in all probability represents a re- 
foundation. Although the date of the motte’s 
construction remains a matter for speculation, given 
the feature’s topographical position, it is entirely 
possible that it is one of the three siege works erected 
rapidly against Malmesbury Castle by Robert, Earl of 
Gloucester in 1144 in response to raids by the garrison 
(Potter 1955, 113). A number of other castle sites 
imposed upon and displacing parish churches appear 
to have origins as Anarchy-period fortifications, as at 
Eaton Socon, Beds. (Lethbridge and Tebbutt 1952), 
while the castle at Malmesbury itself encroached upon 
the abbey cemetery (Haslam 1976, 35). 

Although the castle earthwork at Castle Combe 
(ST 839779) is listed occasionally as a motte and 
bailey (e.g. Palmes 1967, 24), in reality the site 
comprises an irregular ringwork containing the base 
of a small square keep, associated with a minimum of 
five bailey enclosures. The exceptional size of the site 
can likely be attributed to the re-use of prehistoric 
defences (VCH Wilts. IG) 1957, 264). Although this 
cannot be confirmed, the format of the perimeter 
defences is certainly consistent with a late prehistoric 
promontory fort that has been reconditioned and 
remodelled in the Norman period through the 
insertion of the ringwork, and sub-divided through 
the addition of a series of transverse earthworks. 
Recent survey of the castle has shown the outer banks 
of these internal earthworks to be stone-revetted and 
confirmed the existence of building foundations 
within the two inner baileys (Wilts. Arch. and Nat. 
Hist. Soc. 1992, 158; 1993, 159). The large outer 
enclosure appears to have remained free of structures 
and may have been dedicated to manorial functions 


from an early date; the earthworks of two pillow 
mounds can also be recognised here. Although, 
somewhat puzzlingly, the castle has no conventional 
documentation, there is little doubt that it served as 
the caput of Castle Combe barony, most probably when 
the fee was consolidated by the de Dunstanvilles during 
the reign of Henry I, although an initial Anarchy-period 
fortification on the site cannot be discounted (see 
Scrope 1855, 134-36; Sanders 1960, 28). 


Castles and Domesday (Figure 4) 


No castles are mentioned in the Wiltshire Domesday: 
they were sources of expenditure as opposed to taxable 
assets and thus beyond the concerns of the 
commissioners. Domesday is, however, a much under- 
used resource for understanding many early castles 
in their appropriate context as seats of Norman 
administration in the immediate post-Conquest 
period (Pounds 1990, 10).The interpretation of land- 
holding patterns at Domesday can be problematic due 
to the difficulties of equating Domesday manors with 
present parishes/townships, and where a single 
settlement within the present landscape is subdivided 
manorially in 1086. Nonetheless, the Wiltshire 
Domesday suggests a circumstantial link between the 
pattern of land-holding in 1086 and the respective 
locations of early castles at Sherrington (ST 960392) 
and Bicknoll Castle, Broad Hinton (SU 108793). 
The motte at Sherrington lay centrally within a 
compact block of estates in the hands of the Norman 
magnate Osbern Giffard, comprising nine manors in 
Heytesbury, Branch and Dole hundreds.° The fact 
that Giffard held little land outside Wiltshire (aside 
minor holdings in Berkshire and Dorset), combined 
with an exceptionally low level of subinfeudation (of 
Osbern’s twelve Wiltshire manors only two were in 
the hands of sub-tenants, and neither lay within the 
compact estate), increases the confidence with which 
the motte at Sherrington can be identified as the caput 
of a small eleventh-century honour. The motte, 
artificially elevated c. 6m and with an embanked 
summit c. 28m in diameter, is of considerable size 
relative to other rural Wiltshire mottes, yet evidence 
of a related bailey is ephemeral. An archaeological 
evaluation commissioned during drainage operations 
has sectioned a substantial ditch, c. 25ft (7.6m) across, 
c. 110m north-west of the motte, which seems likely 
to represent the northern arm of the bailey defences 
(Wilts. Arch. and Nat. Hist. Soc. 1973, 137-38). In 
addition, the Sherrington enclosure map’ depicts that 
the pattern of roads to the south of the motte form a 


EARLY CASTLES INTHE MEDIEVAL LANDSCAPE OF WILTSHIRE 115 


conspicuous D-shape that embraces the parish church 
of St Cosmos and St Damian. This feature seems likely 
to fossilise the perimeter of a second bailey, or feasibly 
indicate the limits of a large single enclosure whose 
moated defences were doubtless fed by a diversion 
of the Wylye. Both the proximity of the manorial mill 
to the motte (a mill at Sherrington is recorded from 
Domesday), and the likely origins of the parish church 
as a castle chapel (a priest at Sherrington is recorded 
from 1130), indicate the status of the castle as a tool 
of Norman lordship and an expression of seigneurial 
power (VCH Wilts. XV 1995, 237-40). 

The relationship between Gilbert of Breteuil’s 
manors at Bicknoll and his other estates within the 
shire indicates a similar pattern of teneurial geography. 
The core of Gilbert’s Wiltshire holdings comprised 
five apparently contiguous manors at Bicknoll, 
[Broad] Hinton and Clyffe [Pypard], all of which were 
held in chief.* Significantly, of Gilbert’s four other 
outlying Wiltshire manors (Beckhampton, Chisbury, 
Moredon and Stanmore), all but one were 
subinfeuded. Bicknoll Castle thus lay at the centre of 
the most concentrated and valuable block of Gilbert’s 
manors, which lay mostly, although not exclusively, 
within the shire. The physical development of Bicknoll 
Castle is related strongly to its topographical setting 
on a narrow chalk spur projecting north from the 
watershed between the Kennet and the Bristol Avon. 
A motte, c. 3m in elevation and much depleted by 
chalk quarrying, occupies the apex of the tongue of 
land, isolated from a trapezoidal bailey by a crescentic 
ditch. The bailey is defined by a curving embankment 
and ditch constructed transversely across the neck of 
the steep-sided promontory, and the merest vestiges 
survive of a second outwork that formerly defined an 
outer bailey (Goddard 1913-14, 213). Despite its 
present isolated status in the landscape, the castle 
formerly lay within the separate township of Bicknoll, 
where taxpayers and a chapel are recorded from the 
thirteenth century, and may have been associated with 
a small village or hamlet (VCH Wilts. XII 1983, 108, 
114-15). The remains of a deserted settlement are 
visible as earthworks on the slopes immediately north 
- of the castle in Bicknoll Dip,’ whilst comparable 
earthworks, in association with medieval pottery, have 
been identified within the bailey enclosures.'° 

The compact nature of these small fees is 
especially striking when viewed within the context of 
the large number of Saxon landholders from whose 
confiscated estates they were formed: Osbern’s twelve 
manors were in the hands of eight antecessors and 
Gilbert’s nine manors were previously held by seven 
separate Saxon landholders. These statistics create 


the impression of élite strongholds imposed at the 
core of newly created blocks of estates. Further work 
elsewhere within England is revealing interesting 
patterns of regional variation in this respect; in certain 
areas Norman castles tended to establish new centres 
of seigneurial authority, yet elsewhere the trend was 
towards the perpetuation of late Saxon administrative 
arrangements (Higham 1999-2000, 7). 

Yet by no means all compact 1086 estates in 
Wiltshire contained castles. The powerful magnate 
Ralph of Mortimer, for instance, held six apparently 
contiguous manors in the Grittleton-Hullavington 
area,'! yet his estates did not contain a castle. Here, 
the absence of a castle may be explained by the fact 
that he held considerable estates in eleven other shires. 
Conversely, not all early castles were related spatially 
to compact 1086 estates; Stapleford, for example, was 
the only Wiltshire manor held by Svein, one of the 
King’s thanes,'? whilst Stourton was one of two 
manors held by Walscin of Douai, subinfeuded to 
Ralf.'? The distinct possibility exists that such castles 
were constructed under the orders of sub-tenants as 
opposed to being temporary fortifications, especially 
as their size and complexity argues against the thesis 
that they are purely Anarchy-period foundations. 


Possible Early Castle Sites (Figures 3 and 4) 


A further issue in the field archaeology of early castles 
is the differentiation of isolated mottes bereft of bailey 
enclosures from earthworks of similar form yet 
different origin, such as barrows, windmill mounds 
and prospect mounds. Particular difficulties emerge, 
however, as the expedient nature of castle building 
ensured that earlier features could be adapted as the 
sites for castles, whilst the location of mottes and 
ringworks near settlements meant that many were 
often modified continuously after their military 
functions had expired. 

Earthworks at Hartham Park (ST 858724) and 
Littleton Pannell (ST 999540) exemplify the problem 
of distinguishing genuine medieval mottes from post- 
medieval garden features. Both features are relatively 
tall (c. 3.5m and 4.5m high respectively), of conical 
appearance with very small flat tops, and have been 
identified as mottes or possible mottes (Rahtz et al. 
1969, 17; King 1983, 502). However, the setting of 
these features within the immediate vicinity of post- 
medieval mansions, combined with the lack of a bailey 
in both instances, raises the distinct possibility that 
either or both may have originated as gazebos or 
viewing platforms erected in conjunction with 
schemes of formal garden creation. 


116 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


The earthwork known as Clack Mount, 
Bradenstoke (ST 997793), may be a further example 
of a garden feature listed erroneously as a motte. The 
site has been described as a motte with an angular 
ward (King 1983, 499), yet the present field 
monument does not have the appearance of a fortified 
site. The mount, little more than c. 1.5m in height 
and c. 12m in diameter, is not circumvallated and lies 
entirely within a double-banked trapezoidal enclosure, 
with signs of a second enclosure to the south. The 
earthworks, previously described as the ‘site of a 
pleasaunce and a fishpond’ (Cong. Brit. Arch. Assoc. 
1881, 146-47), are thus more consistent with a formal 
garden feature erected in the environs of Bradenstoke 
Abbey than a fortified site. However, the local place- 
name ‘Barrow End’ and derivation of the name ‘Lousy 
Clack’ (derived from the Old English hlaew: burial 
mound), raises the possibility that the mount is itself 
a modified barrow (VCH Wilts [IX 1970, 91; Lewis 
1995, 190). 

The identification of a low earthen mound within 
the churchyard of St Andrew’s, Ogbourne St. Andrew 
(SU 189723), as a motte, albeit a weak or mutilated 
example (King 1983, 500), seems equally specious. 
Excavation of the mound in the nineteenth century 
revealed a series of central cremations with intrusive 
Saxon and medieval inhumations (Cunnington 1885, 
345-48). In addition, documentary evidence suggests 
that the feature served as a windmill mound in the 
post-medieval period (VCH Wilts. XII 1983, 147).A 
close spatial relationship between motte and parish 
church is a recurrent feature within the lowland zone 
of medieval Britain (Creighton 1997, 30-31), whilst 
the coincidence of barrow and church is not unknown 
(Morris 1989, 40-41, 255-58). Here, however, the 
insufficient magnitude of the mound (it is elevated 
little more than c. 1.5m) and lack of a bailey, combined 
with clear evidence of burials within the mound, 
confirm its origins as a round barrow and recommend 
strongly against the thesis that it was adapted as a 
motte. 

The identification of the enigmatic earthwork 
south of Hillocks Wood, Lyneham (SU 026804) as a 
motte and bailey (VCH Wilts. IG) 1957, 267; [IX 1970, 
91) can be rejected outright. Only vestiges of the 
earthwork survive, comprising two linear depressions 
meeting at right angles at the crest of a gentle north- 
facing ridge; these are almost certainly hollow-ways 
converging upon former farm buildings at the hill top, 
where a brick barn survives." To this list of extremely 
doubtful castle sites we may add the sub-rectangular 
univallate earthwork immediately south of the Iron 
Age hillfort at Membury (SU 305745). Excavated 


c. 1941, a structure interpreted as a twelfth-century 
rectangular keep was revealed, overlain by a 
thirteenth-century house with a chapel (O’Niel 1948, 
33). Although the earthen defences, now entirely 
denuded by arable cultivation, were supplemented 
with a single round tower, the setting of the site on a 
plateau with no natural defence is more consistent 
with a fortified manorial site as opposed to a twelfth- 
century castle. 


CONCLUSIONS 


This review of the evidence for Norman castle sites 
in Wiltshire has highlighted some of the problems 
involved in their study and indicated some potential 
avenues for future research. 

It has been demonstrated that castle earthworks 
can be complex and multi-phase field monuments. 
The earthworks of an early castle site can potentially 
shroud antecedent phases of domestic, military or 
ecclesiastical occupation. Equally, however, a motte 
or ringwork could itself be adapted and remodelled 
in post-military phases. This study has also 
identified a number of earthworks that, despite 
traditional identification as early castle sites, may 
have alternative origins as post-medieval garden 
features. The previous mis-identification of such 
earthworks as mottes may well be a reflection of 
the period-based biases of archaeological 
fieldworkers, both past and present. Indeed, it is 
only relatively recently that modern archaeological 
survey has emphasised the ubiquity of formal 
garden earthworks (Everson and Williamson 1998, 
139). Nonetheless, considerable difficulties exist in 
differentiating isolated mottes from post-medieval 
prospect mounds, as both classes of field monument 
tend to occupy similar topographical positions and 
are often found in the vicinity of medieval/post- 
medieval manor houses and halls. 

Other regional surveys have demonstrated the 
shortcomings of a rigid classificatory approach to 
castle earthworks (Baker 1982, 38-39; Welfare et al. 
1999, 60), and this study is not an exception. The 
reasons for differences in the form of castle earthworks 
are complex and interrelated and owe as much to post- 
abandonment sequences as to the original intentions 
of the castle builders. This study accepts tentatively, 
however, that the “human variable” may be the key 
determinant factor that explains the respective 
distribution of mottes and ringworks (King and 
Alcock 1966, 103). Whilst the decision to raise a motte 
as opposed to a ringwork, or vice versa, is ultimately 
a matter of seigneurial preference, the evidence from 


EARLY CASTLES IN THE MEDIEVAL LANDSCAPE OF WILTSHIRE 117 


Wiltshire highlights three important factors that also 
merit consideration. First, as a form of construction, 
the ringwork is more appropriate for the enclosure of 
extant structures or buildings, either in a time of crisis, 
or as a deliberate domination of an extant manorial 
centre as an act of usurpation and conquest. Second, 
the aggregation of ringworks and mottes in respective 
groups (e.g. the cluster of ringworks in the south- 
east of the county: Figure 1) may indicate the diffusion 
of a concept of fortification through competitive 
seigneurial emulation or unity of patronage. Third, 
the manner in which ringworks may have been 
economic fortifications in terms of time and labour 
points towards their employment as rapid and 
expedient forms of fortification (e.g. siege castles such 
as Cam/’s Hill, Malmesbury), especially where local 
geological conditions were less favourable for motte 
construction, as demonstrated in a recent study of 
early castles in Glamorgan (RCAHMW 1991, 34-36). 
It remains essential, however, to acknowledge that the 
classification of castle earthworks in this manner 
should be seen as an inherently limited tool of analysis 
that can only provide a platform for further detailed 
study. Indeed, one may question whether terms such 
as ‘ringwork’, ‘motte’ or ‘ringmotte’ would have had 
any real meaning in medieval terms; to contemporary 
observers, the visually striking aspect of these sites 
would surely have been their timber superstructures 
as opposed to the ground plans of their associated 
earthworks. 

This study has also stressed the importance of 
integrating early castle sites within contemporary 
medieval landscapes. Unambiguously, the early castle 
was also an icon of seigneurial power. In an “imitative 
age” (Lewis et al. 1997, 231), when lordship was 
reinforced by mechanisms of patronage and display, 
even the most humble of earth and timber castles 
was a symbol of conspicuous seigneurial 
consumption as much as a military strongpoint. The 
particular functions of an early castle could vary, 
from garrison block (Cam’s Hill, Malmesbury) to 
quasi-palatial residence (Old Sarum); what is 
consistent is that the castle always represented the 
administrative, economic and coercive apparatus of 
land management and/or territorial control (see 
Creighton 1998). In particular, mottes or ringworks 
that were physically associated with parish churches 
or mills (e.g. Old Somerford; Sherrington; West 
Dean) emphasise that early castles were often integral 
components within the machinery of Norman 
lordship; these sites were hubs of manorial 
administration and ecclesiastical provision as well 
as centres of military power. 


Acknowledgements 


The author wishes to thank Dr N Christie (School of 
Archaeological Studies, University of Leicester) for 
his supervision of the MA and PhD theses from which 
this research is derived, and Dr Robert Higham 
(Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter) 
for his comments on an earlier draft of this paper. In 
addition, the staff at the Wiltshire and Swindon 
Record Office, and the Wiltshire County Sites and 
Monuments Record, Trowbridge, are thanked fer their 
assistance. 


Notes 


1 The Downman Collection, Wiltshire Archaeological and 

Natural History Society Library, Devizes Museum 
Wilts. and Swindon Record Office: Marlborough Tithe 

Award and Map, 1843 

English Heritage Scheduled Ancient Monument No. 

10211 

Fieldwork Notebook 2 (29.1.1981): Wilts. SMR No. 

ST94SW464 

Wilts. SMR Nos. ST94SW201/202 

Domesday i, 72d 
Wilts. and Swindon Record Office: EA/41 

Domesday i, 71b-71c 

Wilts. SMR No. SU17NW454 

10 OS Record Card No. SUI7NW2 

11 Domesday i, 72b-72c 
12 Domesday 1, 74b 
13 Domesday 1, 72a 
14 OS Record Card No. SU 08 SW 5 


Q bo 


aS 


woomonNnta uv 


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Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 120-30 


Looking for Dr Ingen Housz 


The evidence for the site and nature of the burial, in Calne, of the famous 
Dutch physician and scientist of the eighteenth century 
by Norman and Elaine Beale 


Dr Jan Ingen Housz, the famous physician and scientist whose experiments, in 1779, revealed the mysteries of 
photosynthesis, spent his final days in Wiltshire. He died during the early hours of 7 September 1799, at Bowood 
House. His funeral was organised by his long-standing friend and final host, the First Marquis of Lansdowne 
(who was 1n residence at Bowood House when the doctor died) and took place on 9 September 1799. That Dr. 
Ingen Housz was buried 1n Calne 1s confirmed by the parish register. It has long been assumed that he was buried 
in Calne St. Mary’s churchyard and that the site of the grave and its markings have been lost. Evidence Is 
presented here that his remains were deposited, within a lead coffin, 1n a vault under the church. The burial vault 
must have been already in existence and was owned by the Marquis of Lansdowne. We suggest that the relevant 
vault was that which ‘belonged’ to Castle House, Calne and discuss the evidence. The ‘Castle House vault’ was 
almost certainly under the chancel, probably to the north side but the vaults, crypts, and graves under the 
chancel of St. Mary’s Church, Calne appear to have been filled in during the mid-Victorian re-ordering of the 
building. Complete re-flooring of the Chancel destroyed all the ledger stones and vault entrance traps. It 1s 
suggested, however, that the coffins beneath the chancel were left in situ during such backfilling and that the 
mortal remains of Dr. Ingen Housz still lie under the chancel of St. Mary’s Church, Calne. This conclusion could 
only be verified by a formal archaeological exploration if the opportunity ever arose. 


INTRODUCTION BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF DR. INGEN 
HOUSZ 
Where notable people were buried is sometimes 
unknown. There is, for instance, no means of locating, Jan Ingen Housz was born on 8th December 1730 
exactly, the site of the grave of Mozart. On the other in the small town of Breda, south Holland. The 
hand there are many, many sepulchral monuments, second son of a leather merchant and apothecary, 
often imposing and exuding self-importance, that he showed an outstanding talent for the classical 
mark the graves of people about whom nothing is languages at school. He trained to be a doctor at the 
known. Then, for some people, we have lost both their University of Louvain, graduating MD in July 1753.! 
personal heritage and their grave. Such a case is Jan His unusually varied postgraduate training in 
Ingen Housz, an important eighteenth century figure Leyden, Paris and Edinburgh was fostered and 
who deserves to be better-known and remembered. encouraged by Sir John Pringle, the famous Scottish 
Evidence is assembled in this paper, most of it physician’ who happened to be a friend of the Ingen 
previously unpublished, for the nature and location Housz family. 
of the final resting place of Ingen Housz. The Ingen Housz established a medical practice in 
conclusions will contradict the popular notion that Breda while keeping up his interest in chemistry and 
he was buried in the churchyard of Calne and that physics, especially in static electricity. After his father 
the markings of the grave have been lost, like those of died in 1764 he joined Pringle in London where his 
so many souls over the centuries. host and mentor introduced him to many of the 


3, Main Road, Cherhill, Calne, Wilts SN11 8UX 


LOOKING FOR DR INGEN HOUSZ 


leading literary, scientific and political figures of the 
day. Important friendships developed — with Doctors 
William and John Hunter, with Joseph Priestley,’ and 
especially with Benjamin Franklin and the second 
Lord Shelburne. It was from Dr William Watson that 
Ingen Housz learned the technique of inoculation 
against smallpox,’ proving to be an outstandingly safe 
exponent. He was asked to go to Vienna to inoculate 
those Habsburgs who had not succumbed to the 1767 
smallpox epidemic. The Empress, Maria Theresa, was 
so grateful that the devastation of her family was 
curtailed that she gave the young doctor a substantial 
pension for life and made him one of her personal 
physicians. 

Financially secure, Ingen Housz was able to spend 
much of the rest of his life performing scientific 
experiments, and in travelling around Europe visiting 
other scientists. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal 
Society in 1769? and was later to serve on its Council. 
He married the sister of Nikolaus Jacquin, Professor 
of Botany at Vienna, but the marriage was late in both 
their lives and not emotionally successful.° 

In England in 1779 Ingen Housz ensconced 
himself in a country house near London and began a 
marathon of over 500 experiments by which he 
unravelled the processes involved in what is now 
known as photosynthesis. He was the first to 
demonstrate that it is the green parts of plants that 
absorb carbon dioxide in sunlight and produce, at 
the same time, our oxygen; and that the carbon 
element becomes, eventually, more plant matter and 
ultimately our food.’ In later years he also proved 
that different metals conduct heat at different rates, 
developed the oxygen mask for clinical use, and 
invented the cover slip for microscope slides. When 
the French Revolution broke out in 1789 he was in 
Paris. Joint experiments with Lavoisier had to be 
forgone. As doctor to the Queen’s brother,* Ingen 
Housz had to flee. He travelled north to safety in 
England, but also into exile. 


THE DEATH OF INGEN HOUSZ 


- Ingen Housz never returned to Vienna. Although he 
recovered from the gall stones and kidney stones that 
had been troubling him on arrival in England in late 
1789° he lost his appetite for travel and the spread of 
republicanism and successive wars on the continent 
put him, officially a Royal Courtier, in personal danger 
in several countries.'° His long-standing friendship with 
Lord Shelburne! was re-kindled and Ingen Housz 
spent long and happy periods, during the 1790s, at 
Bowood House as a guest.'? The Bowood ‘laboratory’ 


Figure 1. Ingen Housz in 1769 (Cunego, Rome, by 
courtesy of the Trustees of the Bowood Collection) 


developed by Priestley in the 1770s and in which 
oxygen had been discovered, saw a new lease of life. 

Ingen Housz was at Bowood in early Spring 1799, 
anxious that he could have a new and potentially fatal 
illness. He travelled to Bath to consult his friend, the 
physician Dr. William Falconer’? who must have 
confirmed Ingen Housz’ worst fears for, on returning 
to Bowood, the Dutch physician announced that he 
had no intention of becoming a nursing burden to 
the household and proposed to return to London. 
The Marquis persuaded him to stay ‘...at Bowood, 
surrounded by people he knew and where he was sure 
to find friendly care and sincere concern ...’' rather 
than suffer a lonely demise in rented rooms in London. 
So Ingen Housz and his manservant of 30 years — 
Dominique Tede!’ — spent what was to be their last 
summer together, at Bowood. 

By June 1799 Ingen Housz knew that he was dying. 
He wrote a last letter to Vienna'® in which he expressed 
his desire that his wife could be with him to help to 
nurse him, although they had now been apart for over 
11 years. Despite deteriorating physically and having a 
very troublesome dryness of the mouth and throat!’ 


122 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Ingen Housz still socialised and ate with the Marquis, 
his family and guests. As popular as ever with the 
‘Bowood company’, Ingen Housz continued" to 
demonstrate his experiments.!’ Less happily, he also 
discussed with Lord Lansdowne, seemingly quite 
frankly and in some detail, his wishes for his funeral, 
future arrangements for Dominique, and the 
settlement of his other affairs.*° 

On Wednesday 4 September 1799 he dined at 
table for the last time.*! During the next day he 
became too weak to leave his room on the first floor 
of Bowood House and on the 6thhe lapsed into a 
coma. He died, without regaining consciousness, at 
3.30 a.m. on 7 September 1799.** 


THE FUNERAL OF INGEN HOUSZ 


The Marquis of Lansdowne organised the funeral 
of his friend ‘...quietly ... as he had wished ...’”’ for 
Monday 9 September 1799. His Lordship wrote to 
Ingen Housz’ widow, Agatha (née Jacquin), and his 
nephew, Josef Jacquin, both at Vienna. He also 
dictated a letter to the nephews at Breda,” enclosing 
it in a further letter that he sent to Ingen Housz’ 
bankers in London — Drummonds of Charing 
Cross.” The bank relayed the sad news, by means 
of letter and enclosures, to the family at Breda, 
informing them also of the will in their possession 
and of its attached instructions. It is from this, the 
‘Drummond’ letter,”° that the details of the funeral 
emerge. 

The burial register for Calne*’ records that Ingen 
Housz was buried on 9 September 1799.** The entry 
is corroborated by a certificate of burial’? signed by 
Thomas Greenwood, Vicar of the parish, and by 
Samuel Viveash and William Savory, Guild Stewards 
of the Borough of Calne.*° This was issued on 14 
November 1799, its signing witnessed by Henry 
Maundrell, a local attorney at law, who took it to 
London and swore an affadavit to its veracity in the 
presence of Counsel.*! 

The ‘Drummond’ letter’’ reveals that the 
mourners present at the funeral were few but mostly 
important. They were: Lord Henry Petty representing 
his father the Marquis of Lansdowne who was ‘...not 
well enough to go himself...’; The Reverend Mr. 
Dumont; the Guild Stewards of Calne; ‘...the medical 
people who attended him...’ and his manservant 
Dominique Tede. But the letter also contains 
information on the site and nature of the burial of 
Ingen Housz for it reads ‘...that he was interred in 
the Church of Calne ...’. [authors’ italics]. 


32 


Figure 2. The First Marquis of Lansdowne (1737-1805). 
(E. Bartolozzi after Gainsborough, by courtesy of the 
Trustees of the Bowood Collection). 


EVIDENCE THAT INGEN HOUSZWAS 
LAID IN A VAULT IN ST. MARY’S 
CHURCH, CALNE 


Besides the explicit statement in the ‘Drummond’ 
letter, there is other evidence, both factual and 
circumstantial, that Ingen Housz was placed in a 
vault®? underneath St. Mary’s Church, Calne. The 
pointers are as follows. Firstly, in the will made by 
Ingen Housz in London in 1796, is the following 
phrase: ‘...I desire to be Buried in the Church of the 
Parish in which I will die...’. Ingen Housz obviously 
felt that he was an important enough person to merit 
burial within the walls of any church rather than in 
the churchyard even if he was not a resident 
parishioner and contemporary burial practices in 
Vienna, where he had lived for some years, would 
have reinforced this view.*! Secondly, the 1799 burials 
list for Calne shows, specifically, for September, the 
entry: Dr Jno Ingenhousz. The prefix ‘Dr’ is an 
important piece of evidence — only notable members 
of communities were customarily recorded with such 
titles by the clergy of the late eighteenth century. 


LOOKING FOR DR INGEN HOUSZ 


Concomitant with this entry format signifying high 
social rank would be the permission for burial inside 
the church. As Litten states, ‘... The use of a prefix in 
a burial register is of importance. In the majority of 
instances those afforded a prefix were considered as 
of gentle birth and merited burial/deposit within the 
building. The normal rule-of-thumb is “prefix equals 
preferred burial”...’*°. Thirdly, there is the fact that 
the bank ledgers recording Ingen Housz’ account at 
Drummonds have survived and those for 1799 show 
an entry, on 24th September, for funeral expenses, of 
£25 2s. 8d. This figure is corroborated, apart from a 
minor discrepancy of 4d., by an entry, on the same 
day, in the Day Book of Mr. Cross, Bowood Agent of 
the First Marquis, of ‘...Bills for Dr. Ingenhouz’s 
funeral £25. 2s. 4d...’.*° This is asum of money which 
is significantly larger than the known costs of an 
average funeral in the late-eighteenth and early- 
nineteenth centuries. Litten, records*’ that as late as 
1838, a finished elm coffin with inscription plate, 
handles, lining and pillow cost only 17 shillings. On 
the other hand: ‘...an Elm shell, covered with 4lb lead, 
lined, ruffled, and pillow...for the grandest 
vault.:.would have been sold to the client for about 
£25 ...’° It may be concluded therefore, that Ingen 
Housz, normally a very thrifty man but yet more so in 
the last decade of his life when his pension was not 
regularly paid and he was heavily taxed, spent such a 
large sum of money only as necessary. There is no 
evidence of £25 being spent on an extravagent wake 
and we know from his will it is evident that he wanted 
his “...ffunerals ...to be simple and of little expense...’ 
Therefore Ingen Housz was almost certainly buried in 
a lead coffin — at an expense that could only be justified 
if his destiny was deposition in a vault rather than 
interment in a burial ground.’ Fourthly, the 
Drummond letter provides clinching evidence that 
Ingen Housz’ coffin was placed in a vault inside St. 
Mary’s Calne, since it continues: ‘...that he was interred 
in the Church of Calne in a Vault of his Lordship’s...’. 
{authors’ italics]. Vault burial in England in the 
eighteenth century and the location of a vault owned 
by the Marquis of Lansdowne under St. Mary’s 
- Church, Calne are obviously the next discussion points. 
The exact wording of the letter — ‘... a Vault of his 
Lordship’s ...’is a highly pertinent clue to locating it. 


VAULT BURIAL WITHIN ENGLISH 
CHURCHES, 1650 — 1850 


The peak time for constructing family vaults for burial 
under churches in Britain was from about 1650 until 
legal strictures ended the practice soon after 1850. In 


123 


fact the earliest recorded burial within St. Mary’s 
Church, Calne is 1598.*° During the next two and a 
half centuries few churches were not undermined to 
meet the wishes of ‘important’ parishioners who 
desired burial places ‘worthy’ of their status. Recent 
demolition and archaeological investigations of some 
inner city churches, where the parishes were very 
densely populated, have provided dramatic views of 
the subterranean overcrowding of such buildings. 

But even churches in smaller, market towns such 
as Calne contained, by 1800, many vaulted chambers 
under their floors as well as intramural graves as so 
many church wall monuments evince with the words 

. In a vault near this place...’. In some churches 
the wardens kept good records of the positions, 
dimensions, ownership and occupancy of vaults and 
intramural graves and in some instances these have 
survived.?! From the monumental inscriptions 
surviving in Calne church as at 1898*" we know that 
there must have been at least 77 vaults and graves 
within the building and its porches but there seems 
to be no surviving map locating them. 

In fact, ownership of burial vaults became linked, 
like that of the pews above, to the substantial houses 
of a parish. Just as families of consequence bought 
and sold estates with the advowson and the named 
box pews where they would worship, so they 
sometimes bought rights to burial in particular vaults 
underneath the church.” 

The quid pro quo of vault deposition was, as 
discussed above, that the corpse would be encased in 
a ‘triple’ coffin. Various designs for the inner lead shells 
were in vogue in different localities and at different 
times. By the second quarter of the eighteenth century 
the typical coffin, shell and case provided for vault 
deposition comprised an inner coffin of wood encased 
within a lead shell. This in turn was usually placed 
into an outer wooden case, often upholstered with 
velvet, and on to which was affixed the metal coffin 
furniture. Outside the metropolis, and certainly in 
places like Calne, the local plumber would usually be 
engaged to provide and fashion the sheet lead and to 
seal the plumeous layer hermetically with lead solder. 
Such additional and bespoke preparations for burial 
were time-consuming, expensive and made the coffins 
very heavy. Access to vaults was usually via a stone 
slab, possibly an inscribed ledger stone. Manoeuvring 
a four to five hundredweight coffin into a dark 
confined space was a challenge for the undertakers; 
subterranean reordering and relocation within the 
vault were not uncommon practices in order to 
accommodate the latest occupant. Triple coffins can, 
though, survive intact for a very long time and some 


124 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


have been found to be in excellent condition as much 
as 200 years later. Although they may become 
dislodged, depositum plates (lead, brass, stamped 
iron, tin, or pewter) recording identification marks 
and dates (usually) of the occupant are often perfectly 
legible. Alternatively, identification and other details 
chased into outer lead casings themselves can also be 
well preserved. 


IDENTITY OF THE VAULT, IN ST. 
MARY’S CHURCH, CALNE, OWNED 
BY THE MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE. 


Surprising though it may appear, the location of the 
vault or vaults owned by the First Marquis of 
Lansdowne within St. Mary’s, Calne is not known. 
The lapse of only two days between the death of Ingen 
Housz and his funeral must mean that there was a 


pre-existing vault. But hunting for the ‘Bowood’ or 
‘Lansdowne’ vault is fallacious; there never was one. 
At least, there is no evidence that any of the Shelburne/ 
Lansdowne family have ever been buried at St. Mary’s, 
Calne. The widow of John, the first Earl, built a family 
mausoleum on high ground above Bowood House 
where she and her husband are entombed." Other 
family members were either laid there; in the dynastic 
vault under the Church at High Wycombe, where the 
family also lived; at Bremhill; or, later, at Christ 
Church, Derry Hill, consecrated in 1840. Lateral 
thinking implies that the burial place of Ingen Housz 
must have been a vault in St. Mary’s Church that 
happened to be, in 1799, in the ownership of his 
friend, the First Marquis of Lansdowne, perhaps 
simply by chance. What we should be looking for is 
*...a Vault of his Lordship’s...’ and not ‘his Lordship’s 
vault’ i.e. vault of the Lansdowne family. 


Figure 3. Interior of St. Mary’s Church, Calne, 1846, seen from the Chancel. (Courtesy of Mr Ray Downham MBE.) 


LOOKING FOR DR INGEN HOUSZ 


The purchase of Bowood Park by John, the First 
Earl of Shelburne was completed on 1 January 1754.” 
The previous owners — the Bridgeman family — had 
been assigned a mortgage on the property in February 
1722. There is no evidence that the Bridgemans ever 
acquired property in Calne itself but they must have 
worshipped at St. Mary’s Church for, on 21 January 
1754, the following entry appears in the 
Churchwardens’ Minutes: ‘...At a vestry held in the 
Parish Church of Calne it is unanimously agreed 
...that the Seats and Gallery...which formerly 
belonged to Sr. Orlando Bridgeman Bart. dec’ed be 
forthwith granted to the Right Hon’ble John Earle of 
Shelbourn and his Successors for ever Owners of 
Bowood House... in consideration of twenty 
Guineas...’.*° There are, however, no references to 
an advowson related to Bowood ownership, no 
references to a burial vault, and no Bridgeman 
memorials in the church.*”” 

After the first Earl of Shelburne died in 1761, 
Bowood was inherited by his son, William, the second 
Earl. He continued the improvements and extensions 
of Bowood House and Park, retiring from politics 
temporarily between 1763 and 1765" in order to have 
the time to supervise the works (and similar activities 
at his High Wycombe and London properties). During 
the next forty years he also acquired substantial tracts 
of property in Calne and it is possible to show that he 
thereby acquired a superfluous burial vault in St. 
Mary’s Church. It is equally possible to identify this 
vault and its likely location within the building. 

In the will of Richard Stokes, ‘Gentleman’ of 
Calne, written in 1723 is the following instruction to 
executors: ‘...my body to be buryed ...in a private 
and decent manner and to be laid as close to my Late 
Dear Wife as possible it can be in the vault in Calne 
Church which belongs to my Dwelling house...’. 
Moreover, in 1713, the churchwardens of St. Mary’s 
had issued a demand for a fee to be paid to them, by 
Mr. Stokes for ‘...opening of the vault...’. Stokes had, 
apparently ‘...lately had occasion to lay a child init...’. 
But the demand for payment begins with a useful 
and pertinent description of the vault itself: ‘... To the 
- house in which he lives, belongs a vault which was 
made by Mary Norborne widdow decs. (upon the 
death of her husband Walter Norborne Esq.) between 
50 and 60 years ago, ... in which vault there now lies 
the body of the said Walter Norborne, and one of his 
daughters...’.?” 

In other words it would appear that Richard Stokes 
acquired a burial vault that had been constructed by 
Mary Norborne to receive the remains of her husband. 
The demand for payment by the Churchwardens 


1125, 


clearly implies that the vault was considered to be 
part of the domestic property then owned, in Calne, 
by Richard Stokes and that he was in the habit of 
placing deceased relatives within. 

On 20th April 1650 Walter Norborne had agreed 
and signed, with the widowed daughter of a Temys 
Jordan of Calne, a ‘...Feoffment of 2 messuages , one 
called the Castle in Castle Street, Calne ...’.°° Walter 
Norborne died in 1659 and it is not clear what then 
happened to his properties but on 23 and 24 June, 
1708 Richard Stokes bought, from the Viscountess 
of Hereford, a‘... messuage called the Castle, in Castle 
Street, Calne (Part of the same property as in a 
Feoffment of 1650, April 20th)...’.?! It is clear, 
therefore, that the ownership of Castle House (as it is 
now known) passed to Richard Stokes, who was 
actually the grandson of Mary Norborne, and that 
this must be the *...house in which he lives...’ and to 
which ‘...belongs a vault...’ as referred to by the St. 
Mary’s Churchwardens in their demand for 
payment.” 

Richard Stokes, shortly before his death, 
disinherited his elder son for disobeying his bar on 
marrying a cousin. The son joined a regiment of the 
East India Company’s army” and left England for 
the orient. Judith Stokes, the widowed second wife, 
appears also to have left Calne and leased Castle 
House to John Bull, Gentleman,” an important Calne 
citizen serving as Guild Steward in 1735.” During 
the 1750s and 1760s he acted as Steward to the 
Duckett family” and helped Thomas Duckett sell, in 
1764, the manor of Calne and Calstone to the Second 
Lord Shelburne for £27,000.’ The Bull family, 
presumably now owners of the property, remained at 
Castle House until 1792 when it was bought by the 
Fripp family.** Then, for 1798, ‘The Calne 
Churchwardens and Vestry Book, 1795-1824’ 
clearly shows that Castle House had been bought by 
the First Marquis of Lansdowne and that Sir Geo. 
Colnbrook was occupying the house, stables and 
gardens as his Lordship’s tenant. But the same Vestry 
Book also shows that on 15 March 1799 the Marquis 
of Lansdowne was both the owner of Castle House 
and also the ‘...occupier...’. There was now no tenant 
and since the Marquis himself lived at Bowood House 
it may be assumed that, except for servants keeping 
the property aired and secure, the house was empty. 
This remained the situation until a tenant was listed 
in 1806.°° What is particularly important is that the 
First Marquis of Lansdowne had acquired Castle 
House and that it was in his ownership in 1799 when 
Ingen Housz died. He must also have acquired what 
might be called the ‘Castle House vault’ in St. Mary’s 


126 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Church. This had been built by Mary Norborne in 
about 1660, and contained only, as far as we know, 
the remains of Walter Norborne and his daughter; 
Eleanor Stokes, a Stokes child, and Richard Stokes, 
the Bulls and Fripps having their own vaults/graves 
in the nave of St. Mary’s.°! 

Thus when Ingen Housz was buried in 1799 the 
Castle House vault in St. Mary’s Church, Calne 
appears to have been redundant for many decades. It 
is suggested that this vault was the one in which the 
remains of Dr. Ingen Housz were deposited on 9 
September 1799. Admittedly the evidence is 
circumstantial but the contention can be supported 
by negative evidence. All of the 23 other houses and 
cottages in Calne owned by Lord Lansdowne in 1799 
were occupied by named tenants. Castle House 
appears to have been, in 1799, the only Calne property 
both endowed with a burial vault and for which burial 
rights were then at the disposal of Lord Lansdowne 
himself. Responding to the wishes of his deceased 
friend by placing his coffin in this vault did not mean, 
for the Marquis, that he must embarrass the sepulchral 
privacy of his own or any other family and, 
presumably, there must have been remaining space 
within the chamber for at least one more coffin. 


POSSIBLE LOCATION OF THE 
BURIAL VAULT CONTAINING INGEN 
HOUSZ WITHIN ST. MARY’S 
CHURCH, CALNE 


The next question must be the location of the vault. 
Here there is no decisive evidence. The obvious 
expected marker — a ledger stone or memorial tablet 
to Ingen Housz on the church floor or wall 
respectively and near to the putative vault — was either 
erected and later removed or was never realised. 
There are several reasons to suspect the latter. 
Although the Marquis of Lansdowne wrote, on 9 
September 1799, in his letter to the family in Holland 
that ‘*... I reserve the right to erect a simple 
monument on his grave...’ it is more than possible 
that circumstances led to its never being 
commissioned. Firstly, Lord Lansdowne was ill. 
Unable to attend the Ingen Housz funeral himself, 
he had, within a few weeks, rented a house in Bath, 
‘taking the waters’ in an attempt to restore his 
vigour.’’ Unfortunately his health declined further 
and in a letter to his ‘sisters’ [sic] at Bowood 
(Caroline Fox and Elizabeth Vernon) in May 1800 
he made clear reference to having lost the function 
of a hand.°’ Clearly his illness had prevented him 


being in London for the winter ‘season’ of 1799— 
1800 and he was therefore unable to meet the two 
Ingen Housz nephews from Breda who came over to 
the capital in late November 1799 to prove their 
uncle’s will. Lansdowne did write to them, however, 
inviting them to use, if necessary, the services of his 
personal solicitor, Mr. Smith of Drapers’ Hall, but 
made no mention of any memorial. The nephews 
returned directly to Holland, having had difficulty 
obtaining passports in any case.°! Perhaps it is not 
surprising that Lansdowne, confronted by illness and 
by growing financial problems,” lost the impetus to 
erect a memorial to his friend. In any case he was, by 
this time in his life, not a supporter of sepulchral 
ostentation. 

In a letter to the editor of The Gentleman’s 
Magazine, published in May 1791°° Lord Lansdowne 
had decried the adulteration of many English churches 
by excessive and unnecessary monuments to the dead. 
His ‘Enlightened’ perspective in this respect was likely 
to have been discussed with Ingen Housz to whom it 
was certainly nothing new. The physician’s close 
friendship with his patient, Emperor Joseph II, would 
have exposed him, fifteen years earlier, to similar 
beliefs. In Emperor Joseph’s view ‘...it was wrong to 
glorify a dead man’s corpse, the empty husk of the 
spirit...’.°’ But consensual or not, it is certainly the 
case that Lansdowne now held intellectual 
reservations about sepulchral monuments that would 
have presaged the practical difficulties when it came 
to establishing a memorial to his friend. 

Direct evidence for the location of the Castle 
House vault may be missing but there are three clues 
in the guise of other surviving monumental 
inscriptions. Firstly, the memorial tablet for Eleanor 
Stokes, the first wife of Richard Stokes, who died of 
smallpox in October 1705 is a very large monument 
inscribed in Latin. It is high on the east wall® of the 
north chapel of the Chancel (see ‘S’ on the pre-1864 
floor plan of St. Mary’s Church, Figure 4) and is 
currently obscured by the organ.°’ The Latin text is 
headed ‘HI S Q’ -hic 1acet sepultus quidam — here 
lies buried a certain. . .. However, this is not the only 
inscribed reference, within St. Mary’s Church, to the 
Castle House vault. There is, secondly, a memorial 
tablet to Walter Norborne high on the west wall” of 
the entrance to the North Transept (see ‘N’ on Figure 
4). This is also in Latin, an epitaph written by his 
friend Dr. Pierce, then President of Magdalen College, 
Oxford.’! It makes no specific reference to its 
geographical association to the, then, Norborne vault 
and is some distance from the Stokes monument at 
‘S’. Perhaps Castle House vault was located 


LOOKING FOR DR INGEN HOUSZ 


127 


Figure 4. Sketch plan of east end of St Mary’s Church, based on pre-1864 floor plan, showing possible locations of the 


Castle House vault 


somewhere along the axis ‘S-N’ (see Figure 4). A 
third piece of evidence introduces other possibilities, 
although still pointing to the Chancel. On the east 
wall of the south chapel of the Chancel are two modest 
tablets referring to William Powell Bendry and his 
wife, Mary (see point ‘B’ on Figure 4). The Bendrys 
were tenants of the Third Marquis of Lansdowne, 
Henry Petty, at Castle House between 1815 and their 
respective deaths in 1816 and 1835. The tablet to 
William Bendry ‘... of Castle House in this Parish 
Esq.re ...’ as he is described in his widow’s tablet, is 
in Latin and begins ...Juxta conduntur reliquiae ... - 
“Nearby were placed the remains of ...’. But the tablet 
to Mary Bendry, his widow, is in English and states, 
- unequivocally, that she was buried ‘...in a vault 
adjoining ...’. The word ‘adjoining’ is difficult to 
interpret per se but must surely mean somewhere in 
the overall area of the Chancel other than immediately 
below the tablets. 

In essence, then, the internal evidence for the 
possible location of the Castle House vault points to 
the Chancel and the best of that evidence, assuming 
the oldest and most imposing tablets to be located, 
still, in their original positions, to the north side of 


the Chancel. It is suggested, therefore, that the 
remains of Dr. Ingen Housz were deposited, on 9 
September 1799, in the Castle House vault which 
was most likely situated between points ‘S’ and ‘N’ in 
the north chapel (aisle) of the Chancel of St. Mary’s 
Church, Calne. These tentative conclusions for the 
final chapter of the story of Dr. Ingen Housz may be 
permissible but there is still no information, from any 
era, on the structure of any such vault, its dimensions, 
design, capacity, cost, state of repair, or construction 
materials. 


HOW THE VAULT CONTAINING DR. 
INGEN HOUSZ WAS LOST AND HOW 
IT MIGHT BE FOUND 


The Chancel in St. Mary’s church, Calne has 
undergone considerable changes. In 1863 William 
Slater, the famous London ecclesiastical architect, was 
commissioned to draw up specifications for a major 
refurbishment of the building that would incorporate 
changes dictated by Victorian ideas of a ‘modern’ 
church. The resulting faculty directed that, after 
removal of the box pews and galleries, the floor of the 


128 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


church was to be lifted, wooden and stone parts alike, 
including the ‘...(uneven) stone pavement of the 
passages and of the chancel...’ [authors’ italics]. Then 
the ‘Digger’ was told to ‘...clear out the soil from the 
whole of the internal area of the Church to an average 
depth of at least one foot below the level of the 
underside of posts of seating...’ Later the contractor 
was told to make a new ‘...Chancel pavement ...of 
Mintons 4/2 red buff and black encaustic tiles ... in 
patterns ...’.’”” Any pointers to the sites of vaults or 
their entrances on the floor of the chancel will obviously 
have been destroyed. That even some might have 
survived seems naive especially when a later faculty in 
1934” gave permission for removal of the Chancel 
floor tiles and for their replacement by new stone flags. 

There is, however, one helpful clue in the 
succession of faculties that have sanctioned the 
numerous changes, installations and adjustments to 
the eastern part of St. Mary’s church during the last 
two centuries. The document permitting installation 
of the present organ was authorised in 1908. The 
musical instrument itself is acknowledged as unique 
and valuable. It is also considerable in size and 
occupies virtually the whole of the north chapel of 
the Chancel, the very part of the church on which the 
search for the burial place of Ingen Housz has come 
to focus. Bulk and weight were obviously major 
considerations when structural problems were 
discussed by the organ installers, for the authors of 
the faculty felt it necessary to state, categorically, 
‘...that remains and deposits need not be 
disturbed...’. In other words, they knew that they 
were to be working above vaults or graves and that 
these were still occupied. Moreover, in the locked 
archives still held at St. Mary’s church, there is a copy 
of an Act of Parliament of 1852” explicitly banning 
any further burials in the churchyard. This was twelve 
years before any of the major structural changes 
instigated by the Slater proposals and it is difficult to 
conceive that builders would have attempted to lift 
old, fragile, and very heavy lead coffins from vaults 
that they were obliged to breach if re-interment 
involved (as it would have done after 1857) a journey 
to the new burial grounds at Holy Trinity, 
Quemerford. It seems more likely that contractors, 
being only human, would have filled in such vaults, 
leaving the occupants ‘in situ’. 

Since the pointers to the whereabouts of the Castle 
House vault on the walls of St. Mary’s are somewhat 
ambiguous and since clues such as worn or chipped 
stones on the floor of the building that might have 
admitted to steps to vaults have been obliterated, 
deeper, subterranean explorations under the Church 


would be needed to obtain any further information in 
the hunt for Dr. Ingen Housz. A destructive assault 
on the building would obviously be illicit. It would 
also be impractical other than as a tangential exercise 
to essential refurbishments. These are, though, the 
kind of activities which have sometimes given 
archaeologists opportunistic access to ‘lost’ vaults in 
other churches. It is just possible that such exploration 
might reveal the existence of a subterranean cavity, 
probably scalped and back-filled in 1864, that was 
once the vaulted burial chamber commissioned, by 
his widow, to receive the remains of Walter Norborne 
in 1660 and which, 140 years later was utilised as the 
resting place of a man who wished to be *...buried in 
the church of the Parish in which I shall die...’, a 
certain Dr. Jan Ingen Housz. 


Acknowledgements 


We owe thanks to very many people, especially the 
following: the Marquis of Lansdowne, Bowood; Dr. 
Kate Fielden, Bowood; the Reverend Robert Kenway, 
Vicar of Calne and Blacklands, Barbara Gleed, senior 
Churchwarden, the parish of Calne and Blacklands; 
the Venerable John Smith, Archdeacon of Wiltshire 
(now retired); Julian Litten FSA; Professor Don 
Emblen; Philip Winterbottom, Archives of the Royal 
Bank of Scotland; Eric Boore; Robin Holley; Peter van 
der Pas; Jonathon Forsyth; Duncan Coe. The staff at 
the following institutions have all been extremely helpful 
~The British Library (Manuscripts);The Royal Society 
Library; Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office; Devizes 
Museum; Gemeentearchief (Municipal Archive), 
Breda; Vienna Town Hall; the Library of the American 
Philosophical Society, Philadelphia. Julian Litten, Eric 
Boore, and Kate Fielden all helped us with the script 
and we express particular gratitude to them. 


Bibliography and Notes 


1. P. van der Pas, Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 
(Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York 1981); H. Reed, 
‘Jan Ingenhousz, plant physiologist. With a history of 
the discovery of photosynthesis’. Chronica Botanica, 
11 (1949) pp. 285 — 396; J.Wiesner, Jan Ingen-Housz. 
Sein Leben und sein Wirken als Naturforscher und Artz. 
(Verlagsbuchhandlung Carl Konegen, Wien 1905); N 
and E Beale, Who was Ingen Housz, anyway? (Calne 
Town Council, Calne 1999). 

2. ‘Trained in Leyden under Boerhaave, Pringle (1708 — 
1782) rose from army doctor to President of the Royal 


LOOKING FOR DR INGEN HOUSZ 


Society and physician to George II. He wrote a seminal 
book on diseases of the army and coined the words 
‘septic’ and ‘antiseptic’. 


3. Priestley (1733 — 1810) had also been introduced to Lord 


Shelburne, probably by Benjamin Franklin, and in 1773 
took up the position of librarian at Bowood House, Calne. 
He established a laboratory at the house and it was here, 
on 1 August 1774, that he discovered oxygen. 

Live smallpox serum was scratched into the skin of the 
recipient in the hope of provoking a mild attack of the 
disease to ensure later protection. Jenner later used the same 
clinical technique but with (much safer) cowpox serum. 


5. Ingen Housz was elected Fellow of the Royal Society on 


25 May 1769 having been proposed on 15 February 
and balloted at 11 subsequent meetings. His sponsors 
were W. Watson, W. Huck, M. Blair, G. Baker, Sir John 
Pringle, W. Watson junior, W. Heberden, B. Franklin, 
Gowin Knight, James Parsons and M. Maty. Royal 
Society: Certificates of Election III, 69. 


6. Reference is made, in correspondence after Ingen Housz 


~) 


had died, to the ‘coolness’ of the marriage: Marquess of 
Lansdowne to Caroline Fox and Elizabeth Vernon, 9 
January 1800: Shelburne MSS. 6; ff 95 — 6. 


. J. Ingen-Housz, Experiments upon vegetables, discovering 


their great power of purifying the common air in the 
sunshine, and of injuring it in the shade and at night. 
(Elmsly and Payne, London 1779). 


. Marie Antoinette (1755 — 1793) was the 15th child of 


Empress Maria Theresa and younger sister of Emperor 
Joseph II. 


9. W. Falconer, Letter from Ingen Housz to the author in: 


10. 


Wil 


We 


13: 


An account of the efficacy of the Aqua Mephitical 
Alkalina. (Cadell, London 1792). 
A letter from Ingen Housz to the British Inland Revenue, 
1798 or 1799, explaining why he was stranded in 
England, that he was not earning fees as a physician 
but was being taxed on his pension from Vienna is 
contained in Breda Gemeentearchief IV, 16A — 13. 
Lord Shelburne had been made First Marquis of 
Lansdowne by George III after serving as Prime Minister 
between July 1782 and April 1783, a brief but active 
spell in office during which the American War of 
Independence was concluded. 
Widowed for the second time in 1789 and retired from 
politics, Lansdowne spent long sojourns at Bowood 
among a revolving circle of family members, friends, 
and distinguished visitors. Ingen Housz was one of the 
most regular guests and was even left ‘in charge’ at times 
- Caroline Fox, London to Ingen Housz at Bowood, 2 
November 1795: Breda Gemeentearchief IV, 16A — 13; 
Ingen Housz to First Marquess of Lansdowne, 29 July 
1797: BL. Add. MS. 51821, ff 61 — 62. 
Dr. William Falconer MD (1744 — 1824), was, at this 
time, the physician in charge of the Bath General 
Hospital in Upper Borough Walls (now the Royal 
National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases) and had an 
extensive private practice in Bath, a mecca for the infirm. 
Ingen Housz had known him for some years. 


14. 


SY 


16. 


Lie 


18. 
Ws 


j=) 


bt be 
— 


wo N bw 
Be WO Lo 


26. 
2s 
. At that time the only legal burials permitted were in 


Bie 


32; 
33. 


129 


First Marquess of Lansdowne to the oldest nephew of 
Ingen Housz in Breda, 9 September 1799: Breda 
Gemeentearchief IV, 16A — 13. 

Caroline Fox to her brother, Third Lord Holland, 16 
September 1799: BL. Add. MS. 51735, ff. 140 — 1. 
Published in Fremden-Blatt (Foreigners’ Newspaper) 
Issue 164, pp 15 - 16, Vienna, 16 June 1905. 

Ingen Housz to Dr. William Falconer, 24 August 1799: 
Breda Gemeentearchief IV — 16A — 13. 

Breda Gemeentearchief IV — 16A — 13. See note 14. 
Ingen Housz appears to have developed a repertoire of 
simple experiments that required little apparatus and 
with which he could entertain in company. One of these 
was the burning of a length of iron wire in pure oxygen, 
a phenomenon that gives a spectacular light. 


. Breda Gemeentearchief IV — 16A — 13, see note 14. 
. Caroline Fox to Third Lady Holland, 8 September 1799 


BL. Add. MS. 51744 ff. 115. 


= Ibid: 
. Breda Gemeentearchief, IV, 16A — 13, see note 14. 
. From handwriting comparisons it is apparent that the 


letters, though dictated by the Marquis, were actually 
written by the Reverend Etienne Dumont. Dumont 
(1759 — 1829) was secretary and close friend to the 
Marquis: Jefferson P. Selth, Firm Heart and Capacious 
Mind: the Life and Friends of Etienne Dumont. 
(University Press of America 1997), passim; Breda 
Gemeentearchief IV, 16A — 13. Ingen Housz had always 
remained close to his older brother, Ludovic (1729 — 
1788), who carried on the family business in Breda and 
who had a large family. After Ludovic died following a 
carriage accident, Ingen Housz showed much care and 
concern for his Breda nephews and nieces. 


. Riksarchief in Noord-Brabant: catalogue Family van 


Lanschot, 1262. A copy of the letter of condolence that 
Ludovic Ingen Housz’ widow sent to her bereaved sister- 
in-law in Vienna relates the exact postal arrangements 
made. 

Breda Gemeentearchief IV, 16A - 13. see 18 

WRO 2083/20 Calne Burial Register, 1792 — 1812. 


Anglican churches and churchyards and since St. Mary’s 
was then the only church in Calne identity and location 
are unambiguous. 


. Breda Gemeentearchief IV, 16A — 13. 
30. 


Guild Stewards were, effectively, joint Mayors, serving 
for a year. Calne elected Mayors only after the passing 
of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835. 

The procedure required at that time, we assume, in 
order that a will held in a country other than where the 
death took place could be proved. Ingen Housz had a 
substaatial will in Vienna: Landes- & Stadts-archiv, 
Vienna, 1799, 2318. 

Breda Gemeentearchief IV, 16A — 13. 

For the purpose of definition ‘...a burial vault is a 
subterranean chamber of stone or brick capable of 
housing a minimum of two coffins, side by side, and 
with an internal height of not less than 1.74 metres ... a 


130 


34. 


3D) 
30. 


40. 


41. 


42. 
43. 
44, 


45. 
46. 
47. 
48. 


49. 
50: 


i, 
52. 
53): 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


vault need not necessarily have access steps and neither 
was there any compunction for its presence ... to be 
identified...’. J. Litten, The English way of death. The 
common funeral since 1450. (Robert Hale, London 
1991) p. 207. 

Breda Gemeentearchief IV — 16B — 18b, The will, in 
England, of Ingen Housz; V. Braunberens, Mozart in 
Vienna. (English Translation) (Andre Deutsch, London 
1990), p. 414. 

Personal communication, J. Litten. 

The ledgers of Drummonds Bank, now the Royal Bank 
of Scotland, for 1799: Archives of Bowood House: 
General Daybook Accounts 1797 — 99, manuscripts 
Lansdown to Mr. Broad (agent). 


. J. Litten in Grave Concerns. Death and burial in England 


1700 — 1850. (CBA Research Report 113. Council for 
British Archaeology, York, 1998) p.9. 


. Litten, Joc. cit. 
. “...lead coffins ... are almost invariably associated with 


vaults...”: W. Rodwell, Church Archaeology. (Batsford, 
for English Heritage, London, 1998), p. 166. 
A. Schomberg. “The monumental inscriptions of Calne 
church, Co. Wilts’. The Genealogist, New Series, Volume 
14, (1898), pp 37 — 44, 90 — 94. 
This is the case for Trowbridge church for which there 
is a detailed floor (and under-floor) plan, as at 1816, 
recording the location of some 100 sites of deposition. 
WRO 206/37 

Schomberg, loc. cit. 

Rodwell, p. 158. 

The memorials to the Lansdowne family are mostly in 
the north transept/tower area of St Mary’s Church, Calne, 
but none relates to actual burials. They are almost 
certainly in this part of the church only because the family 
pews were here. Earl of Kerry, ‘King’s Bowood Park (no. 
2). WAM, vol. 41, (1920 -1922), pp. 502 — 521 

Ibid. 

WRO 212B, 1220; WRO 2176/2. 

Schomberg, loc. cit. 

Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice, Life of William, Earl of 
Shelburne. (Macmillan, London, 1875), vol.1, pp. 307-8 
WRO 212B, 1237. 

WRO 212 B, 1008. A feoffment was a conveyance 
evidenced by a fee. 

WRO 212B, 1142. 

WRO 212B,1237. 

A. and H. Stokes, Stokes Records. Notes regarding the 
ancestry and lives of ... (privately printed, New York 
1910). 


54. 


55 


63. 


64. 


65. 


60. 


67. 


68. 


69. 


70. 


TA 
U2: 
US. 
74. 


A. and H. Stokes, Joc. cit. 
. A. Marsh, A history of the borough and town of Calne. 
(Heath, Calne 1903). 

G. Duckett, Historical and genealogical memoirs of 
the family of Duket from the Norman conquest to the 
present time. (J. Russell Smith, London 1874), p. 66. 
. Duckett was in debt to precisely this amount. 

. WRO 2167/2. 
. WRO 2167/3. 
. By this time Castle House was owned by Lord Henry 

Petty, second son of the first Marquis. 

. Schomberg, loc. cit. 
. Lord Lansdowne, Bowood to the Ingen Housz nephews 
in London 28 November 1799: Gemeentearchief Breda 

IV, 16A — 13 
Letter of 5 May 1800: Shelburne MSS.,2. It is unclear 
whether the loss was attributable to gout or a stroke. 

Ingen Housz nephews at Breda to their cousin, Josef 
Jacquin, Vienna, 5 October 1799: Gemeentearchief IV 
16A, 13. 

Earl of Kerry. ‘King’s Bowood Park [No.3]’. WAM, 
vol. 42, (1923), pp.18 — 38. 

Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. 61, part 2, pp.395 — 396. 
23 May 1791. 

E. Crankshaw, Maria Theresa (Constable, London 
1983) p. 310; The Marquis certainly practised what 
he ‘preached later in his life. Although he, too, was 
buried in a vault (under the Chancel of All Saint’s 
Church, High Wycombe with other members of his 
family) he forbade the erection of any monument. 
The only notification of his burial place is a modern 
window marking his association with Benjamin 
Franklin and the settlement of the American War of 
Independence. 

The east wall was constructed in the 13" century: 
Harold Brakespeare FSA, ‘Notes on the architecture 
of Calne Church’ in A. Marsh, A history of the 
Borough and Town of Calne. (Heath, Calne 1903), 
pp. 150 - 167. 

The organ was installed in 1908: WRO 2586/50, Faculty 

of 12 December 1907. 

The wall was reconstructed by 1650 after the fall of the 
central spire/tower in 1638: A. Marsh, A history of the 
Borough and Town of Calne. (Heath, Calne 1903), p. 153. 

ibid. p. 188. 

WRO D1/61/15/14, Faculty of 1863. 

WRO 2586/50. 

‘An Order in Council closing Calne Parish Churchyard, 
11 August 1854’. 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 131-180 


Neolithic activity and occupation outside Windmill 
Hill causewayed enclosure, Wiltshire: survey and 


excavation 1992-93 


by Alasdair Whittle,' Jessica J. Davies,” Ian Dennis,' Andrew S. 
Fairbairn’ and Michael A. Hamilton,’ 


with a contribution by Joshua Pollard * 


As part of a regional programme of research into the Neolithic of the area, which included excavations at the 
Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure in 1988, fieldwalking, test pitting, geophysical survey and limited excavation 
of selected areas and features were carried out on the southern slope of the hill below the enclosure in 1992-93. 
Rich collections of worked flint from this location were formed from the end of the last century. The activity of 
Kendall and Keiller from 1904 to 1929 was especially important. Surface lithic survey and test pitting showed 
some variation in lithic densities, which were however surprisingly low; it 1s likely that nearly a century of flint 
collecting has almost picked out the lithic scatter. There is probably much more Later Neolithic material in the 
Kendall-Keiller collection than Earlier Neolithic. Geophysical survey indicated few subsoil features. Excavation 
in selected areas showed one small concentration of Earlier Neolithic pits, and one small concentration of Later 
Neolithic pits. The pits were mostly unweathered and backfilled, and contained deposits of artefacts and animal 
bone. Both sets contained the remains of wild and domesticated resources, though the earlier pits had more 
cereal remains, perhaps the result of deliberate burning. The relationship of the earlier pits to the enclosure Is not 
known, though the activity in them bears resemblances to that seen in the enclosure ditches. How the activity of 
both phases relates to wider patterns in the area remains unclear, though the evidence recovered does not support 
a model of fully sedentary existence in either phase. Both earlier and later pits contain the remains of domestic 
activity, including flintworking and the processing of meat and plant foods. The later pits and the bulk of the lithic 
scatter may also mark the continuation of a tradition of special visits to a special place. 


the physical environment; the further hope was to gain 
new insights into the circumstances in which 


INTRODUCTION 


by Alasdair Whittle 


The research context and aims 


From 1987 to 1993 a field research project was carried 
out to investigate the Neolithic of the Avebury area. 
Its primary aims were to refine our knowledge of the 
Neolithic sequence in the area by obtaining more 
radiocarbon dates, and to extend our understanding 
of spatial and temporal variation and development of 


monuments and other sites were created, used and 
abandoned (Whittle 1993). Sites investigated were 
Easton Down long barrow (Whittle et al. 1993), 
Millbarrow chambered tomb (Whittle 1994), 
Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure (Whittle et al. 
1999;Whittle and Pollard 1998), and the West Kennet 
palisade enclosures (Whittle 1997a). The earlier 
excavations at Silbury Hill were also published in full 
(Whittle 1997a), as well as those from slightly further 
afield at Wayland’s Smithy (Whittle 1991); 


1. School of History and Archaeology, PO Box 909, Cardiff University, Cardiff CFl 3XU_ 2. School of Archaeological Sciences, University of 
Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP_ 3. Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, LondonWC1H OPY 4, Department 
of Humanities and Science, University of Wales College, Newport, Caerleon Campus, PO Box 179, Newport NP18 3YG 


132 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


radiocarbon dates were also obtained from Avebury 
(Pitts and Whittle 1992), and the Sanctuary was re- 
assessed (Pollard 1992). 

While enormously productive of new data and a 
fruitful source of new interpretations, the project had 
largely concentrated on the monuments themselves. 
Though that did not exclude direct evidence for 
activity and occupation, for example from pre- 
monument contexts at Windmill Hill and Easton 
Down, it was certainly a skewed approach (Edmonds 
1999), which has yet to be corrected in the Avebury 
area. We know of lithic scatters (Holgate 1987; 1988a) 
and small foci of occupation, variously preserved in 
the area (Summarised in Thomas 1991;Whittle 1993; 
cf. Evans and Smith 1983). There has still not been 
systematic survey of the kind carried out in the 
Stonehenge area (Richards 1990), or to more limited 
extents in Cranborne Chase (Barrett et al. 1991), or 
in the eastern area of the Dorset Ridgeway 
(Woodward 1991). 

In an attempt to redress the balance of research, 
and to assess the potential for future such 
investigations, the area of the large, well known lithic 
collection on the southern slope of Windmill Hill was 
selected for more detailed investigation. It was 
recognised that it is very likely that this was not a 
typical situation, since the collection was large (I. 
Smith 1965, 18, note 1) and close to the causewayed 
enclosure, but the link with research already carried 
out at the enclosure was compelling within the terms 
of the project as a whole. 


The setting 


The physical setting of Windmill is well known (I. 
Smith 1965; Whittle et al. 1999) and needs little 
rehearsal (fig. 1). An outlier of Middle Chalk, with 
Lower Chalk around its base, the hill stands out in 
the local landscape. Investigation so far has produced 
very little sign of Mesolithic activity on the hill, and 
the place seems to have become significant in a 
landscape in which looking out and looking at were 
important. Nonetheless, there are significant 
differences in aspect. The causewayed enclosure, from 
the detail of its layout on the hill (especially of inner 
and outer circuits), can be seen as looking largely 
north and north-west (Bradley 1998, 122), while the 
lithic scatter is on the long southern slope, with a direct 
view to and from a much wider sweep of landscape. 
It is of course possible that the southern slope was 
selected for some quite different reason, for example 
sunshine or warmth. 


Previous research: Kendall and 
Keiller 


The story of the investigation of the causewayed 
enclosure from the 1920s onward is well known 
(Crawford 1953; 1955; 1. Smith 1965; Malone 1989; 
Whittle et al. 1999; Barber et al. 1999). Its first 
investigator, the Rev. H.G.O. Kendall, rector of 
Winterbourne Bassett (soon to be helped by O.G:S. 
Crawford, who in due course guided Alexander Keiller 
to the site), was by then already responsible in large 
measure for the formation of a very large flint 
collection from the slopes around Windmill Hill. 

In his book on the area published in 1885, the 
Rev. A.C. Smith had judged of the Windmill Hill 
enclosure that ‘in all probability this was a British 
camp’, speculatively of Neolithic age (A. Smith 1885). 
Ordnance Survey maps record worked flints as having 
been found on Windmill Hill since 1888. The only 
north Wiltshire material illustrated by John Evans in 
his Ancient Stone Implements (1872) was from 
barrow excavations, but it is clear (Martyn Barber, 
pers. comm.) that collecting had gone on since the 
latter part of the nineteenth century. In the 1930s, 
Cunnington and Goddard (1934, 6) noted that the 
largest lithic collection from a single site held by 
Devizes Museum came from Windmill Hill, ‘many 
the gift of the late Wm Browne, of Avebury’, and 
Keiller (1934, 138) referred toWindmill Hill as having 
been ‘famous for decades...as a paradise of the surface 
flint hunters’. In discussion following Kendall’s 1914 
paper, a Mr Dale refers to a visit he made in 1882 to 
‘Mr John Brown at Avebury, who first discovered the 
site on Windmill Hill and had a good collection, but 
its fate was unknown’ (Kendall 1914). Perhaps either 
the Brown(e)s were related or were the same man. 
Kendall also quotes a Dr Blackamore who ‘remarks 
that, in a collection formed many years ago, 
‘fabricators’ were specially numerous’ (Kendall 1914, 
74). 

The subsequent credit for the early exploration 
of the site must go to Kendall. He came to north 
Wiltshire in 1904 after several other posts, and stayed 
there till 1924. His notebooks hint at a lively, energetic 
and involved man, with a weak heart and prone to 
indigestion and overwork on behalf of his parishioners. 
He was already an enthusiastic student of flints and a 
believer in eoliths; his first paper, “Eoliths and pseudo- 
eoliths’ was published in Manin 1905. Earlier papers 
were concerned with Grime’s Graves and with 
‘Palaeolithic’ and ‘Eolithic’ industries from Hackpen 
Hill on the Marlborough Downs and Knowle Farm 


133 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 


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134 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


in Savernake Forest near Marlborough. Kendall was 
elected FSA in 1913, and was a president of the 
Prehistoric Society of East Anglia, to which he lectured 
during the war. Already by 1910 he had a substantial 
collection of flints because a group from the Wiltshire 
Archaeological Society visited the rectory in that year 
to see it; Palaeolithic and Eolithic specimens were 
displayed in the study, and Neolithic finds in the 
drawing room. The Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine 
also records the first donations by Kendall of axe 
fragments from Windmill Hill in 1910 (vol. 36, 358 
and 508). 

Notes and papers referring to the site appeared 
from 1912 onwards. Searches were carried out ‘many 
times a year’ (Kendall 1916, 232). In Kendall’s day, 
the upper part of the hill would have been parcelled 
up into a number of fields, most of them under 
cultivation. ‘An immense number of chipped flints 
have been found there [on Windmill Hill]...including 
leaf-shaped implements, celts of a certain kind, and 
so on. Arrowheads of every variety have been found 
in large numbers, and immense quantities of scrapers’ 
(Kendall 1916, 230). Among the arrowheads, chisel- 
ended types were prominent (Kendall 1916, 234; 
1922, 522). Cruder as well as well finished tools were 
also found, but Kendall argued that the assemblage 
must be treated as of essentially one date, Neolithic 
or later. ‘One cannot search such a site as Windmill 
Hill, as it has been the writer’s good fortune to do, 
many times a year, for a period of twelve years, without 
being convinced that the chipped flints on the hill...all 
belong to the same industry, or two industries’ 
(Kendall 1916, 232). 

In 1924 Kendall moved to a living near Salisbury, 
and sold much of his Windmill Hill collection to 
Alexander Keiller, in two lots. In 1924, ‘perhaps over 
a thousand’, ‘thinned out of my cabinets’ (Kendall 
letters in Avebury Museum) were sold, and in 1925 
some 1,819 specimens changed hands. There was a 
great variety of implements, including 428 scrapers, 
554 ‘knives, scrapers and rechipped celts’ and 163 
arrowheads (‘a good many are chisel-ended, and many 
others are broken, chiefly in ancient time’). Some 
struck flakes were included. In his letter to Keiller of 
16 November 1925, Kendall wrote that ‘I have 
assigned to you a little under half of the arrowheads, 
and favouring myself somewhat, tho not altogether, 
in quality. On the other hand, I have only burdened 
you with a smallish quantity of flakes (not but what 
they have their importance). I have retained only a 
small representative lot of scrapers; and have also given 
you the majority of knives, cores, fabricators etc’. The 
remark about flakes should imply that he had collected 


many more. In a slightly earlier letter (6 October) 
Keiller had written, “Yes I should like cores included. 
I am becoming increasingly keen on cores’. Keiller 
appears to have paid Kendall £30 for the 1924 sale 
and £25 for the 1925 purchase. 

Kendall fell ill in 1927 with a nervous breakdown. 
During a fieldtrip to Windmill Hill in 1979, I heard 
R.J.C. Atkinson recount the tale that in his last days 
Kendall suffered delusions that he was a flint, but the 
rather cruel story may be apocryphal. Kendall 
certainly suffered more illness and died in April 1928, 
aged 62. Keiller bought the rest of the collection from 
his widow, paying her this time £100. 

Keiller continued to build up his collection for 
the area as a whole, by purchase from the local farm 
workers. Receipt books record acquisitions from 
1925-1929, when he was at work on the enclosure. 
Keiller was not always satisfied. Of the collection from 
Yatesbury Field of A.G. Rogers, he recorded (6 May 
1927): ‘I have never had a rottener lot than this 
submitted to me, here or anywhere else. It is not worth 
my while to give the time required to examine such 
stuff. In future nothing will be paid for Yatesbury Field 
stuff unless of real merit’. One wonders whether this 
kind of attitude could have distorted the provenances 
of other flints offered to Keiller. Nothing was paid for 
worked flakes, but there were set prices for other 
categories. Scrapers dominate the finds. Provenance 
by field was recorded for 1928-29, when most of the 
material came from Windmill Hill and North Field, 
but other details are frustratingly absent. An annotated 
map in Avebury Museum notes many cores from what 
is now the top north-east part of North Field. 

Some collections were also made by A.D. 
Passmore (Holgate 1988a, 286), although much of 
his collecting was on Hackpen Hill, and by others. 
Holgate (1988a, table 4, 242) has listed a total (from 
the Avebury, Devizes, Swindon and Ashmolean 
museums) of 13,000 worked flints from the Windmill 
Hill surface site, including nearly 1300 flakes, over 
700 cores, over 7000 scrapers and about 380 leaf 
arrowheads and nearly 1000 Later Neolithic 
arrowheads. Other specimens are known to exist in 
the Knowles collection, now in Ireland, and the local 
tradition of flinting by farm workers has continued to 
the present day. It is likely therefore that the original 
scatter was indeed prolific, with apparently at least 
10,000 implements of all kinds. The original density 
of flakes is uncertain, though cores were definitely 
present. The proportion of the total collection which 
was formed by Keiller is not clear, though it may have 
been at least half, and it could be that Keiller’s 
purchasing policy led to more flints being ascribed to 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 135 


Figure 2. Distribution of worked flint found in the field walking survey in North Field 


136 


AH-Arrowhead 
AZ-Adze 
B-Blade/bladelet 
J-Rejuvination flake 
N-Notched flake 
P-Piercer 

K-Knife 


Se-Serrate 


C-Core 
F-Fabricator 
H-Hammerstone 


R-Retouched flake 


S-Scraper 


U-Utilised flake 


Ax-Axe 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Figure 3. Distribution of artefacts found in the field walking survey in North Field 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 137 


or claimed from Windmill Hill than was actually the 
case. In any event, this was clearly a major assemblage, 
one of the largest recorded in southern England 
(Holgate 1988a). 


FIELD SURVEY 
by Ian Dennis 


The field on the south slope of Windmill Hill known 
as North Field was selected for a systematic field- 
walking survey conducted during the autumn of 1992 
(Figs 1-2). The field-walking collection pattern used 
in the survey was aligned on the national grid. This 
system was compatible with other field collection 
surveys, used in other projects within the Avebury 
location (Holgate 1987) and neighbouring regions 
(Holgate 1988a; Richards 1990; Schofield 1991). 

A grid was laid over the field and divided into 19 
transects 50m apart aligned with grid north; these were 
further divided into metre-wide 50m long sections 
forming the basic collection unit. The transects were 
then walked from south to north and all material along 
each 50m strip was bagged as a discrete collection unit. 
There were in total 284 collection units covering the 
19 transects. The numbers of units varied with the total 
length of each north-south transect. 

The material collected may represent 
approximately 5% of the total available material on 
the ground at any one time. Distribution maps 
showing overall density (Fig. 2) and diagnostic flints 
were plotted (Fig. 3). Only data from whole collection 
units were used to maintain statistical coherence. 

Artefact visibility during the field survey was very 
good. The field had been ploughed and exposed to 
weathering for at least a month, effectively washing 
the surface soil off the flint, allowing the white 
patinated flint to show against the dark soil 
background, considerably facilitating its retrieval. 


TEST PIT SURVEY 
by Ian Dennis 


- A test pit survey was conducted together with 
excavations during the summer of 1993 further to 
investigate the nature and extent of the flint scatter. 
A grid was constructed using 19 transects aligned 
with grid north, spaced at 50m intervals. Each transect 
was further divided into 50m sections and 1 by 1m 
test pits were dug at these points. The test pit grid was 
positioned so as to bisect the transects of the field- 
walking grid. Soil from all the test pits was sieved using 


lcm meshes. Results from the test pits were plotted on 
to distribution maps showing overall worked flint 
density (Fig. 4) and artefact location (Fig. 5). 

A total of 156 pits were excavated across the north 
part of North Field, along with 16 test pits dug in 
Gibbs Field, 8 around Horslip longbarrow and 12 
down the centre transect towards the southern end 
of North Field. These 12 test pits were dug to 
investigate whether colluvial deposits are masking 
surface data at the base of the hill. Sieving was 
considerably more difficult owing to the larger 
proportion of clay within the matrix, making this 
particularly dense and compact. Colluvial build-up 
is apparent, but results indicate that this does not 
appear to mask significant finds. 

Only two test pits produced any subsoil features. 
Test pit 700-650 contained a single stakehole, 5cm in 
diameter at the top and 10.5cm deep, while Test pit 
600-750 contained a single posthole, 28cm in diameter 
and 20cm in depth. However, neither of these features 
can be dated and are presumed to be modern. 


GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY 
by Michael A. Hamilton 


Geophysical surveys were initiated and supervised by 
the author, with the further contribution of Amanda 
Banham. The main technique employed was a fluxgate 
gradiometer survey. Four main areas were surveyed 
(Fig. 1). In addition, the centre-north part of North 
Field was also subject to a magnetic susceptibility 
survey. Seven and half 100 by 100m grids were 
undertaken (7.5ha); three 100 by 100m grids were 
also surveyed in the north-west of North Field (3ha). 
A limited amount of resistivity was conducted. This 
involved seven 20 by 20m grids to the centre-north 
of North Field (0.28ha) and one grid in the north- 
west of North Field (0.04ha). 


Survey organisation 


The gradiometer survey was based on 20 by 20m 
grids, named after eight-figure national grid co- 
ordinates. 


Equipment 


A Geoscan FM36 fluxgate gradiometer was used with 
a sensitivity of 0.1nT. Readings were taken with a 
transverse interval of one metre and a sampling 
interval of 0.5m, making 800 readings for every 20 


138 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Figure 4. Distribution of worked flint found in the test pit survey in North Field 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 139 


by 20m grid. A Bartington magnetic susceptibility 
meter was used. 100 by 100 m grids were surveyed. 
Three or four readings were taken every 5m and a 
single average reading recorded by hand. Each grid 
consisted of 400 recorded readings and these were 
then entered manually into the Geoplot 1.2 
programme. A Geoscan RM4 resistivity meter and 
DL10 datalogger were used. These were recorded in 
20 by 20m grids with a sampling and transverse 
interval of 1m, making 400 readings per grid. The 
data were initially processed using Geoscan Geoplot 
1.2 and 2 programmes but were completed using 
Geoplot 2 and 3. 


Results 


Centre-north of North Field (Fig. 6) 


Linear features 

Ll. On both the gradiometer and magnetic 
susceptibility printouts was a strong feature, running 
NNW to SSE, which continued the modern fence 
that forms the eastern side of the salient of preserved 
grassland which extends into North Field. This feature 


AH-Arrowhead C-Core 


AZ-Adze F-Fabricator 


B-Blade/biadelet 


H-Hammerstone P-Piercer 


extends for 200m on the magnetic susceptibility 
survey, and probably reflects a vanished field 
boundary. The feature on the magnetic susceptibility 
was very broad, perhaps reflecting relatively recent 
destruction. 

L2. A similar feature, but more north-south in 
orientation, is recorded some 185m to the east of the 
modern fence mentioned above. Only the magnetic 
susceptibility covered this area. This feature runs for 
300m. In orientation it conforms to the modern 
eastern boundary of North Field and again could be 
a vanished field boundary. 

L3. Between A and B was a less distinct feature 
on the same orientation as A. 

L4.A NW-SE linear feature which does not appear 
on the magnetic susceptibility survey. This feature may 
terminate on L5. 

L5. An east-west feature, absent from the magnetic 
susceptibility survey. 

Lo. A north-south feature, absent from the 
magnetic susceptibility survey. 

L7.A feature on the magnetic susceptibility survey. 

L8.A feature on the magnetic susceptibility survey, 
parallel with L7. 


J-Rejuvination flake | R-Retouched flake 


N-Notched flake S-Scraper 


U-Utilised flake 


Figure 5. Distribution of artefacts found in the test pit survey in North Field 


140 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Limit of gradiometer survey 


r 
ny 


SoS 


NaS 
Ae 


aS 


Figure 6. Outlines of possible features found by 
gradiometer survey 1n the north part of North Field (for 
details see text) 


L9. A vague curving feature on the magnetic 
susceptibility survey, with no real support on the 
gradiometer survey. 


Other features 

I. Avebury G46a (Grinsell 1957, 154) shows up very 
clearly on the gradiometer survey, as does a possible 
grave/disturbance at its centre. There are also signs 
that either the barrow was incorporated into a later 
enclosure to the north, or it was built to the south of 
an existing feature. The magnetic susceptibility shows 
a much wider (at least 70m across) irregular area of 
higher readings, suggesting either the spread of 
material from the mound, or perhaps that the barrow 
was the centre for later activity, or sited on earlier 
material. There is no rea! confirmation for this feature 
in the testpit survey. 


II. Avebury G48b (Grinsell 1957, 155). Again this 
is clear on the gradiometer survey. The high readings 
in the magnetic susceptibility survey are limited to 
the area within the ditch. 

II. An area of high readings to the NW of the 
surveyed area. This shows up especially well in the 
magnetic susceptibility survey and corresponds to 
Area D which produced a series of Earlier Neolithic 
pits (see below). The feature is not as well defined in 
the gradiometer survey, but there is a very subtle area 
of higher readings (+ 0.5 nT); yet it was from the 
gradiometer surveying that this feature was identified. 
This does raise the question whether similar subtle 
variations in the gradiometer and magnetic 
susceptibility surveys could have a similar 
interpretation. At least one similar anomaly was tested 
(excavation Area E) at the top of North Field and 
appeared to be little more than an effect of ploughing. 
However, this feature was less prominent in the 
magnetic susceptibility survey. 

IV. The magnetic survey suggests a vague large 
circular feature, c. 80m diameter. It is difficult to 
interpret. It is possible that this is the barrow identified 
by Grinsell (G48a) from a St Joseph aerial photograph 
(Grinsell 1957, 155). This feature could not be located 
on oblique aerial photographs held by the RCHME 
in Swindon. 

V. A vague suggestion of a rectilinear enclosure in 
the magnetic susceptibility survey. 

VI. An area of very low readings 1n the magnetic 
susceptibility survey. 

There were also numerous iron spikes. Many were 
test-excavated and produced only modern iron 
objects. 


North-west of North Field 


This showed a series of linear features orientated 
NNW-SSE and spaced 25m apart, possibly ridge and 
furrow, or strip division of the field. There is one other 
rather irregular linear feature which runs SW to NW. 
The magnetic susceptibility survey suggested more 
activity over a 90m area around SU086711. This is 
supported by the gradiometer survey which has more 
readings + InT in that area; however, there is no 
coherent pattern. 

The area excavated as Area M (see below) is not 
particularly striking on the gradiometer or magnetic 
susceptibility survey. Attention was drawn to this area 
by the discovery of a stone axe fragment in a routine 
test pit, which coincided with an area of higher flint 
density recorded by the field survey. The test pit was 
then extended, and a resistivity survey and a closer- 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 141 


spaced gradiometer survey revealed features 
subsequently identified as Later Neolithic pits (212 
and 202). 


North of Gibbs Field 
Only vague suggestions of features. 
Centre of Horslip Field 


No features. 
Discussion 


Overall the results were disappointing. Two pit clusters 
were located but only with great difficulty. It is 
impossible reliably to extrapolate from those tested 
by excavation to suggest others. More trial excavation 
might provide the data for a predictive methodology, 
though this is not certain. The only clear features were 
a series of ring ditches and a number of linear features, 
presumably Later Bronze Age and later. With the 
exception of the ring ditches most features in the 
surveyed areas produced very little response, and this 
is not dissimilar to the pattern found around the 
enclosure (David 1999). None of the magnetic 
susceptibility anomalies seem to correspond to any 
high densities of flint from the testpit survey. It is 
notable that the Earlier Neolithic pits in Area D 
corresponded to a small magnetic susceptibility 
anomaly whilst not showing up in the testpit lithic 
survey. 


SAMPLE EXCAVATION 
by Alasdair Whittle 


Several promising magnetic anomalies were 
investigated, in 18 different locations, in the hope that 
they would prove to be subsoil features (Fig. 1). With 
the exception of Area D, all proved to be iron in the 
topsoil. The circumstances in which the features in 

_Area M were found have already been described 
above. 


Area D (Fig. 1; Fig. 7) 


An area 4 by 4m was progressively opened, to reveal 
a small concentration of intercutting pits of Earlier 
Neolithic date. The earliest feature was a chalk-filled 
pit, 324, sterile and probably backfilled directly after 
being dug. This was cut by other pits, 308 and 323, 


and 325 was close by. These three contained humic 
basal fills, with Earlier Neolithic sherds, bone, antler, 
sarsen and flint. 

324. Oval in plan; 2.4m maximum diameter, up 
to 47cm deep, with steep to near-vertical sides and a 
more or less flat base. Its edges were rather disturbed, 
by animal burrowing, and by cutting of 308 and 323. 
Its fill was largely fresh chalk pieces, with some grey- 
brown soil in the upper part; the chalk fragments were 
up to 15-20cm long. There were no finds. This had 
clearly been deliberately backfilled very soon after 
being dug. 

308. Irregularly sub-circular; when excavated 
it gave the appearance of two intercutting features, 
but no relationship or difference in fill could be 
seen. The main part of the feature comprised an 
oval pit 1.6 by 1m, whose lower sides were steep, 
upper sides shallower and very weathered, and base 
slightly rounded. On the west side a semi-circular 
bay c.60-80cm in diameter might be another 
feature; this was also steep-sided and its base was 
at the same level as the main part. The thin basal 
fill (312) consisted of large fresh chalk pieces. 
Directly above this was a thicker layer of dark grey- 
brown soil, with some small chalk pieces (310 and 
311). This contained Earlier Neolithic sherds, 
animal bone and antler, as well as a large sarsen 
quern. Above this were two layers of dark brown 
soil with small chalk fragments (309 and 307). 312 
and 310/311 appear to be deliberate deposits, along 
with possibly deliberately placed finds; 307 looks 
to be ploughsoil, and 309 could be similar or a 
slower secondary weathering product. 

323. Oval-circular; c.90cm diameter, 45cm deep; 
steep sides and dished base. Its more or less uniform 
fill (22) was a dark brown soil with plenty of small 
chalk pieces, becoming slightly greyer towards the base 
and in central parts less chalky. This contained Earlier 
Neolithic sherds, flints and sarsen, but not in evident 
groupings or placings. The pit appears to have been 
backfilled in one go. 

325. Circular; c.90cm diameter; steep sides at top, 
with under-cutting lower; slightly dished base. Its 
lower fill was a very dark grey-brown soil, with small 
pieces of chalk, and some flecks of charcoal towards 
the base. This contained animal bone, Earlier 
Neolithic sherds and flints, and two sarsen rubbing 
stones placed against the south wall. The upper fill 
(326) was a dark brown soil with some small chalk 
pieces. This pit also appears to have been backfilled 
in one go. 

Features 315 and 328, to the north of 324, are 
part of a complex of animal burrows. 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


142 


308 


Figure 7. Area D: plan and sections of pits 


143 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 


50cm 


Figure 8. Area M: plan and sections of pits 


144 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Area M (Fig. 8) 


Three adjacent areas, over c.15 by 10m in total, were 
progressively opened, to reveal three dispersed 
features, two certainly of Later Neolithic date. There 
were a deep pit (202); a substantial pit with internal 
chalk walling and abundant animal bones (212); and 
a shallow pit or posthole (207). 

202. Circular; 85cm diameter, 75cm deep; steep 
sides, undercut towards the base; slightly dished base. 
The basal fill was a dark grey-brown soil with a little 
wood ash and chalk silt. This contained animal bone 
and pieces of sarsen. The main fill was dark grey- 
brown soil with large angular chalk pieces (206, 210, 
211). The upper part of this was a little less chalky. 
Animal bone was found in this fill (214) (Fig. 9), and 
there were a few Grooved Ware sherds. The upper fill 
consisted of a thin very dark grey-brown soil across 
the whole feature, possibly a remnant soil formation 
(204). Above this was dark brown soil with small 
rounded chalk pieces (203), presumably a plough 
deposit. 

The possibility of a central postpipe was 
considered during excavation but discounted. This 
appears to be another pit deliberately backfilled before 
it had time to weather naturally. 

212. Circular; maximum diameters 1.9 by 1.7m, 
and 94cm deep; steep sides, occasionally undercut, 
more sloping lower down, to form dished base. The 
basal fill was compact chalk rubble (225) and a 
mixture of chalk blocks and loose grey soil (224). 
Above this was found a penannular ring of compacted 
chalk (217), seeming to form an internal wall a few 
centimetres out from the chalk edges of the pit. This 
could be seen from an early stage in the excavation of 
the pit (Fig. 8). Between it and the true walls of the 
pit was compacted chalky silt, with occasional chalk 
blocks and patches of charcoal-rich soil (220 and 221). 
There were animal bones and other finds in the lower 
fill. In the main part of the pit, the fill was a dark 
brown soil with some angular chalk pieces (222, with 
219 above). This contained abundant deposits (218) 
of animal bone (Fig. 9), and also Grooved Ware sherds. 
The upper fill was also dark brown soil with abundant 
chalk inclusions (216, 215, 213). 

The pit appears to have been largely unweathered, 
and its fill was artificial. Animal bone and other finds 
were deliberately deposited with the main fill, but 
whether just dumped or otherwise more carefully 
placed is hard to say. 

207. Irregularly circular; 1m diameter, maximum 
35cm deep; sloping, irregular sides and small base. 


The lower fill (209) consisted of light grey silt with 
angular pieces of chalk, with above this brown soil 
and chalk (208). There were no finds. 


FINDS 


Pottery 
by Michael A. Hamilton 


The extensive test pitting and excavations conducted 
in 1993 did not produce much ceramic material. Even 
Romano-British material was less abundant than that 
obtained from the upper layers of many of the 
enclosure ditches. This may be explained by the long 
history of ploughing of the hill. 

All the pottery was examined by a x20 magnifier, 
though only the fabric descriptions for the Neolithic 
material are included in the text. 


Earlier Neolithic (Table 1) 


Eight Earlier Neolithic fabrics were identified: 

EN 1: Inclusions of: c.5% small iron oxides and some 
fine sand; grog (amount uncertain) up to 3 mm diameter; 
and long thin organic material. Soapy feel. 

EN 2: Inclusions of: c.15% small sand: c.5% flint (up 3 
mm in length, but mostly around 1 mm). Gritty feel. 

EN 3: Inclusions of: c.3% small iron oxide and some 
fine sand; there are some larger sand particles (just visible 
with the naked eye); c.3% fossil shell; and probably c.10% 
grog. 

EN 4: Inclusions of: c.20% shell; and some sand. 

EN 5: Inclusions of: c.5% sand and iron oxide; and 
occasional tiny fragments of flint. Very well fired pottery 
with possible burnished exterior. 

EN 6: Inclusions of: ?c.5% sand and iron oxide; and 
c.8% shell, including pieces greater than 3 mm in length, 
but mostly fine. Very parched appearance to interior surface. 
Exterior has a series of pop marks (c.4 mm in diameter), 
possibly as result of defects during firing, though they could 
be deliberate. 

EN 7: Inclusions of: 10% flint (up to 4 mm). 

EN 8: Inclusions of: 10% sand; and 10% flint (mostly 
below 1 mm). 


In addition there was one possible Earlier 
Neolithic fabric: 

UN 1: Inclusions of ¢.5% sand, occasional large white 
flint (up to 4mm), and probably much grog (up to 6 mm). 


Largely on the basis of fabric it is possible to 
identify a minimum of eight vessels amongst the 22 
sherds. Four of the vessels are identified by single rim 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 145 


Pit 212 Bone deposit 218 


ie) 50cm 1m 
feel [ass a a) 


Pit 202 Bone deposit 214 


Figure 9. Bone deposits in Area M, pits 212 and 202 


146 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Table 1. Pottery from Areas D and M 


Area D 
EN Prehistoric? LBA RB Post-Medieval Brick/tile 
Pit 308 
307 - ? 1 6 
307/309 - - - 1 
309/310 1 
310 4 


Pit 323 
322 2471 3'+ 71 


Pit 325 
326 - - 3 2 
330 14 = 


Area M 
GW Prehistoric? RB Medieval Post-Medieval Notes 

Pit 202 

203 - - 4 - - slag 

206 - 

223 4 


to 


Pit 212 
213 
215 - - ?1 
216 2 

216/217 - - - 1 
217 1 


to 
rw 


sherds. In terms of fabric, they do not significantly 
differ from the enclosure assemblage, though grog 
inclusions seem better represented. In terms of form, 
probably all the rims are rolled (I. Smith 1965, 45, 
form B), though perhaps with a little expansion in 
two badly preserved examples. 

Only one of the rims is well preserved (Fig. 10, 
2) and this is also the only decorated sherd. It has 
radial lines on the rim top and oblique shallow 
grooving on the interior. Decorated simple rims are 
less common (Zienkiewicz 1999). This decorative 
scheme seems more common with closed or neutral 
vessels (I. Smith 1965, figs 24-26). In terms of 
chronology there are clearly decorated sherds from 
the primary use of the enclosures ditches (especially 
in the outer ditch) as well as sealed below the outer 
bank (Zienkiewicz 1999). However, decorated 
pottery seems to become more common in the higher 
levels of the inner ditches, which might suggest that 
the pits reported here are more likely to be 
contemporary with the outer ditch than the inner 
ditches. Alternatively, decorated pottery might have 
been largely restricted initially to the outer ditch and 
beyond, including the pit complex in Area D. 

Most of the Earlier Neolithic pottery is 
remarkably fresh in appearance, suggesting no 
prolonged exposure before burial. Very few sherds 
conjoin and eight vessels are represented by only 22 
sherds, suggesting that this collection is only a 


fragment of a much larger assemblage. There is no 
clear patterning to suggest deliberate selection of 
specific sherds. 


Later Neolithic (Table 1) 


Three Later Neolithic fabrics were identified: 

LN 1: Inclusions of c.15% shell, varying in size from 
5mm in size down to barely visible fragments. Very fragile 
and crumbly. 

LN 2: Inclusions of up to c.5% tiny sand and iron oxide. 
Probably ¢.5% grog (around 1 mm). Occasional shell. 

LN 3: Inclusions of ¢.5% tiny sand and iron oxide. 
Probably c.5% shell. Occasional grog. Very soft and largely 
dissolves on gentle washing. 


As is typical for Grooved Ware from north 
Wiltshire, this material is very poorly fired and fragile, 
actually more fragile than the dried soil adhering to 
many sherds. The assemblage here lacks the better 
made material which forms a minority of Grooved 
Ware assemblages (Hamilton 1997, 115). Fabric LN 
1 could represent three vessels or more as there is 
considerable variation in sherd thickness and 
decoration. Most of the sherds appear to be plain. A 
small number of sherds have grooves and pushed up 
cordons but are otherwise plain. Only sherd Fig. 10, 
5 has more decoration. This kind of decoration has 
considerable local parallels (Burderop Down, Cleal 
1991, fig. 49.14; Windmill Hill, Hamilton and Whittle 
1999, fig. 4.5.34; West Kennet Avenue, I. Smith 1965, 
fig. 79, 366, and other sites). I have argued elsewhere 
(Hamilton and Whittle 1999) that this material, with 
the emphasis on the horizontal, may reflect an earlier 
phase of Grooved Ware development, pre-dating an 
emphasis on the vertical and on panel decoration. 

Fabrics LN 2 and LN 3 came from the bases of 
two small cups. Only one out of five sherds was not 
from the base-angle. This seems a high proportion 
and deliberate selection of sherds may have occurred. 
Small bowls are a regular feature of Grooved Ware 
pits, usually in the form of Woodlands-style Grooved 
Ware (Wainwright and Longworth 1971, 238), though 
these are generally larger than the cups reported here. 

Sherds of fabric LN 1 occurred in pit 202 and 
212. It is not possible to say if sherds from the same 
vessel occurred in both pits. This material is so 
fragile that it is unlikely to have been exposed for 
very long. Parts of the same fragile vessel from pit 
212 were distributed in different layers (221 and 
216), perhaps suggesting that these reflect tip layers 
in backfilling. 

Grooved Ware seems more common from cuttings 
across the enclosure to the west and south and less 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 


1 


Figure 10. Pottery (see text for detail) 


common to the north-east (Hamilton 1999). This 
notion is supported by the existence of the pits 
described here. 


Later Bronze Age/prehistoric 


Fabric UN 1 may belong to a LBA vessel (Fig. 10, 
10). There were other possible LBA or prehistoric 
sherds, largely identified on the resemblance to fabrics 
found in the enclosure (Hamilton 1999). This material 
occurred in the upper fill of the Area D pits suggesting 
LBA activity on the hilltop, as indeed do some of the 
cuttings across the enclosure (Hamilton 1999). 


Romano-British 


Small assemblages were recovered from both the test 
pits and excavations. Three bead-rims of Iron Age 
-appearance were recovered, though similar material 
was identified by Annable (1965, 173) as coming from 
local Savernake Romano-British kilns. Nothing in the 
assemblage was diagnostically Later Roman or 
imported from outside Wiltshire. There was a 
concentration of Romano-British material from the 
north end of Gibbs Field. In North Field the pottery 
was concentrated around 0950/1050 and extended 
in a SSE line towards 1150/0750, with very little 
material elsewhere. 


Sem 


Medieval 


Only six possible sherds of medieval pottery were 
recovered, including a well preserved rim and 
decorated body sherd. 


Post-medieval 


The small post-medieval assemblage, and to a lesser 
extent the tile/brick, showed a bias for the middle part 
of North Field, between 0750/0700 and 1200/0850, 
in marked contrast to the Romano-British finds. It is 
possible that part of the tile/brick is Romano-British. 


Illustrated sherds (Fig. 10) 


1. 308/310 3003. Earlier Neolithic rim. Fabric 2EN 
3. Dark throughout. 

2. 308/310 3056. Earlier Neolithic rim. Fabric EN 
2. Dark throughout. Oblique grooves on interior. 
Radical grooves on rim-top. Slightly burnished 
appearance to exterior. 

3. 323/322 3333. Earlier Neolithic rim. Fabric EN 
8. Dark throughout with a possible burnished exterior. 

4. 325/330 3349. Earlier Neolithic rim. Fabric EN 
1. Badly damaged during excavation and showing signs 
of animal damage. Brown exterior and dark core and 
interior. Thin organic impressions on interior surface. 


148 


‘Table 2. Details of struck flints from the field and test pit surveys 


Flakes Chips = Scrapers Axe Blades Cores Awss 
frag 
Field Survey 710 60 42 2 17 28 2 
Test Pit Survey 541 238 13 - 4 6 cy 
Total 1251 298 55 2 21 Sa) 5 


5. 212/221 2250. Decorated Grooved Ware sherd. 
Fabric LN 1. Mixture of dark grey, brown and orange 
in colour. Decorated with two grooves either side of a 
pressed up cordon. It has a stroke across this, probably 
fingernail. At right angles to the cordon is a line of 
short vertical strokes. 

6. 212/221 2263. Grooved Ware base-angle. Fabric 
LN 2. Buff exterior, buff/brown interior and grey core. 
Small vessel of 5cm diameter. This is not the same 
vessel as 2522. Possible seed impression on base. 

12 ,212/221 2522: (joins 251 1\ and! 2410). 
Probable Grooved Ware base-angle sherd, 
represented by 50% of circumference (but only 
2522 illustrated). Fabric LN 2. Dark patches 
(possible later localised heating) but otherwise 
orange/brown throughout. Most of the sherds are 
not evidently decorated, and originally over a 
quarter of the circumference was probably left plain. 
2522 is decorated with three intermittent horizontal 
grooves. Several depressions (including one on 
2522) may be firing defects or fingernail 
impressions. This is a tiny cup of 6cm diameter. 

8. 212/221/222 2423. Grooved Ware rim sherd 
recovered during wet sieving of environmental 
samples. Fabric LN 1.Yellow/orange interior and dark 
exterior and core. A tiny impression below the rim 
could be the end of a finger-nail impression. 

9. 212/221/224 2505. Decorated Grooved Ware 
sherd. Fabric LN 1. Dark brown throughout. One of 
three sherds under this finds number which was 
decorated, probably originally all one sherd. 
Decorated with irregular grooves, combined with 
pushed up cordons. Across the cordon is a possible 
fingernail impression. The sherds are so uneven it is 
not clear if the lines are horizontal, vertical or diagonal. 
The illustrated sherd may also have the edge of a boss 
or other raised feature, though the irregular shape of 
the sherds makes confirmation difficult. 

10. 322 3102 Rim. Fabric UN 1. Brown exterior 
and interior and dark core. Signs of organic material 
burnt off the surface. The form of this rim could be 
Earlier Neolithic, but the flint is rather larger and 
coarser than normally used. This seems to be the same 
vessel as sherd 3107, which has a rounded shoulder. 
This vessel may be akin to the LBA sherds from 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Arrow- Saw Notched Re- Untlised Rejyuv. Knife Hammer Bumt = Fabnc Other 
heads touched flake stone ator 

7 1 2 12 8 13 4 1 181 1 

2 1 Il 6 1 334 1 

9 1 3 20 14 14 4 2 515 1 1 


Burderop Down (e.g. Gingell 1991, fig. 75.1) which 
feature everted rims and rounded shoulders. 


Flint 
by Ian Dennis 


Local raw materials 


The Middle Chalk has no flint nodules. Nodular flint 
from elsewhere in the area appears to be the main 
raw material for lithic production on the hill. All the 
lithic artefacts recovered were patinated white or light 
blue to white. 


Surface and test pit survey lithic 
assemblage analysis 


Classifications have been adopted from previous 
studies carried out within the Avebury area and 
elsewhere (Holgate 1988a; Clark 1934; 1960). The 
results from the field survey and the test pits can be 
seen in Table 2. These figures do not include the 
results from the excavated areas, or test pit 
extensions. 

Some further analysis was made of the 
implements, the most reliable indicator of the 
chronology of the scatter (Table 2). Because of the 
mixed nature of the assemblage, no systematic analysis 
was made of the core reduction process, but details 
of cores are noted. 


Cores. 

The total number of cores from both surveys is 44. 
The cores from these samples have been analysed 
according to the system adopted in the Hurst Fen 
report (Clark 1960, 216). They consist of: two Al 
single platform cores flaked all round, five A2 single 
platform cores with flakes removed part of the way 
round, three B2 cores with double platforms at 
oblique angles to each other, eight B3 cores with 
double platforms at right angles, 20 C cores with three 
or more platforms, one D keeled core with flakes 
struck from two directions and one E keeled core. 
Four burnt cores were unclassifiable. 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 149 


The Windmill Hill industry single platform A cores 
from Keiller’s excavations (I. Smith 1965, 87) account 
for 40% of the total, but this type of core accounts for 
only 16% of the total from both surveys. B cores with 
two platforms account for a further 31% of Keiller’s 
total, compared with 25% from the two surveys. The 
most dominant core type present from the field 
surveys is the C class, with 46% of the total, compared 
to less than 9% from Keiller’s excavations. From the 
cores found by Keiller in the primary levels the A 
type appears to be of an Earlier Neolithic date, while 
the C cores from secondary levels would appear to 
be of a Later Neolithic origin. From this it may be 
implied that there was later occupation across the 
southern slope of Windmill Hill. 


Rejuvenation flakes. 
Fifteen rejuvenation flakes were recovered during the 
field surveys. 


Scrapers. 

There are 55 scrapers from both surveys, of which 43 
are flake scrapers. These have been classified using 
the system from Hurst Fen (Clark 1960, 217) and 
Windmill Hill (I. Smith 1965, 95). Of the flake 
scrapers recovered there are: five Al long end scrapers, 
14 A2 short end scrapers, seven C disc scrapers, one 
D1 long side scraper, six D2 short side scrapers, five 
E scrapers with the bulbar end removed and one 
unclassifiable. These may be of Earlier Neolithic date 
because of parallels from sealed excavated contexts. 
There are 13 small scale-flaked scrapers, probably 
Later Neolithic to Earlier Bronze Age in date (Clark 
1933, 271). These have been classified as six Au short 
end scrapers, six Aiii round end scrapers, and one B 
side scraper (Fig 11, 1-8). 


Axes. 

Two axe fragments were found in the field survey. 
One is of a flaked unpolished flint axe broken in half 
with the butt end missing (Fig. 11, 9). It has straight 
sides with a broad gently curved edge, which has a 
clear junction with the sides and a medium to thick 
profile. Adkins and Jackson (1978, 28) classify this 
form as type H and this example is very similar to 
their illustration no. 122 from the London area. The 
second axe consists of a small polished blade fragment 
of unidentified stone (Fig. 11, 10). 


Awils and piercers. 

Five awls or piercers were recovered, including both 
short points with minimal retouch as well as long 
carefully worked points. 


Arrowheads. 

The field surveys produced six arrowheads of various 
types (Fig. 11, 11-16). There were two leaf-shaped 
points, one class A with bifacial retouch and shallow 
pressure flaking over the whole of both faces, and one 
class B with retouch confined to its extreme edges 
(Clark 1960, 220). Four transverse and petit tranchet 
derivative arrowheads (Clark 1934) were recovered, 
which included two class Cl, 1 class C2, and one 
class H arrowhead. The class C examples have also 
been classified as chisel arrowheads by Green (1980). 
The distribution of arrowheads is again in contrast 
to the 1920s excavation (I. Smith 1965), which 
produced far more leaf-shaped arrowheads than the 
later transverse type. 


Serrated flakes. 

These flakes have been provided with minute 
denticulations along part or the whole of one or both 
edges. They have been identified with Earlier Neolithic 
technologies at Windmill Hill (. Smith 1965, 91). 
The field surveys only produced one example of this 
artefact type. 


Notched flakes. 

Four notched flakes were recovered by the field 
survey. All have a single notch. Smith (1965, 239) 
suggests that these artefacts were used as small 
hollow scrapers, and that they may be of Later 
Neolithic date due to the number recovered from 
the West Kennet Avenue. 


Utilised flakes. 

The surveys recovered 14 examples. Two types of 
utilisation can be distinguished: class A in which the 
edges and occasionally the distal ends of the flakes 
have been blunted by the removal of fine regular spalls 
at a steep angle, and class B, in which the long edges 
exhibit irregular chipping as a result of use for cutting 
or sawing resistant substances (Clark 1934, 121). Out 
of the 14 examples recovered all but one belonged to 
the class A category. This is consistent with the results 
from Keiller’s excavations. 


Miscellaneous retouched flakes. 
Twenty-three pieces were recovered by the field survey. 


Knives. 

Four knives were located by the surveys. Three are 
blunted-back knives displaying characteristic steep 
retouch on the opposite edge to the blade. The other 
piece, a plano-convex knife (Fig. 11, 17), shows small 
scale-flaking confined to one side, and is similar to 


150 


Figure 11. Worked flint (see text for details) 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 151 


the Beaker knives from the excavations by Keiller (I. 
Smith 1965, 109). 


Hammerstones. 
Four hammerstones were found in the field survey. 


Fabricators. 

Two fabricators were recovered by the field surveys. 
Both are square in section, showing signs of slight 
wear and retouch at the proximal end. 


Discussion 


Overall there was generally a good correspondence 
between the results of the surface survey and the test 
pit survey in the distribution density of the lithic 
debitage. 5% of the test pits had more than 15 worked 
pieces of flint in total. Cores and implements were 
moderately represented in their distribution across 
the survey, with 4% of the test pit assemblage 
consisting of implements compared with 13% from 
the surface survey. The large difference in the number 
of chips between the two collections can be attributed 
to the use of 1 cm sieving during the test pit 
excavations. 

It was possible to see variations in the density and 
limits of the scatter to the east, south and west (Fig. 
4). Some high concentrations of flint appear to be 
focused in close proximity to Bronze Age round 
barrows (Fig. 2). The main area of the scatter seems 
to be some 300 m by 300m, centred in North Field 
to the south-east of the causewayed enclosure; the 
lower density in Gibbs Field to the west may represent 
the outer limits of the scatter. Within the main area, 
there were zones of slightly higher density; none was 
observed immediately adjacent to the enclosure. 
Variation in flint density may indicate a series of 
knapping episodes over various areas of Windmill Hill 
rather than one continuous accumulation of flint 
working. Core and tool types may suggest that much 
of the assemblage is of Later Neolithic and Earlier 
Bronze Age origin. Although Bronze Age material can 
be shown to concentrate around the barrows, the other 
periods represented have no discrete locales and are 

uniformly spread throughout the scatter, with the 
density of finds increasing towards the enclosure. 

A preliminary model is of activity during the 
Earlier Neolithic concentrating on or near the 
causewayed enclosure. Sporadic activity followed on 
the hill, increasing in the Later Neolithic. This activity 
may have concentrated in the northern part of the 
field, but away from the enclosure. This was followed 
by further activity during the Earlier Bronze Age, with 


flint working concentrated around the round barrows 
built during this period. Such activity may have been 
intensive for short periods, but does not necessarily 
signify occupation over a large area at any one time 
or for a prolonged period of time. It may suggest 
repeated visits to the hill rather than permanent 
settlement. 

Even at the low densities surviving, over a main 
area of 300 by 300m there could be some 100,000 or 
more flints in the plough soil. The original figure is 
likely to have been higher. In 1928 and 1929 Keiller 
acquired some 3900 and 2000 worked flints from the 
hill. If approximately 5% of an assemblage is visible 
on the surface at any one time and taking the 1928 
figure, an original total of around 80,000 implements 
is indicated. There is of course no certainty that what 
was sold to Keiller was collected in one year, nor that 
it was all collected from Windmill Hill. We also have 
no information on how much of the hill was searched, 
nor how much was in cultivation in one season. These 
uncertainties may tend to support an originally higher 
total. 


The Neolithic pits 


The pits were tentatively located by geophysical survey 
and plough soil excavations were conducted within 
the vicinity to locate them precisely. All flints were 
recorded in 1 by 1m collection units. Sixty-four 1 by 
1m squares were excavated in area D and 61 in area 
M. 


Area D: ploughsoil 


511 pieces of worked flint were recovered from Area 
D which was located above the Earlier Neolithic pits. 
These included narrow unretouched blades, 
miscellaneous retouched flakes and flakes showing 
signs of utilisation. There were also six cores (one C 
with the rest unclassifiable due to post-depositional 
damage) and a rejuvenation flake. Six scrapers were 
recovered, one A2, one B2, three small scale-flaked 
of type Aii and one unclassifiable. The surface 
excavations also produced one flaked stone axe, whose 
source has not yet been determined by petrology. 


Area D: features (Table 3) 


Pit 308. 

There were 95 pieces of worked flint, with 17 
implements. Only 18 pieces, including three 
implements, came from the primary layer (310), and 
the rest came from the secondary and tertiary layers 


152 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Table 3. Worked flint from Area D features 


Flakes Chips Blades Cores Arrow- 
heads 

Pit 308 

306 8 - 1 - - 

307 33 3) 2 4 2 
309 4 6 1 - - 

310 6 - - - - 

316 2 - 1 - - 
Total Be} Di 4 2 

Pit 323 

B22 29 2 1 z) - 

326 25 5 2 - - 
Total 54 7 3g 3 - 

Pit 325 

330 20 5 1 1 - 


(306, 307, 309). 310 produced rejuvenation flakes and 
a knife. The knife was made from a secondary core 
preparation flake. The proximal end forms the back of 
the knife, while the distal end is retouched as the cutting 
edge. The blank for this tool was produced by hard- 
hammer technique, and the bulb of percussion shows 
signs of trimming and reduction (Fig. 11, 18). The 
implements from the upper fills included narrow blades, 
a utilised flake, cores (one B3, one C and two 
unclassifiable) and rejuvenation flakes. 307 also 
contained another smaller knife and two arrowheads: a 
class D PTD, and a barbed and tanged similar to F177 
in Smith (1965, 109) (Fig. 11, 19). The barbed and 
tanged arrowhead was stratigraphically higher than the 
PTD, possibly suggesting that the pit was only partially 
backfilled then left to silt up over a period of time. 


Pir323. 

There were 57 worked flint pieces, which included 
nine implements. These included a narrow blade, 
cores (A2, B2 and C), rejuvenation flakes and a 
pointed flake with some signs of serration along both 
edges. The main finds from the pit were two burnt 
knives, one broken and the other complete with a 
conjoining thermal fractured flake (Fig. 12, 1). The 
broken knife shows minimal reworking on the ventral 
surface, while the dorsal surface shows abrupt retouch 
along the back of the knife and the remaining distal 
end has invasive retouch. The other knife has minimal 
retouch on the ventral surface, while the working 
across the dorsal surface could have produced a 
double-edged implement. There were 15 other pieces 
of fire-cracked flint. 


Saw Utilised  Rejuv. Knife Burnt Other 


flake 
z iT = = Le 
- 1 1 6 - 
1 : 3 - 
- 2 1 9 - 
= 1 = = = 
1 D) 2 18 - 
- 2 2 15 3 
1 : 3 5 é 
I 2 2 20 3) 
- 2, - 24 1 


Pit 324. 
There were two flakes from the uppermost fill (327). 


Pit 325. 

There were 93 pieces of flint, including blades, a 
utilised flake, a serrated flake , an A2 core and 
rejuvenation flakes. There were also 29 burnt pieces. 
The serrated flake, worn and of hard-hammer 
technique, is from the top of the upper fill (326). 


Posthole 315. 
There are two flakes, one blade and a rejuvenation 
flake, all from the upper context 316. 


Area M: ploughsoil 


A total of 442 pieces of worked flint were recovered 
from the ploughsoil in Area M. There were a narrow 
unretouched blade, three miscellaneous retouched 
flakes and three utilised flakes. There were three cores 
(A2, B3 and C ) and two rejuvenation flakes. Four 
scrapers were also recovered (2 A2, 1 D2, and 1 
unclassifiable), along with four awls. 


Area M: features (Table 4) 


Pit 202. 

There were 201 worked flints, including narrow 
blades, retouched and utilised flakes, three cores (one 
B3 and two C), a rejuvenation flake and a 
hammerstone. There were also 15 burnt pieces. The 
majority of the waste flakes were hard-hammer 
struck. 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 53) 


Pit212. 

There were 404 worked flints. Included in this total 
are blades, utilised flakes, serrated (Fig. 12, 2-4) and 
retouched flakes. There were seven cores (three A2, 
two C and two unidentifiable), rejuvenation flakes and 
a hammerstone. There was also a flaked flint axe and 
an adze (Fig. 12, 5), both broken and with signs of 
heavy burning. Three knives (two blunted-back knives 
and a sickle knife similar to F57 in I. Smith 1965, 97) 
(Fig. 12, 6-7) and seven scrapers (three A2, two C, 
one D2 and one unidentifiable) were also present. 
Most flakes show signs of hard-hammer technique. 


Discussion 


The flint from all primary pit contexts was in mint 
condition though with a light grey patina. Material 
from the upper pit fills was generally worn with a heavy 
white patina. Patches of calcium carbonate concretion 
from groundwater leaching through the soils were 


deposited on flint from all contexts; this was 
particularly heavy on those pieces from primary layers. 
Similar effects were also noticed on artefacts recovered 
from Robin Hood’s Ball near Stonehenge (Harding 
1990). 

The presence of cores, rejuvenation flakes and 
small pieces of debitage suggests that flint knapping 
was carried out over the site as a whole. All pits except 
pit 324 contain evidence of core reduction, although 
very few conjoins could be recognised. Some conjoins 
were found within discrete contexts, but none between 
contexts within individual pits. However, find no. 
2384, a broken flint flake from the middle fill 219 in 
pit 212 conjoins with find no. 2781, a broken 
retouched flake from the lowest fill 223 in pit 202, 
and together these may form a scraper or a small knife. 

Pit 323 shows signs of ash in the lower fill (322), 
and it has been suggested that this was due to 
deliberate burning of cereals as a part of ceremonial 
consumption, and placed with other symbols and 


Figure 12. Worked flint(see text for details) 


154 


Table 4. Worked flint from Area M features 


Flakes Chips Scrapers Axe Blades Cores 
frag 

Pit 202. 
203 20 15 - - 3 
204 15 3 - - 1 - 
204/206 1 - - - - 1 
206 49 27 - - 3 1 
210 1 1 
211 3 es 
223 22 3 1 1 
233 2 - 
Total 113 49 8 3 
PrzgiZ 
213 39 22 - - 2 
215 17 10 4 1 
216 44 26 - 1 5 1 
216/217 1 - 
217 14 d 1 1 
219 17 4 1 2 
220 6 5 - - 
221 49 22 2 3 2 
222 20 6 - 3 
224 7 4 - - 
Total 214 103 7 1 14 7 


Arrow 
heads 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Saw Re- Utilised Rejuv. Knife Hammer- Burnt Adze 
touched flake stone 
1 1 1 
- 7 
3 2 1 5 
3 1 1 1 2 
7 4 1 1 1 15 
4 1 8 1 
- 1 1 2 - 
3} 2 1 1 
1 
2 1 2 1 
5} 


to 
ey ee 


& 
i) 
S 
Gy 
= 
nN 
oS 
nN 


residues of consumption, such as quern stones and 
animal bones. The burnt flint implements deposited 
in the pit, as tools associated with harvesting of grain 
and butchery of livestock, could themselves be further 
symbols of such consumption events. 


Acknowledgements 

Thanks are due to David Gilbert and Howard Mason 
for invaluable help with both finds and text, and to 
Lisa for support. 


Worked sarsen 
by Joshua Pollard 


Area D pits 


Three substantial pieces of worked sarsen were 
recovered from the Earlier Neolithic pits: a quern 
fragment from pit 308 (context 310) and two intact 
rubbing stones from pit 325 (context 330) (Fig. 13). 
The quern fragment comprises a roughly flaked block 
with one, slightly concave, surface exhibiting extensive 
pecking and use-related smoothing. Clearly a 
substantial fragment of saddle-quern, the implement 
is similar to Earlier Neolithic examples from the 
enclosure (I. Smith 1965, 121-23;Whittle er a/. 1999, 
chapter 15). The two rubbing stones were found 
placed together in pit 325. Both appear to have been 
produced on large sarsen flakes. Minimal trimming 
through secondary flaking is evident on the dorsal 


sides of both, whilst the convex ventral (working) 
surfaces show extensive pecking and abrasion. The 
smaller of the two (3309) could have been worked 
easily with one hand, whereas the larger (3308) would 
have required both hands to operate. Comparable 
examples are again known from the enclosure. 


Area M pits 


From pit 212 (context 221), there is an intact 
hammerstone, nearly spherical and with extensive 
signs of use, and a fragmentary example. 

There were also quantities of unworked sarsen. 
Much of the material from the Grooved Ware pits in 
Area M is highly fragmentary and burnt, perhaps 
being used as hearthstone. 


Test pits 


A single hammerstone on a small sarsen lump came 
from 1400/750. 


THE ANIMAL BONES 
by Jessica J. Davies 


In Area D, three of the four Earlier Neolithic pits 
contained animal bone. The assemblage derived from 
308, 323 and 325, whilst the larger pit, 324, yielded 
no animal bone. In Area M both of the Later Neolithic 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 155 


Figure 13. Quern (centre) and rubbing stones from the Earlier Neolithic pits 


pits excavated contained bone in their fills. All the 
animal bone material was retrieved by hand during 
excavation. 


Methodology 


The bones from each context were separated into 
identifiable and non-identifiable specimens. The 
identifiable specimens were those which possessed 
diagnostic characteristics allowing them to be 
identified to body part and species. Some bones could 
not be assigned to a single species, and grouped 
categories of similar species were also used, such as 
cow/horse. Non-identifiable specimens were those 
fragments that were too badly preserved, or lacking 
diagnostic characteristics to be able to ascertain body 
part and/or species. These were not recorded or 
quantified. Identifications were made with reference 
to comparative modern and archaeological examples 
at the Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, 
University of Sheffield (details held in archive). 

No bones of goat were identified, but where 
possible sheep were distinguished from the sheep/goat 
grouping. This was accomplished with the use of 
Boessneck (1969) and Prummel and Frisch (1986), 
as well as of comparative skeletal elements. 


Wear patterns of mandibular teeth were recorded: 
for pig, after Grant (1982) and Halstead (1992), and 
for cattle Grant (1982). Few teeth that could be 
recorded in this way were present, with no sheep/goat 
teeth being found. Thus this data will provide an idea 
of the age of some of the animals present, but will not 
be used to produce mortality profiles. Fusion stages 
were recorded following Silver (1969), and will also 
be used to look at the age of the main domesticates. 
Pig canines and/or their sockets were used for sexing 
mandibles. Although anatomical features can be used 
to determine the sex of other species, the appropriate 
characteristics were not present on any of the 
diagnostic zones. 

All dental, cranial and post cranial fragments 
identified were recorded as minimum number of 
anatomical units (MNAU), where proximal and 
distal halves serve as separate anatomical zones. The 
effectiveness and reliability of other methods of 
quantification have often been debated. Various 
authors such as Grayson (1978), Klein and Cruz- 
Uribe (1984), Lyman (1992), O’Connor (1985), 
Payne (1972) and Ringrose (1993) have scrutinised 
methods such as MNI, NISP, bone and meat 
weights, and so on. With regard to this assemblage, 
bone and meat weights would be unrepresentative, 


156 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


being affected by the small number of fragments. 
NISP has too many inherent problems (described by 
Ringrose 1993, 125-26) to be of use here. MNI is 
favoured by many archaeozoologists. However, at the 
present time this would not be a suitable method to 
use in quantifying the remains from each pit. It is 
possible that the deposition of the bones of animals 
was not exclusive to one pit, with body parts being 
divided between them. Thus in calculating the MNI 
for each pit, numbers of animals present could have 
been over-estimated. MNAU was considered the best 
method to quantify the assemblages from the Earlier 
and Later Neolithic pits. Over-representation is 
avoided with this method, as well as any possibility of 
the proportion of any one species being exaggerated. 

State of fusion and the side of the bone were 
recorded. Fragmentation was recorded indicating the 
prevalence of old and new breakage. Gnawing, 
burning and butchery provide additional information 
about the use and treatment of the bones before 
deposition. Binford (1981) was used as a standard 
for the description and position of different types of 
butchery marks. 

All measurements taken follow von den Dreisch 
(1976). Few bones were complete enough for 
measurements to be taken. Much of the bone was 
weathered and thus not in a particularly good state of 
preservation, but measurements were taken of as many 
bones as possible. The measurements displayed in 


bold type in Table 8 were analogous with those taken 
and recorded by Grigson (1965) on material from 
Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure. 

Species utilised will be considered and, whilst 
there may not be enough suitable remains to 
reconstruct the subsistence strategies employed, the 
deposition of the assemblage will be discussed. It 
already seems evident that, during the Later Neolithic 
period, more wild species were being utilised than 
before. This seems to be a common trend, seen also 
in the analysis of the plant remains (below). 


Results 


Earlier Neolithic 


Few bones were present within the contexts from pits 
308, 323 and 325 (Tables 5-6). As the assemblages 
from these pits are so small they are considered 
collectively. Domestic species predominated, 
particularly cattle, with red deer being represented 
by a single antler fragment in 308. The body part 
representation suggests predominance of particularly 
lower limb bones in 323, head and more extreme limb 
bones in 325, with odd fragments in 308 (Table 5 
and Fig. 14). This may indicate that the deposited 
bone was predominantly the product of the secondary 
stage of carcass reduction. There seems to have been 
no deliberate or ritualistic selection of particular body 


Table 5. Assemblages from the Earlier Neolithic pits 


Pit 308 
Cattle 


Pit 323 


Red deer Cattle 


DMt - - 

Ph 1 - - - 
Antler /H - 1 - 
Occip C - - - 
MdH - - - 
Md - - - 
MdT 1 - 1 
MxT - - - 


Pit 325 
Pig Sheep/ Cattle Pig Sheep / 
Goat/Roe Goat 
l . “ é 
3 2 s 1 
2 1 2 1 
S l = E 
cs 1 = Z 
i 1 z = 
hs 1 1 ZS 


Cattle 
Hors¢ 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE NB}/ 


Table 6. Total assemblage from the Earlier Neolithic pits 


Cattle Pig Sheep/ Cattle/ Sheep/Goat Red deer 
Goat Horse Roe deer 
Total number 13 3 2 1 1 1 
of fragments 
Total% 61.9 14.3 9.52 4.76 4.76 4.76 


parts or bones. The bones may have been deliberately 
placed or disposed waste fragments. Eight of the ten 
bones recorded from pit 325 were from the left-hand 
side of the animals; the other two were of 
indeterminate side. 

All the bones present were older than new born 
(Table 9). One cattle proximal tibia suggested an age 
at death of less than 30-42 months. The fusion data 
for pigs and sheep/goat were indeterminate. No tooth 
wear data could be recorded for any of the species. 
One possible female pig was noted from 325. 

No butchery marks or gnawing were evident on 
the Earlier Neolithic material. Much of the bone that 


could be identified was weathered. This may have 
masked or destroyed any cut or gnaw marks, 
particularly the latter. Whilst weathering may have 
occurred in the deposits, the fact that not all the bone 
was weathered suggests that there was either a 
variation in the burial environment or that some bones 
may not have been buried immediately and exposed 
to the elements before deposition. Burning was 
recorded on four bones from 325; one of cattle, three 
of pig. This may have been the result of cooking or 
disposal of the bone. Both old and new breaks were 
recorded. No whole long bones were seen, indicating 
that bones may have been broken as part of their 
disposal, or to remove marrow and fat deposits. New 
breaks can be attributed to excavation and storage of 
the assemblage. 

Only one measurement could be taken. The distal 
breadth of the metacarpal (Table 5) is compatible 
with the range previously recorded for domestic 
cattle from the Windmill Hill enclosure (Grigson 
1965). 


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Figure 14. Body part representation for the whole Earlier Neolithic assemblage (pits 308, 323 and 325) 


158 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Table 7. The animal bone assemblage from the Later Neolithic pits 


Pit 202 


Cattle Pig Sheep Sheep Dog Cattle Sheep /Goat 


/Goat /Red deer /Roe 


2 =] 
wre 


PF 

DF 3 = E 
PT 2 : 3 
DI 2 : 3 
PM 3 

DM 

U = 
PMp : \ 
DMp e 1 
¢ a ~ 
A 
Phil 


1 
Phil 1 - - 
Ph UI 3 1 1 
Nav Cub 1 
Carpal 1 
Tarsal 1 
Patella - 1 
Ses 1 - 
At 1 1 
Ax 
Cervical vert 
Rub - - 1 
Antler/H B = 1 
Scaph 2 
Oceip C 1 
MdH - - 
Md - 2 - - = 
Mx rl = - 2 1 
Md T 6 2! - - 1 
Mx T 2 6 = : 1 
Column total 62 18 3 
Column % 


wr 
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x 


Later Neolithic 


Pit 202. 

The assemblage from this pit is dominated by 
domesticated species, principally cattle, followed by 
pig (Table 7). Even when sheep/goat and sheep 
categories are combined they are still less prevalent 
than pig remains. This is the only pit in which the 
remains of dog were encountered. 

Most body parts of domestic cattle are 
represented, suggesting the presence of fore and hind 
limbs, ankle, wrist and foot bones, as well as areas of 
the skull around the teeth and vertebrae closely 
associated with the head (Fig. 15). This may indicate 
that cattle carcasses were being reduced at, or very 
close to the site of the pits. Main limb bones, which 
bear the most meat, were also present, suggesting the 
material deposited was not purely waste from 
butchery of carcasses. Bones of the head and other 
areas, such as ribs and vertebrae, were limited in 
number, suggesting they may have been deposited 
elsewhere or not utilised. The presence of loose teeth, 
for this and other species, indicates that there must 
have been a considerable loss of bone at some point 
in the history of the material. This bone loss may have 
occurred prior to deposition, through butchery or the 
extraction of marrow in the mandible, or during 
deposition, particularly if the bone had been churned 


Pit 212 


Cattle 


Cate 
‘Aurocl 


Catue 


Red deer 


Pig Sheep Wild 
Goat pig 


Sheep 
Goat/Roe 
- > - : 2 

1 2 1 1 = : 1 
1 2 : : = 1 


bee ere tre 


1 
15 
2 2 2 
30 21 4 3 4 3 

26.0 18.3 3.5 2.6 BIS) 2.6 3.5 


va ete At Oe eo) a eee Cea Dod) det teen atthe cto Th aiegh Ay Hieeirenbaie 1 
Q 


and mixed in redeposition from middens. Alternatively 
bone loss may have occurred as a result of the material 
becoming friable whilst buried, with subsequent 
excavation adding to the loss. Similar loss of bone 
was reported from Cherhill (Grigson 1983, 71). 

For domestic pig, only two counts of a main limb 
bone were recorded, which may have been from a 
single animal. The body part representation for this 
species indicates the presence of bones predominantly 
from the extremities; these may be associated with 
butchery waste of animals that may have been used 
for ceremonial feasting elsewhere (Fig. 16). However, 
they could alternatively represent parts of animals 
consumed close to the point of deposition. 

Fig. 17 shows the body part representation for 
sheep/goat. The primary meat-bearing limb bones 
were present, with fewer bones from the extremities. 
This suggests that this material was the possible refuse 
from consumption. 

The bones from other species were limited in 
number and little can be interpreted from these (Table 
7). It is possible that these bones may be butchery 
waste, or equally the result of accidental deposition. 
These are also plausible suggestions for the presence 
of the bones of dog. 

Over half of the post cranial cattle bones were from 
new born animals (Table 9). About one quarter of 
the combined sheep/goat and sheep bones were 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 159 


= 


MNAU 


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DOR UE PE SE CS Sages eet ae ee ea ae 
a eet 3 23 8 = = = 

2, 5 < ° 
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Body Part 


Figure 15. Domestic cattle body part representation (pit 202) 


MNAU 


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~ a A = 8 ors) 3 a8 8 tS s= 
a a oO Ss fo) 
cs = < 
38 
Body Part 


Figure 16. Domestic pig body part representation (pit 202) 


160 


neonatal. The post cranial bones of the other species 
were all older. The fusion and tooth wear data add 
further information to this. The tooth wear patterns 
for cattle indicate that at least one individual died 
between 18 and 30 months, whilst another was over 
36 months. For pig, one individual was less than 6 
months old at death, and another individual was 
possibly only weeks old. This was indicated by the 
presence of a deciduous fourth premolar, which had 
not fully erupted. The eruption time for this tooth in 
pigs is between 1 and 7 weeks. This individual may 
well have been a neonate at death. The fusion data 
indicate the pattern set out in Table 11. 

Whilst more bones were from the left-hand side, 
an emphasis on the deposition of bones from one side 
only does not seem to have prevailed in this pit. No 
data regarding the sex of individuals were present. 

Only one bone displayed a cut mark. This was on 
a cattle proximal radius from context 206. One bone 
fragment showed signs of gnawing, but again the 
weathered nature of much of the bone material would 
have made gnawing and cut marks difficult to 
distinguish if present. These marks may have been 
eroded during weathering also. Two identifiable bone 
fragments were burnt, suggesting that methods of 


MNAU 


Ber 22 
Ars vhs 
a. a 


Figure 17. Sheep/goat body part representation (pit 202) 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


disposal or cooking that may result in burning were 
not common practice. 

Whilst only one long bone was recorded as being 
whole, the majority of small bones remained intact. 
More old breaks were seen on the long bones, 
suggesting breakage for marrow/fat removal, or as part 
of the deposition process. New breakage is again 
attributable to excavation and storage and more small 
bones had new breaks than old. 

As Table 8 shows, for each element the majority 
of measurements taken were from one bone. Thus 
ranges of measurements could not be produced, nor 
statistical methods used to examine the data. In 
general all the bones fit within the ranges given by 
Grigson (1965).The size of the pig atlas was compared 
with measurements from West Kennet (Edwards and 
Horne 1997, 123). The measurements of the specimen 
from pit 202 were smaller (4.1mm (height (H)) and 
2.1mm (greatest breadth of the facies articularis 
cranialis (BFCR)). 


Pit 212. 

Again domesticates dominate the assemblage from 
this pit. Cattle were predominant, though less 
prevalent than in 202, with pig and sheep/goat 


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Body Part 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 161 


Table 8. Measurements from Earlier and Later Neolithic bones. Measurements in bold type are 
analogous with those taken from Windmill Hill, reported in Grigson 1965. 


EARLIER NEOLITHIC: 
Pit 325: 
GATTLE 
Metacarpal BP BD GL SD 
= 513: - = 
LATER NEOLITHIC: 
Pit 202: 
CATTLE 
Metatarsal BP BD GL SD 
= 528 - & 
Ulna DPA SDO LO - 
619 
Calcanea - - GL GB 
= = 1290 430 
= - 1380 440 
Phalanx I BP BD GL SD 
280 253 629 - 
Phalanx III LD MBS DLS - 
529 207 706 - 
518 208 - - 
Atlas LAD H GL BFCR 
= - = 1033 
SHEEP / GOAT 
Humerus BP BD GL Bis 
= 271 - 266 
Radius BP BD GL SD 
286 270 1550 150 
Tibia BP BD GL SD 
- 244 - 139 
PIG 
Atlas LAD H GL BFCR 
170 410 - 
532 
Pit 212: 
CATTLE 
Metatarsal BP BD GL SD 
= = - 210 
Phalanx I BP BD GL SD 
286 276 579 250 
Phalanx II BP BD GL SD 
289 - 414 221 
* = 2 04 
B.p. 407 57 3 
B.p. 405 345 570 308 
Axis BFCD H LCDE BFCR 
437 - - 887 
Horn core - GB GL - 
- 574 1700 - 


* 
Possible Bos prinigenius specimens. 


162 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Table 9. Proportions of Neonatal and Older Bones (Later Neolithic pit 202) 


Domestic Domestic Sheep/ Cattle/ Sheep/Goav Row Total 
Cattle Pig Goat Red deer Roe 


New-born 27 - 4 : - 31 
50.9% 25.0% 38.8% 

Older 26 th 12 3) I 49 
49.1% 100.0% 75.0% 100.0% 100.0% 61.3% 

Column Total 53 fi 16 3 1 80 
66.3% 8.8% 20.0% 3.8% 1.3% 100.0% 


following. These were proportionately greater than 
in 202. More wild species were identified from this 
pit than from any other contexts. Thus the diversity 
of species present is also greater (Table 7). 

For domestic cattle, the main limb bones present 
were those that bear the most meat. Some bones of 
the feet, neck and head were also identified. Elements 
such as cervical vertebrae, rib, horn core and 
mandible, which were not present in pit 202, were 
identified. As only one of each of these elements was 
present, deposition of these parts into one pit rather 
than the other cannot be claimed. Parts of the head 
are limited, although the overall skeleton is less well 
represented than in pit 202. This material may indicate 
the refuse from butchery for consumption (Fig. 18). 

Domestic pig body parts were present in relatively 
low numbers, apart from mandibular teeth (Fig. 19). 
Upper limb bones only were indicated, with some foot 
elements. This material indicates a limited usage of 
pig meat, with possible deposition of waste from the 
butchery of carcasses, at least parts of which could 
have been consumed and deposited elsewhere. 

The material from pit 212 shows a predominance 
of upper limb bones for sheep/goat (Fig. 20). Pelvis 
bones and a metatarsal, as well as rib bones, were 
also present and the remains may be indicative of the 
refuse associated with consumption of meat in the 
vicinity of the pits. The predominance of forelimb 
bones, however, suggests that the deposits may have 
been structured in their content and deposition. 

Fig. 21 shows the presence of the body parts of 
other species. Many of the elements identified suggest 
that wild species may also have contributed to the 
meat available for consumption. Humeri of wild pig 
and aurochs suggest the use of prime meat parts, 
although no butchery marks were evident. The 


presence of red deer antler may indicate that this was 
collected for use as a raw material. It was not possible 
to tell if the antler had been shed or removed from a 
hunted animal. 

A much smaller number of the bones from this 
pit were neonatal (Table 10). These were from 
cattle, pig and sheep/goat only, with sheep/goat 
having the highest proportion at 28.6%. The tooth 
data suggest a range of ages for both cattle and pig. 
For cattle only one tooth could be placed in an exact 
age stage, F (young adult, 1.e. >36 months). Another 
tooth was in wear at a point between stages D and 
E (18-36 months). Other teeth were recorded as 
being at stages B+ , C+, D+ and E+. This places 
many of the teeth at various points between 1-8 
months and senile age. Although there is a lack of 
specificity of ages, the tooth wear data suggest that 
cattle were being killed at a variety of ages from as 
young as 1-8 months, up to > 36 months and 
possibly older. For pig the ages recorded were very 
young (i.e. 1-7 weeks), < 6 months, 6-12 months 
and + 24 months. Thus individuals were being killed 
generally within the first year of life and around 24 
months. The fusion data add little information. For 
sheep/goat the fusion data were of indeterminate 
age stage. For cattle and pig, the information is set 
out in Table 11. 

Only one possibly female pig mandible was 
recorded. No other remains with sexually diagnostic 
features were present. 

Cut marks were noted on three bone fragments. 
One, a cattle/red deer metatarsal, had been worked 
into a point. A cattle/red deer mandibular hinge 
displayed cut marks that may have resulted from 
dislocation of this joint or removal of meat from the 
head. A cattle first phalanx displayed cut marks that 
may have been allied to the dismembering or removal 
of the foot. No gnawing marks were noted and only a 
fragment of red deer antler was burnt. Again much of 
the material was weathered. 

Few whole long bones were seen, with the vast 
majority of breakage being old. About a third of small 
bones had old breaks, but only two had new breaks, 
indicating that marrow may have been utilised. 


Table 10. Proportions of Neonatal and Older Bones (Later Neolithic pit 212) 
Domestic Domestic Sheep/ Boar Aurochs Cattle/ Cattle/ Sheep/ Cow/ Red deer Row Total 
Cattle Pig Goat Horse Red deer Goat/Roe Horse/ 
Aurochs 
New-born 3 1 6 - - - - 10 
12.0% 6.7% 28.6% 12.5% 
Older 22 14 15 2 4 2 4 2 2 70 
88.0% 93.3% 71.4% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 87.5% 
Column 25 15 21 2 4 2 4 2 2 80 
Total 31.3% 18.8% 26.3% 2.5% 3.8% 5.0% 2.5% 5.0% 2.5% 2.5% 100.0% 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 163 


wn 


MNAU 


Rub ff 


DoD & 2 0 rete Tied: edd SP eS Gx SON eh 
a 6 EC ae 
; & z 
is 2. a § 5 Ss 
g 
y 
oO 
Body Part 


Figure 18. Domestic cattle body part representation (pit 212) 


MNAU 


Ses 

At 
Ax 
Rib 


Antler/H 
Scaph 
Occip C 
MdH 


Nav Cub 
Carpal 
Tarsal 
Patella 

Cervical vert 


Body Part 


Figure 19. Domestic pig body part representation (pit 212) 


164 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


w 


25 


MNAU 


0.5 4 


a See £82 0< 27S 8 ae Gomis BS E29 BE BEE e 
bE 5 J ee ee ee be ee Se 
Z é < 
GQ 
Body Part 
Figure 20. Sheep/goat body part representation (pit 212) 
6 
Ged deer | 
‘Si Cattle / Horse / Aurochs | 
i eer slow de Mad oe eda es ere ia elena si ed eS oe Me Ae one 2G eM CEN oy 2 Me I oe oe let, A OR | 2 
Sheep / Goat / Roe | 
‘Cattle / Red deer | 
Ei Cattle / Horse | 
4 = BREE ESSE EERO eer es me Ce See SE er i ee eae ne eI ts 5 se r hs 
N A 
| N Hy | Wild pig fl 
>| N i 
3 7 oe S a Nc Re eee OR OR cee A i> 2 Mp SO onan fee 
PD aiesee Pa EEL ec at cle DPE Reon, I oe Ree ao RE kN 8 ee ee ee Fee range nea cee Spee yan sean ou: eee 
l om mjtoy ine, cleere wigieielsiayerdalac wn 2 
= == 
== == 
Kt al on 
=l= ee 4 
» ee ; =A= EH 3 
7 Yaa olin ta teat ent ee = moe Se0¢ 522 8a Sf 8 = BSEEOT PSHE 
Rae eee er Sg Se Sea Gaede eae 
z 3 < °o 
8 
Body Part 


Figure 21. Body part representation for other species identified (pit 212) 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 165 


Table 11. Fusion data from Later 
Neolithic pit 202 


No. of bones Age at Death 
Cattle 1 <6-10m 
1 <13-16m 
2, >6-10m 
2 >18-28m 
2 >30-42m 
Pig 1 <6-10m 
<13-16m 
1 >18-28m 
Sheep/ 3 <30-42m 
Goat 3 >6-10m 
>18-28m 
>30-42m 


Table 12. Fusion data for cattle and 
pig from Later Neolithic pit 212 


No. of bones Age at Death 
Cattle 1 <30-42m 
3 >13-16m 
1 >18-28m 
Pig 1 <6-10m 
3 <13-16m 
2 >6-10m 


Measurements were compared with those in 
Grigson (1965). Again the majority of measurements 
were within the ranges from the Windmill Hill 
enclosure. Two possible aurochs second phalanges 
were identified during this comparison (Table 8). The 
measurements for proximal breadth are greater than 
those given by Grigson (1965, 159). Whilst size should 
not be used without care to distinguish wild from 
domestic cattle (Grigson 1969, 288), the much greater 
size suggests that these phalanges are more likely to 
be from wild cattle. The two phalanges were 
enantiomorphic, suggesting they were from one 
individual. The breadth of the trochlea for both 
‘aurochs humeri was greater than those of domestic 
cattle at Windmill Hill. The breadth of the wild pig 
trochlea was also greater than comparative specimens 
in Grigson (1965). This specimen was also much 
larger than the measurements presented by Payne and 
Bull (1988) for wild pig and the wild pig identified 
from the Neolithic pit at Puddlehill (Grigson 1976, 
16). The lateral metapodial from a wild pig was larger 
than the comparative modern boar specimen 


examined. Measurements of this element are not 
considered by Payne and Bull (1988) and thus other 
factors such as age, sexual dimorphism and individual 
variation may have affected the size of this metapodial. 


Discussion 


As so few of the domestic cattle bones were 
measurable, both from the Earlier and Later Neolithic, 
little suggestion can be made regarding the process 
of domestication of this species. What is evident is 
that by the Later Neolithic, at the latest, there was a 
distinct size difference between aurochs and domestic 
cattle. Overall, domestic cattle and pig seem distinct 
from their wild counterparts, by the Later Neolithic, 
evident in the differences in size. 

The tooth wear information and fusion data are 
somewhat scant and seem to provide little indication 
for the seasonality of occupation or use of the pits at 
the site. There is a total lack of any ageing data from 
the Earlier Neolithic pits. The presence of very young 
pig teeth, in pits 202 and 212, indicates these animals 
were being killed soon after birth. To infer seasonal 
activity must depend upon the acceptance that 
domestic pig in the Later Neolithic were producing 
young at a similar time of year to their wild 
counterparts (i.e. in spring, around April). However, 
pigs can be highly productive, producing more than 
one litter in a year. Therefore it would be rather 
erroneous to try to use the presence of neonatal 
remains to indicate seasonal activity. The presence of 
bones of older animals, suggested by tooth wear and 
fusion, generally of mixed ages for all three main 
domesticates, further suggests that consideration of 
seasonality may not be necessary. Grigson warns 
against the use of such data to infer seasonal 
occupation at similar sites, suggesting that there may 
be a great variation in tooth wear due to variable 
eruption and birth times (1966, 85). The spread of 
ages indicates that activity, whilst not necessarily 
permanent occupation, may have occurred in 
manifold episodes during the year. Exploitation of 
domesticates was not confined to distinct age groups. 
The data available cannot be refined to give a more 
accurate conclusion upon this point. 

Further, it may be inappropriate to suggest 
seasonal activity if the bones were contributing to 
midden accumulations prior to deposition in the pits. 
Whilst Legge notes that many bones from chalkland 
burial environments display considerable surface 
erosion (1991, 54) it is possible that middening 
occurred at this site. Therefore the whole process of 
use and deposition of the archaeozoological remains 


166 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


considered here may not reflect a single season’s 
deposition or ‘seasonal’ activities at all. 

The paucity of tooth wear data and sexable bones 
reduces what can be inferred about husbandry 
practices. For the Earlier Neolithic, it is possible to 
say little more than which animals were being kept or 
utilised and deposited in the pits. It is possible that 
domestic cattle, pigs and sheep/goat formed an 
important display within social exchanges occurring 
in the vicinity of Windmill Hill. These domestic species 
may have functioned as a symbolic resource, although 
the small amount of bone retrieved sheds little light 
on their social function. It is likely that at least some 
of the animals may have been used for their meat and 
marrow before deposition. By way of comparison, the 
Earlier Neolithic bones from Coneybury are suggested 
to represent primary butchery of domestic cattle. 
Equally, upper limb bones were infrequently 
encountered, with dumps representing possibly a 
single butchery event. The lack of upper limb bones 
in the Earlier Neolithic pits to the south of Windmill 
Hill may indicate a similar situation, with butchery 
to a secondary stage, occurring around these. The 
jointing of bones for food is also interpreted at 
Durrington Walls (Stone et al. 1954). The 
predominance of cattle bones fits with the accepted 
view of the predominance of cattle in the area in the 
Earlier Neolithic (Thomas 1991, 163). The presence 
of red deer antler may suggest that some wild 
resources were still utilised and important at this time. 
The division between upper and lower limb bones 
was not so distinct in the Later Neolithic assemblage. 
It is suggested that the bones from the Later Neolithic 
pits at Down Farm had a primarily social function, 
with deliberate selection and deposition of skull and 
jaw bones, as well as of large pieces of bone. 

The presence of bones of neonatal sheep/goat, pig 
and cattle suggests that animals may have been born 
at, or very close to, the site. Bones of a very young 
calf and pig were also recovered from the ditches of 
Windmill Hill (jope 1965, 145). As male cattle are 
generally absent from enclosures, it has been 
suggested that culling at a young age may be 
responsible for this (Thomas 1991, 24). It was not 
possible to tell the sex of the sheep/goat or cattle to 
determine if these were the young males, culled as 
surplus to requirements in a dairy economy. The lack 
of tooth wear data means that a mortality profile could 
not be produced to test this proposal. The presence 
of juvenile bones has been used to infer dairying at 
Fussell’s Lodge long barrow (Grigson 1966, 85-86). 
It can be seen that animals were being utilised 
throughout their investment phase and into 


adulthood. Pigs serve little purpose other than to 
provide meat and fat. Molluscan and soil evidence 
suggests that the area around Windmill Hill was not 
extensively cleared in the Earlier Neolithic (Whittle 
1996, 272; Whittle et al. 1999) providing suitable 
pannage for wild and domestic pigs. 

Edmonds suggests that enclosure sites probably 
acted as congregational places for dispersed 
populations, with gathering events being closely 
related to the husbandry of livestock (1993, 105). 
Although the pits were in a location removed from 
the enclosure, the area around may have been 
influenced during events at the enclosure. At least 
some of the remains present within the Earlier 
Neolithic pits indicate that animals were probably 
being utilised, at least in part, for their meat. Whilst 
domestic pig predominate in the assemblages of many 
ceremonial sites (Thomas 1991, 22), their presence 
in the Later Neolithic pits may represent the use of 
some pig meat outside an enclosure context, as well 
as deposition of waste elements from primary, and 
possibly secondary, butchery of carcasses. 

Domestic cattle predominate in the assemblages 
from both Later Neolithic pits, followed by pig and 
sheep/goat. At Down Farm, pig are the most common 
species ((Legge 1991, 65). The predominance and 
proportions of the main domesticates in the pits at 
Windmill Hill are comparable to the remains from 
the Windmill Hill enclosure ditches (Jope 1965, 144; 
Whittle 1996, 235). Horse could not be distinguished, 
although the identification of specimens to cattle/ 
horse, may suggest that the species was present. The 
presence of this species has been considered to be 
practically certain during the Later Neolithic (Legge 
1981, 80). The remains of wild animals, other than 
red deer antler, were present within pit 212 only. 
Remains of similar species were found within the 
Windmill Hill enclosure, but it was thought that 
hunted animals contributed little to the diet of those 
at the site (Jope 1965, 144-45). Admittedly, the 
number of remains of wild species is low, but their 
presence indicates that they may have been a more 
important utilised resource than in the Earlier 
Neolithic. Large hunted animals may have been 
butchered where they were killed, with only a few 
bones left attached to the meat and therefore being 
transported to the site. 

The use of animals may indicate something of their 
social significance. Throughout time, food has been 
used to express social values. The consumption of 
meat communicates a shared set of meanings, 
protocols and behaviour; communal eating and 
drinking form bonds of friendship and obligation 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 167 


(Fiddes 1991, 34). Cut marks were few, although this 
may be a factor of the weathering of bones. The 
presence of bones from meat-rich parts of the bodies 
of many of the species present suggests the use of 
meat for food. Fragmentation of limb bones prior to 
deposition suggests that the extraction of marrow was 
probably practised in the Earlier and Later Neolithic, 
and that many animals present were being used in a 
rational food procurement strategy. Butchery of 
carcasses of domesticates may have been taking place 
close to the pits, with deposition of primary and 
secondary waste parts, typified by the presence of 
body parts such as foot and head elements. 
Particularly in the Earlier Neolithic, consumption and 
deposition of some carcasses may have taken place 
elsewhere. Although a comprehensive conversion to 
sedentary agriculture is unlikely to have occurred 
during the Earlier Neolithic, domesticates would have 
played a significant role in social relations (Edmonds 
1993, 101). The lack of wild species in the Earlier 
Neolithic pits may relate to social display, with 
utilisation of domesticates only. 

Evidence from other earlier and later sites of this 
period seems to suggest that the material from these 
pits fits with the general occurrences of this period. 
The majority of sites studied are in some way 
ceremonial or ‘ritual’ sites. As already noted, at many 
sites, such as Cherhill (Grigson 1983), domestic cattle 
dominate the assemblages. Whilst there is variation 
in the proportions of domesticates between sites such 
as Abingdon (Case 1965), Horslip long barrow, 
Beckhampton Road long barrow and South Street 
long barrow (Ashbee et al. 1979), as well as 
Coneybury (Maltby 1990), this may well relate to 
preferences and specific practices at each site rather 
than the abundance of species specifically. 

Perhaps the most closely comparable sites, in 
terms of context type, are Puddlehill pit 6, a Later 
Neolithic storage pit (Grigson 1976) and Down Farm 
(Legge 1991). Wild and domestic cattle and pig, plus 
sheep/goat and red deer were present at both sites. 
Although present in different proportions, the Later 
Neolithic assemblage from the pits to the south of 
Windmill Hill enclosure concurs with this trend. Wild 
‘Species were seen at all three sites in small quantities, 
and are likely to reflect the local abundance and 
preference for specific species at the individual sites. 

It appears that similarities in animal bone 
assemblages from the compared Earlier and Later 
Neolithic sites are context-specific. There are 
similarities with assemblages from henge sites, in 
terms of the domesticates present. However, at henge 
and enclosure sites domesticates are present in much 


larger quantities, with few wild species, but a more 
visibly structured or ceremonial pattern of deposition 
(for example Jope 1965; Edwards and Horne 1997). 
The ways in which carcasses were disarticulated and 
jointed for meat appears to be more variable at henge 
sites, with deliberate wasting of whole limbs. This kind 
of conspicuous wasting does not seem to have 
occurred in the pits to the south of Windmill Hill 
enclosure. However, it is impossible to determine if 
the bone assemblage from non-domestic sites, such 
as the Windmill Hill enclosure, reflect the local 
abundance of species as the context of consumption 
and deposition is unlikely to reflect a rational food 
use strategy. 

As discussed previously, the deposition of animal 
bones in the pits may have formed a specific practice. 
Deliberate selection of left-side bones is suggested for 
pit 325. At West Kennet, the overwhelming majority 
of bones were from the right side of the species 
identified (Edwards and Horne 1997, 125). The left 
side represents different things in different cultures, 
including death and feminine gender, and is often 
equated with impure aspects (Hertz 1960, 99-102). 
If this was an element of the belief system of the Earlier 
Neolithic, the deposited bone in the pits may have 
been associated with profane or impure activities or 
social elements. This explanation may sound extreme, 
but perhaps what the predominance of left-sided 
bones indicates is that activities around the pits were, 
socially, visibly different to those occurring inside the 
enclosure. The left side also predominates in the Later 
Neolithic assemblage, but not to such a marked 
degree. 

Pits such as these have been considered to be 
initially created for other purposes, with subsequent 
deposition of ‘rubbish’ (Holgate 1988b, 106). The 
appearance of the Earlier Neolithic pits suggests that 
only one, 308, was open for any length of time. The 
Later Neolithic pits were little eroded. This suggests 
that the majority of pits were either filled soon after 
opening or, if used for another purpose previously, 
were not exposed to the weather. Whilst the erosion 
of the surface of bones, seen at other chalkland sites 
also, may be a factor of taphonomic processes in the 
burial environment, it is not possible to state that 
middening did not take place. Deposition of the bones 
themselves seems to have been deliberate, particularly 
in the Later Neolithic. Plans of the deposits confirm 
that, unlike some of the bones from the ditches of 
Windmill Hill enclosure (Whittle 1996, 274; Whittle 
et al. 1999), the material had been completely 
disarticulated prior to deposition. This kind of spatial 
separation of bones and body parts was also seen in 


168 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


the Coneybury pit (Maltby 1990, 61). Edmonds 
suggests that such structured deposits at enclosures 
may reflect episodes of consumption (1993, 112). It 
seems likely that the deposition of animal bones in 
this deliberate manner would reflect a similar practice. 
The presence of worked bone and antler may reinforce 
the different nature of the pit deposits to those from 
enclosures. With debris from several activities being 
deposited together, a more everyday domestic 
constitution to the process of deposition may be 
indicated. However, apart from the proportions of 
species present, the Earlier Neolithic assemblage 
compares well with that from Coneybury, and the 
Later Neolithic with that from Down Farm, in terms 
of context and deposition. 


CHARRED SEEDS, FRUITS 
AND TUBERS 
by Andrew S. Fairbairn 


Sampling during the 1988 excavation of the adjacent 
causewayed enclosure produced a small quantity of 
charred remains of cereals, seeds, fruits and tubers 
(Fairbairn 1999). These provided evidence that the 
debris of both wild and crop plants had been 
incorporated into the enclosure ditch segments after 
use as food, beverages and medicines during the acts 
of consumption that accompanied the exchanges and 
ceremonies occurring within the social arena of the 
enclosure. Charred cereals were also present in the 
soils buried during the construction of the outer bank 
and in an Earlier Neolithic grave fill. Further 
investigation of Neolithic contexts on the hill provided 
an opportunity to extend botanical investigations 
beyond the bounds of the enclosure in a different set 
of features. Four Neolithic pits were sampled. 


Sampled contexts 


Thirteen bulk samples were collected from the Earlier 
and Later Neolithic pits in Areas D and M respectively. 
Sample volume varied from 4-10 litres, most samples 
being 6-7 litres in size (Tables 13-14). All the samples 
were collected from the lower and basal pit fills from 
archaeologically sealed contexts without any obvious 
contamination from post-Neolithic activity. 

In Area D three samples were collected from the 
lower ashy fill (322) of pit 323, with one from a similar 
basal fill (330) of pit 325. In Area M a single sample 
was collected from the lower fill (223) of pit 202, with 


samples from the basal fill (224), lower fill (221) and 
fill (219) of pit 212. 


Field and laboratory methods 


The samples were processed on a ‘Siraf’ type flotation 
tank, using a 250um mesh sieve to collect the floating 
fraction (flot) and a 500um mesh sieve to collect the 
heavy residue. The volume of the dried flots was 
measured and each was sorted in its entirety using a 
low-powered dissecting microscope. All of the charred 
non-wood charcoal plant remains were picked out 
from the flots. Identification was completed with the 
aid of the comparative seed and fruit collections of 
the University College London Institute of 
Archaeology, with the parenchymatous remains 
identified after fracturing using a scanning electron 
microscope (SEM). Help in identification was given 
by Gordon Hillman and Jon Hather. The identified 
remains are recorded in Tables 13-14 for each sample, 
the nomenclature for cereals following van Zeist 1984, 
and that for the wild taxa following Stace 1991. 


Results 


Abundant plant remains were recovered from the pits, 
with both wild and domestic remains being present 
including cereals, wild seeds, fruits, nuts and the 
remains of vegetable tubers. The flot sizes were 
variable and most contained a significant quantity of 
mollusc shell. Therefore, the actual quantity of charred 
plant remains was often much less than the total flot 
volume recorded in Tables 13-14. Preservation of the 
remains varied within individual samples, although it 
was mostly very poor. Cereal remains were vesicular 
and often fragmented, with wild plant seeds and fruits 
often badly damaged and lacking features crucial for 
identification. Poor preservation also characterised the 
plant remain assemblages recovered from the 1988 
excavations. Small fragments of parenchymatous 
tissue were also preserved, although many were glassy 
and lacked any discernible structure, making 
identification impossible. 


Plant remains from Area D (Earlier Neolithic: 
Table 13) 


The flots from Area D contained a high percentage 
volume of mollusc shells. Relatively little wood 
charcoal was preserved and much of the volume of 
the charred plant material in the flots consisted of 
cereal grain fragments. Cereal grains were preserved 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 169 


Table 13. Charred plant remains from the Earlier Neolithic pits. (Numbers refer to whole specimens and numbers in brackets refer 


to fragments unless stated.) 


Sample 1 
Context 
Pit 323 
Pit Fill basal 
Sample Volume Sule; 
Flot Volume 52ml 
Sorted flot volume 2ml 
Taxon Component 

Domestic taxa 

Triticum cf dicoccum grain 

Triticum cf dicoccum spikelet forks (glumes) 

Triticum grain 

dicoccum/monococcum 

Triticum sp. grain 1 

Triticum sp. spikelet forks (glumes) 1 

Hordeum vulgare var. grain 

nudum 

Hordeum vulgare grain 4 (2) 

cf. Hordeum vulgare grain 

Cereal indet grain BL C718) 

Wild taxa 

Corylus avellana nutshell (all fragments) 1 


322-3119 


2) 3 4 
322-3223 322-3329 330-3344 
323 323 325 
basal basal basal 
4L. 6:5 1: elles 
20ml 45ml 82ml 
2ml 5ml 12ml 

1 

2 (3) 

2 

i 22 (4) 

2 3 (1) 13 (71) 

1 
6 We) 6 (10) 
2 
6(43) 11 (420) 36 (c.700) 
4 38 149 


in abundance in samples from Area D, although they 
were usually highly vesicular, distorted and had often 
lost much of their outer surface..This made 
identification difficult even to genus level in most cases 
and only occasionally could cereal grain identifications 
be made to species or sub-species level. 

Several typical emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) 
grains were distinguished in sample 4 from Pit 325. 
This sample also included two grains which may have 
derived from either emmer (Triticum dicoccum) or 
einkorn (Triticum monococcum). A single well 
preserved naked barley grain (Hordeum vulgare var. 
nudum) was distinguished in sample 4 from pit 325, 
recognisable by its rounded form and wrinkled 
surface. The good preservation of this grain in 
comparison to the others was noticeable and may 
indicate a different preservational history. Many 
grains were only identifiable to general barley or 
wheat categories, and both barley and wheat were 
recorded in each pit. Many grains were highly 
compressed and distorted. This distortion and the 
vesicular appearance suggest that they may have 
been charred at high temperatures in a confined 
space, such charring effects having been observed 
in laboratory experiments (Fairbairn 1991). All of 
the identified cereal taxa are well known in the British 
Neolithic (Moffett et al. 1989). They were also 
identified by Helbaek in his work on the causewayed 


enclosure and in the 1988 excavations with the 
exception of the naked barley. 

Cereal chaff was preserved in the form of wheat 
spikelet forks and glume bases in both pits. The narrow 
spikelet forks with wide disarticulation scars typical 
of emmer were identified in samples from pit 325. 
However, most of the specimens were highly 
fragmented and beyond identification. 

Several fruit and nut remains were preserved in 
the pits, hazelnut shell fragments being recorded in 
all the samples. In most cases few fragments were 
recorded, amounting to less than the equivalent of 
one whole nutshell per sample. Sample 4 (pit 325) 
contained the largest number and volume of shell 
fragments and the widest range of soft fruit remains, 
including the stone of a hawthorn fruit (haw) probably 
from Crataegus monogyna. Several fragments of the 
stone of sloe (Prunus spinosa) were identifiable by 
the characteristic sculpted surface and were freshly 
broken, suggesting that they were originally part of 
one specimen which had been broken during 
archaeological recovery. Fragments of apple pip, 
probably from the wild crab-apple (Malus sylvestris) 
were identified in sample 4 and sample 1, this being 
the only soft fruit remain from pit 323. 

The few wild plant/weed seeds identified from 
Area D were all from sample 4 with the exception of 
one fruit of a bedstraw species (Galium). This was 


170 


identified by its characteristic shape, although the loss 
of the diagnostic outer surface meant that it was not 
distinguishable at the species level. The assemblage 
in sample 4 was small but relatively diverse. Three 
groups of taxa from the goosefoot family were 
identified including one specimen of Chenopodium 
murale, the fragment having the characteristic cell 
pattern and marginal keel of the species (Bergerren 
1981). The typical trigonous, angled fruits of a dock 
species (Rumex sp.) were identified as well as a single 
fruit of greater plantain (Plantago major). Two other 
fruit types were only identifiable at the genus and 
family level, one from the mint family (Lamiaceae), 
and the second a fruit of one of the meadowgrasses 
(Poa). Several probable seeds remained unidentified 
from samples 1, 2 and 4. 

Several small fragments of vegetative 
parenchyma were identified in samples from both 
pits (samples 3 and 4). Unlike that in the samples 
from Area M the specimens contained small (10-15 
uum wide), densely packed cells and the specimens 
lacked vascular bundles. Taxonomic identification 
was impossible, although the cell size and structure 
suggest that the fragments are derived from charred 
endosperm or cotyledon tissue from a large seed or 
fruit (J. Hather pers. comm.), possibly from the 
broken sloe also identified in the sample. 

A variety of other remains was recognisable in the 
remaining assemblages from both pits. The only 
identified specimen was the culm fragment of a grass 
species, identified on the basis of its anatomical 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


characteristics observable on the SEM. Other culm 
fragments remained unidentified from pits 323 and 
325 (samples 3 and 4), with the damaged remains of 
buds present in samples 1 and 4. Several small woody 
structures, possibly stems (c.2mm wide), were 
recorded in samples 1 and 4, all being damaged and 
unidentifiable. A possible fruit pedicel was identified 
in sample 4, of the type seen in the Rosaceae, possibly 
deriving from either sloe or haw. The final class of 
material has been labelled ‘vesicular material’. It was 
common in samples 1, 2 and 4, the specimens 
consisting of fused, glassy, dense material, probably 
of plant origin but with no clear features visible. 


Plant remains from Area M (Later Neolithic: 
Table 14) 


The flots from Area M contained a higher proportion 
of charred plant material than those from Area D, 
much of which was wood charcoal. Unlike those from 
Area D they contained few cereal remains, all of which 
derived from the lower fill of pit 212. These possible 
cereal remains were distorted, indistinct, 
unidentifiable and included one whole grain and 
several fragments in sample 7 and one fragment in 
sample 9. Hazelnut shell fragments were present in 
all the samples, although again usually only in small 
amounts equivalent to less than one whole nut with 
the exception of sample 11. Other small wild seeds 
and fruits were present in samples from both pits, 
although unidentifiable. A small woody axis was 


Table 14. Charred plant remains from the Later Neolithic pits. (Numbers refer to whole specimens and numbers in brackets refer to fragments 


unless stated.) 


Sample 5 6 
Context 219-2176 221-2443 
Pit 212 212 

Pit fill fill lower fill 
Sample Volume OL OL 

Flot Volume 22ml 24ml 


Sorted flot volume <Iml 


Taxon Component 
Domestic taxa 
Cereal indet grain 
Wild taxa 

Corylus avellana nutshell (all fragments) 11 8 
indet. (?monocotyledon) stem 
indet aerenchyma P 
indet strorage parenchyma 
indet parenchyma P 


Indet woody axes 


s) 


Indet seed/fruit 2 


Indet vesicular lumps P 


221- 


212 
lowe 
OL. 
73m 
Iml 


86 


a 8 9 10 12 13 11 
2534 221/2- 221/2- 221/4- 224-2538 .. 224-2539 © 223-2 
2414 2423 2508 
212 212 212 212 212 202 
sr fill lower fill lower fill lower fill — basal basal basal 
7h, 1OL CRE 8L Tele 6oL 
] 24ml 34m 19ml 25ml 24ml 47ml 
<Iml Iml <Iml 3ml Iml 2ml 
1 frag 
32 33 114 6 32 115 


P Pp P Pp P 
P 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 171 


recorded, as in the Area D samples and was again 
unidentifiable. The vesicular material described 
above was present in the three layers of pit 212. 

A large number of fragments of vegetative 
parenchyma were recorded in the samples from Area 
M, although few were identifiable due to poor 
preservation of anatomical structure. Glassy material 
with distinctive outer surface (epidermis?) was present 
in both pits but was unidentifiable. Ten of the best 
preserved specimens from this area were selected for 
SEM investigation. Aerenchyma was identified in five 
samples from each of the excavated pits and all 
sampled layers with the exception of the upper fill of 
212 (Figs 22-23).This special form of parenchyma is 
the main storage tissue in the rhizomes of aquatic 
plants and has a characteristic structure of air spaces 
separated by membranes consisting of large 
parenchyma cells (Fig. 22). The species was 
indistinguishable from the specimens, although most 
aquatic aerenchymatous plants are monocotyledons. 
The structure of the outer layers of cells was recorded 
in one specimen (Fig. 23), showing the periderm and 
inner aerenchyma with layers of non-aerenchymatous 
cells between. This type of aerenchyma and the tissue 
arrangement is seen most commonly in families such 
as the Alismataceae (although seen occasionally also 


TE gs oon 


fi 
aaaant 


Figure 22. Close-up of aerenchyma from the lower fill of 
Later Neolithic pit 212 (sample 8) 


Figure 23. Section of parenchymatous tissue from the lower 
fill of Later Neolithic pit 212 (sample 6). Visible in this 
specimen are the epidermis, sub-epidermal zone of small 
dense cells and the larger air spaces of the aerenchyma 


in some members of the sedge family, the 
Cyperaceae). Jon Hather has suggested that the most 
likely source would be one of the water plantains 
(Alisma spp.) or arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia), 
both of which produce edible tubers known to have 
been collected and used as foods (Hather 1993). 
Three other types of parenchymatous tissue were 
recorded. The first, recovered from sample 8 (pit 212), 
consisted of large-celled storage parenchyma, possibly 
from a root . Another specimen from pit 202 is shown 
in Fig. 24. This consisted of dense parenchyma cells 
containing a large number of vascular bundles, 
possibly coming from stem of monocotyledon. Several 
specimens from pit 212 (sample 9) had similar form 
and appeared to derive from a single plant structure. 
The outer surface had a distinctive undulating 
appearance with collapsed areas between peaks (Fig. 
25). Internally the tissues were indistinct, although 
in one large fragment a smooth pit was preserved, 
possibly the imprint or testa of a seed. The seed 
imprint suggests that the seed took up a small total 
percentage volume of the whole. The reconstructed 
size of the specimen was about 4-5 mm, the shape 


172 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Figure 24. Dense tissues from the lower fill of Later 
Neolithic pit 202 (sample 11). Possibly a monocotyledon 
stem 


spherical to ovoid. It is possible that the specimen is 
the remains of a small soft fruit, of the same size as 
elder (Sambucus nigra). 


Interpretations 


Theoretical considerations. 

Plants are routinely used and exchanged in non- 
industrial societies throughout the world for many 
purposes including, but not exclusively limited to, use 
as food (Moore 1986; Campbell 1994) in systems of 
value very different from those which operate in the 
contemporary western world (Appadurai 1986; 
Thomas 1991). Use and exchange of any material 
goods by individuals and communities are contingent 
on the beliefs and values of the social groups of which 
they are part. If the local Neolithic can be 
characterised by at least partly mobile settlement by 
an indigenous population only gradually adopting 
Neolithic material culture (Whittle 1993) and in a 
state of social and conceptual flux (Thomas 1991), 
with values rooted in the gatherer-hunter societies of 
the region, then exchanges and consumption would 
have been determined by these values during the 


SoS BR ee OR Re ew 


1, 68mm 


1 20Ky. 


Figure 25. Outer surface of a possible charred soft fruit 
from the lower fill of Later Neolithic pit 212 (sample 9) 
showing characteristic collapsed pattern 


everyday events which physically sustained life, as well 
as in less prosaic activities which may have punctuated, 
defined and driven the life of the wider community. 

The preservation of charred plant remains requires 
the exposure of plants to heat. It is usually assumed 
that most charred plant remains, with the exception 
of those burnt in catastrophic conflagrations, are 
charred by either accidental exposure to fire or the 
deliberate burning of waste during production, 
processing or consumption related activities (Moffett 
et al. 1989, 245), and then dumped into pits or other 
contexts whose primary use was for some other 
purpose. Activities include the parching of cereals 
prior to pounding (Hillman 1981), roasting nuts, 
roasting grain, cooking food and burning the debris 
of food preparation (Legge 1989). For the purposes 
of this study, however, the focus shifts to the acts of 
charring and deposition themselves and questions 
such as how and why such activities were carried out, 
by whom and how they reflect and acted upon the 
groups which carried them out in the Neolithic social 
milieu. Several modes of charring can be suggested 
here for the archaeological past distinguished by the 
relationship of the process of charring to human 
agency: 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 173 


a. Deliberate burning. The use of plant fuels 
such as wood and peat are an obvious case. Other 
possibilities include: the burning of grain and other 
stored foods to remove pests; the burning of the 
by-products of the production and consumption 
of plant products; plants burnt as incense; and 
the deliberate burning of plants for ceremonial 
and ritual purposes. 

b. Accidental burning, of plants during use for 
another purpose, as in spills of grain during 
processing for food, or accidental charring during 
cereal parching (Hillman 1981). 

c. Incidental burning of plants independent 
of any direct usage, for example as a result of the 
burning of soil seed-banks below hearths, or the 
charring of plants blown on to open fires. 


In the absence of any evidence for in-situ burning 
within the Windmill Hill pits, it must be assumed that 
the charred remains were incorporated into the pits 
after transformation by fire elsewhere. Again several! 
modes of entry can be suggested for the inclusion of 
plant remains in the pit fills: 

i. Deliberate selection. Charred plant remains 
were deliberately selected for inclusion in the 
deposit as charred cereals, fruits and nuts. 

ii. Ash incorporation. Plant remains were 
incorporated into the deposits through the 
deliberate inclusion of the residues of burning, 
although the specific plant remains were not 
picked out or selected. 

ili. Mixed incorporation. Charred plant 
remains were incorporated into the deposits 
through human activity which included ash and 
charcoal as part of a more diverse group of remains 
(i.e. incorporation of a midden into a pit). 

iv. Incidental. Incorporation of plant remains 
into a feature is totally independent of human 
action due to natural processes of erosion and 
deposition acting on charred material dumped 
elsewhere. 


Earlier Neolithic pits of Area D. 

The assemblages from Area D consisted mainly of 
charred cereal grains preserved with a little charcoal 
in an ashy soil excavated in association with bones 
and artefacts, including sarsen grinding stones 
presumably used for processing plant products. The 
pit sides were generally unweathered and fresh 
suggesting that they were infilled soon after excavation. 
All four cereal assemblages from pits 323 and 325 
contained large numbers of charred grains, wheat 
spikelet forks and glume bases. Wheat and barley were 


identified in all four samples, with emmer wheat and 
naked barley also present in the sample from pit 325. 
These crops are unlikely to have been gathered, 
processed, stored or cooked together because glume 
wheats, hulled and naked barley require different 
husbandry and processing techniques (Hillman 1981) 
and have different cooking properties. The lack of 
culm nodes, awn fragments and weed flora suggests 
that the cereals were charred in a final processed form, 
in the spikelet in the case of the glume wheats and as 
processed whole grains in the case of barley. 

Large concentrations of grain and chaff were 
recovered from both pits and in the case of pit 323 
similar assemblages were recorded in all three samples 
from the ashy soil layer. Although the presence of the 
cereals could be explained by the burning of the 
cleanings from stored grain thrown on to the fire prior 
to the preparation of food, such an explanation would 
seem unlikely. The prime grain represented in the 
samples would be only a small fraction of the whole 
quantity that initially entered the fire, most having 
been burnt, and if food preparation was the final aim 
of the processes during which plants were charred it 
would seem curious to throw such a large quantity of 
that food on to the fire. Ultimately, the repeated high 
concentrations of cereal remains would be difficult 
to account for without deliberate burning unless an 
unlikely series of burning events produced, entirely 
by coincidence, identical charred remain traces. The 
lack of any obvious signs of insect infestation or 
sprouting of the cereals suggests that this burning was 
neither the result of the destruction of spoiled grain 
nor the remains of grain malted for beer. If the thesis 
that processed prime produce was the source of the 
remains the most likely site of burning would have 
been a fire. The lack of charcoal could indicate that 
the cereals were burnt separately. 

The non-domestic plant remains would also be 
most conveniently accounted for by the deliberate 
burning of waste from food preparation. Peelings, 
stones, shells and other waste would easily be disposed 
of in this way and the harder plant parts such as the 
nutshell and the haw stones would have required the 
sustained heat of a fire to ensure that they were 
completely charred. As with the domestic produce 
this need for sustained heat runs counter to the 
presence of only tiny quantities of charcoal in the 
samples from Area D, more of which would have been 
expected it the remains were generated in hearths. 
The other wild plant species may have been burnt as 
tinder in the case of the non-domestic grass remains 
(culm and seeds) and possibly incidentally through 
charring of wild seeds in the soil when fires were set 


174 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


(e.g. the seeds of great plantain (Plantago major) 
and goosefoot (Chenopodium sp.)). 

Despite the lack of charcoal, the association of 
wild and domestic species in the ashy soil suggests 
that they were burnt in association, the cereals being 
deliberately burnt as a form of ceremonial 
consumption, and the wild plants either deliberately 
burnt or derived from burnt waste. The plant remains 
ended up in the pit after the ash from the fires in 
which the plants burnt was placed in the pit along 
with other residues of consumption, and other 
symbols of that consumption such as the grinding 
stones and animal bones. The emphasis of the 
assemblages is upon domestic products and wild 
woodland resources. Individual plant remains were 
not selected from the ash left in a fireplace, but were 
incorporated as part of a deliberate ash deposit. Direct 
transference of ash from a fire seems the most likely 
route when the archaeological context and artefact 
associations are considered. It is also possible that 
the remains were transferred from an ash heap or 
midden after accumulation over an unknown time. 
This explanation seems less likely given the character 
of the pit fills, which seem to be more characteristic 
of single events. 


Later Neolithic pits of Area M. 
The assemblages from the pits in Area M contained 
only tiny plant remain fragments in large quantities 
of charcoal suggesting that the plant remains were 
generated in a hearth and placed in the pits as part of 
an ash deposit. The fresh pit sides again suggested 
that the pits were back-filled rapidly after initial 
excavation. Hearth debris may have been transferred 
directly into the pits with other residues of the activities 
associated with the fires or after collection in a midden. 
Selection and disposal of ash and associated debris 
were deliberate, although it would also necessarily 
involve unconscious selection of the individual 
components of the plant remain assemblages if all of 
the ash and hearth debris was not collected. The plant 
remains from Area M were less numerous than those 
from Area D but were present throughout the sampled 
pit fills and contained few domestic remains. It is 
unclear which activities produced the remains but they 
could have been generated through the burning of 
waste generated by activities related to food 
consumption. The presence of large quantities of 
charcoal may indicate that the fires in which the plant 
remains were burnt were not tended for that purpose 
as in Area D. 

The only cereals in these pits were recovered from 
the lower fill of pit 212. These few fragments were 


badly preserved and may be derived from the burning 
of the residues of food preparation or may be residual, 
being present in the pit as the result of erosion from 
the topsoil ‘charcoal bank’ identified in the excavation 
of the causewayed enclosure (Fairbairn 1999). In 
contrast to the Area D pits, the emphasis in Area M 
is on wild plants from both wetland and woodland 
areas. The presence of the wetland plant resources is 
of some interest as despite the low level of taxonomic 
identification, the most likely source of the remains is 
from a range of water plants which grow in slow- 
moving or still waters and which are permanently 
inundated. The nearest source is at least 1 km from 
the site, indicating definite importation of plants to 
the site and probable storage. This is different from 
the other wild plant taxa, all of which may have grown 
close to the pits in the woodland/scrub habitat of 
Neolithic Windmill Hill. Such finds are significant as 
they back up the observations from other sites 
(Murphy 1988; Moffett et al. 1989) that wild resources 
from a range of habitats were collected well into the 
Neolithic. 


Context and meaning. 

In the Earlier Neolithic world, domestic plants may 
have carried weight as novel resources outside 
traditional forms of knowledge. Consumption in feasts 
accompanying the ceremonies at the site may have 
endowed status and drawn upon the symbolism of 
the domestic and tame to claim high rank and position 
(Thomas 1993). Deliberate destruction of cereals may 
have served similar purposes. As with the traditional 
wild foods, consumption may have also been an 
explicit or implicit expression of control or access to 
land and resources that grew or were planted there. 
Wild plants may also have carried the influence of 
tradition, their use acting as a means of invoking 
ancestral claims to position and land access, as in the 
presence of the wetland plant tubers in the Later 
Neolithic pits. The ash deposits themselves may have 
acted, with the other incorporated artefacts, as 
metonyms for the completion of these ceremonies and 
exchanges, while also providing a means of fixing these 
acts in the location of the hill and so being the material 
basis for the creation and later invocation of tradition 
(cf. Edmonds 1993). 


Temporal and spatial patterns of plant use 
on Windmill Hill. 

Over the history of Neolithic use of the hill trends are 
apparent in the representation of plants in the 
excavated features. Assemblages from the Earlier 
Neolithic pits were burnt in acts of deliberate 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 175 


destruction. Other pre-enclosure contexts included 
charred plant remains, and plants were a general 
feature of the Earlier Neolithic use of the hill, whether 
the interpretations presented here are accepted or not. 
Plant remains from the Earlier Neolithic enclosure 
deposits were generated mainly as the result of 
accidental burning during the consumption of plant 
foods and included cereals and wild foods. In some 
contexts deliberate burning generated the remains as 
the plants were used as a metaphor for the body and 
its ills. The Later Neolithic plant use in the enclosure 
is characterised by similar deposits to that of the earlier 
phase of use, yet that beyond the enclosure sees only 
the residues of wild plants as definite utilised 
resources. 


Discussion. 

The temptation is to dwell only on those assemblages 
which are well preserved in easily understood contexts, 
applying quantitative techniques to discern slight 
changes in the patterning of archaeobotanical 
assemblages that are then given meaning only in 
relation to subsistence practice. The interpretation of 
less well preserved assemblages is not attempted, or 
written off due to ‘taphonomic bias’. The experience 
with the botanical remains from Windmill Hill is that 
even with poorly preserved remains, a consideration 
of issues beyond the bounds of subsistence within a 
deeper consideration of the social context of charring 
and deposition allows a wider set of interpretations 
to be generated which provide a more relevant 
contribution to the understanding of the 
archaeological features. The botanical investigations 
at Windmill Hill, including those of the pits and 
causewayed enclosure, have provided scope for such 
an interpretative approach to be attempted and new 
perspectives on the Neolithic use of plants to emerge. 


DISCUSSION 

by Alasdair Whittle, Jessica Davies, 

Ian Dennis, Andrew Fairbairn and 
_ Michael Hamilton 


Chronology 


So far, both features and the components of the lithic 
scatter can only be assigned generalised dates, in the 
Earlier and Later Neolithic. Despite the overall aims 
of the project, radiocarbon dates have not so far been 


obtained from the pits. It was felt that isolated dates, 
for example on bone samples selected before full 
analysis of the whole assemblage including assessment 
of their weathering, would be of little value, and it 
will be far more useful in the future to obtain both 
dates on varying samples (plant remains and fresh 
animal bone, for example) from the pits and further 
dates on samples from the ditches of the causewayed 
enclosure (Whittle et al. 1999). The Later Neolithic 
pits presumably date to after the primary use of the 
enclosure, but the position of the Earlier Neolithic 
pits is so far unclear; even with radiocarbon dates it 
may remain so, given the imprecision of the method. 
In a sense this does not matter, as the features and 
finds are sufficently interesting in their own right and 
we should not be obsessed by the enclosure, but it is 
important to attempt relative dating, since pits earlier 
than the enclosure would contribute to understanding 
of the early context, while pits contemporary with the 
enclosure would give a relatively rare insight into what 
went on around such an enclosure. 

The near-absence of decorated pottery from the 
earlier pits could suggest that they belong, relative to 
the enclosure, earlier than or early in its existence, 
but the number of sherds is very small, and the 
inference is unreliable. In the absence of radiocarbon 
dates, it can be stressed that both sets of pits appear 
to have been fairly short-lived. Most are unweathered 
and there are frequent deliberate fills. There are 
conjoining flints in 202 and 212. These simple 
observations may in fact be at least as valuable as 
radiocarbon determinations, since they immediately 
give insight into the social context of activity (cf. 
Pollard 1999) outside the enclosure. 


The Earlier Neolithic setting 


The final significance of the earlier pits has yet to be 
determined. At one level, they can be seen as part of 
the series of sporadic, perhaps transitory or short- 
lived, occupations that characterise the area in the 
Earlier Neolithic (Whittle et al. 1999 and references). 
The current belief in the relative mobility of Earlier 
Neolithic settlement (e.g. Thomas 1991;Whittle 1996) 
has rightly been challenged (Evans 1999, 24), and 
one alternative is to envisage a spectrum of kinds of 
occupations of varying duration and character 
(Whittle 1997b; Pollard 1999). The specific evidence 
here is ambiguous. There were no reliable ageing data 
from the animal bones; the assemblage could be seen 
as butchery waste of carcasses exploited elsewhere, 
implying movement of some kind. The plant remains 


176 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


imply the existence somewhere nearby of plots or 
gardens at the least, but it was argued above that the 
cereal remains may have been deliberately burnt, to 
enhance their novel significance: acts of deliberate 
spoilage and ceremonial consumption. This could 
imply that the scale and duration of cultivation were 
not intense, but equally allows the possibility of at 
least short-term sedentism. The quern and rubbing 
stones could also be viewed as principally symbolic 
or routine. People stayed long enough to work flint 
right through the reduction process, and sherds 
selected for deposition could suggest separate 
middening; context 310 from pit 308 and 330 from 
325, which produce most of the Earlier Neolithic 
pottery, represent sizeable proportions of those pits 
but produced relatively little flint, perhaps suggesting 
a separation of the middening of flint and pottery 
(Hamilton 1995, 224). This might again imply some 
history to the use of the locale (in the terms of Evans 
1999). The earlier pits themselves were generally 
unweathered and backfilled, implying short-lived 
events rather than long occupation, and there were 
no signs of post-framed or other structures, but the 
areas opened were small and the chalk subsoil has 
presumably been weathered to some degree. The 
earlier component of the lithic scatter may suggest 
only sporadic occupations, but periodic visits to the 
same small places cannot be excluded (contra Pollard 
1999, 82). 

At another level, the significance of the earlier pits 
resides in the perspective they give on the enclosure. 
It is easy to be over-swayed by what went on in the 
enclosure as a whole and to see the enclosure as a 
single phenomenon. It is argued in the enclosure 
report (Whittle et al. 1999) that despite the large- 
scale of the layout, many of the depositions in the 
ditches may have been small-scale and themselves 
episodic. Though they can be characterised by a great 
range of combinations of material and of degrees of 
intentionality, deliberately placed deposits were 
recurrent (Whittle er al. 1999, chapters 3, 4, 11 and 
17). The selection for inclusion in the pits outside the 
enclosure of animal bones, flints, sarsen artefacts and 
well burnt cereal remains is strongly reminiscent in 
general of the activity seen in the enclosure ditches. 
The earlier pits may therefore serve importantly to 
underline the frequency of this kind of activity, 
whether few or many people were involved in either 
case. The pits also involved digging into the ground, 
and in the case of 324, deliberate backfilling of chalk. 
Clearly this is not on the monumental or cohesive 
scale of the enclosure, but the enclosure perhaps only 
had meaning in a world in which these kinds of activity 


were widespread or at least recurrent in other 
contexts (cf. Barrett 1994). In this sense, and for 
the time being, it may matter less that we do not 
know whether the pits pre-dated or were 
contemporary with the enclosure. 


The Later Neolithic setting 


At a time when there was only limited use of the 
enclosure ditches (Whittle et a/. 1999), occupation 
of the southern slope of Windmill Hill seems to have 
intensified. In this, the locale is similar to several 
others in the area (Thomas 1991; Holgate 1987; 
Whittle 1993 and references). The later component 
of the lithic scatter was probably significantly 
greater than the earlier, as discussed above. It has 
been argued on various grounds that the Later 
Neolithic saw a trend to increasing or established 
sedentism (Thomas 1991; Bradley 1987). The 
evidence from specific locales may put this in 
question, as discussed elsewhere with reference to 
Silbury Hill and the West Kennet palisade 
enclosures (Whittle 1997a). The evidence from the 
southern slope of Windmill Hill is once more 
ambiguous. There is no evidence for post-framed 
or other above-ground structures, but the same 
qualifications as above must apply. Pits were 
unweathered and backfilled; conjoining flints 
reinforce the impression of short life. Fills, charcoal 
(not yet identified) and burnt sarsen indicate fires 
or hearths. The whole flint reduction process is 
represented. Sherds were selected for deposition, 
which may again imply middening of some kind. 
The plant remains seem to emphasise wild species 
more than earlier. This may be compatible with 
continued mobility or short-term sedentism, or a 
reduced scale of cereal cultivation, or a different 
season or spatial location of cereal processing. The 
much less abundant plant remains from the later 
pits seem, however, to have been burnt during their 
consumption as food, beverages or medicines, 
which could imply routine circumstance. The ageing 
data from the animal bones show the presence of 
animals of varying ages, including young ones; as 
discussed above, no specific or exclusive season of 
occupation can be claimed, and the year-round 
presence of people with their animals somewhere 
within reach is not to be excluded. To a greater 
degree than in the earlier pits, there were meat- 
bearing bones in some abundance and there was 
primary carcass reduction nearby. Wild animals 
continued to be exploited in the area. 


NEOLITHIC ACTIVITY AND OCCUPATION OUTSIDE WINDMILL HILL CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE 177 


It is probably a mistake to seek a single answer 
from this kind of evidence, and better to envisage shifts 
along the spectrum of mobility and short-term 
sedentism. The Later Neolithic trend in the area, if 
indeed there is a single trend (cf. Evans 1999), may 
be to reduced mobility and the more frequent 
establishment of short-term sedentism (cf. Whittle 
1996; 1997a). It is important also not to neglect the 
possibly enduring significance of the locality (in the 
terms of Evans 1999), since the place represented by 
the hill and its tradition may have lived on in 
continuing and increasing visits, to be enhanced now 
by the view down from an older history on to the 
other spectacular and new additions to the Later 
Neolithic landscape of the area; both Avebury and 
Silbury Hill are directly visible from the southern slope 
of Windmill Hill. Some of the deposition in pits 212 
and 202 may hark back to earlier ways of doing things, 
but it would be premature to assign the pits to special 
times and the lithic scatter to the routine, or vice versa. 
Nonetheless the later pits and some at least of the 
their contents might have been associated with the 
exterior of the enclosure, in line with the interpretation 
of the enclosure ditch circuits as realms of value, 
drawing on the symbolism of domesticity at its core 
and the wild at its periphery (Whittle 1996; Whittle 
et al. 1999). Equally, through time, such distinctions 
may have become blurred and the total history of the 
place may have become its dominant drawing power. 


The search for useful occupation 


The investigations reported here were hard work, and 
subsoil features were not located till a relatively late 
stage. It was easy to feel frustrated during the process 
of survey and excavation, because there remains an 
expectation that if only we try hard enough or look 
cleverly enough in the right places, a more abundant 
and better preserved Neolithic settlement record will 
somehow emerge. Circumstances will vary, but the 
kind of evidence reported here may be as good as we 
are likely to get. The total range of evidence recovered, 
despite its fragmentary nature and the difficulties of 
locating it, is in fact impressive: for moving, dwelling, 
“using plants and animals, and in general inhabiting a 
history. The Neolithic archaeological record of the 
area need not be seen as wholly dominated by 
monuments, even if it will require continued hard 
work, as well as refined search methodologies, to find 
the relevant occupation evidence. The harder tasks, 
however, may be to re-think both our expectations 
and our interpretations. 


Acknowledgements (AW). 

Grateful thanks are due to: Robin Butler and the 
National Trust for access; The British Academy and 
The School of History and Archaeology, Cardiff 
University, for financial support; Joshua Pollard for 
assisting direction, and Ian Dennis for supervision, 
and for the published drawings; Michael Hamilton 
for geophysical survey; Julian Richards and the late 
Tony Clark for advice; Stanley Jenkins for guidance 
in the Alexander Keiller Museum, Avebury; Martyn 
Barber and Dale Serjeantson for information; Robin 
and Gill Swanton for every help; and the Cardiff 
University students and other volunteeers for 
surviving hot weather, wet weather and sieving. 


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Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 181-204 


Excavations in Wilton, 1995-6: St John’s Hospital 


and South Street 


by Phil Andrews, Lorraine Mepham and Rachael Seager Smith 
with contributions by Michael J. Allen, Sheila Hamilton-Dyer and Pat 


Hinton; illustrations by S. E. James 


This report describes the results from two recent excavations in Wilton where comparatively little archaeological 
work has been undertaken despite the known importance of the town between the 9th and 13th centuries. The 
larger site, at St John’s Hospital, revealed a section through the late Saxon defences that sealed deposits of 
Romano-British date. The other site in South Street demonstrated occupation from the 9th/10th century onwards 
and produced notable assemblages of pottery and 1ron-working slag. 


PROJECT BACKGROUND 


Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to undertake 
two excavations in Wilton in 1995 and 1996, at the 
New Doctor’s Surgery, South Street and St John’s 
Hospital respectively. Both sites lie in an area of high 
archaeological potential, St John’s Hospital across 
the line of the late Saxon defences in the north-west 
of the town, and South Street within the medieval 
and possibly also the late Saxon settlement (Figure 
1). The excavations followed earlier evaluations at 
both sites, and the work at St John’s Hospital also 
included a watching brief during development. The 
majority of this report is concerned with St John’s 
Hospital, with asummary report of the South Street 
excavation, although the finds, particularly the 
pottery, from the latter site are dealt with in more 
detail. 


HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL 
BACKGROUND 


The historical and archaeological background for 
Wilton presented here is largely derived from James’s 
and Haslam’s work (James 1962; Haslam 1976) which 
provide the most comprehensive studies of the town. 
However, there remains much further work which 
could be done on the documentary sources and very 


little archaeological excavation has yet been 
undertaken. 

The slightly raised gravel island between two rivers 
on which Wilton is situated would have provided an 
attractive settlement site for early inhabitants of the 
Nadder and Wylye valleys. The existence of prehistoric 
and Roman activity in the immediate area of the town 
has been postulated although, prior to the excavations 
reported on here, no archaeological evidence for this 
had been forthcoming. Haslam has suggested that 
there may have been an early river crossing utilising 
the gravel island, but implies that a significant Roman 
settlement is unlikely as the main road between 
Dorchester and Old Sarum crossed the Nadder 
approximately two kilometres east of Wilton (Haslam 
1976, 67). 

A likely starting point for the Saxon settlement of 
Wilton is in the 6th or 7th century, although there 
remains a lack of evidence for its existence prior to 
the 9th century, by which time it had become the 
capital of the shire. The first documentary reference 
to Wilton (Uilton) dates to AD 838, in the form of a 
concordat between the King of Wessex and the 
Archbishop of Canterbury written at Kingston upon 
Thames and confirmed at Wilton. This implies a 
special legal status for Wilton, which at this time was 
probably one of the more established royal seats in 
Wessex, where the king is likely to have had a palace. 


Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury SP4 6EB 


J WILTO , 


2km 


N. 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


SU 


DITCHAMPTON 


St John's 
i Hospital 


Fig 1. Site location plan 


St Andrew's 


Church 


My 
/, if 


Kingsbury // 
Square x Lyf, 
Sey 
f 
f 


Hospital 


EDs yy, site of Jl 
Pte pgs Mill OW vy je 
SERED 


New 7 
Doctor's 
Surgery 


site of Y 


site of Abbey 


[| Archaeological excavation 


YZ, Probable extent of Saxon occupation 
y 4% 
WUT dh: (after Haslam 1976) 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


In Wilton, place-name evidence for such a building 
is possibly provided by the modern street name 
Kingsbury Square, located to the south-east of the 
Market Place (see Figure 1). Kingsbury may derive 
from Kings Burh, identifying the area as associated 
with a royal burh or defended settlement. Wilton 
was also an occasional seat of the West Saxon 
bishop, and a nunnery was founded in the town 
during the 9th century that was subsequently to 
become a major monastic establishment. However, 
by the time of Alfred’s reign in the later 9th century 
the importance of Wilton as a royal seat was on the 
wane, and Winchester had become the principal 
town as well as being the ecclesiastical focus of the 
Kingdom. 

During the 9th and 10th centuries Wilton was an 
important defended centre, and the last battle of one 
of the Danish campaigns was fought there in 871. 
The Burghal Hidage, an early 10th century document 
recording defended sites established by King Alfred, 
lists Wilton (with 1400 hides) as one of three key sites 
in Wiltshire defending the boundary of Wessex, and 
the town may have been replanned and had its 
defences remodelled at this time. Throughout this 
period Wilton was the predominant mint for the shire 
although, after 1003, when the town was sacked by 
the Danes, the moneyers appear to have left it 
temporarily and moved to Old Sarum. However, 
Wilton was not completely abandoned as a mint until 
1250. 

The Domesday survey records that Wilton paid a 
rent of £50, though the number of burgesses was not 
recorded, and this indicates its continued importance 
amongst the towns of Wiltshire, with eight parish 
churches and an additional four in the suburbs listed. 
The granting of a charter to the Guild Merchant in 
the early 12th century, conferring the right to free 
passage and tolls, was a major economic benefit to 
the town. Documentary sources indicate that Wilton 
continued to expand throughout the 11th, 12th and 
13th centuries, and the presence of a large Jewish 
community suggests a significant urban population 
involved in commercial and industrial activity. 

Wilton suffered a decline in the late 13th and 14th 

_centuries caused by the growth of New Sarum 
(Salisbury), 5km to the east, and the construction of 
the Harnham Bridge in 1244 which allowed direct 
access from Salisbury westwards without the need to 
pass through Wilton. This decline was probably 
exacerbated by depopulation suffered through the 
Black Death, and the fortunes of the town did not 
revive until the 18th century with the growth of the 
carpet industry. 


183 


The lack of recent redevelopment within the 
historic core of the town has meant that there have 
been few opportunities for archaeological 
intervention, and those that have taken place have 
been of very limited scale. During the early 1970s 
two evaluation trenches were excavated under the 
direction of David Hill across the line of the Saxon 
defences immediately south of St John’s Hospital 
(WAM 1971, 191; WAM 1972, 175-6).The ditch and 
bank, which was subsequently investigated in 1996, 
was found in these trenches, and the results of this 
earlier work are discussed further below. An evaluation 
trench nearby, to the south-west of the church of St 
Mary and St Nicholas (at SU 0944 3120), failed to 
find any ditch and bank, although structural remains, 
provisionally identified as medieval, were revealed. 
Unfortunately, these remains could not be further 
investigated due to the high water table (WAM 1972, 
176). In 1963, examinations carried out in Kingsbury 
Square during construction work recorded structural 
remains, including a medieval house of probable 13th 
or 14th century date, but failed to identify any deposits 
earlier than 12th century (WAM 1964, 189). However, 
Haslam comments on the discovery of an iron- 
smelting site of probable Saxon date during the 
construction of a new health centre to the east of the 
market place in 1975 (Haslam 1976, 68-9). 


ST JOHN’S HOSPITAL 


(Figures 2-4) 
INTRODUCTION 


Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to carry out 
a programme of archaeological work on land to the 
south of St John’s Hospital, West Street (SU 0938 
3139), following the submission of a planning 
application to construct 22 new almshouses on the 
site. The programme of work comprised an evaluation 
undertaken in November 1993, followed by 
excavation in June and July 1996, and a watching brief 
in October 1996 during development (Figure 2). All 
of these stages of work were undertaken according to 
briefs issued by the County Archaeological Officer 
for Wiltshire, and the results are presented and 
discussed together below. 

The area proposed for development covered c. 
3000m? on the north-west side of Wilton, and lies 
approximately midway between the River Wylye to 
the south-west and the River Nadder to the north- 
east. The north and west limits were closely defined 


184 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


St John's Square 


St John's Hospital 


Excavation trench 
Test-pit 
1970s trench 


Watching brief area 


Fig 2. St John’s Hospital: Extent of archaeological work and Saxon defences 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


by an existing ditch/culvert which connects the two 
rivers and is the traditional border between Wilton 
and the northern suburb of Little Ditchampton 
(formerly in the parish of Burcombe). The southern 
limit was formed by Netherwells (or Netherwalls) 
Lane, and the eastern limit by the rear boundaries of 
existing almshouses fronting onto West Street. At the 
time of the archaeological excavation, the northern 
half of the development area was covered by 
allotments and the southern part by waste ground 
and several mature trees. The ground surface sloped 
very gently down to the north, from a height of c. 
54.70m OD to c. 54.10m OD adjacent to the culvert. 
The drift geology of the area consists of a spur of 
valley gravel, overlying solid geology comprising 
Cretaceous Upper Chalk (Ordnance Survey 1976). 

St John’s Hospital, immediately to the north of 
the proposed development area, was founded in the 
12th century to provide accommodation for old and 
infirm poor people, and in this capacity has continued 
as an almshouse to the present day. The 1844 tithe 
map for Wilton and the 1859 Wilton inclosure award 
do not show the hospital, as it lay within the parish of 
Burcombe at that time, but they do indicate at least 
three buildings fronting on to the north side of 
Netherwells Lane. 

During the early 1970s two separate evaluation 
trenches were excavated within the proposed 
development area (WAM 1971, 191; WAM 1972, 175- 
6), although their precise locations remained 
uncertain until the recent work (Figure 2). These 
collectively indicated a 7m wide south-west to north- 
east aligned ditch at least 1m deep, with a possibly 
associated bank of river gravel 0.7m high to the south- 
east. A possible timber revetment consisting of posts 
and wattle was identified on the south side of the ditch. 
None of these features was dated, but the bank had 
been cut by a foundation trench for a stone wall which 
contained undiagnostic medieval pottery. It was 
suggested that the bank and ditch was that referred 
to in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 1045 relating to 
Ditchampton (Grundy 1919, 76, 290), and also part 
of the defensive earthwork recorded in the Burghal 
Hidage. 


~METHODS 


The evaluation (Wessex Archaeology 1993) 
comprised four 2m square, hand-dug test-pits, which 
were sited so as to avoid allotments in use at the time 
(Figure 2, TPs 1-4). The subsequent excavation 
(Wessex Archaeology 1996a) comprised a single 


185 


trench measuring 25m by 5m, representing 
approximately 22% of the proposed building 
footprint. This trench was located within the building 
footprint and positioned so as to lie across the line of 
the defences deduced from the test-pits and the earlier, 
1970s evaluation trenches (see Figure 2). The topsoil 
and various post-medieval and modern levelling 
deposits, mainly confined to the western half of the 
trench, were removed by machine, as were the 
majority of the bank deposits in the eastern half of 
the trench, and the features revealed were then 
excavated by hand. A watching brief was undertaken 
during the initial stages of development (Wessex 
Archaeology 1996b) and this allowed the recording 
and limited investigation of a large area of the site, 
which was subject to soil stripping and groundworks. 
This generally confirmed observations made during 
the excavation, and enabled some clarification and 
modification of the interpretation of the defensive 
sequence. 


RESULTS 
Romano-British deposits (Figure 3a) 


A sequence of deposits up to 0.4m thick was present 
in the eastern third of the excavation trench, sealed 
and preserved beneath later (Saxon) bank material 
(Figure 4). Several deposits produced small quantities 
of Roman pottery, but in a fairly abraded condition 
and perhaps only layer 125 can be ascribed with 
reasonable certainty to the Romano-British period. 
Layer 125, the earliest deposit, directly overlay natural 
gravel and is interpreted as a buried soil. It comprised 
a homogeneous brown silty clay loam up to 0.15m 
thick, and produced 29 sherds of Roman pottery 
including several dateable to the Ist — 2nd century, 
the remainder being undiagnostic. Partly overlying 
this buried soil and a possible post-hole, 130, was a 
gravel surface, 127, which produced four sherds of 
undiagnostic Roman pottery and a Romano-British 
penannular iron brooch, and may have continued 
further to the west as surface 75. A shallow, irregular 
feature, 93, cut gravel surface 75, but its relationship 
with a relatively thick layer of rammed chalk, 116, 
was unclear. This chalk surface was up to 0.2m thick 
and overlay buried soil 125, protecting it from erosion 
or mixing with later material in this area. A thin silty 
layer, 126, over chalk surface 116 produced two sherds 
of 3rd — 4th century pottery, the only late Roman 
pottery identified from the site. Finally, an apparently 
linear spread of gravel, 92, running south-east to 


186 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


A Romano-British 


Medieval feature LJ Post medieval/modern feature 


ieee Compacted chalk/chalk & mortar spread 


Fig 3. St John’s Hospital: Phase plans 


north-west, sealed the majority of the putative 
Romano-British deposits, but this spread produced 
no dating material. 

Ground conditions during the watching brief did 
not enable the full extent of any of these layers to be 
determined. 


The Saxon defences (Figures 3b and 4) 


The principal remains revealed by the archaeological 
work comprise a ditch, bank and associated features. 
At least two phases of construction were identified in 
the 1996 excavation and watching brief, with 


additional information provided by the evaluation 
trenches of the early 1970s. The earliest phase has 
been assigned, despite a paucity of dating evidence, 
to the burh defences of the late Saxon period, with 
subsequent phases attributable to either the late Saxon 
or medieval periods. 


Ditch 24/42 

A large ditch, 24/42, 6m wide, crossed the centre of 
the site, running east-north-east to west-south-west. 
A single section excavated across this in 1996 showed 
it to be only c. 1m deep, but to have been recut on at 
least one occasion. Both phases of ditch had fairly 


187 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


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(ynd—91) 


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188 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


gently sloping sides and flat to very gently rounded 
bottoms. The earlier ditch, 42, contained primary fill 
34 which was a black, slightly clayey silt. The 
subsequent fills, 43 and 27, were both dark grey clays, 
with layer 27 containing more gravel inclusions. None 
of these ditch fills produced any dateable finds. 

Ditch 42 was recut slightly to the north as ditch 
24, which was approximately 5m wide. The primary 
fill, 32, was a dark grey clayey silt, overlain by a greyish 
brown loamy clay, 23, containing occasional fragments 
of unworked stone. This in turn was sealed by a thick 
deposit of re-deposited gravel, 22. Fills 32 and 42 
contained a few fragments of animal bone, but no 
dateable finds. A shallow gully, 8, and a post-hole, 
36, lay on the north-west side of ditch 42, but both 
are undated and their relationship unclear. 


Post-hole alignment 134 

Approximately 4m to the south-east of ditch 24/42 
was a line of seven post-holes, 134 (comprising post- 
holes 109, 112, 114, 118, 120, 122 and 124), each 
between 0.18m and 0.28m in diameter (average 
0.23m) and between 0.08m and 0.28m deep (average 
0.17m). These were spaced at regular 0.7m intervals, 
cut gravel surface 92 (of possible Romano-British 
date), and the majority were cut by the foundation 
trench for wall 15. All had steep sides, rounded 
bottoms and were filled with homogeneous grey silts 
containing variable amounts of flint gravel and 
occasional chalk flecking. One post-hole, 109, 
contained larger flint nodules possibly used as post- 
packing, but none produced any finds. A further post- 
hole, 133, lay at 90° to this line and had a more pointed 
profile. Post-hole alignment 134 continued to the 
south-west beyond the limits of the trench, but 
apparently did not continue further to the north-east 
(but see below). Unfortunately, ground conditions 
during the watching brief did not permit the 
identification of further examples either to the south- 
west or north-east. However, a post-hole on this 
alignment was recorded immediately to the north- 
east in the 1970 evaluation trench (David Algar pers. 
comm.). It is suggested below that post-hole 
alignment 134 marked a timber palisade or timber- 
faced revetment to an earthen bank. 

Test-pit 2 revealed part of a large, narrow slot or 
ditch, 0.45m wide and c. 1m deep with vertical sides 
and a flat bottom. This ran at 90° to ditch 24/42 
(although the relationship between the two features 
could not be ascertained), was stratigraphically early, 
but produced no finds. The function of this slot is 
unclear, but it may have been associated with post- 
hole alignment 134. 


Wall 15 

Immediately to the north-west and cutting several of 
the post-holes in alignment 134 was a broad, shallow 
foundation trench, 89, which ran parallel to ditch 24/ 
42. This was 1.2 - 1.5m wide, up to 0.3m deep, had 
steep sides and a flat bottom, and contained the 
remains of a wall, 15, and rubble foundation 38. Both 
wall and foundation had been extensively robbed, but 
sufficient was recorded, particularly during the 
watching brief and the evaluation (in test-pit 4), to 
indicate that they continued on broadly the same 
alignment for at least 30m across the development 
area. Rubble foundation 38 comprised flint nodules 
in a matrix of red, sandy clay, with wall 15 built on 
top of this along the south-east side. Wall 15, where it 
survived, was approximately 0.7m wide and up to 
0.8m high. The base of wall 15 comprised mainly flint 
nodules with some fragments of chalk and Chilmark 
stone, perhaps forming a levelling deposit. The wall 
did not survive above this level in the excavated area, 
but the watching brief revealed that on top of this, in 
places, were roughly-squared blocks of Chilmark stone 
(maximum observed dimensions 0.3 — 0.4m) with 
some remnants of a pale greyish brown mortar 
surviving in between. Insufficient material of wall 15 
survived or was exposed to enable more precise details 
of its construction (e.g. coursing) to be determined. 
To the north-west of foundation trench 89, a thin, 
discontinuous spread, 91, of greyish brown mortar 
mixed with frequent small chalk fragments and 
occasional flints extended as far as the edge of ditch 
24/42. It is suggested below that wall 15 was a 
revetment to an earthen bank, repiacing an earlier 
timber-faced revetment or palisade. 


Bank 

Several deposits have been interpreted as forming 
bank material associated with either or both phases 
of ditch 24/42, post-hole alignment 134 and wall 15. 
Most of these deposits were recorded in section only 
and so the precise sequence and their extent remains 
uncertain, with the schematic section presented in 
Figure 4 representing a combination of the evidence 
from the excavation and watching brief. This indicates 
two, or possibly three phases of bank, some 10m wide 
in total and surviving to a maximum height of 
approximately 1.5m. 

The earliest bank material appears to have been 
110, a layer of light greyish brown to dark yellowish 
brown clayey silt containing an increasing amount of 
gravel towards the east (observations made during 
the watching brief indicate that this layer extended 
beneath wall 15, but not as far to the north-west as 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


ditch 24/42; no relationship could be determined 
between layer 110 and post-hole alignment 134). The 
only finds recovered from layer 110 were some animal 
bone and a small quantity of iron-working slag. 

Layer 110 was sealed by layer 29, a light greyish 
brown clayey silt up to 0.4m thick (observations made 
during the watching brief suggest that much of this 
layer comprised redeposited natural sand and gravel) 
which produced four sherds of late Saxon pottery, 
three residual Roman sherds and a single, possibly 
intrusive medieval sherd. Layer 29 was restricted to 
the south-east of wall 15, with layer 12 to the north- 
west possibly contemporary. Layer 12 sealed chalk 
and mortar spread 91 (see above) and comprised a 
greyish to orange brown sandy clay containing flint 
gravel and larger nodules. Finds from this layer which, 
like 29, had suffered from some later disturbance 
caused by treeholes, comprised animal bone, a 
fragment of lava quern, nine sherds of Saxo-Norman 
pottery and one medieval sherd. 

The final deposit assigned to the sequence of bank 
material was layer 98, a layer of redeposited natural 
sand and gravel up to 0.3m thick which partly capped 
layer 29, but produced no finds. 


Medieval and later features (Figure 3c) 


Only two medieval features were identified, ditch 4 
and pit 48. Ditch 4, exposed in the corner of the 
excavation trench, ran parallel and approximately 3m 
to the north-west of ditch 24/42. The profile of this 
ditch was not ascertained, but it was at least 2m wide 
and in excess of 1m deep, with the south-east side 
sloping at approximately 45°. The watching brief failed 
to distinguish any division on the surface between 
the dark greyish brown fills of ditch 4 and the more 
recent fills of the ditch/culvert which extended around 
the north and west sides of the development area. 
Ditch 4 did not appear in test-pits 1 and 3, both of 
which exposed spreads of dark greyish brown silty 
soils between 0.13 and 0.65m thick overlying natural 
gravel. These spreads produced pottery of 12th — 15th 
century date, and were sealed by deposits containing 
18th century material. Only a small segment of ditch 
_4 was excavated, but this produced 17 sherds of 
medieval pottery, one residual Saxo-Norman sherd 
and a small quantity of animal bone. Pit 48 (see Figure 
4) was a small, sub-oval pit up to 0.45m deep that 
was partly exposed along the southern edge of the 
excavation trench. It cut wall foundation 38, contained 
some burnt clay in its upper fill, and produced two 
sherds of medieval pottery. 


189 


A number of post-medieval/modern features were 
recorded, but are not described in detail here. The 
majority of these are shown in Figure 3c and comprise 
several shallow scoops, some probably tree holes; one 
possible structural feature, 58, filled with layers of 
compacted mortar; and a relatively substantial V- 
shaped ditch, 18/45, up to 1.5m wide and 1.4m deep, 
which ran north-west to south-east across the site 
and was filled with a homogeneous dark grey silt. 


SOUTH STREET (NEW 
DOCTOR’S SURGERY) 


by Rachael Seager Smith 
(Figure 5) 


INTRODUCTION 


In September 1995, Wessex Archaeology was 
commissioned to carry out an excavation in South 
Street (at SU 09535 31010) in advance of the 
construction of a new doctor’s surgery. The 
development area lay on the south-east side of South 
Street, at a height of approximately 53m OD, less than 
100m to the north-east of Bull Bridge and close to 
the site of St Michael’s Church (see Figure 1). The 
excavation followed an earlier evaluation of the site 
which had identified evidence for structures and 
deposits of medieval and post-medieval date extending 
back from the South Street frontage (Wessex 
Archaeology 1995). 

The development site covered c. 1060m2, and the 
principal aim of the excavation was to record a sample 
area of the archaeological remains before their possible 
destruction during development. Much of the site was 
designated to be a car-park, but an area of c. 240m? 
was to be directly affected by the foundations of the 
proposed new building. Therefore, the excavation 
trench, covering approximately 80m? (33% of the area 
to be affected by the foundations), was located largely 
within the footprint of the proposed building. 

At the time of the excavation the site was covered 
by overgrown gardens, the layout of which had 
remained unchanged since at least 1869 (OS 25” map, 
1st series). Topsoil and subsoil (up to 1m thick) was 
removed by machine and all subsequent excavation 
undertaken by hand. Although not all of the deposits 
were fully excavated, the entire sequence was 
investigated. The underlying geology comprised 
alluvial clay deposits over Valley Gravels. 


190 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


RESULTS attributable to before the 9th century and, although 

the stratigraphy appears to represent several phases 
The excavation revealed a sequence of late Saxon, of medieval activity, the pottery indicates a 
medieval and post-medieval deposits, the majority of comparatively tight date range, extending little beyond 
which are of 9th - 13th century date. None is definitely the early years of the 14th century. The principal post- 


[| Excavation trench 


@—mm Evaluation trench 


Footprint of 
new doctor's surgery 


261 


Z, STA 
W210 Mi, 
AS A DX, z t 
Chalk cob wall 110 B29WAM SSN AY fa oe 
| yy’ A 


wt 
34255 a 


WIR 
NAS 
NSO YAN AN 
ESANSN IO 


Hearth 
Wall 255 360 


Robbed wail 219 


ARS 9th —12th century =| 17th—18th century 
12th-13th century [___] 19th-20th century 
16th century MM Mortar mixing pit 


Fig 5. South Street: Site location and phase plan 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


medieval remains are probably of 16th century date, 
but there were no associated artefacts, and the 
majority of the later features cannot be closely dated. 

A number of features have been assigned to the 
9th/10th — 12th century on the basis of ceramic dating 
or stratigraphic relationships, and at least three of 
these are of probable pre-Conquest date. These earlier, 
late Saxon features comprise pits 263, 285 and 288, 
and the later, Saxo-Norman features comprise small 
pits or scoops 316, 322, 339 and 354, hearth 360, 
and possible structural features represented by post- 
holes 284, 351 and 366. Several of these features had 
been cut by later, medieval ditches and an insufficient 
area was exposed to discern any structural 
arrangements or feature groupings 

A considerable amount of iron-working (smelting) 
slag was present (a total of 126.64kg was collected 
from a much larger quantity), especially in the south- 
eastern corner of the site, suggesting that it lay in close 
proximity to an iron-working complex probably 
involved in bloomery smelting, with the possibility of 
some smithing. A small quantity of pottery found with 
the slag suggests that it is likely to have been deposited 
in the 12th century or earlier, though it probably post- 
dates the group of-features assigned to the 10th — 
12th century. 

Ditch 269/278 was probably the earliest medieval 
feature assigned to the 12th — 13th century, running 
east-west across the site and possibly marking a 
property division. Ditch 269/278 had been recut, with 
the earliest phase possibly dating to the 12th century 
and the later phase to the 13th century. Ditch 269/ 
278 was subsequently replaced by ditch 299/320 to 
the north, which had itself been recut and is broadly 
dated to the 13th century. Several pits assigned to 
the 13th century were either cut by ditch 299/320 
(pit 329), cut ditch 269/278 (pits 274, 318 and 371), 
or had no relationship with these ditches (pit 312). 
Towards the base of the sequence the features and 
deposits were waterlogged, preserving organic 
materials such as wood, textiles and leather, and one 
of the pits, 329, had a wicker-work lining. 

A substantial flint-and-mortar wall footing, 255, 
was built over the slag deposits in the southern part 

- of the site and several, probably related, construction 
features, including two wood-lined mortar mixing pits 
(243 and 342), were also identified. Dating evidence 
was sparse; a small quantity of 13th century pottery 
was present, but stratigraphically these features 
represent a later phase of activity and it is probable 
that the pottery was re-deposited. A stone-built, clay- 
lined culvert, 261, dug into the top of ditch 229/320, 
may also have been associated with this phase of 


19] 


construction. Its presence suggests a continuing need 
for drainage on the site, a possibility hinted at by the 
presence of medieval ditches 269/278 and 229/320, 
both of which had been recut. 

Four small pits or post-holes (252, 293, 327 and 
330) may all have belonged to a later group of features 
of 17th — 18th century date, possibly forming part of 
a single structure. The ceramic assemblage from these 
features consists of residual 13th century material, as 
well as some post-medieval sherds from the upper 
fills only. Pit 213 is broadly contemporary with this 
group, and a right-angled chalk cob wall footing, 110, 
exposed in the evaluation trenching (but not further 
investigated) is most likely to have been of the same, 
post-medieval date. However, there is a possibility that 
this wall may have dated to as early as 16th century 
or as late as 19th century. Wall 110 was almost 1m 
wide and probably marked the rear of a building 
fronting onto South Street approximately 10m to the 
west. 

In the 19th century, a trench (225) was dug, 
possibly robbing out an earlier wall foundation, and 
various other robbing episodes were identified, 
including that of the eastern part of the substantial 
flint-and-mortar wall footing 255 (robber trench 219). 
Post-medieval/modern features also included a small, 
rectangular, chalk-lined structure (206), probably a 
cess pit, demolished and backfilled during the 19th 
century, though possibly constructed as early as the 
17th or 18th century. 


FINDS 
by Lorraine Mepham 


The emphasis in this section is on finds from medieval 
or earlier contexts, together with finds presumed to 
be of this date but found redeposited in later contexts. 
Of the post-medieval finds only the pottery, and 
certain other objects of intrinsic interest, are 
considered in any detail here. 


POTTERY 


This report covers the pottery from both St John’s 
Hospital and South Street. The assemblage from St 
John’s Hospital amounts to 157 sherds (5385 g); this 
is a small collection of mixed date — material of 
prehistoric, Romano-British, late Saxon, Saxo- 
Norman, medieval and post-medieval date is present. 
General condition (apart from the more recent 
material) is poor, and many sherds have rolled edges 


192 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


and abraded surfaces. The assemblage from South 
Street is larger (2081 sherds; 91,410 g), and is in 
markedly better condition; sherds are fresh and 
unabraded, and several partial profiles are present. 
This assemblage is more restricted 1n date range, and 
the primary interest here lies in the late Saxon/Saxo- 
Norman (mid 9th-12th century) component, 
although later medieval and post-medieval pottery 1s 
also present. 


Methods 


Analysis has focused on the late Saxon/Saxo-Norman 
and medieval pottery, and this has involved detailed 
analysis of fabric and form, following the standard 
Wessex Archaeology pottery recording system (Morris 
1994). Fabrics have been defined and coded on the 
basis of dominant inclusion type, and comprise one 
calcareous fabric (Group C), two flint-tempered fabrics 
(Group F) and seven sandy fabrics (Group Q); there 
are also six fabrics of known type or source (Group E). 
Vessel forms have been defined using rims and other 
diagnostic sherds, and follow the recommended 
nomenclature for medieval vessel forms (MPRG 1998). 
Details of surface treatment, decoration, manufacture 
and evidence of use have also been recorded; detailed 
pottery records by context are held in archive. 
Prehistoric and Romano-British pottery, present 
in much smaller quantities, has not been analysed to 
this level of detail, but is broadly described in terms 
of the types present, as is the post-medieval pottery, 
all of which falls into well known local, regional or 
imported types. Fabric totals are given in Table 1. 


Prehistoric and Romano-British pottery 


With the exception of a single Romano-British sherd 
from South Street, all of the prehistoric and Romano- 
British pottery described here came from St John’s 
Hospital. All sherds are small and abraded (mean 
sherd weight 5.4 g). 

Four sherds are of prehistoric date; these comprise 
two sandy sherds and two sherds with sparse organic 
temper. While the possibility that the organic- 
tempered sherds could be Saxon should be noted, 
particularly given the site context, the low frequency 
of the organic inclusions is more in keeping with a 
date range in the Early Iron Age, and the sandy sherds, 
although not diagnostic, could be of similar date. All 
four sherds were found as residual material in later 
(Romano-British and medieval) contexts at St John’s 
Hospital. 


The remaining 44 sherds are of Romano-British 
date. These include one sherd of samian, one sherd 
of a North Gaulish roughcast colour-coated beaker, 
26 sherds of coarse greywares and 15 sherds of coarse 
oxidised wares; the coarsewares are almost certainly 
from more than one source. Apart from the finewares, 
which are of Ist or 2nd century date, the only 
diagnostic sherd comes from a greyware dropped- 
flange bowl of 3rd/4th century type. Forty of these 
sherds came from contexts at St John’s Hospital which 
pre-date the late Saxon defences, although only buried 
soil layer 125 (29 sherds, including the samian and 
North Gaulish colour coat) has been confidently dated 
to the Romano-British period. Other sherds came 
from gravel surface 127 (four sherds), feature 93 (one 
sherd), silty layer 126 (two sherds, including the 
dropped-flange bowl), and layer 76 (four sherds). 


Late Saxon and Saxo-Norman pottery 


Six fabrics were defined as falling within a potential 
date range of mid 9th to 12th century: 


E400 Cheddar fabric E (Peacock 1979); a hard- 
fired, wheelthrown fabric with varying frequency (rare 
to sparse) of quartz sand, limestone, often leached, 
degraded sandstone and patinated flint or chert; 
variable firing but generally oxidised surfaces. 

C400 Limestone-tempered ware: hard, 
moderately coarse clay matrix, slightly micaceous; 
common, fairly well sorted, crushed limestone <2mm; 
rare subrounded quartz <lmm; rare iron oxides; 
handmade; generally unoxidised. 

F400 Flint-gritted ware: hard, moderately coarse 
clay matrix; sparse, poorly sorted, subangular flint 
(patinated and unpatinated) <3 mm; sparse to 
moderate, subrounded quartz <1mm; rare limestone; 
handmade; variable firing. 

F401 Flint-gritted ware: hard, moderately 
coarse clay matrix; sparse, poorly sorted, 
subangular flint (patinated and unpatinated) 
<2mm; rare iron oxides; handmade; generally 
unoxidised but variable. 

Q400 Sandy greyware: very hard, moderately 
coarse matrix; abundant, well sorted, subrounded/ 
subangular quartz <0.5mm; wheelthrown; unoxidised 
mid to blue grey. 

Q403 Possibly a less hard-fired, handmade 
version of E400; a similar range and frequency of 
inclusions (quartz, limestone, sandstone); a slightly 
soapy feel; variable firing but more frequently 
unoxidised. 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


Fig 6. Pottery (South Street) 


Also potentially within, or at least with a late date 
within this date bracket, is the coarsest variant of 
the Laverstock-type wares described below 
(E422A). This fabric does occur here in association 
with the above fabrics, but is known to continue in 
use into the 13th century from evidence from 
Salisbury (Mepham 2000). The coarser of the two 
Crockerton-type fabrics (Q405, see below) probably 
has a similar date range; a comparable fabric was 
found in 10th-12th century and later contexts at 
Trowbridge (Mepham 1993, Q402). 
One of the six fabrics is of known type (Cheddar 
E), anda second fabric (Q403) is visually very similar; 
the two were frequently difficult to distinguish, but 
differ slightly in firing conditions, and the fact that 
while Cheddar E is always wheelthrown, fabric Q403 
is handmade. Both fabrics occur in very similar jar 
forms, rounded with flared necks (at approximately 
_ 45° to body wall) and simple or slightly thickened 
rims; examples in Q403 are sometimes finger- 
impressed (Figure 6, 1, 3). One other unusual vessel 
form is present (Type 2): a lid in Cheddar E (Figure 
6,6), which is as yet without direct parallel. 
The limestone-tempered and flint-tempered 
fabrics are all likely to be of at least fairly local 
manufacture. Only one diagnostic form is present, a 


1193, 


jar rim of a similar form to the examples in E400 and 
Q403 (Figure 6, 2). 

The most interesting part of this group, however, 
comprises sherds in a hard, grey, wheelthrown fabric 
(Q400). This fabric occurs in jar forms with everted, 
thickened rims, with slight neck cordons or horizontal 
tooling and incised curvilinear decoration around the 
shoulder; two well-preserved partial profiles came 
from pit 263 (Figure 6, 4, 5). Several sherds have 
noticeable exterior burning or sooting. While this 
greyware fabric has not as yet been identified in other 
assemblages of this date in the county, it falls within 
the range of ‘Late Saxon Sandy Ware’ identified in 
small quantities at Winchester, where it is dated c. 
AD 850-pre 950 (Biddle and Collis 1978; Matthews 
forthcoming); vessel forms, decoration and the 
external burning/sooting can all be paralleled in the 
Winchester assemblages. At St John’s these sherds 
were found only as residual material; at South Street 
they occur in most instances in association with Saxo- 
Norman wares, but in isolation in pits 263, 285 and 
288. The significance of these vessels, and of the rest 
of the late Saxon/Saxo-Norman group, is discussed 
further below. 


194 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Table 1. South Street and St John’s Hospital: Pottery fabric totals 


Fabric South Street St John’s Hospital TOTAL 

[1] [2] [3] [1] [2] [3] [1] [2] [3] 
Prehistoric 
Sandy - - - 2 20 76.9 2 20 76.9 
Sandy/organic - - - 2 6 23.1 2 6 23.1 
Sub-total - - - 4 26 - 4 26 - 


Romano-British 


E100 - - - 1 16 7.0 1 16 6.7 
E120 - - - 1 1 0.4 1 1 0.4 
Q100 1 10 100 26 145 63.6 27 155 65.2 
Q101 - - - 14 64 28.1 14 64 26.9 
Q102 - - - 1 2 0.9 1 2 0.8 
Sub-total 1 10 - 43 228 - 44 238 - 
L.Saxon/S-N 

C400 20 242 4.2 - - - 20 242 4.1 
E400 64 1354 ° 23:1 - - - 64 1354 22.8 
F400 Jf 104 1.8 - - - 7 104 TEVA 
F401 Livi 138 2.4 - - - 17 138 23 
Q400 102 2469 42.8 2 8 52 104 2477 =41.7 
Q403 71 1483 25.7 10 145 94.8 81 1628 27.4 
Sub-total 281 5770 - 12 153 - 293 5943 - 
Medieval 

E420 6 66 tel 1 4 0.9 7 70 1.1 
E421 29 458 7.9 5 68 14.7 34 526 8.3 
E422A Le 1910 32.7 12: 159 34.3 129 2009 32.8 
E422B 130 1960 33.9 15 84 18.1 149 2065 32.8 
E422C 57 753 12.9 4 28 6.1 61 781 12.4 
Q401 1 14 0.2 - - - 1 14 0.2 
Q402 Dili 328 5.6 1 54 LO 28 382 6.1 
Q404 1 6 0.1 - - - 1 6 0.1 
Q405 10 224 3.8 3 32 6.9 13 256 4.0 
Q406 2 10 0.2 1 34 7.3 3 44 0.7 
“Tudor Green’ 1 1 - - - - 1 1 - 
Pearly Verwood 2 94 1.6 - - - 2 94 1.5 
Sub-total 387 5845 - 42 463 - 429 6308 - 
Post-medieval 

Verwood 994 54488 54 4497 1048 58985 
Redwares 22 444 1 8 23 452 
Slipware 7 220 - - 7 220 

Staffs type 9 60 - - 9 60 

Tinglaze 9 71 - - 9 71 

Fine redware 3 38 - - 3 38 
Creamware 63 1041 - - 63 1041 
Pearlware 105 1135 - - 105 1135 
Jackfield 4 70 - - 4 70 
Stonewares 51 1411 - - 51 1411 

White saltglaze 4 46 - - 4 46 

Porcelain 2, 15 - - p) 15 

Industrial 139 746 1 10 140 756 
Sub-total 1412 59785 - 56 4515 - 1468 64300 - 
TOTAL 2081 71410 - 157 5385 - 2238 76795 - 


Note: [1] = number of sherds; [2] = weight; [3] = % of period. 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


Medieval pottery 


The later medieval assemblage is dominated by 
coarseware sandy fabrics comparable to products of 
the Laverstock kilns outside Salisbury, which were 
operating in the mid 13th century (Musty etal. 1969), 
although the overall date range for these types is likely 
to have been much wider. For assemblages within 
Salisbury, a type series has defined one basic 
coarseware type, subdivided on the basis of inclusion 
size, and two basic finewares, again subdivided 
(Mepham forthcoming a). The following types are 
present at Wilton: 


E422 Laverstock type coarseware: tempered with 
common, subrounded quartz, frequently iron-stained; 
variants A (coarsest, quartz <1mm, ‘pimply’ surfaces), 
B (medium, quartz <0.5mm) and C (finest, quartz 
<0.25mm); all handmade; variable firing. 

E420 Laverstock type fineware 1 (all variants), 
quartz <0.5mm, not iron-stained; firing buff to cream. 

E421 Laverstock type fineware 2 (all variants), 
quartz <0.5mm, iron-stained; firing buff to pale 
salmon pink. 


The coarsewares occur almost exclusively in jar forms, 
which again can all be paralleled within the 
Laverstock/Salisbury type series: rounded or slack- 
profiled jars, probably round-based, with a limited 
range of rim forms (Musty et al., 1969, fig. 7; Mepham 
2000, types 1-4). Other vessel forms include one bowl 
or possible curfew and three possible pitcher forms 
in E422B, and an internally glazed dripping dish in 
E422C. 


Five other fabrics were identified, all sandy: 


Q401 Hard, moderately coarse, slightly 
micaceous matrix; moderate, well sorted, subrounded 
quartz <0.125mm; sparse iron oxides; wheelthrown; 
oxidised (pale-firing) with unoxidised core. 

Q402 Hard, moderately coarse, micaceous 
matrix; moderate, poorly sorted, subrounded quartz 
<0.5mm; sparse limestone <0.25mm; rare subangular 
- flint; sparse iron oxides; handmade; variable firing. 

Q404 Hard, moderately coarse matrix; common, 
well sorted, subrounded quartz <0.125 mm; rare iron 
oxides; handmade; oxidised with unoxidised core. 

Q405 Hard, moderately coarse, micaceous matrix; 
sparse, poorly sorted, subrounded quartz <lmm; 
sparse degraded sandstone <3mm;; rare patinated flint 
<1mm;; sparse iron oxides; handmade; firing variable. 


195 


Q406 Hard, fine, slightly micaceous matrix; 
common, fairly well sorted, subrounded/subangular 
quartz <0.125mm; rare iron oxides; wheelthrown; 
unoxidised with oxidised (pale-firing) interior surface. 


Two of these (Q402, Q405) are comparable to 
micaceous fabrics found widely across west Wiltshire 
and with at least one putative source at Crockerton 
outside Warminster (Smith 1997). Q405 is a coarser 
variant and could therefore be postulated to have an 
earlier start date than Q402. Here they are found only 
in jar forms, rounded with flared necks and thickened 
“T-shape’ rims. 

Fabrics Q401, Q404 and Q406 are each 
represented by just one or two sherds, and are all of 
uncertain source. The single sherd of Q404 has 
applied rouletted strips and is likely to be of 13th 
century date. Sherds in Q401 and Q406 derive from 
glazed jugs; these finer fabrics are probably of late 
medieval date, perhaps later 14th or 15th century. 


Post-medieval pottery 


Predominant amongst the post-medieval assemblage 
are Verwood type earthenwares from east Dorset, and 
their pre-eminence here reflects Verwood’s virtual 
monopoly of the earthenware market from the 18th 
century onwards. Other coarse earthenware types are 
restricted to a handful of coarse redwares and 
slipwares, amongst which can be identified 
Crockerton type wares, and possible north Somerset 
products. 

A few sherds of Staffordshire-type slipware and 
tinglazed earthenware are present. Eighteenth century 
wares are represented by white salt glaze, fine redware, 
creamware, Jackfield ware and pearlware; some of the 
stonewares could be of this date or later. 


Late Saxon/Saxo-Norman and medieval 
ceramic sequence 


The assemblages from St John’s Hospital and South 
Street combine to provide a good ceramic sequence 
from the late Saxon period through to at least the 
end of the 13th century, and then from the 18th 
century onwards. 

Prior to this sequence, the occurrence of 
prehistoric and, in particular, Romano-British 
material, albeit in such small quantities, is nevertheless 
significant. Pottery of this date has not previously been 
found in Wilton, and this small group provides the 
first clear evidence for activity of this date in the town. 


196 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Perhaps most interesting amongst the late Saxon/ 
Saxo-Norman assemblage is the small group of 
wheelthrown greywares (Q400), which are paralleled 
in well-stratified mid 9th to mid 10th century deposits 
in Winchester. As yet these wares have not been 
identified elsewhere in Wiltshire. This may be at least 
partly due to chronological factors in that sites of 
known 9th/10th century date have so far proved 
elusive. It may be noted that the greywares (and 
indeed any wares which could be definitively assigned 
to the period of the 8th to 10th centuries) were absent 
in assemblages from Trowbridge and Market 
Lavington, where early/middle Saxon (5th to 8th 
century) and Saxo-Norman (10th to 12th century) 
wares were identified (Mepham 1993; forthcoming), 
and none is known from late Saxon Cricklade (Jope 
1972). Another factor, however, may be lack of 
recognition - these greywares, particularly 
undiagnostic body sherds, could easily be mistaken 
for Romano-British wares. Their identification at 
Wilton, therefore, is a particularly significant addition 
to our knowledge of the regional distribution of late 
Saxon ceramics, despite the fact that their precise 
source remains uncertain (Biddle and Collis 1978, 
133; Matthews forthcoming). 

For the Saxo-Norman period (10th to 12th 
century), the pottery of the region is as yet poorly 
understood in comparison to the later medieval period, 
and only one substantial and well stratified assemblage 
which spans part of this period has been published, 
from Trowbridge (Mepham 1993). The latter site 
provides parallels, from deposits associated with the 
Saxo-Norman manorial settlement (c. AD 950-1139), 
for the limestone-tempered jars, and the wheelthrown 
Cheddar type wares, found at Wilton (ibid., figs. 35, 
37), and similar limestone-tempered jars found 
elsewhere in north Wiltshire are dated on stylistic 
grounds to this period (e.g. Currie 1993, fig. 8). The 
use at this time of calcareous fabrics for a limited range 
of simple vessel forms is characteristic of a widespread 
ceramic tradition across southern England; Cheddar 
yielded a range of limestone tempered fabrics alongside 
the wheelthrown wares (Rahtz 1979), and in 
Oxfordshire late Saxon shelly wares continue into the 
early medieval period (Mellor 1994). 

In the case of both Wilton and Trowbridge, a 
dominant local industry is represented from an early 
date. At Trowbridge this was apparently in operation 
by the 10th century, probably in the Avon valley, and 
producing vessels in sandy and sandy/calcareous wares 
which were found alongside the wares described above 
(Mepham 1993, fabrics C401 and Q400). The 
sequence at Wilton demonstrates the early appearance 


of Laverstock-type coarsewares (E422A) prior to the 
foundation of Salisbury and before the known date 
range of the excavated kilns; interestingly, evidence 
from Salisbury indicates the long survival of these 
archaic forms (Mepham 2000). The foundation of 
the city in the early 13th century presumably 
stimulated this local industry which quickly 
superseded the limestone-tempered wares to 
dominate the market. In Salisbury itself Laverstock 
type wares occur almost to the complete exclusion 
of other wares (Mepham and Underwood n.d.; 
Mepham 2000), although they do occur at Wilton, 
as is shown by the presence of the micaceous west 
Wiltshire (?Crockerton) types, albeit in very small 
quantities. 

From the mid 14th century onwards there appears 
to be a similar hiatus in the sequence as at Salisbury, 
although whether this is a case of a real absence of 
pottery or a non-recognition of later medieval types 
is as yet uncertain. In this instance, there are only a 
handful of sherds which can with any certainty be 
attributed to the later medieval or early post-medieval 
period. These include a single sherd of “Tudor Green’ 
ware and two sherds of a possible early Verwood type 
ware (E642); both types occur only as residual sherds 
in later post-medieval contexts at South Street. 


List of illustrated vessels (Figure 6) 

1. Jar, fabric E400. South Street, PRN (Pottery 
Record Number) 185, context 250, clearance. 

2. Jar, fabric C400. South Street, PRN 43, context 
203, robbing event (wall 255). 

3. Jar, fabric, finger-impressed rim, fabric Q403. 
South Street, PRN 219, context 250, clearance. 

4. Jar, fabric Q400, incised curvilinear decoration 
around shoulder. South Street, PRN 252, Obj. No. 
1001, context 264, pit 263. 

5. Jar, fabric Q400, incised ?curvilinear decoration 
around shoulder. South Street, PRN 253, Obj. No. 
1001, context 264, pit 263. 

6. Lid, fabric E400. South Street, PRN 348, layer 
335. 


CERAMIC BUILDING MATERIAL 


The ceramic building material recovered comprised 
a sample only of what was observed on both sites 
(273 pieces; 18,839 g). Of this total, only a small 
proportion (7 pieces, 274 g from South St; two pieces, 
74 g from St John’s) came from well stratified medieval 
contexts (none was found in contexts dating earlier 
than the 13th century). This small group comprises 
peg tile fragments in coarse, poorly wedged fabrics, 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


some flint-tempered and some sandy; one of the flint- 
tempered fragments is glazed. Fragments in similar 
fabrics, including one other glazed peg tile and two 
glazed ridge tiles, occur in greater quantities in post- 
medieval contexts, particularly at South Street, where 
they are distinctive by the nature of the coarse fabrics 
and the fact that a significant proportion are pale- 
firing. These pale-firing fabrics have been found in 
quantity in 13th century and later contexts in 
Salisbury (Cleal n.d.; Loader 2000), and it is likely 
that a local source was supplying both centres; one 
such centre is known from documentary records at 
Alderbury south of Salisbury from the 14th century 
(Hare 1991), although this centre, or others, must 
have operated at an earlier date in the area. 

Other ceramic materials comprise fragments of 
fired clay. Of the overall total recovered, most of which 
came from South Street, the majority derived from 
features of late Saxon/Saxo-Norman (1317 g) or 
medieval (1980 g) date. This consists of small, 
featureless and undiagnostic fragments, probably of 
structural origin, from hearths or wattle and daub 
structures. At South Street, moderate concentrations 
came from pit 274 and layer 306, and some correlation 
was noted with the concentration of iron-working slag 
in the south-east corner of the site, suggesting that at 
least some of this material may have derived from 
smelting furnaces or smithing hearths. However, no 
vitrified material was present nor any fragments with 
slag or other residues adhering. At St John’s Hospital, 
asmall group of fired clay (1495 g) from medieval pit 
48 also represents hearth lining, but there is no 
evidence that this derived from anything other than a 
domestic hearth. 


SLAG 


A substantial quantity of iron-working slag was 
recovered from South Street. The majority of this 
came from deposits assigned to between the 10th — 
12th and 12th — 13th centuries, with a smaller 
quantity probably residual in later contexts. 
Preliminary examination suggests that most of this 
is smelting slag from bloomery furnaces, but there 
“is also some evidence for bloom smithing, and plate 
hammerscale was noted associated with some of 
the material. This material appears to represent 
dumps of debris and no associated iron-working 
features were identified. 

At St John’s, undiagnostic iron-working slag was 
found in small quantities in various contexts. A small 
piece of copper alloy waste came from medieval pit 48. 


197 


WORKED STONE 


The stone recovered from South Street is all building 
material, and consists entirely of roof tiles in either 
slate or limestone, from both medieval (9 fragments) 
and post-medieval contexts (20 fragments). From St 
John’s, one fragment of lava quern, a continental 
import often found in Romano-British or middle to 
late Saxon contexts in this country, came from the 
second phase bank deposit (12). 


WORKED BONE AND ANTLER 


Seven worked bone (or antler) objects were identified, 
all from South Street. Also from this site, part of a 
crudely made iron tool, possibly a sickle, with an antler 
handle, was found, but was unstratified. 

No objects were found in stratified late Saxon or 
Saxo-Norman contexts, although one object, a pin- 
beater, is likely to derive from activity of this date. 
This object (found in clearance levels) is cigar-shaped, 
with a point at either end (length 138mm), and is 
polished through use; this is a type well attested on 
Saxon sites, e.g. Southampton (Addyman and Hill 
1969, fig. 29) and West Stow, Suffolk (West 1985, fig. 
246, 15-17). 

Two objects came from undisturbed medieval 
contexts: a skate or runner and a comb. The skate/ 
runner, found in pit 274, conforms to the types 
described by MacGregor (1985, 141-4 and fig. 76), 
which have a currency from the 8th to the 13th 
century in this country. It is made from a bos radius, 
trimmed so that both ends are ‘upswept’ although 
not perforated for strap attachments as some 
examples are. One surface has a heavy polish from 
use, through which can be seen numerous small 
striations. The comb (from medieval ditch 269/278), 
is of one-piece, double-sided form, and can be 
compared to examples found in Southampton in 
contexts dating between late 14th and early 17th 
century (Platt and Coleman-Smith 1975, fig. 249, 
1944, 1946-7). 

Three further objects are likely to be of medieval 
date: a spatula, a handle fragment and a decorative 
strip. The spatula, perforated (for suspension?) at the 
end of the handle and also at the base of the blade, 
which is broken, finds a possible medieval parailel at 
Northampton (Oakley 1979, WB60); this object came 
from post-medieval pit 213. The handle fragment 
comprises part of a side plate, decorated with incised 
diagonal hatching; this came from a post-medieval 
layer. The strip fragment (clearance levels) is 22 mm 


198 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


wide and has incised ring-and-dot motifs; this is 
possibly a second handle or a decorative mount. 

The remaining objects — another handle, and the 
antler-handled sickle - are likely to be of later medieval 
or post-medieval date. 


METALWORK 


A quantity of metalwork was recovered, mostly from 
South Street, but very few items came from stratified 
medieval or earlier contexts (six objects from St John’s 
and six objects from South Street). Objects from St 
John’s comprise a Romano-British penannular brooch 
from gravel surface 127, a knife blade from subsoil layer 
115, a possible tool from buried soil 125 and at least 
three nails (?-bank material 98, and layers 126 and 127). 
From South Street came two iron objects from Saxo- 
Norman levels (a possible heckle tooth and an 
unidentified object), and four iron objects from 
medieval contexts (one horseshoe nail, two other nails, 
and one unidentified object). There are, however, some 
more interesting objects from post-medieval contexts 
at South Street, including three patten supports, spade 
and shovel blades, a cowbell, and a curry comb. 


ORGANIC MATERIAL 


Organic material, comprising fragments of wood and 
leather and other textile, was recovered from 
waterlogged deposits at South Street. The wood came 
from four pits, and comprises possible plank fragments 
from Saxo-Norman pit 339; fragments of wattles from 
medieval pit 329; a plank from post-medieval mortar 
mixing pit 342; and a small plank fragment from post- 
medieval pit 213.The leather comprises two small 
scraps, probably waste off-cuts, from medieval pit 329. 


ENVIRONMENTAL 
EVIDENCE 


ANIMAL BONES 
by Sheila Hamilton-Dyer 


The 517 animal bone fragments recovered from St 
John’s Hospital amount to 370 separate bones. These 
were identified using the modern comparative 
collections of the writer. Undiagnostic fragments have 
been divided into cattle/horse-sized and sheep/pig- 
sized fragments. The few measurements are in 
millimetres and follow the methods of von den 


Driesch (1976). Withers heights were calculated 
using factors recommended by von den Driesch and 
Boessneck (1974). The archive gives full details of 
each fragment. 


Results 


The condition of the material is variable but good on 
the whole; 65% of the bone could be identified to 
taxon. A total of ten taxa could be identified in the 
collection: horse, cattle, sheep/goat, pig, roe deer, dog, 
cat, hare, goose and domestic fowl. Sheep was 
positively identified, but no bones could be attributed 
to goat. A summary distribution of the taxa recovered 
from each phase is given in Table 2. 

Bones from Romano-British contexts form the 
largest group, and the least well preserved. Most of the 
material was recovered from layers 125 and 126. Cattle 
and cattle-sized fragments comprise the bulk of the 
material and include several metapodia and other foot 
bones of immature beasts. Other fragments are of meat 
bones and the material appears to be derived from both 
slaughter and butchery. Although no dog bones were 
recovered, several fragments had been gnawed. 

There are 82 bones from Saxon contexts and these 
include one bone each of roe deer, hare and goose in 
addition to the domestic ungulates. Again, gnawing 
indirectly indicates the presence of dog. Two complete 
horse bones offer estimated withers heights of 1.226m 
and 1.359m, animals of pony size typical of the period. 

The 23 medieval bones include one each of dog, 
cat and fowl. 

The remains of at least two dogs of different sizes 
constitute the majority of the 93 bones from post- 
medieval contexts. These 73 bones were all recovered 
from ditch 18. 


Discussion 


This is a very small assemblage and, therefore, more 
detailed analysis is inappropriate. Some general 
conclusions can, however, be made. The majority of 
the bones identified to taxon are of the expected main 
domestic ungulates, cattle, sheep and pig. Dog is 
indicated by gnawing as well as by remains. Birds are 
represented by a few bones of domestic fowl and 
goose. Roe deer and hare indicate some contribution 
to the Saxon diet by hunting. 

The period assemblages are quite different in 
character from each other and probably represent a 
variety of activities and disposal practices at different 
times. 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


Table 2. St John’s Hospital: Animal bone totals 


CHARRED PLANT REMAINS 


by Pat Hinton 


Samples of ten litres were processed by flotation using 
Wessex Archaeology’s standard methods with flots 
retained on 0.5mm mesh and residues on 1mm mesh. 


199 


Period horse cattle sheep/goat pig roe deer cattle-size sheep-size dog cat hare fowl goose Total 
RB 4 62 17 D - 62 - - - - - - 150 
Late Saxon 3 1 13 4 1 39 9 - - 1 - 1 82 
Medieval 2 3 4 2 - 5 4 1 1 . 1 - 23 
Post-med 1 6 1 2 - 5 1 73 1 - 2 1 93 
undated - 10 3) 2 - - 5 - - - - - 2D 
Total 10 92 40 15 1 111 19 74 2D, 1 3 2, 370 
% 2H, 24.9 10.8 4.1 03 30 Sal 20 0.5 0.3 0.8 0.5 
% 62.6 27.2 10.2 
Table 3. St John’s Hospital: Charred plant remains 
Period Romano- Late Saxon Medieval 
British 

Feature Buried soil Ditch 24/42 Pit 48 
Context 125 34 46 
Sample 3) 6 1 2 
Sample vol. (litres) 10 10 10 10 
Cultivated 
Triticum cf aestivum bread wheat 1 1 1 3 
Tr. sf spelta spelt - A - - 
Triticum sp. unspecified wheat 2 1 3 1 
Hordeum sp. hulled barley 1 1 1 2 
Avena sp. oats - 1 - - 
Cerealia indet. — fragmented grains indeterminate cereals 0.5 ml <0.5 ml. <0.5 ml. c. 1 75iml: 
Arable or waste 
Chenopodium album L. fat hen - - - 1(1) 
cf Atriplex sp. orache - - - 1 
Stellaria media/neglecta common/greater stitchwort = - - 2 - 
Lychnis flos-cucult L. ragged robin - - 1 - 
Polygonum cf aviculare knotgrass - - 1 - 
Centaurea sp. cornflower/knapweed - = - 1 
Carex sp. sedge = & = 1 
cf Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) false oat grass/ 1 - - - 
P.Beauv- onion couch 
stem node 
Poaceae indet. unspecified grass - - - 1 
Wood margin/Waste = = 
Sambucus nigra L. elder - - = 3 
ef Arctium sp. greater /lesser burdock - - - 1 

_ Unidentified fragmentary seeds - 1 - 3 


Flots and charred items extracted from the residues 
were examined by stereo microscope at x7-40 
magnification. 

Charred plant remains are sparse, poorly 
preserved and probably represent little more than the 
common residual spread of charred fragments. They 


200 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


do, however, provide some illustration of utilised 
cereals, their weeds and nearby vegetation (Table 3). 

The wheats from the Romano-British buried soil 
(context 125), probably Triticum spelta (spelt), and 
Triticum aestivum (bread wheat), together with 
Hordeum sp. (hulled barley) and Avena sp. (oats), 
are typical for the period. Other seeds are particularly 
scanty except for a probable fragment of 
Arrhenatherum elatius (false oat grass or onion 
couch), possibly present as a ‘weed’. 

Late Saxon ditch 24/42, with small quantities of 
bread wheat and barley present, also included very 
few charred wild plant seeds, but the one Lychnis 
flos-cuculi (ragged robin) is of interest in indicating 
damp or marshy conditions. This sample also 
includes charred seeds (at various levels of 
degradation) of Ranunculus, Urtica, Stellaria, 
Cerastium spp. (buttercups, nettles, chickweeds), 
Hyoscyamus niger (henbane), Conium maculatum 
(hemlock), two Carex sp.(sedges), Mentha cf 
aquatica (water mint) and one Lemna sp. 
(duckweed). Most of these are common weeds, 
ruderals or grassland plants, but sedges grow in 
damp places, hemlock and water mint usually in or 
beside ditches or streams, and duckweed is a floating 
plant of still water. It is possible that the uncharred 
seeds are of comparatively recent date, but it is 
perhaps equally likely that periods of waterlogging 
may have slowed the decay of these seeds. 

Medieval pit 48, with a cereal content similar to 
the earlier samples, includes more typical field weed 
seeds and also evidence, in Sambucus nigra (elder) 
and (Arctium sp. (burdock), of wood margins or 
scrub. Damp parts may again be indicated by the 
seed of Carex sp. (sedge). 


THE BURIED SOIL 
by Michael J Allen 


The Romano-British buried soil (context 125) was 
sampled in a single 210 mm long monolith tin. The 
sample tin incorporated the bA horizon but, 
unfortunately, did not cover the boundary between 
the top of the buried soil and the overlying deposits. 
The nature and structure of the soil is described 
below: 


0—45mm Brown (10YR 5/3) silty loam, almost 
stonefree, 0.2% fine micropores, small granular peds 
in a massive structure, with charcoal fragments to 
2mm, diffuse boundary. 

Probably turf or upper trampled horizon. 


45 — 180mm _ Dark brown (10YR 3/3), slightly 
darker silty loam (some fine sand) with occasional 
medium flints, weak medium blocky structure 0.1% 


fine and medium micropores. 
bA horizon. 


180-210mm _ Dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) 
firm silty clay to silty clay loam with occasional 
medium flints, no structure observable in sample, few 
fine macropores (1mm) 

bB (top of B horizon) 


The soil examined in the sample represents a buried 
grassland (or trampled horizon) of a brown earth soil, 
indicated by a probably worm-worked horizon and 
the crumb structure. 


DISCUSSION 


ROMANO-BRITISH 


The excavations at St John’s Hospital have revealed 
the first clear evidence for Romano-British activity in 
Wilton, although the precise nature and focus of this 
remain uncertain. The small assemblage of pottery 
was generally abraded; the only features were two 
possible post-holes, and the spreads of gravel and the 
chalk surfaces, while considered most likely to be 
Romano-British, cannot be dated with certainty. 
However, it is thought unlikely that these spreads were 
associated with the construction of the later Saxon 
defences. 

Analysis of buried soil 125 has indicated that it 
represents an organic grassland or a trampled horizon, 
and the small animal bone assemblage recovered is 
dominated by cattle, with evidence for both slaughter 
and butchery. Small quantities of cereals, including 
wheat and oats, were also present. 

On the basis of this evidence it might be suggested 
that the remains indicate agricultural, principally 
pastoral activity, possibly associated with a nearby 
farmstead, spanning at least the 1st — 2nd centuries 
AD. The various gravel and chalk surfaces may 
represent yards or ‘hardstanding’ in what was a 
relatively low-lying damp area. 


LATE SAXON/SAXO-NORMAN 


It seems certain that ditch 24/42, the associated bank 
material, post-hole line 143 and wall 15 formed part 
of the late Saxon defences of Wilton. However, the 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


precise dating of this sequence is hampered by the 
almost complete lack of associated pottery. The 
sequence proposed here is, therefore, based largely 
on the stratigraphic evidence, documentary sources 
and comparison with late Saxon defences elsewhere. 
Two principal phases of construction were recognised 
from the 1996 excavations at St John’s Hospital (see 
Figure 4). 

The earliest phase appears to have comprised a 
broad, rather shallow ditch, 24, and an associated bank 
fronted by a timber palisade or revetment represented 
by post-hole line 134. Between the ditch and bank 
was a berm approximately 4m wide. No dating 
evidence was found associated with any elements of 
this phase of defences, but ditch 24 was subsequently 
re-cut as ditch 42, and possibly contemporary with 
this was the replacement of the timber revetment by 
stone wall 15. Chalk and mortar spread 91 is 
interpreted as a construction level associated with this 
wall. Some material appears to have been ‘banked 
up’ against the front of wall 15 at this time (layer 12), 
though it is possible that this occurred during 
subsequent cleaning out or re-cutting of the ditch. 

The investigations of the defences at St John’s 
Hospital in the early 1970s did not distinguish more 
than a single phase of construction, but this was 
probably due to the narrowness of the trenches and 
because work was hampered by a high water-table 
which prevented a complete section being excavated 
across the ditch and bank. However, waterlogged 
timber, possibly the remains of posts and wattle—-work, 
was recorded on the south side (WAM 1972, 175), 
perhaps representing the remains of a revetment along 
the inner edge of the ditch. Unfortunately, this could 
not be corroborated by the 1996 excavation as no 
waterlogged deposits were encountered (it seems 
probable that the water-table in the area has fallen 
during the past 25 years), and no post-holes were 
found within the ditch, perhaps a reflection of the 
narrow width of the excavated section. The 1970s 
evaluations also revealed the presence of a wall, the 
same as wall 15 recorded in 1996, and noted the 
presence of undiagnostic medieval pottery apparently 
found in association with it. A few sherds of medieval 

_ pottery were found within the bank material (in layer 
29, equivalent to layer 98; see Figure 4) in the 1996 
excavation and, if not intrusive, it is possible that some 
of this may have been introduced during later 
refurbishment of the bank or robbing of the wall. 

The construction of the earliest phase of ditch 
and bank at St John’s Hospital may have been 
associated with the defensive arrangements of the 
Alfredian burh of the later 9th century, or they may 


201 


have been in existence prior to this. As Haslam has 
noted, the last battle of a lengthy campaign by the 
Danes was fought at Wilton in 871, implying that the 
town was defended at this time (Haslam 1976, 67). 
However, the possibility cannot be discounted that 
an earlier, smaller defensive circuit may yet remain 
undiscovered in the town. The refurbishment of the 
defences and the construction of the stone wall at St 
John’s Hospital could have taken place in the later 
9th or early 10th century, and a possible parallel for 
this sequence is provided by the northern defences of 
Oxford, another large de novo burh (Hassall and Hill 
1970, 189). At Oxford, a timber faced rampart, 
separated from the ditch by a berm approximately 
4m wide, was replaced by a stone revetment of regular 
ragstone blocks bedded in clayey mortar; these two 
phases of construction have been dated to the late 
9th and early 10th century respectively (Blair 1994, 
148, fig. 87). 

The suggested extent of late Saxon occupation 
shown in Figure 1 (based on Haslam 1976, fig. 19) 
takes into account the Burghal Hidage assessment 
for Wilton of 1400 hides making it 8= in size of the 
33 burhs listed in the early 10th century document 
(Hill 1969, table II). Whether the boundary to the 
settlement was defined on all sides by a ditch and 
bank seems unlikely, and the defences investigated at 
St John’s Hospital remain the only section yet 
identified, dug at a convenient point to cut off an area 
between the River Wylye and the River Nadder. As 
has been suggested earlier (WAM 1972, 176), it is 
probable that some of the profusion of watercourses 
which surround and pass through Wilton served 
defensive purposes as well as acting as boundaries. 
Indeed, the open, shallow profile of ditch 24/42 at St 
John’s Hospital may reflect the likelihood that it too 
was permanently or regularly flooded, a suggestion 
supported by the waterlogged conditions encountered 
in the 1970s evaluations and by the charred plant 
remains. 

The paucity of the finds from the ditch and bank 
material at St John’s Hospital may indicate a low level 
of occupation in the immediate vicinity, although the 
excavation and watching brief could not demonstrate 
this with certainty. However, the excavation at the 
New Doctor’s surgery in South Street, just within the 
postulated southern limit of the late Saxon town, has 
produced fairly clear evidence for occupation during 
the 9th/10th — 12th centuries, and thus of probable 
pre-Conquest date. Some possible structural remains, 
including a hearth, and several pits were assigned to 
this period, but little more can be deduced about 
the nature of the settlement. Of particular interest, 


202 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


however, is the group of grey, wheelthrown wares 
assigned a mid 9th — mid 10th century date. These 
have not as yet been identified elsewhere other than 
in Winchester and Kings Somborne (Charlotte 
Matthews pers comm.), where they occur in small 
quantities, and their presence in Wilton may be 
significant in terms of identifying their source and 
perhaps also in reflecting the date and status of 
occupation on the site in South Street. 

Unfortunately, no other controlled excavations 
have yet been undertaken in Wilton which might 
provide information on the extent and nature of late 
Saxon occupation, and the few intermittent 
evaluations and watching briefs have produced no firm 
evidence for pre-Conquest settlement. Recent 
evaluations on the north side of Russell Street (OAU 
1994), and just to the south within Kingsbury Square 
(Michael Heaton, pers. comm.) have revealed no 
Saxon features or finds. This might indicate a relatively 
low density of occupation within much of the 
postulated area of late Saxon Wilton, which might 
not be as extensive as indicated on Figure 1, 
particularly to the north-east of St Mary’s Church 
along North Street. 

Clear evidence of a rectilinear street plan, 
indicated by the lines of North Street, South Street 
and West Street (the layout to the east is more 
confused) has been noted before (Biddle and Hill 
1971, 81), and it has been suggested that this may 
reflect a ‘deliberate policy of urban foundation in 
response to a military situation’ in the Burghal 
Hidage places during the late 9th or early 10th 
century (Biddle and Hill 1971, 83). This seems a 
likely explanation for the street layout at Wilton, but 
remains to be demonstrated archaeologically, as does 
the full extent and nature of the associated late Saxon 
settlement. 

A substantial deposit of iron-smelting slag 
probably post-dated the 10th — 12th century features 
at South Street, but is not likely to have been deposited 
later than the 12th century. Iron-smelting slag was 
also recorded in 1975 to the east of Kingsbury Square 
where it was attributed to the late Saxon period 
(Haslam 1976, 69), and it is conceivable that the 
material from South Street is of late Saxon date, and 
may represent ‘industrial activity’ towards the 
periphery of the town. A possible parallel might be 
drawn with Romsey, Hampshire, where large deposits 
of iron-smelting slag have been recorded in probable 
pre-Conquest deposits across the town, indicating the 
existence of a relatively substantial industry at an early 
date. 


MEDIEVAL — POST-MEDIEVAL 


Medieval Wilton had no town defences, and it is 
uncertain when the late Saxon defences ceased to be 
maintained and wall 15 robbed. The ditch and bank 
referred to in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 1045 relating 
to Ditchampton (Grundy 1919, 76, 290) could well 
be those at St John’s Hospital, the approximate line 
of which subsequently came to mark the parish 
boundary between Wilton and Burcombe. However, 
it seems that ditch 24/42 had probably been infilled 
by the 13th century as it produced no medieval 
pottery, whereas pottery of 13th — 14th century date 
was recovered from ditch 4 which perhaps replaced it 
a short distance to the north-west. Some pottery of 
this date was also recovered from the late Saxon bank, 
perhaps introduced when wall 15 was robbed or from 
a possible raising in height of the bank when ditch 4 
was dug. 

Ditch 4 may have had its origins in the 12th 
century, possibly dug when St John’s Hospital was 
established, and subsequently maintained as a 
drainage ditch or culvert serving the Hospital. No 
further details of this ditch or any structures relating 
to the Hospital were revealed during the excavation 
and watching brief, and the only other medieval 
feature was a single, small pit. This suggests that the 
area, set back from the street frontage, remained as 
largely undeveloped ground probably until the 18th 
or 19th century. The small quantity of charred plant 
remains from medieval pit 48 provide some support 
for this suggestion in that they included field weed 
seeds and seeds of wood margins or scrub. 

The paucity of medieval features at St John’s 
Hospital contrasts with the density of features 
recorded at South Street where several ditches and 
pits, waterlogged organic material and a relatively large 
quantity of medieval pottery were present, attesting 
to domestic occupation on the street frontage in the 
12th - 13th century. No structural remains were 
identified, but the ditches may have defined property 
boundaries as well as having been dug for drainage. 

There was a marked fall-off in the evidence for 
settlement at South Street from the 14th century, and 
this in part is likely to reflect a general decline in 
Wilton’s fortunes which can be attributed to the 
growth in importance of Salisbury and the effects of 
the Black Death. The lack of later medieval features 
and finds has been noted on other recent, small-scale 
evaluation work at Russell Street (OAU 1994), 
Kingsbury Square (Michael Heaton, pers. comm.), 
and at King Street just to the north of Cross Bridge 


EXCAVATIONS IN WILTON, 1995-6 


in an area of medieval suburban development (AC 
Archaeology 1992). It is clear, however, that 
occupation did not cease, and at least one substantial 
structure was built on the site at South Street, perhaps 
during the mid 16th century. It is just conceivable 
that this structure, possibly a barn, was that built by 
one of the burgesses of Wilton near to the site of St 
Michael’s Church, which is referred to in the First 
Pembroke Survey commissioned in 1563, taking some 
ten years to complete (James 1962, 29). Other 
structural remains at South Street have been assigned 
to the 17th — 18th centuries, but the general character 
of occupation does appear to have altered, reflecting 
Wilton’s decline from a thriving urban centre to a 
relatively unimportant, small market town. 

Both the recent excavations reported on here, and 
earlier work, have provided tantalising glimpses of the 
wealth of archaeological information that lies beneath 
Wilton. It is hoped that all future opportunities to 
undertake excavations will be grasped, particularly 
those which might shed light on what was happening 
in the town between the 8th and 13th centuries. It is 
sad to report that our knowledge of Wilton during 
this period has advanced very little in the quarter of a 
century that has elapsed since Haslam’s assessment 
(Haslam 1976). 


Acknowledgements 

The fieldwork and post-excavation work at St John’s 
Hospital were commissioned by The Sarum 
Partnership on behalf of the Trustees of the College 
of Matrons and the Trustees of St John’s Hospital. 
Mr John Overton and Mr J Ashenden of The Sarum 
Partnership are particularly thanked for their co- 
operation. 

The evaluation was managed by Caron Newman 
and directed by Andrew Crockett, assisted by Damien 
Boden and Mel Gauden. The excavation was managed 
by Antony Firth and directed by Andrew Hutcheson 
assisted by Dominic Barker, Bob Davis, Joe Whelan 
and Richard May, with the watching brief undertaken 
by Ronald Ross assisted by Jane Liddle. 

The fieldwork at the new Doctors’ Surgery, South 

-Street, was commissioned by Dr A J Hall; and Dr 
Hall, Mr V Hall and Miss L R Oliver are thanked for 
their co-operation and assistance. The evaluation and 
excavation were managed by Roland Smith and Mick 
Rawlings respectively, and directed by Rachael Seager 
Smith and Andrew Hutcheson with the assistance of 
Joe Whelan, Simon Carlyle-Lancaster, Neil Walmsley, 
John Hart, Rosie Edmunds, Chris Hurn, Andrew 
Crockett and Dave Murdie. 


203 


The briefs for both projects were prepared by 
Helena Cave-Penny and Roy Canham of the Wiltshire 
County Council (Library and Museums Service), and 
their advice during monitoring of the projects is fully 
acknowledged. 

The post-excavation programme was managed by 
Charlotte Matthews. Phil Andrews would like to 
record his thanks to the site directors who undertook 
the initial post-excavation work and discussed various 
aspects of the sites which have been taken account of 
in this report. The finds work has been managed by 
Lorraine Mepham, and the environmental work 
managed by Michael J Allen with environmental 
processing by Hayley Clark. 

David Algar kindly made available some previously 
unpublished information relating to the 1970s 
evaluation trenches at St John’s Hospital, details of 
which have been included in this report. Finally, the 
author would like to thank Nick Griffiths, Honorary 
Curator of Wilton Museum, for providing him with 
the benefit of his local knowledge as well as a 
conducted tour of the town. 


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Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 205-217 


Names on the Path to Remembrance: the building 
of Marlborough College Memorial Hall 


by Brian Edwards 


Marlborough College suffered a_ tragically high loss of Old Marlburians serving in the First World War, and 
decided to commemorate their sacrifice by building the present Memorial Hall. This paper examines the 
controversial decision to build the hall in the context of the public mood and opinion prevailing during and after 
the war, and assesses the shortcomings of the resulting structure as a memorial. 


Have you forgotten yet?... 
For the world’s events have rumbled on 
since those gagged days, ... 
Siegfried Sassoon , ‘Aftermath’, 1919.! 


The interior walls of Marlborough College’s 
Memorial Hall carry the names of the Old 
Marlburians who died during the Great War, but as 
another millennium starts and leaves behind a 
century shaped by this conflict, the names are now 
obscured by seating.’ 

That these names would be covered for even a 
single moment, let alone all but a few days of the 
year, is something that would cause tremendous 
resentment among the survivors of 1914-18,’ and 
mortify those who at the time of the 1945 armistice 
devised the term “The First World War’, ‘to prevent 
the millenian [sic] folk from forgetting’.* That nearly 
every town and village has a war memorial on which 
have been added the names of those killed on active 
service during the Second World War, is a fact that is 
increasingly overlooked by the vast majority of people 
on all but one or perhaps two days a year. Despite 
public demand having recently seen the return of ‘the 
silence’ being observed at 11.00 a.m. on the eleventh 
day of the eleventh month, the significance of this 
-time and date is lost on those of the post-war 
generations who have taken no active participation, 
other than observing that the dead of two world wars 
are commemorated each year on the Sunday nearest 
to the 11th November.’ 

Between 1919 and 1939, Armistice Day was the 
most important national day on the calendar. For 


those growing up in the inter-war years, this was the 
day when the world stopped. ‘There was not the 
amount of road traffic then that there is today, but 
what traffic there was stopped at 11.00 a.m.’.° On 
Remembrance Sunday in the 1990s, the traffic passing 
the Marlborough College Memorial Hall on the Bath 
Road and nearly everywhere is likely to keep moving. 
Inside the Hall this is the only day when the memorial 
reverts to its primary function, as the Memorial Hall 
built in honour of the war dead has within the lifetime 
of their surviving comrades, been transformed from 
a ‘speech hall’ to what is principally a hall for music 
and theatre. 

That the Memorial Hall is now being used for 
purposes other than originally intended could be taken 
as a sign of the times, reflecting today’s mood in 
comparison to that of yesterday. That however would 
be an unjust reflection on the present incumbents, as 
it is more realistic to recognise that their heritage in 
the form of the Hall was not in keeping with the 
overriding spirit of the time in which it was raised. 
When it was suggested and built immediately 
following the Great War, the choice of a functional 
memorial was in sharp contrast to the consensus of 
opinion. The more recent treaty of 1945 saw a very 
practical attitude to memorial as a nation rebuilding 
was inclined to ‘make do and mend’; but in 1918 the 
greater need was for a memorial idiom unencumbered 
by a requirement for utility.’ Discussion concerning 
the form that Great War memorials should take had 
begun on a broad scale as early as 1915, and it was 
stressed from the outset that uniformity was as 
important from the view of recognition as it was to 


Mount Pleasant, The Cartway, Wedhampton, Devizes, Wilts SN10 3QD 


206 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


protect public buildings, churches and the landscape 
from unsuitable additions or alterations.* An agreed 
form took shape at the end of the war, and despite a 
counter-case for memorials with a practical use, the 
broad consensus fell behind something simple of 
single and poetical importance but otherwise 
impractical in purpose.” 

The appalling toll in the casualty reports of 1915 
indicated that death rates would be highest among 
young officers, the ranks that consisted mostly of 
Oxbridge and old boy volunteers.!° The Marlborough 
College newspaper, The Marlburian, made depressing 
reading throughout the 1914—18 period; however the 
casualty rates were exceptionally appalling throughout 
1915 even by Great War standards.'! The Marlburian 
of 11th February 1915 carried the most incredibly 
moving headings: ‘Killed In Action. .. Died Of 
Wounds... Missing Believed Killed... Wounded. . . 
Missing... Prisoners of War’. Each individual section 
carried an extensive lists of names. The number of 
former pupils of Marlborough College who had been 
killed in a little over a year had already rapidly climbed 
above 300 in total, and this would be a major factor 
in the resignation of the Master of Marlborough 
College. Wynne Wilson had been headmaster at 
Marlborough for only five years when in 1916, rather 
suddenly it seems, he decided to leave. A decisive 
factor could well have been the death of the war poet 
Charles Hamilton Sorley at Loos in October 1915, 
which must have been a particularly shattering blow 
to the Master.'? Wynne was especially friendly with 
Sorley, and they regularly exchanged letters. In fact 
Sorley’s last letter to the Master was dated 5th October 
1915, only eight days before his death, perhaps 
arriving at Marlborough along with notification of his 
loss.'*? Following Sorley’s death, Wynne it appears 
simply could not take the ultimate cost of the fresh 
faces he had so recently taught, as page after page of 
The Times and The Marlburian bore increasingly 
greater numbers of past pupils.'* 

The mounting casualties that finally saw the 
resignation of Wynne Williams perhaps also prompted 
the first discussions regarding a memorial. With the 
sheer number of Marlburian dead resulting from the 
heavy losses in the junior officer class — which 
consisted mostly of former public schoolboys — it is 
perhaps not surprising that someone associated with 
Marlborough College would be among the first to 
organise and start the process of considering a 
memorial. History has not revealed who that person 
was, but it can safely be assumed that he came from 
within the ranks of the Old Marlburians, and quite 
possibly from one of them serving at the Front. 


The Old Marlburian association of old boys had 
perhaps already started considering memorials when 
their Committee received a letter from a group of Old 
Marlburian officers serving on the Western Front. The 
letter revealed that earlier that year, in January 1917, 
a dinner had been arranged immediately behind the 
front lines, which was attended by some 70 
Marlburian officers. Those assembled collected 
around £ 170 and had sent it to the Old Marlburian 
Committee stating that, ‘it was their contribution to 
any fund to be formed, and they hoped it would be 
devoted to the education of the sons of the fallen’.'” 
The contents of this letter galvanised the Old 
Marlburians into action and a public meeting was 
arranged on 20th April 1917, specifically to launch 
the memorial project. 

The meeting was held at the Surveyors’ Institute, 
Great George Street, Westminster, and around 150 
Old Marlburians, parents and friends of College were 
present.'® Following a notable lack of any opening 
remarks whatsoever, the Chairman “The Right Hon. 
R. E. Prothero, M.V.O., MP., came straight to the 
point, which was that out of 3,000 Marlburians 
serving in the forces, a number in excess of 450 had 
already been killed and ‘many of those men were 
married and have left behind them young families’.'” 
The meeting concerned itself immediately with those 
left behind, rather than commemorating those who 
had served and died. The meeting was of course 
guided by the speakers from the platform, whose 
stance clearly reflected the exact line suggested by 
the letter from the Old Marlburians serving at the 
Front. 

The letter from the serving Old Marlburians was 
read to the meeting, and coming as it had from the 
front line of the conflict, their message encouraged 
the meeting to pledge unanimously to support the 
children of Old Marlburian casualties in their 
education. Taken as it was before the total number of 
losses was known, and therefore numbers of children 
and the cost of any such provision could be calculated, 
this decision was perhaps an emotional reaction. This 
undertaking was no small assurance on the part of 
the Old Marlburian Committee, who as part of the 
project were offering their services to organise raising 
funds and running proceedings. 

Initial funds for a memorial would undoubtedly 
be forthcoming, but the educational issue was a cause 
that would be difficult to gain and collect appeal funds 
for on an ongoing basis. The meeting was reminded 
by one of the few speakers, General Sir Edmund 
Barrow, that, ‘ Marlburians do not as a rule come 
from an affluent class, for we are mostly the sons of 


NAMES ON THE PATH TO REMEMBRANCE: MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE MEMORIAL HALL 207 


Figure 1. Memorial Hall. Drawing by E. M. Holman 


professional men with limited incomes’.'* Barrow was 
subtly pointing out that capital funds for a memorial 
would be difficult enough to raise from among their 
class at a time when money would be short, and to 
make any additional commitment that could continue 
for up to two decades into the future might be an 
emotional reaction and well beyond their means. This 
latter prophesy proved accurate, because in reality 
they were considering providing for what could 
theoretically total a thousand or more children ranging 
from a 21-year-old then approaching his finals at 
Oxbridge to a babe in arms or even a foetus, and 
everyone in between.!° In view of the truth behind 
this statement the optimism in their ability to raise 
such funds was perhaps more emotionally than 
economically based. The meeting, almost as a 
-secondary matter, wholeheartedly supported a 
proposal that a cloister be built as a memorial attached 
to the College Chapel, and it was with this satisfactory 
agreement that the Old Marlburian Committee which 
had now also become the Marlborough College War 
Memorial Committee, adjourned.” 
Fully committed to the cause, the Old Marlburians 
set about raising funds and understandably 
approached the Marlborough College Council, the 


school’s governing body, for assistance with regard 
to educating the dependants of the fallen. It appears 
however, that the College Council were not so 
emotionally committed to the cause as the Old 
Marlburians. The Council took until February 1919 
to reply formally, which was nearly two years after 
the War Memorial Committee had approached them 
for assistance. The delay meant that dependants of 
school age in the meanwhile, whether at Marlborough 
College or elsewhere, were left in limbo during the 
Council’s lengthy deliberation. No consideration 
appears to have been given to these children by the 
Council, and the delay in formally replying suggests 
that, before committing themselves, the Council were 
waiting until the war was over and the likely number 
of dependants could be ascertained. At the end of 
1918 it was adjudged that the total of Marlburian 
dead was in excess of 725, with a number of missing 
and seriously wounded which would contribute to 
the final figure. With this approximate total, a decision 
on the cost of the proposal regarding the dependants’ 
education could now be made, but this suggests the 
Council operated from a purely economic stance. 
The feeling that the College Council made a 
purely economically calculated decision with regard 


— 


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208 


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Figure 2. Plan and Section of the Memorial Hall, published in The Marlburian, 20th December 1920 


NAMES ON THE PATH TO REMEMBRANCE: MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE MEMORIAL HALL 209 


to offering free places to dependants of the fallen is 
difficult to escape. With the responsibility they had to 
ensure the sound footing of the school, it is perhaps 
unfair to suggest that they were merely cold and 
calculating, but the collective evidence indicates a 
certain detachment from sombre obligation and 
sincere sentiment. By itself the decision to wait until 
the number of dependants was known can be 
considered sensible, and by stipulating in their offer 
to the War Memorial Committee that places would 
only be offered to the ‘sons’ of the fallen, and then 
only ‘on the grounds of need’, it could be considered 
that the Council were merely minimising any possible 
contribution on their part.?! Should there be any 
doubts as to the motive of the offer, however, the 
overriding condition placed on the offer of free places 
was that it was made subject to the College War 
Memorial Committee agreeing to erect a ‘suitable 
building or buildings’ for the school’s use. Free places 
at Marlborough in lieu of a new building was a good 
deal for the Council. The school’s popularity meant 
that demand for places far outstripped those available, 
and an assembly hall and other buildings were much 
needed. If not built by donation, the school would 
have to find the money themselves. Coming as they 
would in occasional flurries, the inclusion of a few 
free places at any one time would hardly be noticeable 
in comparison to raising the necessary capital for a 
hall, and it would save the College an enormous outlay 
at a time when the Council were being pressed to 
provide many new buildings as additions to the school. 

There were undoubtedly those who thought that 
the money raised for any memorial should be put 
to a practical use in the College. The dining hall 
was apparently a disgrace, the assorted libraries 
throughout the school appeared in need of co- 
ordinating in one building, swimming baths were 
quite desired and a dedicated laboratory was 
another requirement. In addition there was nowhere 
suitable within the College, such as a hall, where 
the whole school could be assembled and 
addressed. All these requirements had come under 
consideration by the War Memorial Committee, but 
were rejected on the grounds of incompatibility with 
“a memorial generally, and a Great War memorial 
specifically. The inaugural memorial meeting had 
also recognised that the cost of such a venture could 
prove prohibitive, perhaps with the cost of war-time 
materials in mind, but particularly with regard to 
the limitations of their middle-class purses.** 
Despite this the odd protest was made in support 
of a hall, and in December 1917 The Marlburian 
started to publish letters of support for the proposed 


cloister and counter letters calling for a hall, that 
continued to fuel a debate throughout 1918. 

In February 1918 the President of the Marlburian 
Club, in answer to concerns of aesthetic nuances over 
an addition of a cloister to the College Chapel, 
revealed in The Marlburian the discovery of plans for 
such a cloister. These had been drawn up by the 
College architect, who had envisaged when he had 
designed the College Chapel that such an addition 
was desirable, and would be required when funds 
allowed. With this encouraging affirmation and the 
endorsement of the current College Architect, ©. E. 
Ponting, who was also as Diocesan Architect an 
experienced ecclesiastical designer, the cloister would 
have appeared to have seen off its detractors. The 
College Council, however, had seen an opportunity 
for saving the school the cost of a much needed hall 
and their offer of free places was in fact a counter- 
proposal which was in itself a fait accompli.”* 

With many worried dependants waiting two years 
for the outcome, free places were finally offered to the 
Memorial Committee by the Council, but only in 
exchange for a building or buildings ‘to serve the 
school’. The ‘Cloistered Garth’ which was placed before 
the Council in November 1917 as the democratic and 
unanimous choice of the inaugural meeting, the 
expressed wishes of some of those still serving and the 
specific item under which donations had been sought 
and given — was entirely and obviously compromised.”? 
The Cloistered Garth was not a building that would 
serve the school as such so was therefore automatically 
ruled out if the Council’s offer was to be accepted. 
The situation was put before a second War Memorial 
public meeting, and the decision to build a hall was 
forced through amidst unhappy protests from those 
wishing the meeting to abide by the original decision 
to build a Cloistered Garth.” 

A hall having been decided upon, the sensitivity 
in approaches to memorial design that was being 
observed by the prevailing populace, was completely 
ignored by the College. The Civic Arts Association 
had offered conferences and exhibitions on the design 
for war memorials which were widely promoted in 
the press, and the results of their competition to find 
simple and dignified designs were published in 
Country Life and other magazines.*° The Royal 
Academy was opened to official bodies for 
consultation on these matters, and they established a 
committee of leading artists, architects and sculptors, 
in order that the tasteless and unsuitable could be 
avoided.*’ This guidance was neglected by Old 
Marlburians in favour of the rather undignified self- 
promotion of a competition among themselves.**’ The 


210 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


strict requirement of the competition being to produce 
a design for ‘a Hall in the Amphitheatre style’ 
suggested a groundbreaking exercise as this was a 
recent foreign importation in the architectural field.*” 
To stray from the indigenous and well established 
could be considered unusual for a memorial, the 
risk of creating offence being higher than if sticking 
to known areas. This makes it appear as if the 
competition was merely an opportunity for an Old 
Marlburian to make a name for himself. 

In fact the competition was further limited not just 
to Old Marlburians, but to a certain section of them. 
Since all those serving would be unable to enter the 
competition, those who had returned home wounded 
would probably either not want to enter or be incapable 
of doing so, and those on leave would not have time; 
the likelihood is that in reality this competition was 
limited to those who had not personally experienced 
the awfulness of contemporary warfare.*” They would 
however, have been schooled, as all Marlburians were, 
in muscular Christianity and chivalry reinforced with 
heroic tales of valour.’! A reflection of one attitude 
current among this group was voiced by those who, 
after the full horrors of 1914-18 had been revealed, 
announced that they considered the Great War an 
‘opportunity’.*” It was this attitude that ensured that 
the competition for a memorial design was exclusively 
limited to them, to produce a monument to war in the 
guise of an honourable shrine.*’ 

Although no protest regarding the design of the 
Hall appeared in the columns of The Marlburian or 
any local or national newspapers, the fact that a wave 
of propaganda appeared attempting to justify the size 
of the Hall and the detail it employed is rather 
intriguing. *' As it is apparent from the text that this is 
no self-congratulatory exercise, it is perhaps therefore 
a response to some unrecorded criticism.*? Certainly 
in comparison to the largely fine but plain brick 
buildings that the College mostly consists of, the Hall 
appears grandiose considering its primary purpose. 
Nikolaus Pevsner described it in these terms: ‘It is of 
brick with ample stone dressings. The front has two 
closed end bays and then, stretching between them, a 
long loggia of eight Adamish columns. The top is a 
parapet. The back of the building is semi-circular. It 
comes as near to the American Campus style of the 
same years as anything this side of the Atlantic’.*° 
‘Terminology such as ‘ample dressings’, and ‘Adamish 
columns’ cannot be misinterpreted. Nor can the ‘semi- 
circular’ rear be regarded as less than flamboyant for 
a memorial. Compared to anything else in the United 
Kingdom, it is certainly not typical of the time in 
which it appeared.*’ 


Marlborough College was not entirely alone in 
constructing a practical building as a war memorial. 
Public Schools were unsurprisingly the main 
instigators of halls, libraries, sanatoria, pavilions and 
playing fields, most of which are simple affairs.** A 
minority of communities also favoured halls as a 
memorial to the dead of 1914-18, to perpetuate the 
camaraderie and levelling companionship of the war 
years, and to be used by the those who came back as 
well as the families of those who did not.*? However, 
it is rare to encounter among Great War memorials 
anything so splendid and generous in its architecture 
as the Marlborough College Memorial Hall.!° The 
Great War memorials found in churchyards, high 
streets and at cross-roads nationwide, are remarkable 
in their simplicity, as are those that pervade the 
Somme.*! Simplicity in design, if not singularity in 
purpose, was expected even by those calling for 
practical buildings as memorials.’ This is a sentiment 
to which the Hall clearly does not comply. 

The Marlborough College Memorial Hall is an 
example of what Professor Adshead described in 1916 
as, ‘arrogant architecture that was a war cry rather 
than a message of peace’. The dimension of 
overstated glory and pompous architecture employed 
is in outstanding contrast, not only to the simplicity of 
the Cenotaph which provides a sense of non- 
denominational timelessness and _ universal 
understanding, but also to the simply stated and 
dignified memorials to be found in every town and 
village." The Marlborough College Memorial Hall 
even stands out in comparison with the memorials 
employed by other public schools and wealthy 
institutions.’ The chapels at Charterhouse, Beaumont 
and Downside are all humble affairs, Edinburgh 
Academy and Campbell College, Belfast, too, are 
comparatively simple despite also employing old boys 
as designers. Some public and grammar schools such 
as Nottingham High School, and Fettes School, 
Edinburgh, did resort to sculptures of officers, but 
portrayed as they are in the act of falling or encouraging 
their men onward, these are used to front simple 
memorial buildings. Playing fields and pavilions were 
aptly chosen as memorials at some schools, and of 
those who chose libraries, museums, classrooms, wall 
friezes and memorial gates, simplicity was the common 
ingredient.’° Even Glasgow Academy which went to 
the extraordinary lengths of endowing the school as a 
memorial, has simple carved oak panels lining the 
school gallery to carry the names. 

That simplicity in commemoration was the most 
widely agreed notion following the Great War is 
evident by the examples that so characterise the 


NAMES ON THE PATH TO REMEMBRANCE: MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE MEMORIAL HALL 211 


landscape of Remembrance. That it was not a principle 
strictly adhered to by Marlborough College suggests 
how out of touch with the outside world the powers 
driving the school memorial actually were. Able to 
view the whole subject of memorials more objectively 
was Cyril Norwood, who had been Headmaster of 
Bristol Grammar School before accepting the Mastership 
of Marlborough College. Only offered the post upon the 
refusal of Old Marlburian Cyril Alington, who went 
on instead to be Provost of Eton, Norwood was made 
to feel an outsider from the outset.’” On entering 
Marlborough College Norwood was booed and jeered 
by the many boys who resented the appointment of 
someone who was merely a former grammar school 
headmaster.** Yet Norwood was undoubtedly what 
Marlborough College needed, and was the only voice 
from within the school that spoke out against the Hall. 
Norwood revealed at his very first address to 
Marlburians that as a headmaster he would like to 
see additional buildings provided, but as ‘a memorial 
to the dead that would be unthinkable’.*? However, 
he made it clear that he had no wish to be directly 
involved in decisions regarding a memorial, because 
he felt that the choice should lie with the parents and 
Old Marlburian friends of the fallen.*® At the second 
and final public memorial meeting, Norwood 
continued to make clear his alienation from the project 
by stating that he was only acting as a, ‘sort of clearing 
house for opinions’. He did however also make clear 
that the call for a hall was led by those still at 
Marlborough, and therefore by implication those likely 
to benefit directly.2! Norwood obviously was not 
happy with how things had proceeded, but having 
made it clear from the outset that he was distancing 
himself from the project, he could not then be seen 
to interfere. Despite his original stance against a 
practical building as a memorial, Norwood attempted 
to make the best of it by hinting that his least objection 
would be against a ‘speech hall’. This at least would 
be dignified, but Norwood was being optimistic if he 
thought the building would be used purely for this 
purpose. The prospect of a design competition likely 
to produce architecture with unsuitable 
embellishment was clearly not, in his view, a fitting 
- way to proceed, and he tried subtly to deflect it by 
stating at the memorial meeting that, ‘you might 
throw it open to a competition amongst Marlburian 
architects; or you might decide on a different kind of 
hall altogether’. Despite Marlborough’s rapid progress 
under Norwood’s enlightened approaches to 
education, the College failed to listen to his concerns 
regarding the memorial.’? The Council and Old 
Marlburians carried on regardless, and Norwood left 


Marlborough at the first opportunity, which arose, 
co-incidentally, shortly after the inauguration of the 
Memorial Hall. 

Despite being out of step with the vast majority 
of grieving bodies, the unnecessary and inappropriate 
embellishment employed in the design of 
Marlborough College’s proposed memorial was not 
to be sacrificed when a financial crisis forced 
economies; instead it was a matter of reduction in 
size. Following the announcement of the winner in 
1921, Old Marlburian William Newton, whose design 
was chosen by the President of the Royal Institute of 
British Architects, unveiled his plans for the Memorial 
Gardens that we see today accompanied by what was 
described in Hinde’s history of the school as, ‘a 
magnificent pilloried hall to seat 1,500’.?* No 
consideration to cost had been stipulated by the 
competition organisers and none was taken by either 
the competition’s judge or winner. Overlooked was 
the fact that the finances necessary to build such a 
building would have to be raised by donation in a 
period of serious economic circumstances and the 
threatening depression that inevitably followed war. 
The cost proved prohibitive, despite a year long wait 
for material prices to subside and for depression to 
eat into the labour costs. The overall cost fell by 25%, 
but even this massive cut was insufficient to bring the 
project within the range of the fund. Instead of 
examining what simplification could be applied to the 
design, the winning architect was asked to submit 
reduced plans. A rather pathetically pedantic debate 
ensued as to whether an average boy required 14 or 
16 inches sitting space, an area that under-11s would 
find uncomfortable, let alone the seniors who would 
be expected to occupy these spaces for long periods. 
Despite the original claim of being able to seat 1,500, 
building began on the basis of a 1,150 seater hall, but 
in a realistic estimate excluding the additional 79 seats 
which obstruct the names of the fallen, the figure is 
closer to 600. The Memorial Hall could not seat the 
entire population of the school, even at the time it 
was built. 

At the announcement of the competition, the 
school numbers had been rising consistently for over 
a decade. By the time the plans had to be re-drawn 
the number of seats required was well above 700, and 
at the time of the opening ceremony the newly opened 
hall fell far short of seating the entire school, which 
then totalled 722. The platform raised at the rear of 
the hall is a detail included for occasional standing 
overfills but which lends itself naturally to the 
placement of temporary seating. The placing of chairs 
on this ledge, therefore, is hardly surprising, since any 


212 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


long ceremony or performance would require this 
additional seating. When in place however it is the 
backs of the chairs that hide more than half the names, 
and they are completely obstructed from view when 
the seats are occupied. With a little more foresight by 
the design team the tablets could have been placed 
higher up, or elsewhere, thereby ensuring that the 
names on the Roll of Honour would never be so 
ignominiously obscured. Quite clearly the Hall was 
never fit for its supposed purpose. Not only would it 
not house the school, but it fails in its primary function 
as a memorial to immortalise the names of the dead. 
This, of course, was widely regarded as of foremost 
importance, and it was particularly relevant at a school 
that had a greater number of war dead than any similar 
institution." 

As a totem, individual Rolls of Honour inevitably 
reflect the vast numbers of those who enlisted in 


Figure 3. Partly concealed memorial to C. H. Sorley 


county regiments and Pals battalions, men from the 
same area who would have grown up together, went to 
school together, joined up together and died together. 
This cannot be said for former pupils of public schools. 
Sent away from home to school, they had no other 
such immediate connection when joining up, and as 
young officers had no associations similar to the Pals 
in army life or indeed in death. The memorials which 
sprouted in every village and town, to express the 
collective loss and binding together of local families in 
public commemoration, were not also the communal 
centre for grief for the families and school-friends of 
the public schools.” The names of public schoolboys 
could of course appear on a memorial in their home 
area, or perhaps at a club, but the only places where 
they could be commemorated with the majority of 
friends they had made in their short lives was at their 
school where they had formed most of their allegiances 
and associations.*° Appearing on a Roll of Honour 
therefore allowed individuals to retain their association 
in death as they had done in life. It also allowed 
organisations and institutions to illustrate their role in 
the sacrifice. 

The Roll of Honour had developed from the Roll 
of Service, a record of the rush to join up in 1914— 
15.°’ This Roll of Service was then used to encourage 
those whose names did not appear, so they would be 
shamed and respond by joining up. Absence from this 
list of names implied cowardice and encouraged ‘white 
feathering’, whereas individually and collectively the 
names on the list implied status. This provided any 
organisation that produced such a list the opportunity 
to exploit the situation and make a statement 
regarding what they were doing for the war effort. At 
the end of the war when this Roll no longer 
represented those who had gone to war, but those 
who were not coming back, the Roll of Honour on a 
factory wall no longer proclaimed that the firm was 
doing its bit, but had played its part.*® Inevitably this 
raises a question whether the original impetus behind 
the Roll of Honour for some organisations was to 
bring honour on themselves, as much as it was to 
honour their servicemen either living or dead. 

The history of Marlborough College’s Memorial 
Hall makes it hard to come to any conclusion other 
than that it was built to serve and honour the school 
more than it was to honour their dead. In an article 
on memorials in the Cornhill Magazine in 1916, the 
Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, A. C. 
Benson, urged those who sanctioned memorials to, 
‘fight shy of elaborate design’, and to employ, 
‘simplicity of statement’, with perhaps, ‘a touch of 
emblem but no more’. He further pleaded that 


NAMES ON THE PATH TO REMEMBRANCE: MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE MEMORIAL HALL 23 


Figure 4. Marlborough College Memorial Hall and Chapel 


memorials should not be built in a style to ‘astonish 
tourists’ and ‘feed our vanity’. What the passer-by sees 
in the grounds of Marlborough College confirms 
Benson’s worst fears, and its history reveals his 
foresight. The Master of Magdalene had further 
warned about guarding against allegorical 
pantomime.*’ Those in control of Marlborough’s 
memorial had chosen to ignore his warning, and with 
hindsight might be seen to have been embarking on 
something of a pantomime of their own. 

In April 1917, a cloister had been proposed as a 
memorial and funds raised from donations on this 
basis. By October 1919, the College Council had 
created an atmosphere that demanded the building 
of a hall -by offering to take over the education of sons 
of the Old Marlburian Great War dead, and amid 
protest a hall was agreed. The site was decided upon 
by the Council, and the design competition among 
old boys produced a plan published in December 
1920. Amid rumours of unsuitability of the chosen 
site and concern over proposals for the foundations 
The Marlburian, on 24th May 1921, published a 

“report on the proposed raft to take the structure. Then, 
as if building towards the climax of some ridiculous 
farce, the following day the Master reported to the 
College Council that the funds raised were far 
insufficient to cover the cost. Despite this lack of funds, 
the contractor started work two months later, and 
the designer was asked to submit reduced plans. It 
was at this point that Marshall Foch among other 


celebrities refused without validated excuse to perform 
the opening ceremony. Then less than two months 
before the planned date of the ceremony the winning 
designer informed the Memorial Committee that the 
Hall was sinking.®° 

A flawed design was compounded by alterations 
demanded by the overreaching nature of the project. 
Those responsible had little regard for the 
circumstances of the time, and clearly overestimated 
the willingness. of Old Marlburians and friends of the 
school to produce a budget to match the expectations 
of the design competition. Underpinning was required 
and the building was retrieved after further delay and 
not insubstantial cost. In 1916 the Royal Academy 
had issued a memorandum suggesting points of 
guidance which in terms of Marlborough College’s 
Memorial Hall can be revealed as a prophesy. It had 
stressed a need for professional design, and care in 
choice of site, advocating simplicity of design and 
attention to scale and proportion.°’ The Memorial 
Hall was badly planned and poorly initiated owing to 
the College’s reluctance from the beginning to 
consider involving outside agencies. Because of their 
failure either to seek advice or to heed the warnings 
regarding their over-ambitious plans, the War 
Memorial Committee and College Council of that 
same period presented successive generations with 
an unworthy and impractical memorial. 

In contrast to the names of the fallen, which were 
consigned to obscurity lining the walls of the 


214 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Memorial Hall, the iconography of war remains 
bathed in sunlight. From its commanding position 
at the eastern end of the College Chapel, the reredos 
still radiates the glorious and heroic portrayal of death 
in battle which encouraged a generation to war in 
1914. Instead of toning down this imagery following 
two world wars, the salutation of battle-invoked death 
was embellished only five years after the second 
conflict by Sir Ninian Comper, who added highly 
imaginative and colourful wall paintings in 1951. Like 
the figures on the reredos, the paintings perpetuate 
the idolatry of war, by depicting young boys as angels 
clad in armour. 

In 1933, Sassoon wrote of witnessing the ‘Prince 
of Darkness’ standing in front of the Cenotaph 
praying; 

‘Make them forget , O Lord what this Memorial 

Means; their discredited ideas revive; 

Breed new belief that war is ... 

Proof of the pride and power of being alive; 

Lift up their hearts in large destructive lust; 

And crown their heads with blind vindictive Peace.’ 

The Prince of Darkness to the Cenotaph 

Bowed. As he walked away I heard him laugh.°? 


In the case of the Marlborough College Memorial 
Hall, the Devil’s prayers were apparently answered 
from the outset. 

By way of an epilogue, however, it must be noted 
that, because of the high running costs of the present 
hall, Marlborough College has plans for a new 
purpose-built building, which will take over all but 
the most solemn aspects of the Memorial Hall. It 
appears that the Hall will otherwise be unused, and 
so it is possible that the chairs hiding the names may 
be removed. Rather fittingly the Hall, empty and 
without practical purpose, will then at last perhaps 
become what it always should have been — a memorial 
to waste. 


“The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave, 
Awaits alike the inevitable hour. 
The paths to glory lead but to the grave’ 
Thomas Gray’ 


Notes 


1. ‘Aftermath’ verse in full: 

Have you forgotten yet? ... 

For the world’s events have rumbled on since those gagged 
days, 

Like traffic checked awhile at the crossing of city ways: 


And the haunted gap in your mind has filled with thoughts 
that flow, 

Like clouds in the lit heaven of life; and you’re a man 
reprieved to go, 

Taking your peaceful share of Time, with joy to spare. 

But the past 1s just the same,- and War’s a bloody game... 

Have you forgotten yet? ... 

Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you’ll 
never forget!” 

Siegfried Sassoon, ‘Aftermath’, 1919. 


NAMES ON THE PATH TO REMEMBRANCE: MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE MEMORIAL HALL 215 


Figures 5 (left) and 6 (above). Wall paintin 


2: 


2s 1n 
Marlborough College Chapel, by Sir Ninian Comper 


Pamela Colman, Marlborough In Old Photographs: A 
Second Selection, 1990, p. 133. 

Jay Winter, Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning: The 
Great War in European Cultural History, 1996. 
A.J.P.Taylor, English History 1914-1945, 1965, p. 2 
footnote 1. 

Charles Madge and Tom Harrison, Britain by Mass 
Observation, 1939, ‘Two Minute Storey’. 


6. Oral testimony of Stan Philpot, Lockeridge, Marlborough, 


Wilts. Born in 1911, Stan made a tape recording in the 
1980s and a copy is in the possession of the author. 


7. Geoff Dyer, The Missing of the Somme, 1994, p. 11. 
8. Ibid. p. 11-12. 
9. Ibid; Michael Heffernan, ‘For Ever England: The Western 


10. 


Front and the Politics of Remembrance in Britain’ in 
Ecumene 2: 3 July 1995, p. 299; Bob Bushaway, ‘Name 
Upon Name: The Great War and Remembrance’, in Roy 
Porter (ed) Myths of the English, 1992, pp. 142-4. 
The Times, 2nd December 1918, p. 3: David Cannadine, 
‘War and Death, Grief and Mourning in Modern Britain’, 
in Joachim Whaley (ed), Mirrors of Mortality: Studies in 
the Social History of Death, 1981, pp. 196-9; Jay Winter, 
‘The Lost Generation of the First World War’, in 
Population Studies 31, 1977, p. 461 but also pp. 449- 
4066. See also: Robert Wohl, The Generation of 1914, 
1979; Peter Parker, The Old Lie: The Great War and the 
Public School Ethos, 1987. 


1. Lyn Macdonald, 1915, 1993. 


bo 


13: 


16. 


M7 


18. 
19. 


23. 


. Jean Moorcroft Wilson, A Biography of Charles Hamilton 


Sorley, 1985, pp. 201-2. See also Jean Moorcroft Wilson, 
The Collected Poems of Charles Hamilton Sorley, 1985; 
The Collected Letters of Charles Hamilton Sorley, 1990. 
Jean Moorcroft Wilson, The Collected Letters of Charles 
Hamilton Sorley, 1990, pp. 258-261. 

Thomas Hinde, Paths of Progress : A History of 
Marlborough College, p. 133. 

The Marlburian, 30 May 1917, p67; ‘First list of 
donations’ in The Marlburtan, 12 July 1917, p. 96. 
It is important to note that most parental fathers attending 
the meeting would not have been educated at 
Marlborough themselves, and therefore were not Old 
Marlburians. Despite the College having been in existence 
long enough for several generations of a family to have 
attended the school, the trend of a son following in the 
footsteps of his father was not at that time the rule it later 
became. Indeed it is not certain that Marlborough College 
and other public schools did not create this precedent by 
offering free places to the sons of the fallen. 
‘Proceedings at Meeting of Marlburians with regard to 
Marlborough College War Memorial’, in The Marlburian, 
30 May 1917, p. 64. 

Ibid. pp. 64-70. 

Marlborough College Council minutes 2nd February 
1934, report that memorial funded students were now 
few in number and were expected to have left the school 
inside two years. 


. The Marlburian, 30 May 1917, p. 70. 
. Barrow’s exact words to the inaugural meeting. 


Proceedings at Meeting of Marlburians with regard to 
Marlborough College War memorial’, in The Marlburian, 
30 May 1917, pp. 65-69. 

The offer of free places was made on the understanding 
that a building woulda be built for the school’s use. The 
further consequences of accepting the Council’s offer 
meant that offers of free education for the dependants 
would extend only to “those in need”, and then only to 
the “sons” of Marlburians killed in the war. The letter 
from Old Marlburians at the front made no such 
stipulations, and the reports of the Memorial meetings 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


carry no such suggestion that it was intended that any 
child should be precluded on the basis of means or sex. 
That Marlborough College was a purely male 
establishment and was not a charity was obvious to 
everyone concerned, and it therefore could not offer 
places to dependant daughters or afford to give free 
places to those left well provided for. That the Council 
made these stipulations may therefore on the surface 
appear innocent, but with the overall evidence in mind 
it is not surprising that there may linger suspicions of 
an economic basis for their inclusion. The primary 
intentions of the Old Marlburians were perhaps only 
concerned with “sons” and “those in need” in an age 
which even more sanctioned sexism and patronising 
philanthropy than today. However, if that was the case 
the probability is that they would have been more specific 
in their vocabulary. Until the Council responded 
formally to the Old Marlburian request for places, the 
terminology used for those requiring educational 
assistance by the Old Marlburians, parents and friends 
who attended the memorial meetings was “dependants”. 
The term “sons” did not appear until the formal reply 
from the Council was published, but thereafter 
substituted for the word “dependants” which 
disappeared from the vocabulary associated with the 
Marlborough College Memorial. Nor was “need” or 
any similar meaning attached to any proposals, so these 
ideas although perhaps not conscious, fell with the 
adoption of the Hall. The economic demands placed 
on the Memorial by the Council put paid to any 
expectations on behalf of all dependants, for it was it 
was after all economy rather than memorial that was 
the driving force behind Council seeking the Hall. See 
‘Proceedings at Meeting of Marlburians with regard to 
Marlborough College War memorial’, in The 
Marlburian, 30 May 1917, pp. 64-70. 

College Council Minutes, November 1917, from the 
Marlborough College Archive. The Marlburian, 6 
February 1918, pp. 5-6, Letters to the Editor; The 
Marlburian, 17 December 1918, p. 150, Letters to the 
Editor. 


. The Marlburian, 6 November 1919. Report on meeting 


27th October 1919. Three of only four speakers called 
after the Chairman, Sir Henry Wilson, and Seconder, 
The Very Rev. W.M. Furneaux, Dean of Winchester, had 
risen to propose the Hall, spoke in favour of maintaining 
the original decision to build a cloister. It was most 
forcibly pointed out by Sir E.C.K.Ollivant, that the 
money had been subscribed with this object in view. 
Mr ‘T.\W.Weeding whose three sons had been killed in 
France endorsed the sympathies of the previous speaker 
Lieut. S.A.P. Kitcat, and argued strongly for a cloister 
as it was “much more appropriate than a hall, besides 
being in the minds of a very large number of 
subscribers”. In addition he stated that he felt confident 
that the “boys that had fallen would like the Memorial 
to be associated with the Chapel”. It must have appeared 
that if speakers continued to rise to support the Cloister, 


33. 


34. 


35. 


30. 


Silk 
38. 


39. 
40. 


the meeting would surely sympathise, the Chairman 
therefore intervened, suggesting the meeting was “as 
representative as they could get” and put the resolution 
that “the money be spent on a Memorial Hall”. 
Country Life, 5th February 1916, pp. 188-9; The 
Spectator, 5th February 1916 vol 116, pp. 183-4; The 
Architectural Review, 1916, vol 39, pp. xvii, 112; The 
Architectural Review, 1916, vol 40, pp. 35-40. 


. Michael Heffernan, ‘For Ever England: The Western 


Front and the Politics of Remembrance in Britain’ in 
Ecumene 2: 3 July 1995, p. 299; Bob Bushaway, ‘Name 
Upon Name: The Great War and Remembrance’, in 
Roy Porter (ed) Myths of the English, 1992, pp. 142- 
144. 


. This particular competition was rather unlike the one held 


by the Civic Arts Trust, which had imposed strict guidelines 
requiring simplicity in sympathetic design and ensured 
continuity of opinion by widely publicising illustrations of 
the results, all of which conformed to a distinct standard 
whereby the dead would gain proper recognition in a 
dignified way. It is apparent from his contribution to the 
Memorial Meeting (The Marlburian, 6th November 1919. 
Report on meeting 27th October 1919) that the Master 
of Marlborough College, Cyril Norwood, found the idea 
of this competition rather distasteful, and an undignified 
approach to the Memorial design. 


. Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Wiltshire, 


1963, pp. 341 (2nd edition 1975). 


. Jay Winter, Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning, 1995, 


p. 204. 
See Brian Edwards, Cotton Wadding on the Path to 
War, 2000, Devizes Museum Library. 


. J.R.Taylor, H.C.Brentnall and G.C. Turner, Revised 


and Continued Edition of A.G. Bradley, A.C.Champney, 
and J.W.Baines, A History of Marlborough College, 
1923, p. 325. 

Gaynor Kavanagh, Museums and the First World War, 
1994, esp chapter 12: ‘Memories, Memorials and 
Momentoes’. 
The Marlburian, 20th December 1920;The Marlburian, 
23rd June 1921;The Marlburian, 19th June 1923; 
Country Life May 1921. 

The absence of an element in society is not justified by 
a lack of written evidence in newspapers etc. Over- 
positive propaganda playing up a particular aspect does 
however reflect fears whether voiced or not. For 
arguments along the lines of this reverse logic see Steve 
Humphries and Pamela Gordon, Forbidden Britain: Our 
Secret Past 1900-1960, 1994. 

Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Wiltshire, 
1963, p. 341. 

Ibid. 

Colin McIntyre, Monuments of War, 1990, pp. 170- 
200, esp 170-1, 173, 175-6, 184, 199-200. 

Ibid. p. 166. 
Country Life, extract in The Marlburian 23rd June 1921, 
p. 71, sites Sheffield Memorial Hall as the only other 
example. 


NAMES ON THE PATH TO REMEMBRANCE: MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE MEMORIAL HALL 


41. 
42. 
43. 


44. 
45. 


40. 


47. 
48. 


49, 


50. 
Sill 
D2. 


53. 


54. 


Geoff Dyer, The Missing of the Somme, 1994, pp. 6-7. 
Ibid. p. 11. 

Bob Bushaway, ‘Name Upon Name: The Great War 
and Remembrance’, in Roy Porter (ed) Myths of the 
English, 1992, p. 143. 

Colin McIntyre, Monuments of War, 1990, p..198. 
For ease of reference see Colin McIntyre, Monuments 
of War, 1990, esp pp. 170, 171, 175, 199, 200. See also: 
C.F.Kernot, British Public Schools War Memorials, 
1927; Derek Boorman, At the Going Down of the Sun 
: British First World War Memorials, 1988. 

Playing fields and pavilions: Christ College, Bradfield 
College, The City of London School, Hurstpoint 
College, Lorretto School; for details of schools see 
Paton’s List of Schools, 1898 -on. Note : there is also a 
playing field dedicated to an individual at Marlborough 
that was presented to the school by his mother. Other 
memorials: Aldenham School, Herts; Berkhampstead 
School, Herts; Felstead School, Essex; Harrow; 
Canterbury; Bedford Grammar : for details of schools 
see Paton’s List of Schools, 1898 -on. 

Thomas Hinde, Paths of Progress, 1992, p. 134. 

John Stallworthy, Louis MacNeice, 1995, p. 74; John 
Castello, Mask of Treachery, 1988, p. 72; Maurice 
Bowra, Memories 1989-1939, 1966, p. 165; Also see 
Bevis Hillier, Young Betjeman, 1988, p. 94. 

The Marlburian, 6 November, 1919. p. 163. Norwood 
remained faithful to his own philosophy on the 
memorial, and avoided conflict with the College Council 
who had proved a problematic body to successive 
masters since the school first opened, and were a major 
influence in the curtailment of the careers of previous 
Masters. Having followed Willson into the post, 
Norwood was very aware of the effect that the Council 
could have on his own charted course, and would not 
wish to risk his steadily building reputation. He was 
ambitious and perhaps in the realisation that 
involvement with a school whose Council could turn a 
memorial into a farce was becoming a liability. 

The Marlburian, 30 May 1917, p. 67. 

The Marlburian, 6 November, 1919. p. 163. 

Cyril Norwood, The English Tradition of Education, 
1929. 

Thomas Hinde, Paths of Progress, 1992, pp. 137-9. 
Note also : Newton was in fact an architect working for 
his father Ernest Newton RA, so it would at first be 
considered surprising that so flamboyant a building was 
proffered by him, but this was undoubtedly intended to 
be simple enough to satisfy modesty in a memorial but 
stylish enough to catch the judges eye. War Memorials 
aside, the American campus style was considered very 
innovative by architects at the time. 

Marlborough College not only had a greater number 
of war dead than any similar institutions, but with 742 
out of some 3000 recruits they lost a greater percentage 
of old boys serving than anyone else. It was regarded 
as of primary importance to include the names of the 
fallen on any memorial at Marlborough College. See 


5D): 


56. 


Dik. 


58. 


Qi, 


reports on meetings in The Marlburian, 30th May 1917; 

The Marlburian, 6th November 1919. In particular the 
names were cited rather specifically by Sir John Butcher, 
K.C., M.P., at the meeting held 27th October 1919 (The 
Marlburian, 6th November 1919, p. 163), but the 
importance of “the names” was not exclusive to 
Marlborough College and was a general theme; see Bob 
Bushaway, ‘Name Upon Name: The Great War and 
Remembrance’, in Roy Porter (ed) Myths of the English, 
1992, p. 139; “But the names are what matter”. Colin 
McIntyre, Monuments of War, 1990, p. 171. 

Geoff Dyer, The Missing of the Somme, 1994, pp. 121- 
2; Joanna Bourke, Dismembering the Male, 1996, p. 
227; Michael Heffernan, ‘For Ever England: The 
Western Front and the Politics of Remembrance in 

Britain’ in Ecumene 2: 3 July 1995, pp. 294-6. 

Bob Bushaway, ‘Name Upon Name: The Great War 
and Remembrance’, in Roy Porter (ed) Myths of the 
English, 1992, p. 138; David Cannadine, ‘War and 
Death, Grief and Mourning in Modern Britain’, in 
Joachim Whaley (ed), Mirrors of Mortality: Studies in 
the Social History of Death, 1981, conclusion. 

Bob Bushaway, ‘Name Upon Name: The Great War 
and Remembrance’, in Roy Porter (ed) Myths of the 
English, 1992, p. 139. 

Department stores such as Harrods erected a Roll of 
Honour. See Colin McIntyre, Monuments of War, 1990, 
p. 44. 


59. A.C. Benson, ‘Lest We Forget: A World of War Memorials’, 


60. 


61. 


63. 


in Cornhill Magazine, September 1916, p. 299. 
We can only speculate as to the reason why a number of 
celebrities refused the “honour”. It is possible that some 
refusals could have been due to the manner in which a 
hall was implanted over the choice of a Cloister, since 
there certainly was strong feelings about this aspect. 
The refusals could also have been something to do with 
the chosen design of the hall, but this appears less likely. 
Bob Bushaway, ‘Name Upon Name: The Great War 
and Remembrance’, in Roy Porter (ed) Myths of the 
English, 1992, p. 144. 


. Siegfried Sassoon, The Road to Ruin, 1933. 


‘At the Cenotaph’ 
I saw the Prince of Darkness, with his Staff, 
Standing bare-headed by the Cenotaph; 
Unostentatious and respectful, there 
He stood, and offered up the following prayer. 

‘Make them forget , O Lord what this Memorial 
Means; their discredited ideas revive; 

Breed new belief that war is purgatorial 
Proof of the pride and power of being alive; 

Men’s biologic urge to readjust 
The Map of Europe, Lord of Hosts, increase; 
Lift up their hearts in large destructive lust; 

And crown their heads with blind vindictive Peace,’ 
The Prince of Darkness to the Cenotaph 
Bowed. As he walked away I heard him laugh. 
Thomas Gray (1716-1771), Elegy Written in a Country 
Churchyard. 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp.218—232 


Investigation of a Roman villa site at Euridge Manor 


Farm, Colerne 
by Larry Luckett' 


with contributions by D F Mackreth, T S N Moorhead, Judith Roseaman 


and Bryn Walters 


This report details the results of amateur excavations undertaken during the 1950s on the site of a suspected 
Roman villa at Euridge Manor, Colerne. Necessarily constrained by the nature of those excavations and the 
length of time which has since elapsed, the report which follows 1s compiled from various interim accounts 
published in the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, an unpublished letter, a description of 
the site as visited by Hugh Seymour and the writer, specialist reports on the coins and fibulae, and a description 
of such finds as have been placed in Devizes Museum. The results of a recent geophysical survey of the site are 


also briefly mentioned. 


The Site 


Euridge Farm, in the parish of Colerne, and some 
1.5 km from the village, is situated on a south-facing 
slope above a tributary of the By Brook. The name 
Euridge means ‘the ridge where Yew Trees grow’. It 
appears as Ewerigga in 1156, Iwerugge c.1250, and 
as Uridge on a map of 1826. Aubrey says ‘at 
Euridge....they (yew trees) also grow indifferently 
plentiful’ (Aubrey 1847, 55). The site is some 450 
metres to the south of the farm buildings (Figure 1). 
According to F K Annable, in a letter to Dr St. Joseph, 
it covered an area of about 2.5 ha. 


History of Research 


Dr. Shaw Mellor visited the site in 1954 and reported 
(Shaw Mellor 1954) on a piece of terra sigillata that 
- had been repaired by riveting. This piece is in Devizes 
Museum (accession no.34/1967). In January the 
excavator — Mr H Morrison, a worker at the farm — 
visited the museum and informed Ken Annable, the 
Curator, that he had found Roman remains and 
building material. The latter, accompanied by Shaw 


Mellor, visited the site and reported on what he found 
(Annable 1958). In this report he mentions, inter alia, 
a piece of Bath stone which had been sculpted. This 
was the subject of a report by Shaw Mellor (Shaw 
Mellor 1958). The slab, which is interpreted as 
depicting Hercules slaying the Hydra, is in the 
museum (11/58-337). 

Unpublished is a letter from B Hartley, dated July 
1963, reporting on a piece of red colour-coated ware, 
imitation samian, sent to him for observation. Hartley 
says that the sherd, which is stamped, is ‘one of the 
red colour-coated imitations of Samian, Form 31R, 
such as were commonly made in the Oxfordshire kilns 
in the later period. They frequently have potter’s 
marks, though they are normally, and perhaps always, 
meaningless ciphers. You will find some published by 
Thomas May, from Sandford, in Archaeologia 72, 
233, and, I fancy... that some were also found at the 
Cowley pottery (Oxoniensa V1).’ Annable’s drawing 
of the sherd is reproduced as Fig 6.3. A note under 
the drawing says ‘Sherd in private possession. 
Stamped sherd found on surface at Euridge Farm, 
Colerne. Many more finds here, now in the possession 
of Mr Morrison, Euridge Farm cottages’. 


1. 44, Manor Fields, Bratton, Westbury, Wilts BA13 4ST 


220 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


The many more finds to which Annable (1958) 
refers have disappeared, with the exception of the 
repaired sherd, the sculpted stone mentioned above, 
some 177 coins, the fibulae, and the small finds 
described below. The large amount of pottery has 
gone. The finds, together with plans by Morrison, were 
deposited in Devizes Museum by Mrs Morrison 
(accession nos. 1983/73 and 1985/1-9). The site was 
visited in spring 1989 by Hugh Seymour and the 
writer. The field was under cultivation but the owners 
allowed us to walk over the ground. Scatters of small 
fragments of tile were found, but the reference line in 
Morrison’s plans — a fence — had gone. His plan 
showed it as starting at the south-west corner of Ashley 
Barn, but the farm manager thought it had run from 
the opposite corner making a difference of 10-12 
metres. No pottery was found on this visit. Two further 
visits were made, one after harvest, the other after 
ploughing. On the first, in spite of torrential rain, 
several holes were dug. The last one uncovered part 
of a wall. The rain prevented further work, but it was 
possible tentatively to ascribe this wall to the building 
shown on Morrison’s plan as being opposite the 96 
yard mark on his datum line. A further visit was made 
by Bryn Walters and the writer, after the winter rains 
showed more features than had been previously seen. 


Recent fieldwork 
by Judith Roseaman 


A geophysical survey of the site at Euridge Manor 
Farm was commissioned by WANHS Archaeology 
Field Group and carried out during the winter of 
1997/98. The work was undertaken by Alister Bartlett 
of Bartlett-Clark Consultancy, with sponsorship and 
assistance from the landowner and members of the 
Archaeology Field Group. 

The survey included resistivity, magnetometry 
and magnetic susceptibility. The full report is held 
with the rest of the archive at Devizes Museum, 
but the main results are summarised in Figure 2. 
There is a large symmetrically planned building to 
the north of the site, together with a group of other 
buildings arranged around a rectangular courtyard. 
Some of the walls noted on the 1950s sketch plan 
by Morrison have been located approximately and 
are marked. The buildings are set within and partly 
superimposed upon a complex system of rectilinear 
and curved enclosures, of probably more than one 
period. 

It is intended that this geophysical survey should 
be the prelude to more thorough investigation of the 
site by the WANHS Archaeology Field Group. 


The Finds 


BROOCHES 
by D. F. Mackreth 


Colchester Derivatives 


1. The spring was held in the Polden Hill manner: an 
axis bar passed through both coils and pierced plates at 
the ends of the wings, the cord being held by a pierced 
crest on the head of the bow. Each wing has two sets of 
paired mouldings, separated from each other and the 
rest of the wing by flutes. The bow is relatively broad. 
The pierced crest has a notch beneath separating it from 
the beaded ridge down the centre of the bow. On either 
side of the upper part of the ridge is a step. The bow 
slopes away to bordering mouldings: a short one on 
either side of the head rising from the wings and dying 
back into the side of the bow, and a longer one beneath 
to the foot which has a seal projecting moulding. 

The Polden Hill system belongs to the western 
parts of England, but this particular brooch does not 
belong to any definite group using this method of 
securing the spring. The elaborate form of ornament 
on the wings is more often found in the eastern parts 
of Britain and is more a mark of the Ist century than 
later. The expansion of the head of the bow by the 
addition of mouldings on each side is, however, a 
characteristic feature of a major family of brooches 
in the south-west. One almost exact parallel for the 
present specimen comes from Keynsham (to be 
published). The distinguishing feature of both is the 
added mouldings along sides of the lower part of the 
bow. These appear intermittently in other groups also 
belonging to the western parts of Britain (e.g. Hattatt 
1985, 83, fig. 35, 377) and especially amongst a group 
which seems to have been made at Prestatyn 
(excavations, K Blockley, five examples to be 
published), but there is nothing to suggest that there 
is any real connection between these and the Colerne 
brooch. The indications are that this was an unusual 
ornament which might be applied almost at will. 
However, the ornament itself provided the only sign 
of date: the two main groups involved belong to the 
late 1st century and to the earlier 2nd with some 
probably running to c.150 AD as survivors in use. 


2. The pin was hinged, its axis bar being housed in 
the tubular case formed by the wings. Each of these 
has two sets of three grooves right around, probably 
intended to look like two buried mouldings. On the 
wings and under the head of the bow are two pairs of 
grooves running back from the edge of the bow to 


INVESTIGATION OF A ROMAN VILLA SITE AT EURIDGE MANOR FARM, COLERNE 221 


Figure 3. Copper alloy and iron brooches, nos. 1-9. All at actual size 


222 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


the end of the slot for the pin. The basic bow section 
is oval and tapers to a pointed foot. On each side of 
the head is a short bordering moulding rising from 
the wings and decorated along its outer edge with a 
series of cross-cuts. The central ridge on the upper 
bow is beaded and dies out in the middle of a lozenge 
lying across the bow and made up of pairs of grooves. 
The foot has three cross-cuts. 

The additional mouldings at the top of the bow 
show that this brooch belongs to the south-western 
parts of Britain, but, apart from that, there is little to 
show that the brooch is part of a well defined group 
within the overall rather loosely defined family. That 
being the case there is no independent dating for the 
piece, the only signs lying in the ornament applied to 
it. The poorly defined wing decoration is, like that on 
brooch 1, more related to the eastern side of England 
than to the west. The absence of a proper foot-knob or 
a version of one, but the presence of simple decoration 
at the foot of the bow is more a lst century feature 
than later. On balance, these weak indications point to 
the later 1st century and are unlikely to be 2nd century. 


3. The axis bar of the hinged-pin is housed in oval- 
sectioned wings. Each of these has a buried moulding 
at its end. On the head of the bow is the stub of a cast- 
on loop raised on a tab with ogee sides. The bow is 
divided into three sections. The top one 1s flat on the 
front and has two longitudinal recesses for enamel of 
two colours alternating to give a checked appearance. 
One colour is an opaque orange, the other is now an 
opaque grass-green. The rest of the bow has pairs of 
divided lenticular bosses lying across the bow, one under 
the enamelled zone, another halfway to the foot-knob 
and the third on the foot beneath a cross-moulding. 

In contrast to Brooches 1 and 2, this one does 
belong to a distinctive family which is at home in the 
lower Severn Valley and generally in the south-west. 
Keeping only to the major variations, the bow may 
only have two decorative sections, with enamelling in 
the top part. The common form of enamelling is that 
on the present specimen, but this pattern may be 
replaced, usually with a median line of lozenges with 
infilling triangles on each side. The dating is weak to 
non-existent: Caerleon, with pottery dating to c.130- 
180 (Wheeler and Wheeler 1928, 162. fig. 13, 13). 
The only other sign, in default of more published 
brooches from dated contexts, lies in one from Croft 
Ambrey which, itself, has the very wide time-span of 
c.75-160 (Stanford 1974, 144, fig.67,4). However, the 
overall form of that brooch is that of a typical ‘Dolphin’ 
of the kind found in the Severn Valley and spreading 
out sparsely over a good deal of Roman Britain. The 


dating of that is the late 1st century into the 2nd and 
possibly surviving to about 150. The relationship 
between the two groups is very difficult to express, 
but it is more likely that the Croft Ambrey brooch 
should be placed with the main floruit of its family 
and that the present type is later, possibly entirely of 
the 2nd century, but hardly lasting, even as a survivor 
in use, as late as the last quarter. 


Late La Téne 


4. The spring is missing, but almost certainly had 
four coils and an internal chord. The bow has a thin 
rectangular section with parallel sides down to the 
top of the catch-plate where it tapers to a pointed 
foot. On the front of the bow are two groups of poorly 
executed grooves, one near the top and the other at 
the beginning of the tapering section. 


5. Iron; The spring has four coils and an internal 
chord. The section of the bow is lenticular and only 
just wider than the spring to remove the brooch from 
the Drahtfibel derivative type, but not broad enough 
to classify it as a Nauheim derivative. 


6. The pin and spring from a four-coiled-internal- 
chord brooch. 


Nothing can be said about brooch 6 as only its spring 
and pin survive. Neither of the other two really declares 
any clear affiliation. Brooch 5 is too indefinite in form 
and brooch 4 lacks both the elongated triangular bow 
and type of decoration to be properly a descendant 
(e.g. Crummy 1983, 7-8, fig. 21) of the Nauheim itself. 
These two brooches seem to be a long way from the 
slack profiled relatively large brooches with framed 
catch-plates which belong to the middle of the Ist 
century BC. The decoration on brooch 4 does not 
belong to a proper group either. The best that can be 
said is that all three probably belong to the Ist century 
AD, and, while all could run to near the end of that 
century, the use of iron for brooch 5 may place it in the 
first half, if not actually before the Conquest, and the 
presence of ornament on 4 would seem at the present 
to be before the last third of the 1st century. 


Unclassified 
7. Iron. 
8. Iron. 


9. Iron. 


INVESTIGATION OF A ROMAN VILLA SITE AT EURIDGE MANOR FARM, COLERNE 


All three are of the same type and form: the axis bar 
of the hinged pin is housed in the rolled-under head 
of the bow. This is a tapering strip ending in a pointed 
foot. The catch-plate is short, the return at the end of 
the swept-back foot. No ornament is detectable. 

The Strip Brooch is characteristic of the south- 
west although outliers are known. While its origins 
are mixed, deriving in part from the earlier stages 
of the development of the Aucissa and betraying 
an early acquaintenance with the Langton Down, 
the iron examples are not susceptible to close 
analysis. The use of the rolled-under head is typical 
of the whole family, irrespective of material and 
almost certainly comes from the earliest 
developments of the Alesia towards the standard 
Aucissa, which has a rolled-over head, and so is a 
trait of this particular school of brooch-makers 
rather than being an independent dating agent. 
However, the Strip Brooch was not free from 
influence from the Aucissa itself (e.g. Stead and 
Rigby 1986, 120, fig.48, 127; Leech 1986, 316, fig. 
34, 1), but the numbers involved are so small that 
they may safely be discounted. The dating is not 
very good and this may be a product more of the 
way in which irom has been virtually ignored in site 
collections, thus reducing the numbers known by 
selection rather than being due to a genuine lack of 
specimens: Braughing, c.10 BC-AD 20 (Partridge 
1981, 135, fig. 67, 11), AD 30-40? (ibid., 141, fig. 
66, 6); Maiden Castle, before 43 (Wheeler 1943, 
252, fig. 85, 35); Waddon Hill, Dorset, c.60-65 
(Webster 1960, 97, fig. 7, 16); Puckeridge, Station 
Road, Claudius-70 (Partridge 1979, 10, fig. 6, 13); 
Camerton, 60-90 (Wedlake 1958, 216, fig. 50, 4); 
Nettleton, late 1st century — early 2nd (Wedlake 
1982, 120, fig. 50, 2); Gadebridge, 150+ (Neal 
1974, 123, fig. 54, 10). 

The spread of dates runs, not surprisingly in view 
of the materials used, from Late pre-Roman Iron 
Age times through the Ist century. All examples after 
the 2nd century have been omitted: the British bow 
brooch ceases to be made before 200. There are at 
first sight, a surprising number of iron brooches from 
Late Roman contexts, but this is almost certainly 
due to the detail that copper alloy would be 
preferentially recovered if found adventitiously, 
because of its higher scrap metal value, while iron 
clogged with dirt would tend to be left. As iron is 
hardly ever used for any brooch dating after the 
demise of the Colchester, it would need powerful 
evidence to insist that it continued to be used for 
this type alone beyond 100 and it may be that all 
should be placed before c.75. 


bo 
bo 
Qo 


Trumpet Variety 


10. The spring vas mounted on a loop behind the 
head of the bow, the piercing not being large enough 
for the rolled sheet metal tube typical of the Trumpet 
Type. The trumpet head is a little emaciated and 
there are traces of expansions on each side. In profile, 
the bow seems to be a thin bar running away from 
the bottom of the trumpet which, itself, is the end 
of an elongated element which joins the bow, then 
loops upwards to a boss and ending in a long tapering 
section finished off with a small blob. The whole is 
cast in one. The lower bow, with the catch-plate, is 
missing. The writer knows of one parallel for this 
brooch, from Camerton (Wedlake 1958, 224, fig. 51, 
17), which shows that the foot ended in two cross- 
mouldings above a knob. The common form of this 
fairly rare type has a simple S-shaped profile with a 
minimal trumpet head, the elaborate form of the 
decoration has been reduced to a plate whose profile 
and a dimple betray its association with those like 
the present example (e.g. Kirk 1919, 11, fig. 3, 4). 
The origin of the type lies in the 1st century BC, in 
a type in which there is a small beak under a cross- 
moulding near the top of a high-arched bow (Hawkes 
1940, 192). The next development produced the 
famous Birdlip Brooch (Smith 1909, 341-2, fig. 9) 
in which the beak is much more prominent, the 
trumpet head is reduced, and heavily decorated, and 
the foot broad. The beak has become much more 
curved and the next stage in development produced 
a closed loop (Reading Museum, Silchester 
Collection 03206). Further distortion (e.g. Hull 
1967, 36, fig. 14, 19) introduces a change in the 
profile and a greater prominence for the loop. It is a 
matter of choice as to whether the common form 
mentioned above derived directly from this or 
whether that is a reduction of an extreme 
development encompassing the present example: 
there are nor really enough specimens known for 
this to be certain. None is satisfactorily dated and 
the best suggestion is based on the trumpet head 
and the spring-fitting arrangement which appear to 
owe something to the Trumpet type whose general 
date is latest Ist century to 150/175 AD. 


11. The axis bar of the hinged-pin 1s housed in a 
semicircular projection along the bottom of the head- 
plate. This has an irregular top, possibly the result of 
having lost a cast-on loop rising from a semi-circular 
curve. The bow is plain and broad and has a slight 
swell down its front. The profile shows a recurve with 
a projecting foot under a small step. The sides of the 


224 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Figure 4. Copper alloy brooches, nos. 10-12; other objects of copper alloy, nos. 13, 14, 16-18, 21, 22. All at actual size. 


INVESTIGATION OF A ROMAN VILLA SITE AT EURIDGE MANOR FARM, COLERNE 225) 


bow also show little in the way of shaping and the 
overall effect is that of a weak cabriole. 

This is a member of a small and poorly understood 
group having a fairly restricted distribution mainly in 
Somerset. The dating evidence is meagre. One from 
Nettleton was dated by coins alone to the late 1st and 
early 2nd century (Wedlake 1982, 127, fig. 53, 49) 
and another from Ironmonger’s Piece, Marshfield, can 
best be assigned to the 2nd century (Blockley 1985, 
145, fig. 45, 25). The form is not reminiscent of 
anything in the lst century and the 2nd century 
broadly may be the best range that can be suggested. 


Penannular 


12. The ring has a circular section. The brooch seems 
to have been forged from rolled sheet metal, the seam 
showing along the top surface of the ring. Each 
terminal is folded back along the top of the ring and 
appears to have two cross-grooves. The pin is straight 
with a simple wrap-round. 

The form of the terminals is basic and the number 
of grooves may have no chronological significance; as 
they were made after the brooch vas formed, it must 
be a matter of chance whether the craftsman put one 
or two on, or whether there was space for three or more. 
The straight pin militates against a pre-Roman date 
and is entirely in accord with Penannulars of the Roman 
period made in the lowland areas of England: the 
humped-pin remained a characteristic of the upland 
areas of the west and north of Britain. Penannulars of 
this simple class are poorly dated and the bulk belong 
to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. In the present instance, 
the detail that the object seems to have been made 
from rolled or folded sheet metal would tie in with a 
marked tradition of making bow brooches as well as 
Penannulars in pre-Conquest times. A general date- 
range, therefore, from the middle of the Ist century 
and possibly into the 2nd may be suggested. 


OTHER COPPER-ALLOY OBJECTS 


13. Aring made of one and half turns of square wire 
decorated with five sets of transverse decoration; each 
set is 8mm long. The ends of the wire are slightly 
flattened. See Crummy (1983, 47, 1758, fig. 50) fora 
ring of similar dimensions but different decoration. 


14. Bracelet fragment. Square section having 
tranverse groove decoration (c.f. Crummy 1983, 40, 
1676, fig. 44.1676). This appears to have been cast. 


15. Part of a bracelet made of two strips wound round 
a central wire. Crummy illustrates a similar piece made 
of three circular strands from a late 1st century context 
(Crummy 1983, 38, 1628, fig. 41.1628). (Not 
illustrated). 


16. Pin with a domed head c.f. Hawkes and Hull 
1947, 333, pl.C. No.27) 


17. A barrel shaped bead, octagonal in section. Made 
of a single piece of metal probably shaped over a core 
and then soldered. The core could have been of wood 
which was then drilled to take a cord; had the core been 
removed the bead would not have hung properly. These 
objects have been variously described as beads, toggles, 
ferrules, or collars. Allason-Jones (1984, 220-1, fig. 754) 
shows a ‘bronze barrel-shaped bead or collar’. Crummy 
(1983, nos 1383 and 1384) shows barrel-shaped beads 
albeit square in section. Close parallels for the Euridge 
specimen are described in Robertson (1975, 109-110, 
fig. 30.5 and 7; 116, 87, fig. 37.10-11). 


18. Ligula. A very common toilet instrument. These 
have been described in many reports; typical ones are 
displayed in the British and Harlow museums 
(Brailsford, 1951, 12, 4; France and Gobel 1985, 83, 
19; c.f. also Crummy 1983, 59, 1897;fig. 74). 


19. Nail cleaner, with broken loop (c.f. Hawkes and 
Hull 1947, 334, 34, pl.C,34). 


20. A boss 30mm in distance, less than 1mm thick, 
with the stub end of a shank. Similar items from 
Colchester and Harlow are described as studs 
(Crummy 1983, 116-117, fig. 20.3117; France and 
Gobel 1985, 91, 79a). (Not illustrated). 


21. Ring, of probably 12th century date, the ends 
being joined under a plate pointed at both ends. This 
is decorated with recessed triangles at each end, each 
having a raised dot in the corners. They are separated 
from three recessed squares by two rows of four raised 
dots, with raised dots in each corner. For a similar 
ring from the Lark Hill hoard, c.1170, see Stratford, 
1984, 293, No. 320c. 


22. Abuckle, cast, having a central boss with tapering 
arms curving to meet a narrow cross-bar. There is a 
faint suggestion of raised decoration at the junctions 
of boss and cross-bar. 12th—13th century. 


23. Part of a ring, cast hexagonal in section with 
4mm sides, 48mm in length. (Not illustrated). 


226 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Figure 5. Iron objects: nos. 26-36, at 1/2 size; no. 37 at 1/3 size 


INVESTIGATION OF A ROMAN VILLA SITE AT EURIDGE MANOR FARM, COLERNE 2251 


24. Abent piece of wire 90mm long, rectangular section. 


25. Piece of strip, 95mm long, 4-8mm wide. (Not 
illustrated). 


IRON OBJECTS 


26. Socketed arrowhead. The socket was made by 
folding a flange into an approximately oval shape 
14mm across. Brailsford (1951, 70, fig. 3.4) describes 
a similar object as a spear-head, as does Crummy 
(1983, 135-6, no. 4230). 


27. Axe-head with a C-shaped socket: c.f. Wheeler 
(77, pl.34.2). The curious projection at the ‘front’ of 
the blade suggests some unusual function. 


28. And 29. Miniature adze-hammers. Possibly votive 


30. Sickle with a tang: c.f. Collingwood (1969, pl. 
XX.a) and Hawkes and Hull (1947, 343, 13, pl. CV). 


31. Bar, terminating in a loop. 


32. Two pieces of saw-edged blade which refit, making 
a length of 117mm. Possibly decorative. 


33. And 34. Two pins (?) 
35. A stud with hexagonal domed head. 


36. Fire Shovel? The handle has a flat rectangular 
cross section which was twisted several times in the 
centre. The terminal, which probably ended in a 
loop and ring for suspension, is missing. The blade 
end is incomplete and in fragments: although 
concave now, it was originally flat. The shovel may 
be compared with fire shovels from Verulamium 
(Manning 1972, 164 and fig. 60, 6); Camulodunum 
(Crummy 1983, 112, fig. 115, 113, no. 2979) — 
dated to the second half of the 3rd century; 
Carrawburgh Mithraeum (Richmond and Gillam 
1951, 84 and pl. XV 13); and Lakenheath (Manning 
1985, A42). 


37. Steelyard arm with remains of hooks: that at the 
end held the load to be weighed while the arm was 
suspended by one or other of the hooks. Examples in 
copper-alloy are published by Brailsford (1951, 78, 
40 no.11) and Crummy (1983, 99, fig. 104.2508). 


38. Knife with bolster, probably 16th century. (Not 
illustrated). 


BONE OBJECTS 


39. There are three pieces of worked bone: a broken 
pin, which resembles Crummy Type 2 with a Type 5 
worked head (Crummy 1983.21.18.24,21); and two 
roughly shaped pieces, 45 and 55mm long, possibly 
rough-outs. (Not illustrated). 


POTTERY 


In spite a of the large amount of pottery and tile seen 
and mentioned by Annable (1958) there are only 
nine sherds in Devizes Museum, including the 
repaired sherd described by Shaw Mellor (1954), 
which come from the original excavations. In addition, 
64 sherds, abraded and mainly small, were recovered 
on recent visits. Included are Savernake, Oxford, New 
Forest and BBI wares, also several samian sherds 
including a base, and a red colour-coated foot-rim. 
There are 17 rims and five base sherds. The piece of 
imitation samian referrred to in Hartley’s letter 
(Fig.6.3) was not among the sherds deposited in 1983. 
The eight pieces (D.M. 1983/73) are described below. 


40. Part of samian base, type 31R. Stamped 
BELSAARVEI. 


(BA . 9 


Figure 6. Samian and imitation samian stamps 


41. Samian base sherd stamped BANVILI. 
42 and 43. Samian rim and wall sherd. 
44. Part of base, hard buff ware, New Forest. 


45. Base, hard buff ware black-coated, New Forest 
(cf. Sumner 1927, pl.11.1). 


228 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


46. Rim sherd with handle. A coarse black fabric with 
buff surface, black-coated, with scratched decoration 
to one side of handle. Lines at slight angle to vertical. BBI 


47. Half of a strainer bowl 170mm diameter, 60mm 
deep, with rounded perforated base. A dark buff coarse 
ware with many calcite grits and one prominent flint. 
The outer surface is blackened in part; the interior is 
blackened all over. Collingwood (1969, 273, 95d) 
shows a strainer bowl, but more elaborate, from 
Torksey, Lincs. Woodspring Museum has a strainer 
bowl, complete, in hard grey fabric. This comes from 
the Locking site. Miss Edith Allan, on seeing this bowl 
on a recent W.A.N.HLS. visit, said that she had seen a 
similar bowl being used, in a very old farmhouse in 
Morvan in the Burgundy region of France, for 
straining soft home-made cheese. Atkinson (1941, 
17.4, no.8) shows a rounded bottomed strainer bowl, 
from the Oxfordshire kilns at Cowley, in a grey coated 
white fabric. Young shows round bottomed bowls in 
his report on Oxford Roman pottery, calling them 
colanders (Young 1977, 227.84, R.80; 1; R.80.2; 80.4; 
228). These are dated mid 1st — 3rd centuries. 


COINS 
by T:S.N. Moorhead 


48. The coins reputed to have been found at Euridge 
number 177 with two associated objects (a lead and 
a bronze disc, the latter which might be a heavily worn 
Roman coin). However, the coins have been 
contaminated with at least 18 intruders which (on 
grounds of date and place or issue, and state of 
preservation) almost certainly did not come from the 
site. Another five coins could easily be intruders. Given 
that the finder of the coins also collected other pieces, 
it is possible that some others of the so-called Euridge 
coins were purchased or found elsewhere. 

The main catalogue (held in archive) lists 157 
Roman and two English coins. Of the 157 Roman 
coins, 131 pieces can be attributed to periods, 
although the identification of ten coins remains 
tentative, and three pieces listed as official issues might 
be irregular. It is these 131 coins which are used in 
the following analysis. Comparison is made with the 
coin record from the nearby Romano-British site at 
Broad Hinton! and other Romano-British rural sites, 
namely Chedworth (Glos.), Owlesbury (Hants), 
Trevelgue (Cornwall), East Anton (Hants.), Dorn 
(Glos.) and Sparsholt (Hants).? 

The analysis is based on Table 1 and Figure 7 
which show a breakdown of the coins by period for 


Euridge and Broad Hinton and on Table 2 which 
displays the mints represented in Euridge coins.’ 

The numismatic evidence suggests that the site 
was occupied from the latter part of the 1st century 
AD or the 2nd century, until c.400 or later. In general 
terms, the distribution of coins displays a pattern 
which is quite compatible with other Romano-British 
rural sites. The small number of coins from the period 
AD 43-161 (6.1%) is not expected, nor is the absence 
of coins from the period 161-250 necessarily 
significant. It is quite probable that some of the coins 
struck prior to 161 were in fact lost in the period 161- 
260. The distribution of coins prior to 260 is not 
dissimilar at Chedworth and Owlesbury, the latter 
also having a void in the period 161-260. It can be 
noted that Euridge is better represented than Broad 
Hinton in the period before 260 (6.1% to 2%), but 
this should be qualified by the fact that two of the 
Euridge coins might be intruders. 

The upsurge of coins for Period 18 (260-73) (6.1%) 
reflects the changing nature of circulating currency in 
the Roman world and is a prevalent feature at most 
Romano-British sites (Chedworth 14.5%, Owlesbury 
11.1%, East Anton 11.4%, Dorn 10.3%, and Broad 
Hinton 11.6%). However, Euridge does not have such 
a significant increase as other sites. The dearth of official 
coins for Periods 19 (1.2%) and 21 (0.4%) 1s paralleled 
at other sites, as is the presence of ‘Barbarous Radiates’ 
(2.9%) which are traditionally attributed to Period 19 
(although some were undoubtedly struck in Period 18). 
To ascribe any specific socio-economic significance to 
Euridge on the grounds of the various fluctuations in 
coin frequency in the period 260-317 is therefore 
incorrect. It is possibly of significance that the coins 
for the period 260-317 represent 15.3% of the total at 
Euridge, but 22.7% of the total for Broad Hinton. 

Period 22 (317-330) is only represented by three 
coins (2.3%), of which two might be intruders. Broad 
Hinton has 5.8% of its coins from this period, but other 
sites are poorly represented (Chedworth 1.6% and 
Dorn 2.7%), so this is not necessarily an exceptional 
feature. 

In Period 23 (330-48) there is another major 
rise in coin loss (30 coinds; 22.9%) which is 
mirrored by numerous sites (Chedworth 22.3% 
Owlesbury 15.9%, Trevelgue 26.9%, East Anton, 
35.4%, Dorn 20.3% and Broad Hinton 28.5%). 
This phenomenon can be explained by the increase 
in the number of official small denomination coins 
in circulation. 

The slight fall-back in Period 24 (348-364) 
(11.4%) again follows the expected trend. The six 
irregular coins from this period probably reflect the 


INVESTIGATION OF A ROMAN VILLA SITE AT EURIDGE MANOR FARM, COLERNE 229 


Table 1. Analysis of the Euridge and Broad Hinton coins by period 


Key: A — Probable Euridge site finds: Te 
II. 
II. 
B — Probable Euridge site finds: I. 
Il. 
C — Possible intruders (official) 


Euridge Coins 


Period AI Il Il BI II Cc Total 


1 (43-54) 1 
2 (54-68) 1 

3 (68-81) 

4 (81-96) 

5 (96-117) 
6 (117-138) 1 
7 (138-161) 

8 (161-180) 

9 (180-192) 

10 (192-217) 


bo 
cs 


bo 


S Orel! HO Oo 16) a 


11-17 (217-260) 
18 (260-273) 

19 (273-286) 
20 (286-296) 

21 (296-317) 
22 (317-330) 
23 (330-348) 
24 (348-364) 
25 (364-378) 37 
26 (378-388) 1 
26 or 27 (378-402) 5 
27 (388-402) 5 


bo 


bo 


Nb ee = oo 
bo 
bo 
— 
a 
eo 
So 


Ole be 
co 
io) 
On 


to 


Totals 96 10 3 15 


bo 
On 


Irregular 


131 


increasing shortage of official low denomination pieces 
in the 350s and early 360s. 

The coin record at Euridge peaks, as at many other 
Romano-British sites, in Period 25 (364-78 AD) 
(Euridge 32.1%), Chedworth 36.2%, Owlesbury 
31.7%, Trevelgue 32.8%, Broad Hinton 33.3%). 
Again this can be explained by the large output of 
official low denomination bronze coins. 

The dearth of coins for Period 26 (378-88 AD) 
~ (0.8% or possibly more) is quite typical and reflects a 
shortage of low denomination coins, quite probably 
caused by Britain’s separation from the Central Empire 
during the usurpation of Magnus Maximus, 383-8 
(Casey 1988, 47). However, the number of coins for 
Period 27 is noteworthy (5.3-9.1%). Some sites have 
few (Chedworth 0.3%) or no coins (Owlesbury) from 
this period suggesting decline or abandonment, but 
others like Euridge are better represented (Dorn 18.9% 


Official issues 
Official issues, tentative identification 
Possibly irregular 


Irregular, tentative identification 


Broad Hinton 
Coins* 


% Annual loss/ Total % Annual loss/ 


1000 coins 1000 coins 

0.75 0.7 0 
0.75 0.5 0 
AS} 1.8 0 

0 

1 0.5 0.3 
0.8 0.4 0 
15 0.7 2 1.0 0.4 

0 

0 

1 0.5 0.2 

0 
6.1 4.7 24 11.6 8.9 
6.9 53 11 5S 4,1 
1.5 15 8 3.9 3.9 
0.8 0.4 4 1.9 0.9 
A) 1.8 2 5.8 4.4 
22.9 12277 59 28.5 57; 
11.4 fie2 ip! a9) 33) 
32:1 22.9 69 33'3 231 
0.8 OL75 
3.8 Gi2)a* 5 2.4 1,0** 
53 3.8 

207 


and Anton 3.9%). Broad Hinton only has 2.4% for 
Periods 26 and 27 combined, which is considerably 
less than Euridge’s 9.9%. Does this reflect better 
fortunes at Euridge in the late 4th or early 5th century? 

It seems quite likely that Euridge was still occupied 
c.400. Because supplies of official bronze coins ceased 
by 402, later low value coins are not found on 
Romano-British sites. However, this does not mean 
that earlier pieces did not continue to circulate for 
some years after 400. Therefore, Euridge might have 
continued in occupation beyond 400, a supposition 
that might be supported by the existence of worn coins 
from Pericd 27 (Casey 1988, 47-8). That Euridge is a 
quite normal rural site is supported further by the fact 
that there is a higher proportion of 4th century coins 
to 3rd century ones (Reece 1987,72). 

An analysis of the mints represented does not 
provide any surprises either (see Table 2). For the 


230 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


25 
20 4 = 
- OEuridge 
eC | | 
| . 

ro) | Broad Hinton 
oO | eee ; 
S45 
oO 
- 
= 
® 
Q. 
Ww 
” 
2 
=, 10 
=] 
i= 
Cc 
< 

3) 

) i a | a i 

<O ae oe a or ees gS 

OS Be oe oS BO o@ oS of GO 

g CF RUE REQ ECE 

QC 
Qe 


Qo oe Qe 


© Q Ee sO 


Q 


eF e& gf 


Figure 7. Euridge and Broad Hinton: annual loss per 1000 coins. (Note that the figures are taken from table 1. All possible 
intruders and coins with tentative identifications are included. It is likely that the coins in Periods 26/7 belong to Period 27.) 


period 43-286, the mints represented are as one would 
expect, notably Rome and various other mints of the 
Western Provinces (Lugdunum, the _ two 
undetermined mints of the Gallic Empire, Milan and 
?Ticinum). For the period 330-78, the three Gallic 
mints of Trier, Lyons and Arles account for the bulk 
of the coinage with Trier predominant in Period 23 
(45.4%, probably more) and Arles and Lyons taking 
the lion’s share in Period 25 (60.9% and 26.1% 
respectively). These proportions are quite compatible 
with Richard Reece’s findings after his analysis of coins 
from many Romano-British sites (Reece 1978). 

In conclusion, it can be said that Euridge is a rural 
Romano-British site whose coin record conforms 
quite satisfactorily with the picture portrayed by other 
similar sites. It is interesting that, although they follow 
the same provincial trend, the coin records for Euridge 
and Broad Hinton do have some differences. 


Notes 


1. Broad Hinton is an unexcavated rural Romano- 
British site about 20 miles east of Colerne (GR 
c,1076). 256 Roman coins, two English coins 
and six miscellaneous metal objects were found 
with the aid of a metal-detector. The coins are 
now housed in Devizes Museum and are the 
subject of an unpublished report (Moorhead 
1983). 

2. These sites are the subject of discussion in Reece 
1987, p.76ff. For all subsequent mentions of these 
sites, see p.77, Table 5.1. 

3. In the analysis of the Euridge site finds, the 
following have been consulted: Reece 1987; Casey 
1980, 1986, 1988. 


INVESTIGATION OF A ROMAN VILLA SITE AT EURIDGE MANOR FARM, COLERNE 231 


Discussion and Assessment of the Site 
by Bryn Walters 


Since being brought to the attention of Devizes 
Museum in 1957, the site at Euridge Farm, Colerne 
has been considered as a possible Romano-British 
villa. The random series of stone foundations, sketch- 
planned by the late Mr H Morrison by themselves 
make little sense. More recent field-walking of the 
area (by LL and BW) has identified further areas of 
buildings with considerable quantities of fractured 
tegulae and imbrices among the surface debris, but 
no evidence of hypocaust tubulli, tesserae, or plaster 
fragments usually diagnostic of villas. Taking into 
account the considerable amount of pottery seen by 
Annable (1958), alas now lost, coupled with an 
interesting assemblage of iron, brooches and an 
unusually high coin list for a random series of 
exploratory holes, the site was likely to have been a 
well-built settlement probably with a minor industrial 
bias. Morrison’s building ‘A’ (approximately 25 x 7m) 
suggests a structure intended for industrial or 
agricultural use rather than residential. It is interesting, 
however, that a similar structure has now been 
identified on the same alignment a short distance to 
the south, both these buildings appearing to delimit 
the site on its south-east side. A further substantial 


building is set back from the main area of debris on 
rising ground to the north and appears to define the 
edge of the settlement on that side. (This assessment 
of the site was undetaken prior to the recent 
geophysical survey.) 


Acknowledgements 


Thanks are due to Mr J G Robinson, present owner, 
and his manager, MrT Bunting, who permitted visits 
to the site and allowed trial holes to be dug; also to 
Don Mackreth (specialist report on the fibulae); Sam 
Moorhead (specialist report on the coins); Graham 
Webster; Alister Bartlett (geophysical survey); to Nick 
Griffiths for the drawings and advice, finally to Bryn 
Walters for the assessment of the site. The geophysical 
survey was paid for by generous donations from Mr 
Robinson, Hugh Seymour and the author. 


Bibliography 


ALLASON-JONES, L. and MIKET, R., 1984, The 
Catalogue of Small Finds from South Shields, Roman 
Fort. Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, 
Monograph Series 2. 


Table 2. Mints represented in the Euridge coins. 


Note: Figures in parenthesis are only tentative attributions and are not included in the percentage calculations. 


Period Britain Gaul 


Une. Trier Lugd. Arles Mint I 
1 
2 1 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 (1?) 
18 
19 1 
20 2 
PAI 1 
22 1 1 
23 5(4) 45.4% 19.1% 3 27.3% 
24 2(1) 50% (1) 2 50% 
25) 6(3) 26.1% 14(8) 60.9% 
26 
27 


Totals 2(1?) 9(5) 10(4) 19(8) 


Italy Balkans 
Mint II Rome Eic: Milan Siscia Total 
1 
3 3 
1 1 
1(1?) 1(1?) 
2(1) 3 1 6(1) 
1? 2 
2 
1 
2 
218.2% 11(4) 
4(2) 
1(1) 4.3% 28.7% 23(12) 


2(1) 11(1)(1?) 1? 1 2 


232 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


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ATKINSON, R.J.C., 1941, ‘A Romano-British Potters’ 
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AUBREY, J., 1847, The Natural History of Wiltshire. (Edited 
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WANHS 

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CASEY, P.J., 1986, Understanding Ancient Coins. London 

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COLLINGWOOD, R.C. and RICHMOND, I., 1969, The 
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CRUMMY,N., 1983, Colchester Archaeological Report 2: 
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DUDLEY, D., 1967, ‘Excavations on Nor’ Nour in the Isles 
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British Temple at Harlow. West Essex Archaeological 
Group. 

HATTAT, R., 1985, Iron Age and Roman Brooches: a 
second selection of brooches from the author’s 
collection. Oxford: Oxbow 

HAWKES, C.F.C., 1940, ‘An Aylesford La Tene III Brooch 
from Arundel Park, and the Dating of the Type’, 
Antuquaries Journal 20, 492-495 

HAWKES, G.F.C.;“°and HULL 3.- MiR; 1947, 
Camulodunum: !st Report on excavations at 
Colchester,1930-39. London: Society of Antiquaries 
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HULL, M.R., 1967, ‘The Nor’Nour Brooches’, in D. 
Dudley, ‘Excavations on Nor’Nour in the Isles of Scilly, 
1962-6’, Archaeological Journal 124, 28-64 

KIRK, J.R., 1949, “Bronzes from Woodeaton’, Oxoniensa 
14, 1-45 

LEECH, R., 1986, ‘The excavation of a Romano-Celtic 
Temple and a later cemetery on Lamyatt Beacon, 
Somerset’, Britannia 17, 259-328 

MANNING, W.H., 1976, Catalogue of Romano-British 
Ironwork in the Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle upon 
Tyne. Newcastle upon Tyne: The Department of 
Archaeology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne 

MOORHEAD, T.S.N., 1983, The Broad Hinton Coins. 


Unpublished manuscript in Devizes Museum 

NEAL, D.S., 1974, The Excavation of the Roman Villa in 
Gadebridge Park, Hemel Hempstead, 1963-68. 
London: Society of Antiquaries Research Reports 51 

PARTRIDGE, C., 1979, ‘Excavations at Puckeridge and 
Braughing, 1975-9’, Hertfordshire Archaeology 7, 28- 
132 

PARTRIDGE, C., 1981, Skeleton Green: A late Iron Age 
and Romano-British site. London: Britannia 
Monograph Series 2 

REECE, R., 1978, ‘Bronze Coinage in Roman Britain and 
the Western Provinces’, in ‘Essays presented to 
Humphrey Sutherland’, Scripta Nummaria Romana. 
London 

REECE, R., 1987, Coinage in Roman Britain. London: 
Seaby 

RICHMOND, LA. and GILLAM, J., 1951, ‘Carrawburgh, 
a Roman Temple’, Archaeolgia Aeliana 29, 1-92 

ROBERTSON, A.S., 1975, Birrens (Blatobulgium). 
Edinburgh: Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural 
History and Antiquarian Society 

SHAW MELLOR, A., 1954, ‘Roman Pottery Repairs’, 
WAM 55, 283-4 

SHAW MELLOR, A., 1958, ‘Hercules Slays the Hydra at 
Euridge’, WAM 57, 240-1 

SMITH, R.A., 1909, ‘On a late-Celtic mirror found at 
Desborough, Northamptonshire, and other mirrors of 
the period’, Archaeologia 61, 329-426 

STANFORD, S.C., 1974, Croft Ambrey. Hereford 

STEAD, I.M.and RIGBY, V., 1986, Baldock: The 
Excavation of a Roman and Pre-Roman Settlement, 
1968-72. London: Britannia Monograph Series 7 

STRATFORD, N., 1984, in English Romanesque Art, 1066 
- 1200. London: Arts Council 

SUMNER, H., 1927, Excavations in the New Forest. 
London: Chiswick Press 

WEBSTER, G., 1960, “The discovery of a Roman Fort at 
Waddon Hill, Stoke Abbott, 1959’, Proceedings of the 
Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 82, 
88-108 

WEDLAKE, W.J., 1958, Excavations at Camerton, 
Somerset. Privately printed 

WEDLAKE, W.J., 1982, The Excavation of the Shrine of 
Apollo at Nettleton, Wiltshire, 1956-71. London: Society 
of Antiquaries Research Reports 40 

WHEELER, R.E.M., ed. 1930, London Museum 
Catalogues No.3: London in Roman Times. London: 
HMSO 

WHEELER, R.E.M., 1943, Maiden Castle, Dorset. 
London: Society of Antiquaries Research Reports, 12 

WHEELER, R.E,M. and WHEELER, T.V., 1928, “The 
Roman Amphitheatre at Caerleon, Monmouthshire’, 
Archaeologia 78, 111-218 

YOUNG, C.Y., 1977, Oxfordshire Roman Pottery. Oxford: 
British Archaeological Reports 42 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93, 2000, pp. 233-254 


Notes 


EXCAVATIONS OF 
BRONZE AGE AND 
ROMANO-BRITISH SITES 
ALONG THE 
CHIPPENHAM WESTERN 
BYPASS A4 TO A350 LINK 


by Clifford Bateman and Dawn 
Enright 


with contributions by Jane Timby and 
Graeme Walker 


Evidence of Bronze Age occupation and Romano- 
British agricultural activity was revealed in 1997 
during excavations along the route of the Chippenham 
Western Bypass. In addition lithic material retrieved 
during a watching brief on the remainder of the road 
scheme suggests Mesolithic and Bronze Age activity 
within the immediate area. 


In September 1997 Cotswold Archaeological Trust 
(CAT) undertook a programme of archaeological 
recording, comprising excavation and a watching 
brief, along a section of the Chippenham Western 
Bypass between the A4 and the A350, a distance of 
3.9km (Figure 1). The work was commissioned and 
funded by Wiltshire County Council Environmental 
Services Department. 

Archaeological evaluation of the road corridor in 
1991 had revealed two sites of archaeological interest 
(Dyer 1991). The more northerly site was Area E 
(ST 8970 7195), where fieldwalking had revealed a 
concentration of Romano-British material, including 
pottery and tile. The other site was Area F (ST 8986 
7176), where a concentration of worked flint broadly 
dated as prehistoric was located. No further 
archaeological deposits are known from the road 
corridor itself. To ensure continuity in the project 


archive the site identification codes (Areas E and F) 
are reproduced here. The archive will be deposited 
with Devizes Museum. 


LOCATION AND SETTING 


The underlying geology of the area is dominated by 
Middle Jurassic Cornbrash with a surviving outcrop 
of Kellaways Clay at the northern limit of the scheme 
(Geological Survey of England Sheet 265). The road 
corridor crossed generally flat, mixed agricultural land 
ranging from approximately 50m OD at its southern 
extent, to 60m OD at the northern limit. 

Within the immediate vicinity a number of 
archaeological features have been identified. A 
Neolithic pit, Romano-British enclosure ditch and 
Saxon sunken-featured building were revealed 30m 
north of Area E (ST 8980 7270) (Anon 1991, 143). 
Archaeological evaluation undertaken at Showell 
Nursery (centred on ST 9130 7140), 800m beyond 
the southern limit of the road corridor, revealed 
late Neolithic/early Bronze Age activity including 
pits, postholes, gullies and ditches; a middle Iron 
Age pit and ditch; Romano-British enclosure 
ditches; and a medieval gully (OAU 1991; Anon 
1993, 159). Archaeological excavation undertaken 
by Wessex Archaeology 2.3km to the north of the 
study area (centred on ST 8987 7415) revealed a 
pit containing late Bronze Age pottery (N. J. Oakey, 
pers. comm.). 


METHODOLOGY 


Machine excavation of the topsoil within Areas E and 
F (both 100m by 25m) revealed a number of 
archaeological features. A site meeting he!d with 
representatives from Wiltshire County Council 
Archaeological Service and Environmental Services 
Department agreed that archaeological excavation 
should continue by hand in both areas. All intrusive 


Cotswold Archaeological Trust, Headquarters Building, Unit 9, Kemble Business Park, Cirencester, Glos GL7 6BQ 


234 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


® Berkshire 


Chippenham 


Wiltshire 


Diamonds denote 
Archaeological 
Sites within 
Immediate Vicinity 
= eae . \ \ 


NN 


f& 
eg PR 
e ~ 


Sa 


¢ r- Hl Tes 
| i, SN 
@ e *\ ony fig} BE 
7 i NNe fie es 
ea Sal ee i Milbourne Farm 


eo 


t / 
a Farm 


SS 
~/@\ Holywell House 
LN 


| 


Showell Farm | | 


eed 
| Area of watching brief 


Figure 1. Location Plan 


NOTES 


groundwork along the remainder of the road corridor 
was subject to a watching brief. 


RESULTS OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL 
RECORDING 


Area F 


Area F was located on flat ground and the natural 
substrate largely comprised Kellaways Clay, although 
Cornbrash was revealed at the northern limit of the 
site. A cluster of truncated sub-oval pits, stakeholes, 
and a gully was revealed towards the southern end of 
the excavation (Figure 2). 


Pits 

Three contiguous pits, 104, 106, and 108, aligned 
north-west to south-east, were revealed 35m from the 
north-western limit of the excavation. Due to the 


235 


similar nature of the orange-brown clay fills the 
relationship between the pits remains undetermined 
and although they are likely to be intercutting, 
contemporary use and/or abandonment remain 
possibilities. Two sherds of Bronze Age pottery and 
three worked pieces of flint were retrieved from 106. 
Two further contiguous pits, 112 and 124, were 
located 15m from the south-eastern limit of the site. 
The pits were aligned east-west and were of similar 
dimensions. The relationship between the pits remains 
undetermined, but may be similar to that of pits 104, 
106, and 108 above. Two worked flint flakes were 
retrieved from pit 112. Eighteen pieces of worked flint 
were retrieved from fill 111 of pit 110, located 10m north- 
west of pit 112. At the south-eastern limit of the 
excavation was pit 116. It contained a later Mesolithic 
microlith (an edge-blunted point). A further 15 heavily 
truncated pits, typically 0.08m in depth and ranging in 
length from 0.3m to 2m, were excavated, but no 
artefactual material was retrieved from them. 


Plan 
15m to end of site 
; Fae 
148) Modern field drai ug iis 0134 130). 
142 0, wy 
oa Use 116 
150 110 1400 D €/2 section 3 is 5D 
2, gt 124 8120 Section 4 
> 
& Section 2 igat60 $128 
S Section 1 Oe otne 
fo) A ° 164 Uo 158 
a 4 152 178 ace —166 
3 104106 108 =a 126 
bal Geotechnical test pit 176 | 
3D 174 172 170 
8 
156 2 
) 
1222 
0 20m 
es > 
Section 1 
109 
108 
KR 198 aon — 62m AOD 
se 
log OF ea ee Be a 
Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 aut 
- 62m AOD = {61,.5m AOD 
——— = 
Alisly7. ae 
3 
WH 113 AG 
111 y 2 
110 = — 61.5m AOD 
O Im 
fm OS 


Figure 2. Area F: Plan and Sections 


236 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Stakeholes 

Of the total of 13 stakeholes recorded, all but two 
formed a distinct group to the west of the pits. The 
stakeholes ranged in size from 0.1m to 0.2m in 
diameter, had an average depth of 0.05m, and 
contained orange—brown clay fills from which no 
artefacts were recovered. 


Gully 

Gully 122 was revealed at the western edge of the 
excavation. Orientated north-south, it was at least 
2m long, 0.6m wide and 0.3m deep. Its uniform linear 
shape, steep profile and flat base were noticeably 
distinct from that of the contiguous pits. Interpretation 
of the feature is limited by the absence of artefactual 
material and, while it may be contemporary with the 
adjacent pits and stakeholes, the possibility that it is a 
natural feature should not be overlooked. 


The Finds 


Pottery 
by Jane Timby 


Two handmade bodysherds with a combined weight 
of 11g were retrieved from pit 106. The sherds were 
in relatively fresh condition and probably derived from 
the same vessel. The exterior surface and outer core 
were orange, while the interior surface and inner core 
were black. The sherds consisted of a fine sandy fabric 
with fine elongated voids on the surface arising from 
the former presence of organic matter. Larger ovoid 
voids were visible in a fresh fracture, possibly from 
chalk/limestone inclusions, with sparse, rounded, dark 
red-brown iron compounds also present. The 
character of the fabric and the firing is typical of 
ceramic material of Bronze Age date. 


Worked flint 
by Graeme Walker 


Twenty-four pieces of flint were recovered from 
stratified contexts, with a further five unstratified 
pieces. Material from the stratified contexts is very 
fresh and largely undamaged, indicating relatively 
rapid incorporation into pit fills. The small assemblage 
is characterised by small secondary and tertiary flakes, 
a few struck from blade cores. Raw material is variable 
and the artefacts are generally small, both aspects 
consistent with exploitation of derived material. It is 
notable that there is no primary flaking waste and 


few tools, which suggests that final manufacture and 
repair of existing tool-kits was the main activity taking 
place within the areas examined. Tool use and discard 
were presumably taking place off-site. 

The general characteristics of the assemblage 
would suggest a late prehistoric date, perhaps Bronze 
Age being appropriate for most of the collection, 
athough a late Mesolithic edge-blunted point does 
suggest earlier activity within the area. 


Area E 


Area E was located immediately to the south of 
Pudding Brook at the northern limit of the bypass 
corridor. The underlying geology consisted of 
Kellaways Clay. 

Two truncated ditches forming a “T’ shaped 
junction were revealed at the southern limit of the 
excavation (Figure 3). Ditch 003, orientated east- 
west, was on average 1.2m wide and 0.2m deep. Two 
small Romano-British sherds (weighing 6g) were 
retrieved from its fill. Both consisted of fine grey sandy 
ware from wheelmade closed forms (identified by Jane 
Timby). Ditch 005, orientated north-south, was 1.5m 
wide and 0.15m deep. The ditches are interpreted as 
contemporary, perhaps forming agricultural 
boundaries and/or drainage ditches. 


The Watching Brief 


No archaeological features were revealed during the 
watching brief, although a small assemblage of 106 
pieces of unstratified worked flint was retrieved from 
the ploughsoil throughout the bypass corridor. None 
of the recorded material is diagnostic, but the general 
characteristics suggest that this assemblage is of 
similar date and composition to the stratified material 
from Area F, although the presence of numerous small 
snapped blades provides further evidence of 
Mesolithic activity. 


CONCLUSIONS 


The earliest activity detected, particularly during the 
watching brief, is represented by the Mesolithic 
component to the flint assemblage. No settlement or 
core of activity was identified and consequently little 
further comment can be made on this activity save to 
note that it is typical of the scatters recorded in the 
Chippenham region (Tucker 1985, Anon 1993, 159; 


NOTES 


Plan 


80m to end of site 


fee # mode™ 


Section 


Figure 3. Southern portion of Area E: plan and section 


Bateman 2000), and across the southern Cotswolds 
generally (Saville 1984), which presumably indicate 
sites of temporary camps utilising woodland and 
riverine resources. 

By contrast, late Neolithic and late Bronze Age 
settlement has previously been suggested both to the 
north and south of these sites and, although no 
evidence of structures has been identified the quantity 
of domestic refuse retrieved from ditches and pits has 
been interpreted as indicative of nearby occupation 
(OAU 1991; N.J. Oakey, pers. comm.). 

Although no definitive habitation features were 
identified at Area F, Bronze Age occupation may be 
suggested both by the density of pitting, which is 
indicative of extended use rather than a single 
episode of activity, and by the close grouping of 
stakeholes, possibly representing a basic shelter or 
windbreak. The paucity of domestic refuse, such as 
pottery, retrieved from the excavation may indicate 
the pits are peripheral to the main settlement area. 
Alternatively it may suggest short term, maybe 
seasonal occupation. The lithic evidence also 
suggests use of the site as a temporary settlement as 
the final manufacture and repair of tool-kits rather 
than primary reduction was being undertaken, 
perhaps prior to the exploitation of the immediate 
area. The full extent of the site was not revealed, 
and the likelihood of further settlement features to 


237 
Section 
oe 
= = — 58m aop 
O Tm 


the south and east of Area F must be considered 
high. 

It remains unclear whether this occupation site was 
deliberately located upon the Kellaways Clays, rather 
than the Cornbrash which dominates the local geology, 
or whether it was located to take advantage of the local 
topography (overlooking the Pudding Brook and 
afforded some protection from the prevailing weather 
by the slightly higher ground to the north, east and 
west). However, it is worth noting that the prehistoric 
activity previously identified immediately beyond the 
northern and southern limits of the road corridor was 
also sited upon Kellaways Clay rather than the 
Cornbrash (Anon 1991,143; 1993, 159). 

The Romano-British activity revealed at Area E 
confirms that the Romano-British agricultural activity 
previously identified to the north of Pudding Brook 
(Anon 1991, 143) continues to the south and it is 
noteworthy that the activity is restricted to the lower 
slopes rather than the floor of the valley. Obvious 
limitations are placed upon the interpretation of such 
seemingly isolated features, but they add to our 
knowledge of the spatial distribution of Romano- 
British activity within the Chippenham area, where 
an increasingly dense settlement pattern, notably 
along the Cotswold dip slope and the immediate 
environs of the North Wiltshire Clay Vale, is becoming 
apparent (Bateman 2000). 


238 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Acknowledgements 

The archaeological recording was funded by 
Wiltshire Civil Engineering Consultancy. The 
authors would like to thank Duncan Coe (Wiltshire 
County Council Archaeological Service) and Peter 
Hanson (Wiltshire Civil Engineering Consultancy) 
for their assistance during the course of this project, 
and Niall Oakey (Wessex Archaeology) for making 
information from previous work along the bypass 
corridor readily available during the compilation of 
this report. 

The project was managed by Dawn Enright. The 
excavations at Areas E and F were directed by Clifford 
Bateman and the watching brief supervised by Franco 
Vartuca. The illustrations were drawn by Richard 
Morton. 


References 


ANON 1991, ‘Excavation and Fieldwork in Wiltshire 1989: 
Chippenham’, WAM, 84,143 

ANON 1993, ‘Excavation and Fieldwork in Wiltshire 1991: 
Chippenham’, WAM, 86, 159 

BATEMAN, C., 2000, ‘Excavations Along the Littleton Drew 
to Chippenham Gas Pipeline’, WAM, 93, 90-104 

DYER, C. A., 1991, The Archaeological Works on the 
Chippenham Bypass Route Spring 1991, Unpublished 
client report: Thamesdown Archaeological Unit 

OAU (OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT) 1991, 
Archaeological Evaluation: Milbourne Farm and 
Showell Nurseries, Chippenham, Wiltshire. 
Unpublished client report. 

TUCKER, J.H., 1985, ‘Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic 
Sites in the Chippenham Area’, WAM, 79, 226-8 


A MINIATURE FLAT AXE 
OR CHISEL FROM BROAD 
TOWN, NORTH WILTSHIRE 
by Bob Clarke 


A small bronze axe was discovered in May 1998 whilst 
returning an area of land back to garden at ‘The 
Laurels’, Broad Town, North Wiltshire (SU 
09057792), by the owner of the house Mr Michael 
Broomfield. No other features or items were found. 
The object has been identified as a miniature flat axe 
or chisel. 

The axe has suffered slight damage to both the 
cutting edge and butt, and exhibits a dark green/brown 
patina with some slight pitting and corrosion on both 
sides. The original outline is only slightly reduced by 
deterioration of the artefact. It has a very slight stop- 
bevel positioned exactly half way along the overall 
length of the axe and a gently curved butt profile. 
The sides descend from the butt almost vertically to 
the stop-bevel then expand in a smooth curve to 
produce a cutting edge just over twice the width of 
the butt. The sides are bowed and a slight rise in edge 
section thickness is evident between the stop bevel 
and the cutting edge, which probably results from 
final working of the axe during manufacture. The 
dimensions are: length 85.5mm, width of cutting edge 
32.5mm, maximum thickness 5.5mm and weight 
50.53 gms. 


] 


'S 
rie 


CENTIMETRE 


3 


Q 


Figure 1. Bronze miniature flat axe from Broad Town (DERA 
Boscombe Down, © Crown Copyright) 


Bob Clarke, c/o DERA, Boscombe Down, Amesbury, Salisbury SP4 7RE 


NOTES 


Discussion 


Miniature axes often parallel larger forms, and the 
example from Broad Town is no exception, with 
similar larger forms being a relatively common type 
in England, mainly concentrated in the southern half 
of the country (West pers com). Clusters are present 
in Cornwall, Wessex and South Wales, as well as 
examples in East Yorkshire and Ireland (Needham 
1983, 167-8). 

The presence of a stop-bevel separates the axe from 
Class 3 axes in the British Bronze Age Metalwork 
Series. The blade width differentiates it from Class 4A 
axes and the absence of flanges along the sides separates 
it from Class 4C and later axes. This places the Broad 
‘Town example in Class 4B of the series and gives it a 
date of c.2000-1800 BC (Needham et al 1985, iii). 

One miniature example is known from the local 
area which parallels very closely that from Broad 
Town, discovered at Tan Hill, All Cannings (SU 
090645) around 1864. It is currently held in Salisbury 
and South Wiltshire Museum (Moore and Rowlands 
1972). It has a length of 81mm and is considered to 
be in the Migdale-Marnoch tradition as described by 
Britton (1963). The find spot on Tan Hill is 14 km 
south of the discovery at Broad Town. 

Other miniature flat axes are recorded at Devizes 
Museum, one from an unknown locality being 70mm 
long (Annable and Simpson 1964, 52), whilst another 
was recovered from a primary deposit in a bowl 
barrow at Collingbourne Kingston G4 (SU 
21385179). The latter had a length of only 45mm 
(Annable and Simpson 1964, 57). Further afield, a 
miniature flat axe was located as part of a hoard of 11 
bronze objects during the excavation of the Iron Age 
hillfort of Danebury, Hampshire (Cunliffe 1984, 335). 
This axe was smaller than the Broad Town example 
and has been interpreted by Dennis Britton as an 
example of a light woodworking tool (1963, 271). 


A GOLD FINGER RING 
FROM THE RUDGE 
ROMANO-BRITISH VILLA 
SITE, FROXFIELD, 
WILTSHIRE 


by Bernard Phillips! and Martin 
Henig? 


239 


Unfortunately, the Broad Town axe falls into the 
un-provenanced category of find, there being a 
number of possibilities as to how it got to its last 
position. It could have been found elsewhere and 
brought to the house, or it may have been part of an 
in situ deposit disturbed during the many phases of 
building carried out over the centuries. 


Acknowledgements 

Thanks go to Mike Broomfield for his prompt 
reporting of the find and Alan West at the Department 
of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities, the 
British Museum, for his useful comments and 
assistance in producing this note. Any errors are 
naturally my own. 


Bibliography 


ANNABLE, F. and SIMPSON, D. 1964 Guide Catalogue 
of the Neolithic and Bronze Age Collections in Devizes 
Museum, Devizes: Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural 
History Society 

BRITTON, D. 1963 Traditions of Metal-working in the 
Later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Britain: Part 
1, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 29, 258- 
325 

CUNLIFFE, B. 1984 Danebury: An Iron Age Hillfort in 
Hampshire: Vol. 2, The excavations, 1969-1978: The 
Finds, London: Council for British Archaeology 
Research Report 52 

MOORE, C. and ROWLANDS, M. 1972 Bronze Age 
Metalwork in Salisbury Museum, Salisbury: Salisbury 
and South Wiltshire Museum 

NEEDHAM, S. 1983 The Early Bronze Age Axeheads of 
Central and Southern England, Unpublished PhD, 
University College Cardiff 

NEEDHAM, S., LAWSON, A and GREEN, H.S. 1985 
British Bronze Age Metalwork: Al-6 Early Bronze Age 
Hoards. London: British Museum Publications 


The Site 


In the late 1980s a gold finger ring was recovered 
from plough-soil overlying the Rudge Romano-British 
villa site by a metal detector user. Being the 
gamekeeper for the Littlecote Estate, on whose land 
the villa lay, Mr. M. Goodfield, the finder, brought 
the ring to the first author who was then directing an 
archaeological excavation on the Littlecote Romano- 
British villa site. The author contacted Martin Henig 


1. Roman Research Trust 15 Yiewsley Cres., Stratton St Margaret, Swindon SN3 4LT 2. Institute of Archaeology, 36 Beaumont St.,Oxford OX1 2PG 


240 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


who examined the ring. His account forms the second 
part of this report. Following drawing by the Littlecote 
excavation’s draughtsman, Luigi Thompson, the ring 
was returned to the finder. 

Evidence that a Romano-British villa had existed 
at Rudge first occurred during clearance of woodland 
in 1725 (Pugh and Crittall 1957). Then foundations, 
a well and a tessellated pavement were located. The 
damaged central emblema of the pavement depicted 
the lower parts of two figures and a jar from which 
water flows. Late Roman coins, an enamelled cup and 
five human skeletons were found in the well. The cup 
shows and names military forts. Identification of these 
has been made with forts located on Hadrian’s Wall. 
Ploughing in about 1875 revealed a stone statuette 
thought to be of Atys. The discovery of tesserae 
occurred during the second world war in the course 
of digging foundations for Nissen huts. 

During an aerial survey in 1976 of local villa sites, 
involving the first author, cropmarks of a south facing 
rectangular structure were seen, presumably the villa- 
house, fronted by a corridor and with a room 
protruding at the east-end. On the west side of an 
apparent courtyard fronting the house a further 
rectangular building, divided widthways into three 
rooms, was also revealed. 


Figure 1. Rudge: Roman gold ring (scale = 10mm) 


The Ring 


The ring is very small with a diameter of about 12 
mm and a weight of 2.6g, presumably intended for a 
girl. Itis made from sheet gold approximately 0.75mm 
thick and is faceted, probably octagonal, a form which 
is widespread in the 3rd century. The topmost facet 
which is rectangular with bowed sides (8mm by 7mm) 
serves as a bezel with an engraved intaglio device of a 


palm-branch with four projecting leaves on each side, 
all of them terminating in pellets. When found the 
ring was badly distorted, but this may have been recent 
damage. 

For gold rings of the same type engraved with the 
palm-frond device, comparison may be made with 
two even lighter in weight (respectively 1.8g and 1.0g) 
from a Severan hoard at Lyons (Comarond 1844, 40, 
pl. 3 nos. 25 and 26). There is no exact parallel from 
Britain but I know of a number of faceted rings from 
the province, for instance two from Vindolanda (Birley 
1973, 119-20, pl. XVIII nos. 17 and 18), one set with 
a gem, the other plain, and one from Carrawburgh 
(Allason-Jones and McKay 1985, 19-20, no. 30 pl. 
XID), also plain. 

The device of a palm with its connotations of 
victory and success (including victory in love) is 
widespread. A gold ring from Verulamium of 
somewhat different form, but perhaps also 3rd century 
may be noted (Henig 1984, 19. no. 1, pl. la, b) as 
well as a gold ring from Carlisle inscribed ‘AMA ME’ 
(Dalton 1912, 4, no. 15,) while for the form of palm 
with pellets, the device on a silver ring, probably a 
2nd century type, from Southwark comes to mind 
(Henig 1976). Incidentally, although such pelleting 
is to be seen on some Iron Age coins of the Dobunni, 
it is hardly conceivable that the two types of objects 
can be linked over two centuries and, besides, such 
pelleting is to be seen on palms engraved on two rings 
from the Continent (Hoffman and Von Claer 1968, 
184, no. 124). 

Gold rings were the prerogative of such people of 
high social rank and, however expanded the definition 
of such an honour had become by the 3rd century, 
we clearly have here an object likely to have belonged 
to the child of a villa-owner: The device hints at her 
future prospects in finding a suitable husband. 


References 


ALLASON-JONES, L. and McKAY, B., 1985, Coventina’s 
Well. A shrine on Hadrian’s Wall. Chesters Museum 

BIRLEY, R., 1973, ‘Vindolanda-Chesterholm 1969-1972: 
some important material from the vicus’, Archaeologia 
Aeliana, 5th series 1 

COMARMOND, A., 1844, Description de L’Ercin d’une 
dame Romaine trouve a Lyon en 1841. Paris 

DALTON, O. M., 1912, Catalogue of the Finger-Rings; 
Early Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medieval and 
Later. London: British Museum 

HENIG, M., 1976, ‘A silver finger-ring from Winchester 
Wharf, Southwark’, Transactions of the London and 


NOTES 


Middlesex Archaeological Society 27, 256 

HENIG, M., 1984, in Frere, S., Verulamium Excavation 
III, Monograph, no. 1, Oxford University Committee 
for Archaeology 

HOFFMAN, H. and VON CLAER, V., 1968, Museum fur 


241 


Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg Antiker Gold-und 
Silberschmiuck. Mainz 

PUGH, R. B. and CRITTALL, E., 1957, Victoria County 
History of Wiltshire, volume 1, part 1. Oxford University 
Press 


EXCAVATIONS AT VALE’S 
LANE, DEVIZES, 1996-7 


by Phil Andrews 
and Lorraine Mepham 


In 1996 Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by 
Lovell Partnerships (Southern) Ltd to carry out an 
archaeological excavation prior to redevelopment at 
the former Old Joinery Works, Vale’s Lane, Devizes 
(centred on SU 61370061). The report published here 
is asummary of the principal discoveries as financial 
support for a full programme of post-excavation work 
was not obtained. However, the pottery is considered 
at greater length as there is a dearth of material so far 
published for the town. Few finds other than pottery 
were recovered and further details of these, the 
archaeological deposits and the environmental 
remains can be found in the assessment report (WA 
1996) which forms part of the site archive, shortly to 
be deposited at Devizes Museum. 

The known archaeology and historical setting of 
Devizes have been summarised by Haslam (1976). 
The town is of medieval origin, first recorded as 
‘Divisas’ in 1135, and the evidence available, especially 
the street pattern, indicates that it developed as a result 
of construction of the castle. The earliest known castle, 
which was burnt down in 1113, was replaced in c. 
1120 by one of multiple bailey type (Figure 1a). This 
comprised a motte, inner bailey, and outer bailey, with 
an outer arc of streets and properties (the area refered 
to as Old Port) surrounded by a ditch and bank 
comprising the ‘town defences’. Haslam has argued 
that the ‘town defences’ were created at the same time 
as the castle in c. 1120, and integral with these was 
the construction of the earthworks surrounding the 
deer park to the south-east (Haslam 1980, 64-5). At 
some point, probably in the later 12th century, the 
outer bailey of the castle was abandoned and this set 
of defences was either removed or left to decay 
naturally. The town then developed within the former 
outer bailey (contra Butler 1976, 45), the area 
subsequently referred to as New Port. 

With the exception of the excavations south of 
Hare and Hounds Street (Haslam 1980) and at New 


Park Street (Russell 1993), recent archaeological work 
in Devizes has either taken the form of evaluations or 
watching briefs, or has not been fully published. 
Redevelopment of the Old Joinery, Vale’s Lane, 
provided an opportunity to establish the position of 
the outer bailey ditch and investigate the evidence for 
medieval and later settlement in this part of the town. 

The redevelopment site covered an area of 
approximately 3800m? (Figure 1b), lay at c. 129.00m 
aOD and, at the time of the excavation, was covered 
with concrete slabs and tarmac. The underlying 
geology is Cretaceous Upper Greensand. An 
evaluation undertaken by the Cotswold 
Archaeological Trust in January 1996 (CAT 1996) 
revealed archaeological deposits of medieval and later 
date in the northern part of the site, but none were 
present or survived to the south. On the basis of the 
evaluation results the County Archaeological Officer 
requested that a further programme of archaeological 
work be undertaken. 


The Excavation 


The fieldwork strategy comprised the excavation of a 
single area measuring c. 15m by 10m (incorporating 
the majority of the northern evaluation trench) at the 
north end of the redevelopment area, and a watching 
brief during subsequent groundworks associated with 
the housing development. The excavation was carried 
out in October-November 1996 and the watching 
brief in February-March 1997. The archaeological 
features recorded are shown in Figures 1b and Ic. 


Medieval features 


The earliest feature was probably a large ditch (514), 
approximately 8m wide and up to 4m deep. It was 
aligned roughly north-south and lay towards the west 
side of the site, immediately to the west of the 
excavation trench (see Figure 1b). The location of 
this feature was indicated by a series of geotechnic 
boreholes prior to excavation, and was confirmed 
during the watching brief. Only a small part of this 
feature was revealed in plan and section and it was 


Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury SP4 6EB 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


[] Medieval features 
[__] Post-medieval features 


—-— — Probable kne of ditch 
s Recorded section 


Approximate line of 
Outer Bailey ditch 


Evaluation trench 


4 Excavation trench 
Watching Brief Area 


50m 


Figure 1. Site Location. 


NOTES 


not possible to ascertain its profile. The upper fill was 
a homogeneous dark greyish brown loam containing 
post-medieval (18th — 19th century) debris, and it is 
suggested below that this feature was the outer bailey 
ditch. 

The excavation revealed six shallow pits (29, 36, 
51, 53, 67, 71), all less than 0.5m deep, which have 
been assigned on ceramic evidence to the 13th century. 
These pits varied in shape and size, with an apparent 
concentration of larger examples towards the east end 
of the trench. Towards the west end was a homogeneous 
spread of dark greyish brown sandy loam up to 0.3m 
thick which overlay the natural greensand and was 
indistinguishable from the fills of pits 51 and 53. Pottery 
recovered from the spread was also predominantly of 
13th century date, but both it and several of the pits 
contained some residual 12th century sherds. 

Three further shallow pits (24, 35, 48) were of 
13th or early 14th century date. Also assigned to this 
phase was a short length of wall footing represented 
by a single course of small limestone lumps (8) aligned 
approximately east - west, and an oval, clay hearth 
(33) some 5m to the north of the wall footing. Two 
pits (58, 64) are the only features assigned a late 
medieval (15th — 16th century) date. 


Post-medieval and modern features 


The western two-thirds of the trench was partly 
covered by a large, shallow scoop (28), of probable 
16th century date which had truncated the earlier 
features and deposits in this area. This was only partly 
excavated. Its fill comprised a generally homogeneous 
dark greyish brown sandy clay loam with a 
concentration of coarse shelly limestone fragments 
at the east end; these included at least one fragment 
of stone rooftile. Limestone building material 
recovered to the east of the excavated area during the 
watching brief may have derived from the same source, 
perhaps from a nearby medieval structure. 

Five pits (4, 15, 17, 41, 80) and as many as five 
post-holes (9, 11, 13, 19 and 31) have been assigned 
a 17th century date, although few of the post-holes 
contained dating evidence. The post-holes were 
generally insubstantial, but may represent the corner 
of a timber building aligned approximately north - 
south. Pit 80 was a large, shallow, sub-circular feature 
which contained a concentration of stone building 
material, and pit 4 was deeper than any of the other 
pits on the site: it was sub-rectangular in plan, at least 
1.5m deep (not bottomed) and had vertical sides. 

The 17th century and earlier features were sealed 
by a substantial deposit of very dark greyish brown 


243 


sandy clay loam. This homogeneous deposit, most of 
which was removed by machine, was up to 0.7m thick 
at the west end of the site and appears to represent a 
well-mixed agricultural soil. This soil most likely 
reflects the existence of an orchard on the site from 
the 18th century until the construction of the joinery 
works in the 20th century. 


The Pottery 
by Lorraine Mepham 


The pottery assemblage from the Vale’s Lane site 
amounts to 224 sherds (4994 g) of medieval to post- 
medieval date. This has been analysed using the 
standard Wessex Archaeology pottery recording 
system (Morris 1994) by which fabrics are defined 
and coded on the basis of dominant inclusion type. 
In addition, some fabrics can be identified as of known 
type or source. Medieval vessel forms are defined 
following nationally recommended nomenclature 
(MPRG 1998). 


Medieval 


On the basis of known or suspected source/source 
area the medieval assemblage falls into six main 
groups: 

1. sandy wares probably deriving from the Nash Hill 
kilns at Lacock 

2. micaceous sandy wares probably from the 
Crockerton area 

3. coarsewares and finewares of Laverstock type from 
south-east Wiltshire 

4. calcareous and flint-tempered ‘Kennet Valley wares’ 
5. calcareous wares from north Wiltshire (Nash Hill 
or Minety) 

6. other miscellaneous wares 


Predominant amongst the medieval assemblage are 
wares which can be tentatively identified as originating 
from the Nash Hill production centre approximately 
10 km north-west of Devizes. Four fabrics were 
identified, although visual similarities suggest that all 
are merely variants of a single type (McCarthy 1974, 
fabric B): 


Q401 Hard, moderately coarse matrix, slightly micaceous; 
common, fairly well sorted, subrounded quartz <0.5 mm 
(rarely <1 mm); handmade; generally oxidised with 
unoxidised core. 

Q402_ Finer version of Q401 with quartz <0.25 mm (rarely 
<0.5 mm); wheelthrown. 


244 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


‘Table 1. Fabric totals and diagnostic forms 


Fabric No. sherds 


Nash Hill 

Q401 35 787 74.0 

Q402 19 186 V7.5 

Q404 2 64 6.0 

Q405 2 26 2.5 

sub-total 58 1063 - 36.0 


Crockerton 


Q400 10 139 61.8 
Q403 5 86 38:2 
sub-total 15 225 - 7.0 
Laverstock 
E422a 1 24 4.6 
E422b 6 152 29.0 
E420 3 70 13.3 
E421 1 16 3.) 
11 262 50.0 
sub-total 22 524 - Dh 


‘Kennet Valley’ 


C401 31 734 98.7 

F400 1 10 1.3 

sub-total 32 744 - 25.2 
N. Wilts 

C400 3 48 14.9 

C402 2 52 16.2 

C403 4 222 68.9 

sub-total 9 322 - 10.9 
Q406 2} 54 - 1.8 
‘Tudor Green 2, 22 - 0.8 
TOTAL MED 140 2954 - . 
E600 25 380 

E601 55 1582 

Verwood 2 2 

Stoneware 1 4 

Porcelain 1 1 

TOTAL 


POST-MED 84 2040 


Weight % of group % of total med. 


Vessel forms 


tripod pitcher, frying pans (Fig. 2, 3), jars (Fig. 2, 1), glazed 
and white-slipped jugs 

glazed and white-slipped jugs 

glazed jugs 


jar 


frying pan, jars 
glazed jugs 
glazed jug 


jars (Fig. 2, 2 


glazed and decorated tripod pitcher 


glazed tripod pitcher 


glazed jug 
handled cup 


includes slipwares 
dishes, bowls, jars 


Q404 Hard, moderately fine, slightly micaceous matrix; 
sparse, well sorted, subrounded quartz <0.5 mm; rare 
limestone <0.25 mm; sparse iron oxides; ?wheelthrown; 
single example is unoxidised but might be overfired. 
Q405  Coarser version of Q401 with quartz <1 mm; also 
rare limestone <0.5 mm; handmade. 


Vessel forms present are summarised in Table 1. The 
jars and glazed jugs are comparable to published 
examples from the 13th century kilns (McCarthy 
1974), but the tripod pitcher is likely to be earlier. 
The type is generally dated to the 12th century, and 
an example found in a non-kiln context at Lacock 


NOTES 


was dated no later than the beginning of the 13th 
century (ibid., fig. 34). 

Fabrics originating in the Crockerton area are 
characterised by their visibly micaceous clay matrix. 
Two fabrics are defined here: 


Q400_ Hard, fine, micaceous matrix; sparse subrounded 
quartz <0.5 mm; rare subangular flint and irregular 
limestone <5mm; sparse iron oxides; handmade; generally 
oxidised (often pale-firing) with unoxidised core. 

Q403 Hard, fine, micaceous matrix; moderate, well-sorted, 
subrounded quartz <0.25 mm; moderate iron oxides; 
wheelthrown; oxidised (often pale-firing) with unoxidised 
core. 


These two fabrics can be compared respectively with 
fabrics D and H at Emwell Street, Warminster (Smith 
1997, 20-1). Both have a lengthy currency from at 
least the 12th century at Warminster, but in general 
the finer fabric does not feature prominently until the 
later 13th century. Fabric D is predominant 
throughout the medieval period (ibid., fig. 13). Only 
one rim sherd, from a jar in fabric Q400, is present 
here; the form is not closely datable. 

The Laverstock-type wares are represented by 
three fabric types, two coarse (E422a, E422b) and 
two fine (E420, E421). These are defined following 
the type series established for Salisbury (Mepham 
2000) and are not therefore described in detail here. 
The finewares derive from glazed jugs and the 
coarsewares from jugs, with one frying pan also 
recognised. 

Two fabrics, one calcareous and one flint- 
tempered, fall within a widespread ceramic tradition 
found across west Berkshire and north-east Wiltshire, 
and recently redefined as ‘Kennet Valley wares’: 


C401 Hard, moderately coarse matrix, very slightly 
micaceous; sparse, poorly sorted limestone <1 mm; sparse, 
fairly well sorted, subrounded quartz <1 mm; sparse iron 
oxides; handmade; firing irregular. 

F400 Hard, moderately coarse matrix; moderate, poorly 
sorted, subrounded quartz <0.5 mm; sparse, subangular 
flint <2 mm; rare limestone <1 mm; sparse iron oxides; 
handmade; irregular firing. 


One kiln site is known for these wares near Newbury 
(Mepham forthcoming), but given such a widespread 
distribution more must still await discovery; one 
putative source has been identified on place-name 
evidence in the Savernake Forest (Vince 1997, 65). 
One sherd has been thin-sectioned as part of a small- 
scale programme of petrological analysis on these 
‘Kennet Valley’ wares (see Mepham forthcoming), and 


245 


the sample from Vale’s Lane was found to differ quite 
significantly from samples from sites further east in 
the Kennet Valley in terms of matrix (coarser) and 
range of inclusions (relatively high content of shell 
but no flint). The potential date range of these wares 
is wide (see Vince 1997), but there is nothing amongst 
the vessel forms here (jars only) to suggest a date range 
later than the 13th century. 

Three fabrics, all calcareous, may not derive from 
a single source, but all are likely to originate in north 
Wiltshire, where calcareous wares are known to have 
been produced at Nash Hill as well as at Minety and 
Lyneham (McCarthy 1974, fabric A; Musty 1973; 
Annable 1960). 


C400 Hard, moderately fine matrix, slightly micaceous, 
slightly soapy feel; moderate, poorly sorted, irregular 
limestone <2 mm; rare quartz and iron oxides; handmade; 
unoxidised with oxidised internal surface. 

C402 Hard, moderately fine, slightly micaceous matrix, 
soapy feel; moderate, fairly well sorted limestone (including 
ooliths) <0.5 mm (rarely <1 mm); rare subrounded quartz 
<0.5 mm; handmade; unoxidised with oxidised external 
surface. 

C403 Hard, moderately fine, very slightly micaceous 
matrix; moderate, fairly well sorted limestone (including 
ooliths) <1 mm; very rare quartz <0.5 mm; handmade; 
generally oxidised with unoxidised core. 


Sherds of glazed tripod pitchers occur in fabrics C400 
and C402; the example in C400 has combed 
decoration; there are no other diagnostic sherds. 


Two other fabrics were identified: 


Q406 Hard, moderately coarse matrix; moderate, well 
sorted, subangular/subrounded quartz <0.125 mm; sparse 
limestone <0.125 mm; sparse iron oxides; handmade; 
unoxidised with oxidised (pale-firing) surfaces. 

“Tudor Green’ ware: for full description see Pearce and Vince 
(1988). 


Fabric Q406 is represented only by two sherds from 
one context, probably both from the same glazed jug. 
The source of this fabric is unknown, although it could 
be from the Bristol area, possibly Ham Green. 


Post-medieval 


The post-medieval assemblage consists largely of 
coarse earthenwares, mostly glazed. These have been 
broadly divided into wares which are at least partially 
unoxidised, often resulting in an olive-green internal 
glaze (E601), and wholly oxidised wares (E600). The 


246 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


former are all probably Crockerton area products, 
and at Warminster tend to occur in earlier post- 
medieval contexts (pre-18th century), superseded 
later by the oxidised wares (Smith 1997, 29). A few 
examples of each type are slip-decorated. 

Other wares are very scarce, and are represented 
by a handful of sherds of Verwood type earthenware, 
stoneware and porcelain, all of which are 18th century 
or later. 


Ceramic sequence 


It is difficult to identify any demonstrable sequence 
within the medieval ceramic assemblage, even when 
viewed against the background of the stratigraphic 
evidence, since most of the wares identified could have 
covered a relatively long timespan. A 12th century 
component, in the form of tripod pitchers, is certainly 
present, but all examples are found with 13th century 
or later wares. All the other medieval wares identified 
(with the exception of “Tudor Green’) would fit within 
a 13th century date range. The ‘Kennet Valley’ wares 
were certainly in use earlier elsewhere in the Kennet 
Valley (eg. Vince 1997, 64), but in this instance, apart 
from pits 51 and 53, they are associated with definite 
13th century or later wares. 

Wares which might extend the sequence into the 
14th century include the finer glazed wares of 
Laverstock and Nash Hill type, although there are no 
closely datable forms present here, nor are there any 
forms comparable to the wasters found at Minety and 
provisionally dated to the 14th/15th century (Musty 
1973). 

It seems, then, that there is a real hiatus in the 
ceramic sequence between, at the latest, the early 14th 
century and the late 15th/16th century, which is very 
sparsely represented by a few sherds of “Tudor Green’ 
ware. 

An early post-medieval ceramic phase can be 
defined (16th/17th century), dominated by 
Crockerton area products, in particular the partially 
unoxidised wares (E601). The almost complete 
absence of other wares suggests that there was little 
activity on the site after the 17th century, although 
some late deposits were removed by machining. Wares 
which can be certainly be dated later than this are 
restricted to two sherds of Verwood type earthenware, 
one sherd of stoneware and one of porcelain. 


Discussion 


The range of medieval wares identified at Vale’s Lane 
is comparable to that described for the site at New 


Park Street (Gardiner 1993), and confirms the 
location of the town within the overlapping 
distributions of several pottery production centres. 
Potential 12th century wares probably derive from 
the nearest known source, Nash Hill, as well as other 
kilns elsewhere in north Wiltshire. From the 13th 
century the dominant local wares from Nash Hill are 
supplemented by a wider range of sources, including 
the Salisbury area (Laverstock types), the Kennet 
Valley, and the Warminster area (Crockerton types), 
as well as possible sources to the west, towards Bristol. 


“"-! Green glaze 
9 50mm 
a 


Figure 2. Medieval Pottery. 


List of illustrated vessels (Figure 2) 

1. Jar rim, fabric Q401. PRN (Pottery Record 
Number) 50, context 34, hearth 33. 

2. Jar rim, fabric C401. PRN 23/96, layers 6/66. 

3. Frying pan handle, fabric Q401. PRN 30, layer 6. 


Discussion 


The excavation at Vale’s Lane, although limited in 
extent, has provided a welcome addition to the rather 
meagre archaeological evidence from Devizes. The 
outer bailey ditch was recorded in approximately the 
position postulated by Haslam (1980, fig. 3; Figure 


NOTES 


1b), although no controlled excavation was possible 
and the ditch could not be closely dated. The outer 
bailey ditch has been recorded on three other 
occasions since 1980 (Figure la): near to St John’s 
church to the south-west where part of the associated 
bank survived (IAFAU 1991); to the north-west 
beneath the Corn Exchange (WA 1994); and to the 
north-north-west between the Market Place and New 
Park Street (TVAS 1999). None of these sites 
produced any secure dating evidence, but all three 
indicated that the ditch was approximately 8m wide 
and 4m deep, similar in size to the outer ‘town ditch’ 
(Haslam 1980, fig. 2). The Corn Exchange site 
produced no evidence for the existence of a large 
‘moat’ separating the castle inner bailey from the outer 
bailey as postulated by Haslam (1980, fig. 3). Instead, 
it appears that the outer bailey ditch may have 
continued around to form a complete circuit enclosing 
the kidney-shaped outer bailey. The recorded ditch 
fills on all three sites comprised mainly homogeneous 
slightly loamy sands, suggesting that the ditch had 
been regularly cleaned out, or little debris deposited 
in it, and that it may have been backfilled largely with 
bank material in a single operation. When the 
backfilling took place is uncertain, but it is unlikely 
that the ditch was maintained after the 12th century 
when the outer bailey fell out of use and the inner 
market place developed there. Very small quantities 
of pottery recovered from the top of the ditch at Vale’s 
Lane suggest that in places it may have remained as a 
slight hollow and not been finally infilled until the 
18th-19th century. Indeed, its line appears to be still 
evident as a very shallow linear hollow in the graveyard 
belonging to the Baptist Chapel immediately to the 
north of the development area (Figure 1b). 

The outer bailey ditch at Vale’s Lane would have 
served to demarcate properties along Sheep Street to 
the east from those along Long Street to the west. 
The excavated area lay to the rear of properties along 
Sheep Street, and thus outside the castle bailey and 
within the area of the original planned borough laid 
out in the early 12th century. No features of 12th 
century date were identified, although 12th century 
pottery was present as residual material in later 
features, and the majority of the medieval features 
comprised shallow pits of 13th century date. The 
nature and date of these features, and the limited 
structural evidence, is likely to reflect the location of 
the excavated area in backlands 70m or so from the 
street frontage. No property divisions were apparent, 
nor any evidence for specific crafts or industries, and 
the finds recovered are likely to reflect the disposal of 
domestic rubbish. The ceramic evidence indicates an 


247 


apparent hiatus in activity in this area between the 
early 14th century and the late 15th/ early 16th 
century. This was followed by a further phase of pit 
digging, with a possibly associated post-built 
structure, in the 17th century, prior to the 
establishment of an orchard in the 18th century. 


Acknowledgements 


Wessex Archaeology would like to acknowledge the 
assistance and facilities provided by the staff ot Lovell 
Partnership (Southern) Ltd, and in particular Mr 
Richard Cruse and Mr David Milner. The 
collaborative role of the Archaeology Section of the 
Libraries and Heritage Services, Wiltshire County 
Council and particularly Mr Roy Canham, County 
Archaeologist, and Mr Duncan Coe, Assistant County 
Archaeological Officer, is also acknowledged. We are 
grateful to the County Archaeologist and Mr Will 
Bryant, Housing Development Officer, Kennet 
District Council, for arranging grants from Wiltshire 
County Council and Kennet District Council which 
have enabled the publication of this report. 

The project was managed for Wessex Archaeology 
by Niall Oakey, with the excavation carried out by 
Phil Andrews, Richard May, Angela Batt and Rosie 
Edmunds, and the watching brief undertaken by 
Nicholas Wells and Rosie Edmunds. The illustrations 
were produced by S.E. James. 


References 


ANNABLE, E.K., 1960, ‘A possible medieval pottery site 
at Lyneham’, WAM, 57, 403-4 

BUTLER, L., 1976, ‘The evolution of towns: Planned towns 
after 1066’, in M.W. Barley, (ed.), The plans and 
topography of medieval towns in England and Wales, 
Council British Archaeological Research Report 14 

CAT [Cotswold Archaeological Trust] 1996, ‘Old Joinery 
Works, Vales Lane, Devizes: Archaeological evaluation’, 
unpublished client report, CAT 96341 

GARDINER, M., 1993, “The pottery’, in Russell 1993, 94-6 

HASLAM, J., 1976, Wiltshire Towns: The Archaeological 
Potential. Devizes 

HASLAM, J., 1980, ‘The excavation of the defences of 
Devizes, Wiltshire, 1974’, WAM, 72/73, 59-65 

IAFAU (Institute of Archaeology Field Archaeology Unit] 
1991, ‘An evaluation of the Norman outer bailey 
defences at Estcourt Hill, Devizes’, unpublished client 
report 

MCCARTHY, M.R., 1974, “The medieval kilns on Nash 
Hill, Lacock, Wiltshire’, WAM, 69, 97-160 


248 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


MEPHAM, L., 2000, ‘Pottery’ in M. Rawlings, ‘Excavations 
at Ivy Street and Brown Street, Salisbury, 1994’, WAM 
93, 29-37 [this volume] 

MEPHAM, L., forthcoming, ‘The medieval pottery from 
Enborne Street and Wheatlands Lane’, in V. Birbeck 
and C.W. Moore, Archaeological Investigations on the 
A34 Bypass, Berkshire/Hampshire 

MORRIS, E.L., 1994, The analysis of pottery, Salisbury, 
unpub. Wessex Archaeology guideline 4 

MPRG [Medieval Pottery Research Group] 1998, A Guide 
to the Classification of Medieval Ceramic Forms, 
Medieval Pottery Research Group Occasional Paper 1 

MUSTY, J., 1973, ‘A preliminary account of a medieval 
pottery industry at Minety, North Wiltshire’, WAM, 68, 
79-88 

PEARCE, J. and VINCE, A., 1988, A dated type-series of 
London medieval pottery. Part 4: Surrey Whitewares. 
London Middlesex Archaeological Society Special Paper 
10 

RUSSELL, M., 1993, ‘Excavations at New Park Street, 
Devizes, 1990’, WAM, 86, 88-101 


SMITH, R.W., 1997, Excavations at Emwell Street, 
Warminster: the early economy and environment of a 
Wiltshire Market Town. Salisbury: Wessex Archaeology 

TVAS [Thames Valley Archaeological Services] 1999, ‘Land 
to the rear of Cromwell House and 33 Market Place, 
Devizes, Wiltshire’, unpublished client report, MPD 99/ 
20 

VINCE, A., 1997, ‘Excavations at Nos. 143-5 Bartholomew 
Street, Newbury, 1979’, in A.G. Vince, S.J. Lobb, J.C. 
Richards and L. Mepham, Excavations in Newbury, 
Berkshire 1979-1990. Wessex Archaeological Reports 
13, 7-85 

WA [Wessex Archaeology] 1994, ‘Corn Exchange, Devizes, 
Wiltshire: Archaeological watching brief’, unpublished 
client report, W687 

WA [Wessex Archaeology] 1996, ‘Old Joinery Works, Vale’s 
Lane, Devizes: Assessment report on the results of the 
archaeological excavation including proposals for post- 
excavation analysis and publication’, unpublished client 
report, W2658 


A MONKEY’S HEAD KNIFE 
FINIAL FROM NEAR 
TROWBRIDGE 

by Paul Robinson 


In the 16th century the style arose of applying to the 
end of the handle of a scale-tang knife a small 
decorative finial (or ‘knife cap’) generally made of 
copper alloy. The most common designs were those 
in the form of the head of a hammer (either a 
carpenter’s claw hammer or a shoeing hammer), a 
horse’s hoof or two addorsed horse’s hooves. These 
often include detail showing the horse-shoe and its 
nails. Complete knives with finials of this form are 
not uncommon. One example in Salisbury Museum 
with a horse’s hoof finial may have been made by a 
Salisbury cutler (Saunders 1986, 7). Another, found 
in London, is believed to be the work of a Flemish 
cutler (Hayward 1957, i3, pl.le). The use of finials 
in the form of a horse’s hoof remained popular with 
cutlers until well into the 17th century. Much less 
often the decorative finial was in the form of a human 
head, the head of an animal or a bird. When a human 
head is used, generally there is insufficient detail to 
show for certain whom the figure was intended to 
depict. Possibly female heads were intended to 
represent St Barbara, the patron saint of gunners, and 
male heads St Lawrence, the patron saint of cutlers. 
Terminals in the form of a bird or pair of birds may 


Figure 1. Monkey-head knife 
finials from near Trowbridge 
(left) and Sussex (below) 


be intended to depict a pigeon or dove. Those in the 
form of an animal’s head may depict what appears to 
be a horse’s head, while some certainly show the head 
of a monkey. 

The style of the finials does not closely imitate 
the range of decorative finials in use at the same time 
on silver or base metal spoons. In the main, decorative 
finials were not used on spoons until well after the 
fashion of decorative knife finials had begun. It is 
noticeable too that some of the subjects of knife finials 
are light-hearted in nature, such as the head of a 
hammer and the monkey’s head, which contrast with 
the more formal subjects on 16th- and 17th-century 
spoons. It is possible too that the use of the designs of 
the horse’s hoof or the head of a claw-hammer may 
be to do with tapping the end of the knife on the 
table. 

Perhaps not surprisingly the monkey’s head design 


NOTES 


of knife finial is among the least common found in 
England. The example illustrated is the first to be 
recorded from Wiltshire. It was found near Trowbridge 
in 1992 and acquired by Devizes Museum (accession 
number 1993.619). It is smaller in size than most other 
examples of the type and shows less detail of the head. 
For comparison, a similar knife finial, now in a private 
collection, found in Sussex, is shown. Both can be 
dated to c. 1500-1550. 

It is doubtful whether more than a few people in 
Wiltshire in the first half of the 1 6th century would have 
seen a live monkey. They could, however, have seen 
images of monkeys on objects ranging from misericords 
to public house signs. They would know about monkeys 
from the Bible, from classical literature and from 
medieval writers and bestiaries. In medieval thought 
monkeys have been seen as symbols of evil, sin, 
particularly in relation to the fall of man, and of the 


249 


waywardness of Christian Europe. They were a ludicrous 
approximation of humanity, a prop for the derision of 
women, as well as a demonstration of the idiocies of all 
human endeavour. But to the common man then as in 
post-medieval times, the monkey was seen as a boisterous 
comical rebel, an unrestrained mockery of mankind 
which it so closely resembled, and a mischievous roguish 
creature of insatiable curiosity, which inevitably made it 
vulnerable to a smarter opponent. It is as such a creature 
it is shown on knife finials. 


References 


HAYWARD, J.F., 1957, English Cutlery 1500-1800. 
HMSO (Victoria & Albert Museum Catalogue) 

SAUNDERS, P.R., 1986, Channels to the Past: the 
Salisbury drainage collection. Salisbury & South Wilts 
Museum 


YET MORE ABOUT 
CUMBERWELL 
by Kenneth Rogers 


This note describes the owners, occupiers and history 
of Cumberwell, a vanished house near Bradford-on- 
Avon, from the late 17th century. In the light of more 
recently available sources it supplements and corrects 
earlier accounts, published in 1950 and 1952. 


In 1950 G. J. Kidston of Hazelbury wrote an article 
in this magazine about Cumberwell, which he 
described as ‘a quite insignificant and uninteresting 
place tucked away between Bradford-on-Avon and 
South Wraxall’. In 1952 he added new information 
in a further article ‘More about Cumberwell’.' Since 
then Cumberwell has developed a higher profile as a 
golf club and restaurant. It is now possible to add 
more to what Kidston knew, mainly from papers of 
the Clark family in the large deposit made by Mann 
and Rodway of Trowbridge in the Wiltshire and 
Swindon Record Office.? Rather than trying to fill 
gaps in Kidston’s articles it seems best to present a 
narrative from the late 17th century. 

The Button family of Alton, later of Tockenham 
Court in Lyneham, had acquired Cumberwell in 
1530.’ Sir Robert Button, the second of three brothers 
who in turn succeeded to the baronetcy, died c. 1679 
without issue, and left Cumberwell by will to his 


nephew Charles Steward, the son of his sister Jane, 
who had married Richard Steward, Dean of St Paul’s 
and Westminster. At that time it was described as a 
farm and lands occupied by Robert Foote.’ Steward 
moved to Cumberwell, and was probably the builder 
of a mansion house of some size on the estate. By 1691 
he was married to Mary Compton of a family seated 
at Hartpury, Gloucestershire; his uncle had married 
one of this family too. Steward died in1698 as a result 
of injuries received from a fall from his horse, as is told 
on the elaborate memorial, featuring a full-length figure 
of the dead man in the costume of the time, which 
Mary set up in the chancel of Bradford church.’ 

The couple left no issue, so Mary had only a life 
estate with remainder to John Walker of Hadley, 
Middlesex and his heirs. He had married Mary, 
another sister of Sir Robert Button who had left it to 
Charles Steward. John Walker died in1703, probably 
before Mary Steward, whose death has not been 
found. By 1718 it was in the possession of John’s son 
Heneage Walker, who executed a deed of settlement 
which names no occupier of the mansion house but 
describes the farm of 265 acres as occupied by John 
Newton. The effect of this would probably have 
resulted in Cumberwell passing in due course to 
Heneage’s brother John, the ancestor of the Walker- 
Heneage family of Compton Bassett, for Heneage was 
unmarried. However in 1721 he revoked the 
settlement, evidently with a view to selling 
Cumberwell, which he did in 1723.° 


250 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


The purchaser was John Cooper of Trowbridge, 
who paid £2,925 for a property (fully described for 
the first time in the deed) consisting of the mansion 
house, a house in Little Cumberwell, and about 230 
acres of land. He had made money as a clothier, as 
had his father Thomas, and Thomas bought the manor 
of South Wraxall, adjoining Cumberwell, in 1722. 
Other purchases in the same area followed.’ They 
owned the large and stately house in Fore Street, 
Trowbridge now occupied by Lloyds Bank, and a few 
letters from John in the last years of his life in the late 
forties show that he moved between there and 
Cumberwell. Racked by gout so that he sometimes 
had to be carried by two men, he went from 
Cumberwell to Trowbridge in February 1747, a time 
of wet and unwholesome weather, and after a fortnight 
there felt much better for the change of air and the 
company. 

John Cooper died early in 1749, and Cumberwell 
passed to his son Thomas, who had married Frances 
Bathurst of Clarendon Park. After his father’s death 
Thomas wrote to his sister, Ann Fleming: 

I have (tis true) arrived to a very good estate, but then 

tis all entailed on my eldest son and I am only a tenant 

for life so that my daughters’ fortunes must depend on 
what I can save out of my estates. If my poor father had 

thought proper to have shewed me his will I believe I 

shou’d have prevailed with him to have altered it in many 

particulars, but he was so Reserved that I never knew 

the contents of it till after his decease. 
In these circumstances it was essential for Thomas to 
live to a good age, but in fact he died at the age of 
about 46 in 1756, leaving the estate to bear the costs 
of a widowhood until Frances’s death in 1779. Daniel 
Clutterbuck, the Bradford lawyer, wrote to Thomas’s 
brother-in-law, Edward Fleming, ‘Mr. Cooper’s 
concerns are so circumstanced as to render it 
necessary to call in all the debts’. Fleming did not 
pay up, and in 1758 Frances had to tell him, ‘Our 
affairs are left so that it is unavoidable . .. I must not 
let my children hazard so considerable a loss .. ., Life 
is very precarious’.® 

The next heir was Thomas’s son, John Cooper, 
who married Mary, daughter of Edward Baynton of 
Spye Park in 1759.’ He was living at Cumberwell in 
1762 while his mother appears to have moved to 
Salisbury. In 1763 his huntsman, very much in liquor, 
was killed by being thrown from a mettlesome young 
horse of his master’s between Bradford and 
Cumberwell. In 1765 John wrote from London to his 
uncle Fleming that he could not meet him in town 
because he had to be at the races at Newmarket. In 
1766, when he died, aged about 30, the estate was 
mortgaged for over £6,000.'° 


Mary Cooper re-married in the same year. Her new 
husband was a captain in the Royal Volunteers in which 
her first husband had been a lieutenant; he was Charles 
Cooper, an illegitimate son of Henry, Lord Holland, 
and not known to be related to the Cumberwell 
Coopers. On their marriage she made arrangements 
for financial provision for her only daughter, Frances 
Sarah; her failure to honour them led her and Charles 
into what appears to have been an acrimonious dispute 
with her father and brother culminating in a Chancery 
cause in which they acted as ‘next friends’ to the girl."! 
Cooper may indeed have been an unsuitable man to 
be step-father to her, as is known from the memoirs of 
William Hickey. He first met Charles and Mary when 
they were living at Sheerness and sailed with them on 
their yacht The Porpoise. Later entries depict Charles 
as a dissipated gambler and drunkard. 

What was happening at Cumberwell meanwhile? 
Andrews and Dury’s map of 1773 shows Sir Edward 
Bayntun as occupier. The significance of this is not 
clear; he may well have been acting as guardian of the 
next heir, his grandson, John Allen Cooper, but is 
hardly likely to have set up an establishment for a boy 
of about 12 away from his own seat at Spye Park. 

Nor is it likely that he fitted the house with new 
furniture, which happened in c. 1776, as the following 
advertisement!” makes clear: 

BRADFORD, WILTS. 

To be SOLD BY AUCTION by HENRY HILL, on 

Wednesday the 24th of September instant, and the 

following day._The HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE of 

CUMBERWELL HOUSE, removed for the 

convenience of sale, to a commodious room at the Green 

Dragon in Bradford aforesaid; consisting of handsome 

four-post bedsteads, with silk, mohair, cotton and other 

furnitures, and window curtains, fine goose feather beds, 
mattrasses, blankets, quilts, and counterpanes, Wilton 
and Turkey carpets, mahogany chairs, and a set of 
drawing room armchairs, dining, card, and Pembroke 
tables, chests of drawers, oval, pier, and other glasses, 
prints, cast iron Bath stoves, and other useful furniture. 

The whole was put in new about twelve months since, 

and exceedingly well kept. 

The whole may be viewed on Tuesday the 23d, 
and each morning of the sale, which will begin at three 

0’ clock. 

Catalogues will be delivered in due time, at the 

King’s Arms, Devizes; Woolpacks at Trowbridge; at the 

place of sale; and of Henry Hill, upholder, in 

Marlborough. 

*** The room is upwards of sixty feet long, in 
which seats will be compleatly fitted up for the company. 


It seems more likely that this furniture was put in by 
a tenant whose term ended abruptly in some way. 


2511 


NOTES 


its demolition 


r10r to 1ts 


Cumberwell in 1903 p 


to 
Ui 
bo 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


He 


Cumberwell in 1903 prior to its demolition 


The heir, John Allen Cooper, was a soldier who 
had just returned from service in America in May 
1781, when he was almost of age, and was than at 
Spye Park. His mother, Mary, had died the previous 
year.'’ It seems possible that he moved into 
Cumberwell for a time, for another advertisement for 
furniture" sheds light on the situation: 

BRADFORD 

TO BE SOLD by AUCTION, by WILLIAM PITMAN, 

on Thursday next, the 18th instant, and following days, 

The HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE, Linen, China, 

Glass, and other Effects, at Cumberwell House, near 

Bradford; consisting of bedsteads, with cotton, check, 

and other furniture; feather beds, blankets, quilts, and 

counterpanes ; the Mahogany articles consist of tables, 
chairs, night stools etc large marble slab in mahogany 
and other frames; handsome pier glasses in carved and 

gilt frames; carpets, an excellent eight-day clock in a 

japan case; an elegant time-piece (by Evil and Co.) a 

neat mahogany sopha covered, and festoon window 

curtains of the same; a billiard table complete; Bath 
stove and other grates; smoke and other jacks, with all 
kinds of useful kitchen furniture, brewing utensils, etc. 


N.B. A quantity of exceeding good HAY will be sold 
the second day of the sale. The whole may be viewed 
the day preceding the sale, when catalogues may be had 
at the place of sale ; at the George and Woolpack, 
Trowbridge; King’s Arms, Melksham; the New Bear, 
the Printing-Office, and of W.Pitman, Auctioneer and 
Undertaker, Bradford. To begin each day precisely at 
eleven o’clock. 


In 1786 the Cooper property in Bradford and 


South Wraxall was put up for sale by auction.'? Lot 1 
was: 


Cumberwell House; containing on the ground-floor two 
handsome parlours, a breakfast parlour, and study, a 
large kitchen and all other proper offices for servants; 
on the first floor, a handsome drawing room with bed- 
chambers and dressing-rooms; and good rooms in the 
attic story; with stables, coach-houses, a walled garden, 
a rich piece of pasture ground, and a spacious lawn in 
the front, containing about five acres, with an an inclosed 
park, containing about thirty-three acres, well 
stocked,with deer. 


With the house went a farm of 230 acres let to Thomas 
Gerrish, who lived at Little Cumberwell. 


NOTES 


The house was bought by Robert Taunton LL.D., 
a clergyman in his forties who held the livings of 
Sydling St Nicholas, Dorset, North Perrott, Somerset, 
and Alton Barnes. He had apparently resided at 
Sydling, where he improved the vicarage, until he 
came to Cumberwell.'® Kidston quotes a letter from 
Eliza Purbeck describing a visit to Cumberwell, 
probably in 1787:'’ 
We returned to Bath... after spending a week at 
Cumberwell Park, Dr. Taunton’s new purchase; from 
its situation it must be in the summer a very agreeable 
residence ... The prospects round it are beautiful... 
but the house is old, and too large to be comfortable; 
there was something very gloomy in the idea of a 
number of uninhabited rooms, which, large as their 
family is, you will imagine to be the case, when I tell 
you that there are more than thirty apartments in the 
house. The Doctor is at present undetermined what 
he shall do with this great pile of building; he sometimes 
talks of dividing it, at others of building a new house 
in the Park. 
This implies that the house was larger than the 
description of 1786 suggests. Perhaps there was an 
older and less genteel part? 
- However, the Doctor’s problem as to the size of 
the house was solved on 9th December 1790:'* 


259 


Thursday morning, 9th, very early, a dreadful fire broke 
out at Cumberwell House, near Bradford, the seat of the 
Revd. Dr. Taunton which raged with such fury that Mrs. 
‘Taunton and her little family with great difficulty escaped 
with their lives and with scarcely any clothing; the 
conflagration was soon general, and totally destroyed the 
house, except one wing, with nearly all the furniture, plate, 
cash, notes, books, etc. to the amount of nearly £5000 no 
part of which was insured. Thomas Underwood the butler, 
a faithful servant was lost in his attempt to save a second 
maid-servant, after having brought one safe out of the 
flames. Two female servants were greatly hurt by jumping 
out of the window, one having had her thigh broke. This 
melancholy catastrophe is said to have begun in the laundry, 
where some linen took fire that was hung up to dry. 
Kidston had heard only a tradition about a fire, 
which lay the blame on a drunken butler, so it is pleasing 
to be able to rescue the reputation of the heroic Thomas 
Underwood. Affidavits made many years later about 
the loss of the deeds of the property in the fire assert 
that Taunton did not live in the house again, but in fact 
at least part must have been reinstated, for he died 
there in 1797.'° His heir was his son William Leonard 
Thomas Pile Taunton, who was still in his teens. 
However, it seems certain that the Tauntons soon left, 
for in 1800 a lease was made to a Mrs. Moncaster. 


Cumberwell in 1903 prior to its demolition 


254 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Cumberwell: the interior in 1903 prior to 1ts demolition 


In 1802 the whole estate was put up for auction in 
London. The description of the house shows that what 
was described in 1787 had been restored completely. 
The stone-built house was described as ‘exceedingly 
well fitted up and furnished in a neat genteel manner 
and in perfect and compleat repair’. On the attic floor 
were six chambers and a seed room, on the first floor 
four bed-chambers and an elegant drawing room, 28ft. 
by 18ft., and on the ground floor dining room, library, 
parlour and entrance hall. There were stables for 11 
horses, coach houses, dove-cote, walled kitchen garden, 
fish ponds, and various pleasure grounds.”” 

No sale was made, and the Tauntons let it for a 
number of years. After Mrs. Muncaster we know of 
Mary Ann Rundell and Charles Ponsonby Butler as 
tenants, then in 1820 a lease was made to Samuel 
Staples. He was of a banking family in London. 

Finally in 1832 W. L.T. P. Taunton, then of Stoke 
Bishop near Bristol, sold the Cumberwell estate to 
John Clark of Trowbridge, clothier. He was of the firm 
of J. and T. Clark, and lived at Bellefield House in 
Hilperton Road, Trowbridge. Cumberwell House was 
still let to Staples at that time.” 

In 1836 it was said that Clark farmed the land 
but did not reside,?*> and no more is known of the 
mansion house being occupied. Kidston was told that 
when Dorcas, widow of Thomas Clark, sold the 
property to Erlysman Pinckney in 1903 the house 
was a ruin unsafe to enter, and this is borne out by 
the photographs reproduced here. It was then pulled 
down and the materials, Pinckney’s son remembered, 
were used to build some farm-workers’ cottages. 
However, it will be seen that the door and window 
cases on the photographs are numbered and lettered, 
so it looks as though they were intended to be sold. 

The house was built of unsquared stone laid in 
courses and covered with stucco on the front and one 


side. The front facade shows only two storeys and 
attics, but the ground against it was some feet higher 
than on the other three sides, which reveal a basement 
level: Kidston was told there was a basement kitchen. 
The window and door features all suggest a late 17th- 
century date, which agrees with Charles Steward being 
the builder. So, too, do the gate piers now at Avebury 
Manor. The extra rooms which existed until the fire 
probably formed a wing of which the remains can be 
seen on the right of the back frontage. Why the Clarks 
let a house of standing and evidently in reasonable 
condition in 1831 fall to ruin is a puzzle. Kidston 
suggested that it was haunted! 


Notes 


1. WAM 53, 471-485, and 54, 279-288. This article is 
concerned only with the mansion and does not attempt to 
trace the history of the farms on the estate. 

WRO 2153; at present only partially catalogued, and no 

final item numbers allotted. 

. WAM 53, 481. 

4. G.E.C., Complete Baronetage ;\WWRO 2153, abs. title; W. 
H. Jones and J. Beddoe, Historv of Bradford-on-Avon 
(1907). 

. Ibid. 

. WRO 2153, abstract of title. 

. WRO 947/1371, 1378, 1380. 

. Alistair Rowan, ‘Sibdon Castle, Shropshire’, Country Life 
1 and 8 June, 1967, which gives more detail of the Cooper- 
Fleming alliance. The letters, then in the possession of 
Major H. Holden of Sibdon Castle, were kindly shown to 
me in 1967. 

9. Gentleman’s Magazine, 1 Nov. 1759. 

10. Sibdon Letters; Hunnisett, R.F. (ed.) Wiltshire Coroners’ 

Bills 1752-1796 (Wilts. Rec. Soc., vol 36), no 360. 

11. Gerald Hamilton-Edwards, ‘Should Fanny have been sent 
to France? Revelations of a Chancery Proceeding’, 
Genealogists Magazine, vol. 16, 10-14. 

12. S(alisbury and Winchester) J(ournal), 22nd Sept. 1777. 

13. Sibdon letters. 

14. SJ, 15 Aug 1785. 

15. Ibid:, 12 June 1786. 

16. WRO 2153, deed; J. Hutchins, History of Dorset, (3rd. 
ed.), vol. 4, pp. 507, 510; J. Foster, Alumni Oxonienses, 
2nd series, 1390 

17. Quoted at more length by Kidston, WAM, 54, 280. 

18. SJ, 20 Dec 1790. 

19. WRO 2153; SJ, 24 July 1797. 

20. WRO 947/1363. 

21. WRO 2153. 

22. WRO 866/12. 

23. WRO 2153, case and opinion about rights of way. This, 
incidentally, shows that Robert Taunton had sold a lot of 
stone from an old quarry on the site. Two quarries, one 
being worked, are mentioned in the sale particular of 1802. 


i) 


Qo 


OANA WYN 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 255-264 


Excavation and Fieldwork in Wiltshire 1998 


Alton 

Sewerage Scheme (centred on SU 108 621); Romano- 
British to Medieval 

A programme of archaeological work, comprising 
excavation of selected lengths of pipe-trench and a 
watching brief, was undertaken by AC archaeology 
in conjunction with the construction of Wessex Water’s 
Honeystreet and Alton Barnes/Alton Priors Sewerage 
Scheme. Existing archaeological records, pre- 
construction desk-based study, earthwork survey and 
geophysical survey previously defined an 
archaeological interest. Prehistoric and Roman finds 
are present within the area; the settlement of Alton 
Barnes and its parish church, St. Mary’s, are believed 
to have Saxon origins; and significant lengths of the 
pipeline route were seen to cross or pass adjacent to 
earthworks believed to relate to medieval settlement 
at Alton Barnes and Alton Priors. Some 57 ditches 
and 15 pits were recorded, the majority of medieval 
date (probably 13thcentury). Throughout the course 
of the investigations, it was noted that the layout of 
the earthworks (either plotted or as visible on the 
ground) did not correspond with the location or 
orientation of the excavated (medieval) ditches. Finds 
included Romano-British and late Saxon pottery, both 
in limited quantities. 


Amesbury 

DERA, Boscombe Down (SU 145 412); Late Iron 
Age or Romano-British 

Wessex Archaeology undertook an archaeological 
watching brief during the demolition of two buildings 
within the base at Boscombe Down, Amesbury. A 
number of archaeological features were visible in the 
chalk beneath the buildings, indicating that similar 
remains may be preserved under standing buildings 
elsewhere within the base. Twelve small pits and post- 
holes were excavated, but only one yielded any dating 
evidence, pottery of Late Iron Age or Romano-British 
date. The dating of this one pit is consistent with the 
evidence for extensive occupation at this time at the 
adjacent site of Butterfield Down. 


Boscombe Down Airfield; Romano-British to Modern 
Fifteen watching briefs and two excavations were 
carried out at the Defence Evaluation and Research 
Agency (DERA) site at Boscombe Down during 1998. 
The watching briefs were carried out during a number 
of development projects as part of the on-going 
assessment of the archaeological potential of the airfield. 
These recorded mostly modern or natural features. 
However, two produced archaeological features that 
were excavated and fully recorded. The first (at SU 
1834 4088) was a ditch or field boundary. No dating 
evidence was recovered, but a small amount of 
weathered human bone was present. The second (at 
SU 1862 3950) produced evidence of a multi-phase 
field boundary. The ceramic assemblage from this ditch 
indicated a lst to 3rd century AD date. Both 
excavations were managed by Bob Clarke, whilst the 
watching briefs were carried out by Bob Clarke and 
Colin Kirby for Boscombe Down Conservation Group. 


Queensbury Bridge (SU 152 413); Post-Medieval 
Two trial holes excavated for engineering assessment 
on Queensbury Bridge (built 1775) were monitored 
by AC archaeology in accordance with the requirements 
of a scheduled monument consent. It had been 
anticipated that the trial holes might encounter early 
surfaces but, although various (undated) flint and sandy 
mortar make-up layers were encountered, no detail of 
the bridge construction was observed. 


72 London Rd (SU 1584 4188); Modern 

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by 
Wessex Archaeology during residential development 
at 72 London Road, immediately south of Ratfyn 
Barrow, a Bronze Age burial mound and Scheduled 
Monument (Wiltshire No. 28931). No archaeological 
features or deposits were recorded, but as the 
foundation and service trenches represent c.5% of 
the total site area there remains a high likelihood that 
other archaeological features are present on the site. 


Former Pitt’s Garage site (SU 1550 4156); Modern 
Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Primary 


256 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Health Care Centres (Amesbury) Ltd to undertake 
an archaeological evaluation of an area of land at the 
former Pitts Garage site, Amesbury, situated within 
the core of the town. No archaeological features or 
deposits were noted. 


Avebury 

National Trust Estate (centred on SU 102 699); 
Prehistoric, Medieval and Post-Medieval 

Since 1995 National Trust staff have been recording 
all ground disturbances resulting from work carried 
out by staff and contractors on the property. Surface 
artefacts collected by the staff (both targeted and 
casual finds) have also been recorded as archaeological 
interventions. A total of 65 were recorded in the period 
from September 1995 to December 1998. A full list 
of these and their archive reports are held at the 
Alexander Keiller Museum. 

Nearly half of all interventions were recorded 
when excavating pits for fence posts and sign posts. 
Only two of these interventions have produced worked 
flint, and only post-medieval and modern disturbance 
has been encountered. Four redundant display panels 
have been removed from the henge, and although 
there are no records of their post placement pits having 
been recorded when erected in the 1980s, it appears 
they were sited in areas of post-medieval and modern 
disturbance. 

A number of service trenches have also been 
excavated and recorded around the property, 
including two sewage pipe trenches within the henge 
itself. Both revealed considerable post-medieval and 
modern disturbance, and no prehistoric features were 
encountered. Other service trenches east of the henge 
and along the winterbourne have demonstrated the 
nature of the sometimes difficult geology around 
Avebury. 

The erection of signs and improvements to the 
surface of the southern car park have continued to 
produce evidence for medieval activity west of the 
henge. A small quantity of residual medieval pottery 
has been collected from the topsoil and further 
evidence for the medieval ploughsoil, observed during 
excavations by the Wiltshire Rescue Archaeology 
Project in 1988, has been recorded. 

The Winterbourne Team Rector, Warren Sellars, 
has kindly given permission for the archaeological staff 
to observe and record excavations for graves within 
the churchyard of St. James, Avebury. Two possible 
early features, a post-hole and a linear feature, have 
been recorded outside the area of the (now flattened) 
henge bank. Although no artefactual dating evidence 


was recovered from them, they do predate the earliest 
grave cuts, and may relate to the Saxon settlement or 
prehistoric activity. 

Surface artefact collection involved the recovery 
of prehistory pottery and worked flint prior to erosion 
repairs to the Overton Hill barrow cemetery, and the 
chance find of a barbed and tanged arrowhead near 
to the agger of the Roman road. 


11 Kv Cable refurbishment (SU 098 690); Prehistoric 
to Post-Medieval 

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to carry out 
an archaeological watching brief during the 
refurbishment of parts of the 11 Kv supply network 
within the World Heritage Site at Avebury, Wiltshire. 
The observed works included the excavation of 
open-cut trenches for replacement cables and new 
sockets for replacement poles, along with the 
removal of existing poles in areas of archaeological 
sensitivity. The works occurred in both privately 
owned and National Trust land, but did not cross 
any area currently designated as a Scheduled 
Monument. 

Medieval and post-medieval material was 
recovered from topsoil/subsoil deposits in the vicinity 
of Avebury Trusloe, and prehistoric and Roman 
material from ploughsoil deposits to the south of West 
Kennet. In Butler’s Field, to the east of Avebury 
Trusloe, material was recovered consistent with the 
suggestion that this was formerly a post-medieval 
water meadow. A large, buried sarsen with associated 
medieval pottery was noted to the north of this field. 
Archaeological observations by the National Trust as 
part of this project resulted in a low-density recovery 
of finds representing prehistoric, Romano-British and 
Saxon activity. 


Blunsdon St Andrew 

Groundwell Farm (SU 1513 8902); Roman and 
Medieval 

Trenches cut during an evaluation, carried out prior 
to selling land for development, revealed a probable 
Romano-British cambered stone road and traces of 
13thto 15thcentury settlement. Worn into the road 
surface were a number of wagon ruts. Nearby, a vast 
bowled depression cut into the Corallian escarpment 
and extensive linear features indicate that stone 
quarrying had taken place. This activity may have 
been the reason for the road’s existence. A trench 
cut into the top of the bowled depression produced 
a few unworn Romano-British sherds, a box tile 
fragment and many medieval sherds. The medieval 


EXCAVATION AND FIELDWORK IN WILTSHIRE, 1998 


settlement remains included wall traces, yard 
surfaces and ditches. The work was undertaken by 
Bernard Phillips. 


Bishopstone (north) 

Bury Mill, Hinton Parva (SU 2264 8540); Roman 
and Medieval 

Linear features noted on an aerial photograph 
suggested the presence of a deserted medieval village. 
Examination on the ground revealed that the area 
adjacent to a stream had been ploughed since the 
photograph was taken. Fieldwalking produced 13th 
and 14th century sherds, animal bones and building 
stone. The hedgerow either side of the stream also 
contains many sarsen blocks, presumably removed 
from the field during ploughing. Two Romano-British 
sherds were also found. The work was undertaken by 
Bernard Phillips. 


Bishopstrow 

Home Farm (ST 895 444); Late Mesolithic/Early 
Neolithic and Post-medieval 

Machine-trenching by Asi revealed parallel linear 
ditches of post-medieval date and scatters of late 
Mesolithic/early Neolithic worked flint. Whilst the 
linear ditches are not remarkable, the flint assemblage 
indicates the survival here of an episode otherwise 
poorly represented within the chalkland landscapes 
of the south Wiltshire downs, potentially a tool 
manufacturing site or seasonal camp, and is therefore 
of considerable archaeological significance. 
Comparison with lowland Mesolithic sites revealed 
in the adjacent Kennet watershed suggests that this 
material is likely to be distributed for some distance 
across the site. 


Bradford-on-Avon 

The West Barn, Barton Manor Farm (ST 8230 6045); 
Medieval 

Compilation of archive and excavation data, together 
with an historic building survey conducted by 
Archaeological Site Investigations (Asi) and the 
Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust, established that 
the ruinous West Barn adjacent to the Great Tithe 
Barn represents the remains of a much modified, and 
unparalleled, agricultural structure, possibly based 
upon components of a 13th century monastic grange 
farm. The building, extant until a fire in 1982, is now 
in a hazardous state of dynamic collapse. 


257 


Brixton Deverill 

The Manor House (ST 8640 3865); Undated 

A single machine-excavated trench was located across 
elements of a network of hollow-ways and house 
platforms following detailed earthwork survey. This 
revealed an intermittent linear depression within the 
soliflucted chalk, containing animal bone and 
fragments of Red Pennant sandstone. It is concluded 
that, although no longer visible in detail due to recent 
topsoil dumping, earthworks relating to the medieval 
village of Bristicii do extend across the rear of the 
Manor House gardens. The work was undertaken by 
Asi. 


Broad Chalke 


Water main relining works (centred on SU 041 253) 
Monitoring was undertaken by AC archaeology 
during groundworks to facilitate water mains relining. 
The works involved the excavation of several access 
pits sited at various locations around the village. 
Observations revealed no archaeological deposits or 
finds. 


Broad Town 

Mesolithic and Medieval 

Two surface artefact collections were carried out 
during 1998 by Bob Clarke. These were part of an 
ongoing project into the development of the village 
of Broad’Town. The first (centred on SU 0960 7827) 
identified a concentration of Mesolithic worked flint, 
comprising blades, blade cores, and scrapers, along 
with burins. The second (centred on SU 0988 7793) 
located a large concentration of 13thto 14th century 
pottery including examples from Minety, Wootton 
Bassett and Naish Hill. 


Chippenham Without 

Sheldon Manor (ST 8865 7414); Medieval 

An archaeological investigation at Sheldon Manor 
entailed an earthwork survey at a scale of 1:1000 of 
the site of a deserted medieval settlement, and a 
detailed investigation of the remainder of the manor. 
The work is part of a personal research project on the 
Hundred of Chippenham being undertaken by 
Graham Brown. 

The earthworks are contained within three fields 
to the north and north-west of the manor house. 
In the latter are the remains of a deserted 
settlement, the most prominent feature being a 


258 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


hollow way (210m in length and up to 8m wide) 
that extends in an east-west direction from Sheldon 
Wood. This can be traced further west in Corsham 
Wood where it merges with the woodland edge and 
probably continued to Biddestone. Sited along the 
northern side of the hollow way are earthwork 
remains of up to ten sub- rectangular building 
platforms, ranging in size from 5 x 5m to 17 x 10m. 
Covering much of the field to the north of the 
hollow way is a swathe of what appears to be ridge- 
and-furrow, but is more likely drainage, probably 
cut in the early 16th century. The majority of the 
furrows are sharply incised, particularly near the 
building platforms. 

To the south of Sheldon Wood, three ditches 
extend in a southerly direction with traces of further 
probable building platforms on the east side of the 
field. Another hollow way extends in an east-west 
direction from Sheldon Wood and can be traced for 
some 100m: it is aligned on a modern field boundary 
that ultimately leads to Allington. 


Corsham 

Heywood Preparatory School, Priory Lane (ST 8723 
7062); Medieval 

During groundworks associated with construction 
of a new building at the rear of Heywood Preparatory 
School, observed by Asi, the northern terminal of a 
2m broad ditch was revealed, sealed beneath a sterile 
clay subsoil. Unweathered sherds of 10th-13th 
century pottery were recovered from the charcoal- 
rich fill. The school occupies the site, and many of 
the buildings, of the post-Dissolution ‘Rectory 
Manor’ of Corsham, itself the remains of a short- 
lived Benedictine Priory founded in the 12thcentury. 
It is likely that the features revealed relate to the 
Priory. 


Cricklade 

Horse Fair Lane (SU 1017 9376); Medieval and Post- 
Medieval 

Watching briefs and a small excavation were undertaken 
by Bernard Phillips prior to house construction. These 
revealed an occupation layer, ditches and traces of two 
buildings. Associated pottery attests to occupation from 
the 10thto the 1 6thcentury. One building was sunken 
floored and the other had a paved stone floor and a 
drainage ditch on its south side. Later occupation, 
contemporary with the former Three Horseshoes Inn, 
in whose garden the construction site lay, included an 


early 18th century cess pit and a late 19th century 
stone lined well. 


High Street (SU 1012 9383); Roman and 
Medieval 

A watching brief undertaken by Bernard Phillips in 
advance of house construction, revealed a 2nd century 
occupation layer. Overlying this were traces of two 
buildings floored in clay and dated by pottery to the 
11th century. A hearth sealed by the floor of the 
eastern building suggests that it had an earlier phase. 
The other building’s floor preserved traces of intense 
burning in association with iron slag. Pottery 
fragments show that occupation on the site continued 
into the 13thcentury. 


Devizes 

Wayside Farm, Nursteed Road (SU 016 603); 
Romano-British 

An evaluation of a proposed residential development 
was carried out by AC archaeology. The site is located 
to the southeast of Devizes, adjacent to Wayside Farm, 
and covers approximately 7.2 hectares. Work initially 
comprised the machine-excavation of 15 trenches, 
each 30 x 2m, plus an additional 90m’ contingency 
trenching excavated to pursue specific features. The 
trenching revealed extensive evidence for Romano- 
British occupation, including stone structures, 
possibly ovens, cut features, and evidence for a buried 
soil horizon containing significant quantities of 
Romano-British artefacts. Finds indicate a mid 4th 
century emphasis for the settlement activity. Further 
excavation in advance of development is proposed for 
1999, 


Downton 

Land adjacent to 136 The Borough (SU 1793 2152); 
Medieval and Post-Medieval 

A machine-excavated trench revealed pits and post- 
holes from which medieval and post-medieval 
pottery, building materials, iron slag or clinker, nails 
and animal bones were recovered, cutting through 
a sequence of alluvial soils, the lowest of which 
contained only medieval pottery. Though situated 
within the medieval core of Downton and 
containing residual materials, the activities 
represented by the bulk of the deposits appear to 
be of post-medieval date and of uncertain, though 
non-domestic, function. The work was undertaken 
by Asi. 


EXCAVATION AND FIELDWORK IN WILTSHIRE, 1998 


Heytesbury and Imber 

Park Street Gates, Heytesbury (ST 9315 4265); Iron 
Age and Medieval 

Machine-excavated trenches, located over the 
footprints of two proposed dwellings adjacent to 
the former Park Street gates of Heytesbury House, 
revealed ditches, gullys, post-settings and other sub- 
soil deposits from which pottery of Iron Age and 
early to late Medieval date was recovered, along 
with animal bone and burnt stone. The results of 
the work suggest that the site overlies archaeological 
deposits associated with the medieval precursor of 
Heytesbury, possibly re-located after landscaping 
works associated with Heytesbury House and its 
parkland gardens, and hitherto unsuspected 
prehistoric activity. The work was undertaken by 
Asi. 


Imber Village Silt Lagoons, SPTA (ST 965 486); 
Medieval, Post-Medieval and Modern 

Observations by Asi maintained during construction 
of silt lagoons at Imber, within the Salisbury Plain 
Training Area, recorded residual medieval pottery 
from within a range of post-medieval and modern 
deposits. Whilst construction work does not appear 
to have had a deleterious archaeological impact itself, 
the results suggest that in situ deposits representative 
of the medieval village may well survive elsewhere 
within the vicinity of the site. 


Latton 

Latton Lands (SU 0800 9670); Bronze Age and 
?Medieval 

A one hectare area was stripped by Cotswold 
Aggregates in December 1998 and January 1999 in 
the north-east corner of the gravel extraction area. 
The Oxford Archaeological Unit monitored the 
machining as part of the watching brief and recorded 
a stream course and a waterhole. These contained no 
dating evidence but are likely to be medieval. 
Subsequent excavations encountered a trackway and 
several ditches, possibly early medieval, and probable 
Bronze Age pits and waterholes. Excavation continues 
in 1999. 


Lakeside, The Street (SU 0922 9544); Post-Medieval 

Evaluation by the Cotswold Archaeological Trust 
(CAT) located the foundations of a post-medieval 
building fronting The Street, and revealed that the 
majority of the site had been subject to previously 
unrecorded gravel extraction. 


Maiden Bradley 

Church Street and High Street/Back Lane (ST 8020 
3878 and 8045 3918); Post-Medieval and Modern 
Hand excavated test pits, located over the footprints 
of proposed new dwellings, revealed deposits and 
features of post-medieval and modern date, likely to 
be the by-product of recent gardening activities, but 
containing relatively large quantities of residual 
medieval pottery. The work was undertaken by Asi. 


Marlborough 

Waitrose, High Street (SU 1885 6905); Medieval and 
Post-Medieval 

An evaluation was undertaken by Wessex 
Archaeology at the rear of the Waitrose supermarket 
within the medieval town of Marlborough. Two 
evaluation trenches revealed sequences of post- 
medieval deposits to a depth of at least 1.4m below 
existing ground levels. Soliflucted chalk was sealed 
below a series of soil, yard, and make-up layers and 
modern disturbances. A small quantity of residual 
medieval material was recovered, although the 
stratigraphically earliest deposit, possibly a cobbled 
surface, contained pottery of 15th or early 16th 
century date. 

A homogeneous soil layer was recorded in the 
second trench. It was at least 1.4m thick, contained 
post-medieval material, and is consistent with the 
agricultural use of an area some distance from the 
street frontage. 


Chandler’s Yard (SU 1875 6925); Post-Medieval 
Evaluation by CAT identified a make-up layer dating 
to the post-medieval period and two post-holes 
probably of the same date. No evidence for the late 
Saxon or Medieval town was found. 


Mildenhall 

‘The Bothy’, Werg Mill (SU 2145 6955); Romano- 
British 

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by AC 
archaeology on the site of a proposed house extension 
at ‘The Bothy’, Mildenhall. The location of the 
evaluation was very close to the known north-western 
perimeter of the Roman town of Cvnetio. The 
evaluation comprised a small trench some 5.5m? in 
area, dug within the confines of the extension. This 
demonstrated the presence of deeply stratified Roman 
deposits, probably dating to the late 2nd century. 
These deposits generally consisted of flint rubble in a 


260 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


matrix of clay or clay loam soil, and can be interpreted 
as demolition rubble or levelling layers. 


Ogbourne St Andrew/Wroughton 
Barbury Castle (SU 149 763); Prehistoric and 
Modern 

Barbury Castle, an Iron Age hillfort on the scarp edge 
of the Marlborough Downs overlooking Wroughton 
airfield, was surveyed by the RCHME in 1998 at the 
request of, and with the help of, Swindon Borough 
Council (the site owners). Though Barbury 1s a 
prominent fort, little research has been done here and 
our knowledge of it is slight. Cursory excavations 
between the 1870s and the 1930s produced less 
information, probably, than the considerable 
disturbances to the site by the US Air Force during 
the Second World War, which revealed pits containing 
Iron Age pottery and human skeletons. Geophysical 
survey by the Ancient Monuments Laboratory in 1996 
revealed a density of sub-surface features which was 
confirmed by our surface survey. This new survey 
recorded traces of approximately 40 hut circles and 
revealed many other interesting features. The forework 
outside the east entrance sits at a strange angle to the 
main ramparts and has clearly been cut by the outer 
ditch, suggesting it could have been an earlier 
enclosure re-used as an outwork. The scarp around 
the outside of the northern defences, possibly an 
unfinished third rampart, might alternatively be the 
remnant of another earlier enclosure. Also found 
within the fort were traces of one probable and two 
possible round barrows, suggesting that those 
surviving on the slopes to the west are the tail of a 
barrow cemetery which covered the ridge in the 
Bronze Age. Several large hollows around the 
periphery of the fort’s interior are anti-aircraft gun 
pits of Second World War vintage, showing that 
Barbury was used for defensive purposes in the 20th 
century for a type of warfare which could never have 
been dreamed of by its Iron Age builders. 


Salisbury 

Dairy Meadow Lane (SU 1562 2929); Undated and 
Modern 

Archaeological evaluation on land to the rear of 
Harcros Timber Merchants, Dairy Meadow Lane, was 
carried out by AC archaeology. The one-hectare site 
is situated on low-lying ground less than 50m from 
the Anglo-Saxon settlement close to Dairyhouse 
Bridge. Trenching demonstrated the presence of deep 


former quarries to the south, with variable degrees of 
truncation evident elsewhere. No intact archaeological 
stratigraphy or any pre-modern finds were 
encountered. 


Waitrose, Old Livestock Market (SU 140 307); 
Modern 

An intermittent watching brief was maintained during 
groundworks associated with the construction of a 
shopping complex on the former site of a cattle market 
north of the historic core of Salisbury. The level of 
the site had been raised by 1.5m when rubbish and 
topsoil were dumped before the construction of the 
Cattle Market in the 1950s. Few of the groundworks 
penetrated below this dumped material, but it was 
seen to directly overlay natural gravels. Part of the 
brick and concrete structure of a bridge constructed 
in the late 1950s to cross a former course of the River 
Avon was observed, but no features or deposits of 
archaeological significance were revealed during the 
watching brief. 


High Street Enhancement Scheme (SU 14275 
29785); Modern j 

In April 1998 Wessex Archaeology undertook an 
archaeological watching brief during the enhancement 
of Salisbury High Street. The scheme involved the 
replacement of the existing tarmacadam carriageway 
and pavement, and the shallowness of the works did 
not penetrate any underlying archaeological deposits. 


1 The Rings, Old Sarum (SU 13465 32895); Undated 
and Modern 

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to undertake 
an archaeological watching brief during renovations 
to 1 The Rings, immediately to the north-west of the 
Scheduled Monument of Old Sarum and within the 
presumed extent of the later medieval settlement of 
Nyweton Westyate. One undated ditch, one possible 
tree-throw hole and two modern features were 
recorded. The ditch was aligned south-south-west to 
north-north-east. No finds were recovered. 


Fisherton Manor Middle School, Highbury Avenue 
(SU 132 307); Modern 

A watching brief by Wessex Archaeology during the 
groundworks for a new entrance lobby to the school 
revealed that the land had been raised with redeposited 
topsoil, probably as part of the terracing for the 
construction of the school. The underlying river 
gravels were not observed in any of the trenches. 
Although no archaeological features or deposits were 
observed during the watching brief, it is possible that 


EXCAVATION AND FIELDWORK IN WILTSHIRE, 1998 


archaeological deposits may be preserved below the 
made ground in this area. 


The Close (SU 14350 29711); Post-Medieval and 
Modern 

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to undertake 
the field evaluation of a proposed extension to 22 The 
Close, a largely 18th century cottage with possible 
medieval beginnings. The existing north-east wall of 
the building is probably of medieval construction and 
was recorded during evaluation. 

A probable 18th century courtyard surface with 
soakaway, consisting of at least two phases, was 
observed sealing deep deposits of building rubble. A 
number of disturbances of the courtyard may well have 
been the result of a major renovation of the building 
known to have taken place in the mid 18th century. 
These included a linear trench running the length of 
the wall, associated with red brick underpinning of the 
medieval wall fabric. The full northern and western 
extent of the courtyard still remains unclear, although 
the eastern limit is suggested by surviving traces of 
kerbing. The courtyard appears to have remained in 
use until the early—mid 19thcentury, when the general 
ground level within the plot was raised by the deposition 
of large quantities of rubble and garden soils. A low 
background of residual medieval material was observed, 
with small quantities of residual potsherds and tile 
recovered from the topsoil, linear trench fill and gravel 
deposits at the base of one test pit. No significant 
medieval features or horizons were encountered. 


Salisbury Plain Training Area Sites 
Wessex Archaeology has undertaken a series of 
excavations associated with the construction of the 
Southern Range Road within the Salisbury Plain 
Training Area. 


East of Quebec Barn (ST 9704 4410); Late Bronze 
Age and Romano-British 

Excavations to the east of Quebec Barn, c.2km west of 
Chitterne, on the north-facing slope of a large dry valley, 
produced a small assemblage of Late Bronze Age and 
Romano-British pottery, worked flint and four possible 
quernstone fragments, all from within the topsoil. Two 
pits, two post-holes a gully and a hearth, all of Late 
Bronze Age date, were also recorded. 


East of Knook Castle (ST 9620 4388); Undated 
Excavation c.100m east of Knook Castle, close to the 
crest of a ridge between two large dry valleys, revealed 


261 


a positive lynchet and a small hearth, neither of which 
produced any dating evidence. 


Willis’s Field Barn (ST 9473 4366); Late Neolithic/ 
Early—Middle Bronze Age, Late Iron Age 

An area of 640m? was excavated on the crest of a 
ridge on the north side of the Wylye Valley 2km north- 
east of Heytesbury. A ‘ditch and pit complex’ had 
been identified during an earlier evaluation. Two 
ditches and three pits represented at least two distinct 
phases of activity. Three other features may be the 
vestigial remains of small pits or post-holes. A 
moderate-sized ditch of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze 
Age date and a small pit containing a small 
assemblage of Beaker pottery were recorded. Two 
other small pits may be contemporary. A substantial 
ditch, possibly part of an enclosure cut both the 
earlier ditch and pit, and was itself later recut. A large 
assemblage of Middle Bronze Age pottery was 
recovered from both phases of this ditch, along with 
large quantities of animal bone, burnt and worked 
flint and a small quantity of quernstone fragments. 
A complete cattle skull and a group of articulated 
cattle bones were recovered from the terminal of the 
enclosure ditch. Two iron objects, a small flat 
fragment and a Late Iron Age brooch, came from 
the uppermost ditch fill. 


Horse Down (SU 02100 48300); Late Neolithic/Early 
Bronze Age and Undated 

An area of c. 1250m? was excavated across an east— 
west chalk spur to the west of the village of Tilshead 
where two linear features and three possible pits had 
been identified during evaluation. The ditches 
probably represent prehistoric field boundaries; 
extensive field systems have been recorded in aerial 
photographic surveys on high ground to the south 
(on Copley Down) and west (Tilshead Down). 
However, a small quantity of Neolithic/Early Bronze 
Age pottery in one of the ditches may indicate an 
earlier date. 


South of Foxtrot Crossing (SU 10985 48550); 
Romano-British 

Three possible intercutting ditches of Romano- 
British date had been recorded in an evaluation on 
a low ridge to the north-west of Tilshead. 
Excavation revealed at least nine intercutting quarry 
pits producing samian and Romano-British 
coarsewares. The upper fills were cut by a 
curvilinear ditch which produced a single sherd of 
Romano-British pottery. 


262 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Shrewton 

Old Coal Yard (SU 0681 4340); Medieval and 
Modern 

An archaeological watching brief by Wessex 
Archaeology during the construction of six 
residential properties recorded two ditches and a 
post-hole, all undated. Two sherds of 12th or 13th 
century pottery were recovered from a pit (probably 
modern), but may have derived from one of the 
ditches through which the pit had been cut. If of 
medieval date, these features would constitute the 
first buried archaeological remains of medieval 
Shrewton. 


Stanton St Bernard 

Manor Farm (SU 0934 6231); Undated 

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by AC 
archaeology on the site of a proposed housing 
development at Stanton St Bernard. The evaluation 
comprised three trenches amounting to a total area 
of over 75m’. A large ditch, possibly medieval or post- 
medieval, was encountered in one trench; with a 
second trench containing a number of irregular, 
shallow features of indeterminate date. 


Sutton Benger 

58 High Street (SP 9475 7880); Post-Medieval 

A previous topographic survey had revealed a variety 
of medieval earthwork features immediately to the 
west of land at the rear of 58 High Street. Evaluation 
by CAT to the rear of this property found no further 
medieval features. The area had been subject to 
quarrying in the 19th century. 


Tilshead 

‘M’ and ‘N’ Crossings, A360 near Tilshead, SPTA 
(SU 0392 4685 and 0432 4590); Later Prehistoric 
Observations maintained by Asi during groundworks 
associated with the upgrading of two road crossings 
on the A360 south of Tilshead revealed that crossing 
point ‘M7’ is situated over the line of the ‘Old Ditch’ — 
otherwise known as the Breach Hill linear earthwork 
— one of a series of prehistoric land boundaries 
preserved on Salisbury Plain. The watching brief was 
able to record, however, that the upgrading works had 
been minimally intrusive, with no significant 
archaeological impact. 


Upavon 

Widdington Farm (SU 125 540); Modern 

An evaluation within a proposed agricultural 
deveiopment at Widdington Farm was undertaken by 
AC archaeology. This revealed only modern re- 
deposited material, probably from the construction 
of an existing adjacent barn. 


Wanborough 

Earlscourt Manor (SU 2166 8558); Roman and 
Medieval 

Two trenches, cut prior to granting permission for 
tree planting, revealed evidence of substantial 
medieval occupation. Three Romano-British and 
many 13thand 14thcentury pottery sherds were also 
found in soil disturbed by ploughing and in the back- 
fill of a recent pipe trench. The work was undertaken 
by Bernard Phillips. 


Warminster 

Battlesbury Bowl (ST 8986 4610); Late Bronze Age/ 
Early Iron Age 

Wessex Archaeology undertook an archaeological 
excavation of a c.418m long strip (0.62ha) of land 
immediately to the north of the Iron Age hillfort of 
Battlesbury Camp, near Warminster. The work 
identified an extensive spread of Late Bronze Age/ 
Early Iron Age activity along the length of a north— 
south chalk spur between the hillfort and the modern 
military buildings of the Harman Lines works to the 
north. A group of ditch and gully features appear to 
delineate the southern extent of the activity, close to 
the hillfort. 

More than 900 archaeological features were 
recorded, including c.725 post-holes, c.170 pits and 
seven ditches/gullies. Most date to the 8th—7th 
centuries BC, although a small number of 10th—9th 
century BC features were also recorded. Three 
features of 6th—4th century BC date occurred in the 
southern part of the excavation area. Most of the pits 
occurred within distinct clusters. The fills of the pits 
from the two most southerly clusters were distinctly 
different from those in the two northerly clusters; 34 
of 38 pits containing ‘structured deposits’. All three 
6th—4th century features occurred in the two southern 
clusters. Human skeletal remains occurred in 19 
features, including ten of those with otherwise 
‘structured deposits’. Six complete inhumation burials 
were recorded from four pits in close proximity, 


EXCAVATION AND FIELDWORK IN WILTSHIRE, 1998 


comprising two double inhumation and two single 
inhumation burials with a further six pits containing 
human skeletal fragments. All but one were in the 
southern part of the site. 

Ten sub-rectangular/square post-built structures 
were recorded: six 4-post structures, two 5-post and 
two 6-post. Seven of these were again in the southern 
part of the site. Three possible round-houses were 
recorded, including one with internal hearths. 


South-east of Battlesbury Wood (ST 9008 4488); Late 
Bronze Age, Romano-British and Undated 

Wessex Archaeology undertook an archaeological 
excavation of an area of 560m? 400m south-east of 
Battlesbury Wood, at the foot of the low ridge between 
Battlesbury Hill and Middle Hill. This was targeted 
on two channels, a series of pits and stake-holes and 
a possible linear mound identified during an earlier 
evaluation. Four pits, a ring-gully and a possible post- 
hole were excavated, as well as three probable erosion 
channels, potentially of prehistoric and Romano- 
British date. 

Only one of the pits contained datable material, a 
small assemblage of worked flint and Late Bronze Age 
pottery. Small quantities of burnt flint were recovered 
from the other pits but no datable material. The 
shallow ring-gully, c.9m in diameter and no more than 
1.1m wide, lay in the centre of the excavation area, 
between two erosion channels and produced a very 
small assemblage of fired clay fragments, animal bone 
and burnt flint. The erosion channels were probably 
caused by seasonal ‘run off’ from the higher ground 
to the north-east. One may be confidently dated to 
the Romano-British period, the others are possibly 
1st millennium BC. 

Stake-holes identified during the evaluation are 
in fact probably rootholes, and the possible linear 
mound was found to consist of a localised subsoil 
deposit of post-medieval or modern date. This may 
be the result of relatively recent erosion from upslope 
of the site. 


Boreham Farm Bungalow (ST 8951 4566); 
Mesolithic/Early Neolithic, Late Bronze Age and Early 
Iron Age 

Wessex Archaeology undertook an excavation of an 
area of 340m? in the base of a broad valley immediately 
south of Battlesbury Hill on the north bank of a small 
culverted stream, a tributary of the river Wylye. This 
was targeted on a group of pits and stake-holes 
associated with a channel filled with a black clay 
deposit identified during a previous evaluation. 


263 


A large stream channel, two pits and two possible 
post-holes were examined. The channel probably 
represents the original course of a small stream, almost 
certainly that which currently flows in a deep, narrow 
ditch immediately to the south of the site. A small 
assemblage of abraded Late Bronze Age pottery and 
residual worked flint of Mesolithic/Early Neolithic date 
were recorded from the lower fills, with two sherds from 
a furrowed bowl of Early Iron Age type from the upper 
fills. This material appears to be derived from elsewhere, 
possibly further upstream. The other apparent features 
may be of natural origin, but included charred seeds 
and Late Bronze Age pottery. 


Water pipeline, Furnax Lane (ST 8662 4617); Iron 
Age, Romano-British, Medieval and Post-Medieval 

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to undertake 
an archaeological watching brief during construction 
works along c.300m of the south-eastern slopes of 
Brick Hill. A pit containing pottery of Early to Middle 
Iron Age date (700-100 BC) was recorded. Deposits 
of colluvium in the south of the field and a layer of 
crushed chalk, probably a recent levelling layer, were 
also recorded. Finds of Iron Age, Roman, medieval 
and post-medieval date occurred in the topsoil. 


Westbury 

Westbury Quarry Chalk Pit (centred on ST 890 503); 
Prehistoric and Romano-British 

Some 46ha adjacent to the existing chalk pit were the 
subject of an evaluation by AC archaeology. An earlier 
fieldwalking exercise had suggested the presence of 
low-density scatters of worked flint, and the layout of 
trenches was designed to concentrate on those areas, 
whilst providing even coverage of the remaining parts 
of the site. 

In fields to the north-east of the existing quarry 
(Area A) there were no obvious archaeological features. 
A number of probable tree-root hollows and periglacial 
features were investigated, but none produced 
archaeological finds. Limited quantities of unstratified 
Late Neolithic-Earlier Bronze Age worked flint were, 
however, recovered from the spoil heaps. In areas south 
of the existing quarry (Area B) positive findings were 
limited to two linear features (one re-appearing in four 
trenches). Both contained small quantities of worked 
flint and one a small sherd of Roman pottery. 


Proposed Northacre Business Park (ST 857 522 and 
area); Prehistoric and Medieval 
Following initial evaluation of part of the site in 1997 


264 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


(see WAM 92, 142) further investigation was 
undertaken by AC archaeology. This comprised 
twenty machine-excavated trenches across the site and 
an area of some 900m? dug in the area of the intended 
access road. No archaeological sub-soil features were 
encountered, and the only artefacts comprised very 
small quantities of medieval pottery and prehistoric 
worked flint, neither in sufficient numbers to suggest 
settlement activity in the vicinity. 


Wingfield 

Olid Timber Yard, Church Lane (ST 822 567); 
Modern 

An evaluation was carried out at The Old Timber Yard 
by AC archaeology during December 1998. Evidence 
from early maps indicates probable medieval 
settlement concentrated alongside this, the main road 
of the village. The evaluation comprised four trenches, 
all of which contained evidence of truncation and 
revealed modern made-ground immediately overlying 
natural subsoil. With the exception of a modern pit 
and a ditch of post-medievai date, no subsoil features 
or archaeological deposits were encountered, and no 
pre-modern finds were recovered. 


Winterbourne Stoke 

Hill Farm (SU 0844 4086); ?Prehistoric 
Observations were undertaken by AC archaeology in 
conjunction with groundworks to construct a 
telecommunications mast at Hill Farm. Although the 
site lay within the known extent of a prehistoric field 
system, no archaeological features were observed 
during the work. A limited quantity of burnt flint was 
recovered. 


Wroughton 

Overtown House (SU 1543 7970); Modern 

Wessex Archaeology carried out an archaeological 
watching brief during machine stripping for the 
construction of a new drive to the west of Overtown 
House. The site is immediately north of the former 
medieval village of Overtown (SM2859/01 and 02), 
represented by a complex of earthworks. No 


archaeological features or deposits of note were 
recorded. One sherd of Romano-British pottery and 
several of 13th century date, along with pieces of 
animal bone, were recorded from the subsoil and the 
remnants of a former pathway and driveway. 


Yatton Keynell 

Church Farm (ST 8655 7655); Medieval 

An earthwork survey was carried out at a scale of 
1:1000 in a field immediately north of Church Farm, 
Yatton Keynell. The earthworks comprise the remains 
of six tofts defined by a bank and ditch. The largest 
measures 80 x 25m, whilst the length of the others 
has been reduced by the construction of the modern 
road. At the eastern end of three of the tofts are 
probable building platforms, measuring up to 25 x 
15m, whilst along the western side of the tofts is a 
hollow way with ridge-and-furrow cultivation in the 
remainder of the field. The work is part of a personal 
research project on the Hundred of Chippenham 
being undertaken by Graham Brown. 


Various 

Wiltshire barrows; prehistoric 

The Ancient Monuments Laboratory undertook 
several magnetometer surveys in Wiltshire as part of 
a pilot study of severely eroded barrows. Six sites were 
used to assess the response from, and condition of, 
any remains. Only one site, at Littkecombe Down 
produced results suggestive of significant surviving 
prehistoric features. On other sites interesting 
anomalies were recorded, such as a square-shaped 
feature at Mere Down Farm and a large amorphous 
response at Liddington Castle, but neither of these is 
likely to be ploughed out barrows. On the other three 
sites (The Park, West of Court Hill Plantation; 
Smeathe’s Ridge, South Burderop Down; and 
Coombe Down, South-East of Smeathe’s Plantation) 
only minor anomalies of possible archaeological origin 
were located. The lack of positive geophysical 
identification of barrows is unlikely to be due to 
geological conditions: either they have been totally 
eliminated from the landscape by cultivation, or the 
original locational information was in error. 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 265-272 


Reviews 


S. E. Kelly (editor). Anglo-Saxon Charters V; 
Charters of Shaftesbury Abbey. Oxford University 
Press for the British Academy, 1996; xxxvili + 151 
pages. Price £30.00, hardback, ISBN 0 19 726151 5. 


A joint committee of the British Academy and the 
Royal Historical Society was set up in 1966 to publish 
a new critical edition of the whole corpus of Anglo- 
Saxon charters. The magnitude of the task may be 
judged from the list of some 1500 charters in P. H. 
Sawyer’s book on the subject. A glance at the list 
emphasises how great was the loss of these documents 
from the 8th century onwards in those parts of the 
country devastated by the ‘fury of the Northmen’. 
This fifth volume of the series will be welcomed, in 
the words of N. Brooks’s foreword, as setting new 
standards in the editing of these charters. 

The introductory section of Dr. Kelly’s book deals 
with the history of the abbey and its estates and with 
the nature of its Cartulary (B.L. Harley 61) which 
preserves the only surviving copies of the abbey’s thirty 
known pre-conquest charters, ranging from one of 
around 670 A.D. to a grant by King Cnut in 1016. 
The text of this early 15th century manuscript, much 
corrupted by repeated copying over the centuries, sets 
editors a formidable task to recover as far as possible 
the original charters and then to evaluate their 
authenticity. Dr. Kelly’s conclusions are most carefully 
set out in her commentaries on each, with a wide 
ranging discussion placing the charter against its own 
probable background. Here too is an analysis of the 
minutiae of the standard formulae in the Latin of the 
charters, and their development over the Saxon 
centuries. Without a detailed knowledge of the subject 
it is not easy to assess this work, but we seem to have 
here a large step forward in elucidating these charters. 

Nearly all the charters take the same form, albeit 
_ with wide variations. A Latin introduction is followed 
by a statement of the grant itself, often with an 
anathema calling down damnation on anyone who 
might break its terms. This leads to a description in 
Old English of the bounds of the land granted, and 
the charter ends with a list of witnesses who confirm 
the grant. In the introduction, an invocation ‘In the 


name of God’ or a more florid phrase usually leads to 
a section of a religious nature and sometimes of great 
length. The king styles himself ‘of the West Saxons’ in 
the earlier charters but ‘rex Anglorum’ or even ‘king 
of all Britain’ in later ones. 

With the continuing development of this subject 
it is natural that there will be new suggestions on the 
interpretation of details. In the Bradford charter (no. 
29) for instance, recent work has convincingly 
proposed that the unidentified Alvestone (on p. 120) 
was Calvestone, that is, Kelston, Somerset, and that 
a small stream running from a point near ST821582 
on the B3109 road down to join the River Frome at 
Stowford could be the unidentified wigewen brook. 
These however are minor matters. 

Many readers will not find reading the Latin of 
the texts easy. It would obviously not be possible in a 
book of reasonable size and cost to translate the texts, 
but the Glossary in an appendix overcomes many of 
the problems which arise largely from the florid and 
obscure style. Lack of translation does not, in any 
case, affect one’s appreciation of the treasures to be 
discovered in this book. 


R. HARVEY 


Peter Tolhurst. Wessex, a Literary Pilgrimage. 
Black Dog Books, 1999, 264 pages; 200 black and 
white illustrations (line and photographic), 8 colour 
photographs. Price £19.95, hardback, ISBN 0 
9528839 1 0. 


It is through its literature that many of us first came 
to know the landscapes which we now love and visit 
regularly. Shakespeare was often our first introduction 
to the Avon and Warwickshire, the grandeur of the 
Lakes was invoked by Wordsworth before many of us 
had set foot there. Further back in time children’s 
authors may have been the inspiration for visits in 
later life to the places where they had set their stories. 

Closer to home few can think of Dorset without 
an image from Thomas Hardy, the Powys brothers 


266 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


or, more recently, John Fowles coming to mind. 
Indeed the combination of literature and the cinema 
has made the Cobb at Lyme Regis an enduring image 
of Dorset for many. Unlike Hardy, with his vision of 
an extended Wessex, Peter Tolhurst concentrates on 
the historic core of Wessex, Wiltshire and Dorset. 
Naturally Dorset dominates. Wiltshire cannot lay 
claim to a novelist of the first rank although some 
have dwelt here for a while and used the county as a 
setting for a book or two. 

Most notable of these is Nobel prize-winner 
William Golding who, as carefully chronicled, used 
his life and experiences at both Marlborough and 
Salisbury for two of his important early novels. 
Golding visited Figsbury Rings with E.M. Forster 
many years after Forster published The Longest 
Journey, which was partly inspired by the Rings and 
their landscape but mostly by a chance meeting with 
a lame Wiltshire shepherd boy in those Rings. 

Tolhurst has a sympathetic understanding of 
Francis Kilvert, a writer whose deep Wiltshire roots 
and local writing are often overlooked in favour of his 
beloved Clyro. He recognises that the eligible young 
socialite moving in the upper reaches of rural society 
is fully compatible with the earnest curate bringing 
comfort to poor people in their broken down hovels, 
without railing against the social order which created 
their pitiful situation. Although in full agreement with 
the writer’s views on the poetical works I would take 
issue with the somewhat summary dismissal of the 
later prose works of Edward Thomas. There is a strong 
sense of locality in these works and, although 
condemned by economic necessity to hack work, 
Thomas put far more into the lowest paid task than 
many a better paid writer has managed to achieve. 

It is always interesting to see the links between 
writers associated with one’s own country. Edward 
Thomas was inspired by Richard Jefferies, for whom 
a sympathetic evaluation is provided in this book. 
Thomas went on to write a biography of the mentor 
he never met while later, outside the geographical 
scope of this book, Gloucestershire country writer 
John Moore wrote a biography of Thomas by whom 
he was inspired but never knew. Three generations of 
writers linked to one another by common themes and 
beliefs. Another link is provided in that the eyes of 
Kenneth Allsop were fully opened to the value of the 
countryside, its birds and other wildlife by Henry 
Williamson. There is a good section on Allsop’s 
writings and his fight to preserve part of Dorset’s 
ecology. 

This is an excellent book by a literary man with 
great insight into the way landscapes have shaped their 


writers and how, in turn those writers have shaped 
their landscapes. Thomas Hardy is dominant but, 
apart from those already mentioned, Alfred Williams, 
Charles Sorley, John Betjeman, Henry James, Stevie 
Davies, Virginia Woolf, A.G. Street, Edith Olivier and 
W.H. Hudson represent those who have been 
influenced by Wiltshire and have themselves 
influenced public perception of that county. There 
are omissions, Geoffrey Grigson and Maureen Duffy 
could have been included, but there is much here to 
savour. 

It is through its writers that a country achieves an 
immortality comparable with that given by the great 
structures of the past. Most of what we do will be 
soon forgotten; that which is written in earth, stone 
and words will endure. Take this book and be 
captivated by the literary landscapes of Wiltshire and 
Dorset. Then visit both new and familiar places and 
see them through the eyes of their writers. 


MICHAEL MARSHMAN 


Mere Papers, Numbers 1 -9, edited by M. F. Tighe. 
The Friends of the Church of St Michael the 
Archangel, 1996 -1999, 204 pages; illustrations, maps. 
Paperbacks. 


In the relatively short period of three years this on- 
going series has produced a substantial body of over 
two hundred pages of research into the town’s history. 
Subjects covered include the Textile Industry, Inns, 
Congregationalism, Probate Records, Domestic 
Buildings, Enclosure, Edge-Tool Making, the Families 
of Walton, Goldsborough and Edmunds, Doctors and 
T. H. Baker, Historian. All but the last two, which 
were written by Dr. David Longbourne, for many 
years a leading figure in the Mere Historical Society, 
were written by the editor himself. His industry and 
enthusiasm are as striking as his ability to write in an 
informed manner. 

His piece on Mere in 1851 describing what a 
visitor to the town would have seen is an extremely 
clever blend of imaginative writing and sound 
historical knowledge of the subject. The description 
of the self-penned will of Margaret Harding in the 
1630s as a ‘DIY’ will is a fine example of his engaging 
and informative style which accurately describes the 
idiosyncratic spelling of the document. 

The preface in each volume in which the editor 
seeks contributions from others is not a sign of 
flagging on his part. It is a call from an enthusiast 


REVIEWS 


eager to engage others to share his passion. It is to be 
hoped that it may fall on receptive ears and that a 
series, now firmly planted, will continue to flourish. 
That would be no mere achievement. 


STEVEN HOBBS 


Hazel Gifford. The Biography of a Country 
Church; Berwick St. John. Winkelbury Publications, 
1999; 101 pages, illustrations. Price £6.00, paperback, 
ISBN 0 9535893 0 7. 


Every parish has one. It is the background to village 
life, accepted as part of the landscape by local people 
and an influence on the lives of most of them even if 
they do not attend or only enter its doors for 
christenings, marriages or funerals or at Christmas 
and Harvest Thanksgiving. Most churches have a 
printed guide; some are good, some are indifferent. 
Others have only information sheets pasted on boards. 
It is a rare thing to have a book devoted to a village 
church but that is what Hazel Gifford has given us. 

This is a good biography of a village institution. 
The book takes full account of the effects of national 
events and movements and their influence upon a 
small rural parish. Nearly half the book is taken up 
with descriptions of rectors and lay benefactors, 
fleshing out those characters who are often only names 
on a board inside the church. One such was Richard 
Downes (1826-1855), an energetic rector who 
repaired and improved the church, spending nearly 
£400 of his own money. He also took great interest 
in employment during times of agricultural 
depression, built a school with his own money and 
both he and his wife were responsible for many other 
charitable works. 

It is rectors like Downes who bring church history 
alive. Although information is sparse in earlier 
centuries, one rector notably stands out. Edmund 
Audley (1465-1480) held several livings and so visited 
Berwick infrequently but he did become, first, Bishop 
of Rochester and then Bishop of Salisbury. His family 
were powerful and well connected and Audley was 
made Chancellor of the Order of the Garter. 

Chapters on the buildings, furnishings and 
memorial stones and effigies provide the reader with 
a picture of the church, even though they may never 
have visited it. I would have liked to have seen a 
chapter on the relationship of the church with its 
community; for it is this relationship, spiritual, 
economic and social, which has sustained the church 


267 


over the centuries. Apart from that quibble I found 
this a well researched and annotated book which 
serves as an excellent introduction for anyone wishing 
to learn about the history of rural parish churches, as 
well as being the story of the Berwick church. Very 
readable, it contains good and interesting illustrations 
and provides a definitive history. 


MICHAEL MARSHMAN 


Gwyneth F. Jackson (compiler). A tale of two 
manors; Zeals, a Wiltshire village. Dickins Printers, 
1997; 208 pages, illustrations, maps. Price £12.50, 
paperback ISBN 1 902247 00 0. 


The effects of a bypass on a community can be far- 
reaching. To the people of Zeals it provided the spur 
for a celebration of the history of their village, now 
no longer divided by the relentless flow of traffic along 
the A303. The result of their efforts is an attractively 
produced, well illustrated and informative history for 
which all involved in its production can feel justifiably 
satisfied. Drawing on a rich fund of oral history, 
supported by a wide range of excellently captioned 
photographs, the reader is presented with a good 
balance of administrative and personal histories which 
make up the story of the village. The final chapter is a 
good example of the blend of both. Its content 
somewhat belies its somewhat discouraging title, 
Local Government and Facts and Figures. Lists of 
parish overseers of the poor and parish council 
chairmen and an analysis of occupations in the village 
in 1891 compared with those of today are useful and 
informative. Similarly, lists of surnames found in 
archives for 1332, 1648, 1891 and 1991 are 
fascinating, not least because the name Martin occurs 
in each list. 

The overlying strengths of the book lie firmly in 
the last 150 years which comprise the bulk of the text. 
A few weaknesses occur in the brief section dealing 
with the earlier history which sadly detract from the 
pleasures to be enjoyed later on. The suggestion that 
there is a difference between Cottagers and cottagers 
in the Domesday Book is a woeful misconception. 
The notion that Geoffrey de Seles escaped royal wrath 
in establishing a park without first obtaining 
permission was probably as a result of him being a 
hunting acquaintance of the king reveals a naive 
misunderstanding of the relations between king and 
tenants-in-chief. These lead to the view that the book 
might have had a better balance if the earlier section 
had been excised. This would have enabled a more 


268 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


appropriate title to have been selected. However the 
unpublished thesis on the settlement and landscape 
of Zeals, from which only a few interesting points were 
included, could have provided the basis of the early 
section and allowed an interesting piece of original 
research to reach a wider audience. 

Proof-reading was a little awry. Mention of the 
researches of John Bratton on p.14, correctly 
referred to as John Batten on p. 24, is an 
unfortunate slip since the noted Somerset 
antiquarian had a real link with the village as his 
daughter married a Troyte Bullock, thus making 
him a great grandfather of Bill Woodhouse, who 
contributed an informative piece about Zeals 
House. It is worth noting here that the sources of 
Batten’s work, together with that of T.H. Baker (not 
J.H. Baker as on p. 204) relied on by the authors 
are in volumes 28 and 29 of this journal. 

These are, however, minor quibbles which should 
not detract from the success of the book in recording 
the life of the village over the last two centuries 
ensuring that it will be of value to all those will an 
interest in Zeals. 


STEVEN HOBBS 


Books also noted 


It is intended that there will be a section in WAM 94 
for those works on a parish published to mark the 
millennium in that community. Some books already 
published are not noted below as they are being held 
over for next year. 


Norman Beale. Is that the Doctor; a history of 
the Calne GPs. N. Beale, 1998; 95 pages, 
illustrations. Price £6.95. paperback, ISBN 0 9533992 
0 6. Fascinating account, by a current Calne GP of 
the medical men and women who have practised in 
Calne since the mid-17th century. Sixty three 
biographical entries with interesting insights on the 
development of medicine. 

Keith Berry. Bradford on Avon’s Schools; the 
story of education in a small Wiltshire town. Ex 
Libris Books, 1999; 239 pages, illustrations. Price 
£8.95, paperback, ISBN 0 948578 96 3. Covers the 
history of schools in the town for the last 300 years 
relating national developments to local practice. The 
main part of the book is a detailed history of 
Fitzmaurice Grammar School. 


John Chandler. Great-grandmother’s 
Footsteps; a stroll through Victorian Salisbury. 
Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, 1999; 45 
pages, illustrations. Price £4.99, paperback, ISBN 0 
947535 18 7. Skilful juxtapositioning of the paintings 
of Louise Rayner and others from the 1870s with 
maps and modern photographs interwoven with the 
expected masterly text. 

T.S. Crawford. Wiltshire and the Great War; 
training the Empire’s Soldiers. DPF Publishing, 
1999; 181 pages, illustrations, maps. Price £12.95, 
paperback, ISBN 0 9535100 0 X. Suprisingly the first 
book to be published specifically on this period which 
so greatly affected Wiltshire. Substantial section on 
the preparation for, and the reality of, war and a very 
helpful section on the histories and descriptions of 
individual camps. 

Jane Freeman and Aelred Watkin. A History 
of Malmesbury. Wiltshire County Council and The 
Warden and Freemen of Malmesbury, 1999; x + 230 
pages, illustrations, maps. Price £9.75, paperback, 
ISBN 0 86080 444 5. All the articles on Malmesbury 
and its abbey from volumes 3 and 14 of the Victoria 
History of Wiltshire re-formatted into a more user- 
friendly format. 

T.E. Holt. Travelling Folk: Itinerant Mission 
in the Diocese of Salisbury, 1882,1883. 
Transcribed and edited by Rosemary Church. 
Wiltshire Family History Society, 1999; 68 pages, 
maps. Price £6.50, paperback, ISNB 1898714 44 4. 
The log books of this mission to the travelling 
population of drovers, showmen, hawkers and gypsies 
who frequented fairs and race meetings in south 
Wiltshire and Dorset. Complements A Parish on 
Wheels (1897) by J. Howard Swinstead. 

Danny Howell. Wylye Valley Folk Volume 1; 
an album of memories by senior citizens who lived 
and worked in the Wylye Valley during their 
younger days. Recorded and edited by Danny 
Howell. Bedeguar Books, 1999; 288 pages, 
illustrations. Price £18.00, paperback, ISBN 1872818 
35 8. Five people with extensive memories which have 
been collected and transcribed by an expert in the 
oral history field. 

Peter Lavis. A Century of Nestle at Staverton 
1897 - 1997. Nestle UK Ltd, 1998; 56 pages, 
illustrations. ISBN 0 9532792 0 0. One of a small 
number of business histories for Wiltshire provides a 
welcome account from the time the Anglo-Swiss 
Condensed Milk Company bought the Staverton 
cloth mill. 

Ruth Marshall. Trowbridge Voices; 
recollections of local people compiled by Ruth 


OBITUARIES 


Marshall. Tempus, 1999; 128 pages, illustrations. 
Price £9.99, paperback, ISBN 0 7524 1644 8. 
Interesting collection of memories dating back to 
the early 1900s, complemented by largely 
unpublished photographs. 

Michael Marshman. The Wiltshire Village 
Book. Countryside Books, 1999; 256 pages, 
illustrations, map. Price £9.95, paperback, ISBN 1 
85306 583 8. Covers over 180 villages with snippets 
of history, anecdotes, description, personalities and 
events. 

Terence Meaden. The Secrets of the Avebury 
Stones. Souvenir Press, 1999; 152 pages, illustrations. 
Price £12.99, ISBN 0 285 63501 8. Interesting 
account linking Avebury to the Neolithic Earth 
Goddess which provides symbolic meanings for every 
stone. 

Max Milligan. Circles of Stone; the prehistoric 
rings of Britain and Ireland. Text by Aubrey Burl. 
Harvill Press, 1999; 232 pages, mainly colour 
photographs. Price £30.00, hardback, ISBN 1 86046 
661 3. Only a small amount of Wiltshire material but 


Obituaries 


269 


these superb photographs show the wide variety of 
stone circles constructed in these islands over a 2,000 
year period. 

Lynda J. Murray. A Zest for Life; the story of 
Alexander Keiller. Marren Books, 1999; 134 pages, 
illustrations. Price £9.99, paperback, ISBN 0 9536039 
0 3. A general biography which gives generous 
coverage to the two decades of Avebury excavations 
in Keiller’s full and varied life in this well written and 
readable book. 

Andrew Sewell. Aldbourne; the Present Past. 
A. Sewell, 1998: 78 pages, Illustrations, maps. 
Paperback. Comprehensive coverage of the parish in 
a well researched and informative book. Strong on 
prehistory. 

Doug Small. The Wilts and Berks Canal. 
Tempus (Images of England Series), 1999; 128 
pages, chiefly photographs. Price £9.99, ISBN 0 
7524 1619 7. Photographic exploration of the canal 
in images both old and new. An evocative journey 
from Semington to Abingdon also shows new 
restoration projects and plans for the future. 


Desmond Hawkins, writer, producer and founder 
of the BBC’s Natural History Unit, died on 6 May 
1999. He was born on 20 October 1908. 

Desmond Hawkins was born a Londoner, later 
moving to Guildford, but at heart always seemed to 
be a countryman. The family firm was an 
ironmonger’s shop near the Elephant and Castle and 
after leaving Cranleigh at 16 he spent five years 
working in the hardware business. While delivering 
electrical equipment to theatres he became familiar 
with life in the West End, seeing plays, attending 
lectures and developing a love of literature. This self 
education led to his decision to become a writer, at 
first a rather precarious living, writing for such 
magazines as Purpose, The Listener, The New 
Statesman and Time and Tide. He became part of 
the cafe and literary culture of the 1930s, discussing 
art and literature with the fascinating novelists and 
poets of that decade. He also took great pleasure in 
supporting them when he was literary editor of The 
New English Weekly. These times and his early life 
are well chronicled in his autobiography, When I Was. 

His first link with Wiltshire occurred in this period 
when living just over the border in Berkshire. Johnny 


Morris was then a farm agent living at Aldbourne 
and the two friends often visited one another. In later 
years they managed to spend one day each year 
together at a Test match, at Lords or the Oval; a 
practice they continued to 1998 for they died on the 
same day before the 1999 Tests began. 

With a wife, Barbara, and two children writing was 
very much a hand to mouth existence but from 1936 
onwards he had ideas for programmes accepted by the 
BBC and was also editing selections from writers such 
as Donne and Lawrence for publishers. In 1939 his 
first novel Hawk Among the Sparrows was published. 
It is the story of the disruption caused by an intellectual 
who has taken rooms with a middle class couple, the 
sexual awakening of a young girl and a destructive 
conflict between her and a worldly wise aunt. A second, 
and lesser, novel, Lighter than Day, was published in 
1940 but by then Desmond had realised that the war 
had ended the society and mores about which he had 
just begun to write. 

Disqualified from military service by ill health 
he worked as a freelance for the BBC particularly 
on the weekly programme Country Magazine and 
the daily War Report. He worked with George Orwell 


270 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


in the Far Eastern Service and wrote scripts with 
Louis MacNeice on the bombing of the capital. He 
became a permanent member of the BBC staff in 
1945 and soon became a features producer based in 
Bristol. This period was to be the high point of 
regional radio which was an important opinion 
former and shaper. 

Through the medium of radio Desmond 
introduced many writers to a far wider public than 
could have been achieved by other means. Most 
notable was Dylan Thomas who was a friend from 
the 1930s when the two used to drink in Soho and 
talk of poetry and showgirls in equal measure. Until 
only a year or two before his death, when he sold 
them at auction, Desmond preserved an important 
collection of material on Dylan including a letter in 
which the poet announced his marriage. 

Under Frank Gillard the West Region of the BBC 
took a specialist interest in wildlife programmes and 
Desmond, whose first broadcast in 1936 had been on 
birdsong, took his opportunity with a series called The 
Naturalist. In the early 1950s he moved into television 
with a series, Look, and also produced some of Peter 
Scott’s early wildlife programmes. These led, in 1957, 
to him founding the BBC’s Natural History Unit and 
setting out its strong principles of parallel status of radio 
and television, high standards of scientific accuracy and 
use of the best available technology. 

At the same time literature was not forgotten and 
he dramatised the novels of Thomas Hardy which were 
broadcast as Sunday serials and greatly boosted both 
Hardy’s readership and reputation. In 1955 Desmond 
had become head of programmes in Bristol and later 
became the region’s last controller in 1967 until his 
retirement in 1970. At this point, with nearly 30 years 
of active life to come he decided that he would produce 
at least one book, one television film and one radio 
programme each year. Amazingly he very nearly 
achieved this. 

It was in the latter third of his life that his 
involvement with Wessex, always strong, became the 
cornerstone of his literary and ecological life. He wrote 
what are arguably the best books on Hardy by anyone 
of his generation. These were followed by articles and 
presentations for the Thomas Hardy Society, 
broadcast anthologies of poetry and prose and a 
televised book, Hardy’s Wessex. He later confessed 
that as far as Thomas Hardy was concerned he had 
written all he could and so, fortunately for us in 
Wiltshire, he turned his attentions to other areas. He 
produced a definitive work on Cranborne Chase and 
later brought out new editions of rare early works on 
the Chase by William Chafin and Wake Smart. 


In 1973 while researching the friendship of Hardy 
and Agnes Grove he became aware of the Grove family 
habit of writing and preserving diaries. After his book 
on this friendship had been published he researched 
and wrote another on the relationship between Harriet 
Grove and her cousin, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, 
Shelley’s First Love. Many of the diaries are in the 
Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office and many were 
the trips made from Blandford in Dorset to Trowbridge. 
It was then that we, in Wiltshire, became aware of the 
detailed and meticulous research that preceded every 
book, article, broadcast and lecture that were a part of 
the man and writer of integrity that he was. 

His energy was prodigious. Before the publication 
of The Grove Diaries and at the age of 86 he undertook 
an exhausting trip to the U.S.A. to further research 
diaries held there and to raise funding for the 
publication of the American edition. He was not happy 
unless he had one project in progress and another 
one or two ready to start when the current one had 
been completed. Only two weeks before he died he 
was planning a trip to Trowbridge to discuss a small 
edition of a travel journal of Tom Grove. 

With an enviable lifetime of achievement 
Desmond was a very modest man and had to be 
pressed to speak of writers he had known and things 
he had done. He much preferred to talk of current 
projects and discuss avenues of research. He was a 
great friend of the Wiltshire and Swindon Record 
Office and the County Local Studies Library and we 
all became accustomed to his erudite questions on 
genealogy, heraldry and local history which extended 
our own knowledge and competence whilst finding 
the answers. Wessex and south western England have 
lost a great advocate of their history, literature and 
beauty and we in Wiltshire feel that we have lost a 
great gentleman and a friend. 


MICHAEL MARSHMAN , 


Eve Machin, archaeologist, poet, linguist, died 
1 November 1999. She was born 17 January 1915. 

Although born in Bristol to an English father, Jim 
Baxter, Eve’s mother came from a well-to-do Austrian 
Jewish family, and with her younger brother Eve was 
brought up in Vienna from the age of eight. There 
Eve got to know the friends and relatives of her 
Viennese family, a wide and and often brilliant circle 
of artists, entepreneurs, scientists and writers. 
Although she was to return several times to school in 
England, the Vienna of that era was in many ways to 
remain Eve’s spiritual home. She went hiking in the 
Alps, she was introduced to the glittering group of poets 


OBITUARIES 


and dramatists who gathered around her distant cousin 
Richard Beer Hofmann, and she must often have been 
invited to the dazzling parties and balls which were still 
such a feature of Viennese life. She was soon fully 
bilingual in German and English, and learnt excellent 
French from her Swiss governess. She acquired a life- 
long love of German literature and poetry. 

At the age of 17 Eve was back in England, living 
in Surrey and preparing for university. Her fluency in 
English, German and French was not in doubt, but 
one other language — Latin — was a requirement. 
Luckily, a master at the nearby Cranleigh School, Max 
Machin, was able to tutor her in this. In 1933 Eve 
went up to Oxford to study Philosophy, Politics and 
Economics at Lady Margaret Hall, but left a year later 
to marry Max. Although in many ways a natural 
academic, it was a decision that she never regretted. 

Max and Eve settled in Cranleigh and employed 
a young German architect to build them a house there. 
The resulting structure caused some consternation 
among the good people of Surrey, but it gave their 
children the rare distinction of having grown up in a 
Bauhaus. The field around the house was soon 
populated with an assortment of animals including 
goats, geese, and guinea-pigs. The couple’s first child, 
Tess, was born in 1935, followed by Noel in 1939 
and Blaise in 1946. Max, who had already served in 
the First War, did not have to go on active service 
after 1939, but for Eve, who was by now also working 
as a teacher at Cranleigh, bringing up two young 
children during the war was very stressful. 

Max and Eve had long shared a love of 
archaeology; they spent holidays in Avebury and 
Brittany, and in the Dordogne they visited the painted 
caves of Lascaux and Font de Gaume. And even 
though a schoolmaster’s salary was no fortune, they 
took their children abroad every other year to Austria, 
France, Spain and other parts of Europe. Eve went 
on to teach German to sixth-form students at her old 
school of St. Catherine’s, and in the early 1960s she 
gained an extra-mural diploma in archaeology from 
the University of London. 

In 1968 after Max had retired from Cranleigh 
School he and Eve were able to move to a part of the 
country that they had always loved; they had already 
bought the house Chancel End in St. Johns churchyard. 
When they moved to Devizes they took an active part 
in WANHS and were fortunate that several of their 
friends from Surrey also moved to Wiltshire. But Max 
died suddenly in 1970 and Eve had to resign herself to 
what she knew would be long years of widowhood. 
Her love of working with young people and her happy 
memories of the Girl Guides in her youth led to her 


271 


becoming a District Commissioner for Guides, much 
to the astonishment of her family, who had never seen 
her in a uniform before (or since)! 

She became very active on behalf of this Society, 
where her speciality was the classification of flint 
implements. She particularly enjoyed leading field 
parties of flint hunters for the young people’s section 
of the Museum. Her passion for archaeology was 
reinforced when the eminent archaeologist, Peggy 
Guido, moved into 44 Long Street next door to 
Chancel End. In this way, a close friendship began 
which was to last until Peggy’s sudden death five years 
ago. Eve helped Peggy in the massive task of classifying 
all the beads found in European archaeological sites, 
an area previously neglected, and travelled with her 
to Europe on several occasions where her knowledge 
of German and French often came in useful. Although 
Peggy herself had not lived to see her work published 
Gn 1999), Eve was enormously encouraged by the 
fact that it had been so well produced and that her 
own part in it had been generously acknowledged. 

Another strand in Eve’s life was her poetry. She 
had written poems when she was young, but late in 
life the muse spoke to her again — and to great effect. 
Her poems were published in small but highly 
regarded magazines, and she was very fortunate that 
her friends in Devizes included the artists Graham 
and Ann Arnold, who helped her publish two 
beautifully printed volumes with illustrations by 
themselves and other members of the Brotherhood 
of Ruralists. At the time of her death Eve was 
particularly delighted that her latest poem had just 
appeared in Agenda, and that there had been talk of 
her collected works being published. 

In later life Eve, who was a believing but broad- 
minded Christian, became a member of the Society 
of Friends, and through them she acquired a wide 
circle of friends in and around Devizes who were much 
valued by her and a great support to her. Although to 
avery large extent she retained her sight, her hearing, 
and her fierce and inquiring intellect to the end of 
her life, she was becoming progressively less mobile 
as the result of an inner-ear infection that had affected 
her balance. Peggy’s death had hit her hard, and it 
was less and less easy for her to visit friends and family. 
Her great comforts were her home in Chancel End, 
and the kindness of the people of Devizes. When it 
came, her death by heart attack was sudden, and quite 
painless. She leaves behind her two surviving children, 
six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. 


Adapted from the funeral address given by her son, 
BLAISE MACHIN 


212 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Michael Lansdown, newspaper editor, writer, 
historian, died 20 December 1999. He was born 25 
November 1916. 

Michael Lansdown was born at Trowbridge in 
1916, the son of Charles Lansdown and great 
grandson of Benjamin Lansdown who founded the 
Trowbridge Advertiser (predecessor of the Wiltshire 
Times ) in 1854. Another great grandfather was 
William Millington, the artist whose paintings and 
prints of Victorian Trowbridge and its people are 
well known. Michael was educated at Trowbridge 
Boys’ High School and read Modem Languages at 
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. After war 
service in the Royal Signals which took him to India 
and Burma he joined the staff of the Wiltshire Times 
in 1946, and succeeded his cousin Leonard 
Lansdown as editor in 1957. In 1961 ownership of 
the Wiltshire Times was transferred from the 
Lansdown family to the Westminster Press, Michael 
remaining editor until his retirement in 1981. He 
died after a brief illness on 20 December 1999. 

As a local historian Michael Lansdown naturally 
concentrated on Trowbridge as revealed by the files 
of his own newspaper, and later, after their rediscovery 
in Bath, those of its rival, the Trowbridge Chronicle. 
His knowledge of Victorian Trowbridge was 
encyclopaedic, and he was frequently able to quote 
verbatim from the files from memory. Many finished 
little pieces of local history appeared in the columns 
of the newspaper during his time there, and he joined 
as co-editor in three books of old photographs of the 
town. He also published pamphlets on Trowbridge’s 
fight for pure water, on the Trowbridge Chartists and 
the stained glass windows of St. James’s Church, 
‘Trowbridge. 

Michael Lansdown served as honorary treasurer 
of the Wiltshire Record Society for 48 years, and 
managed its finances with a success probably 
unparalleled by any similar body. The enthusiasm and 
humour with which he reported the intricacies of 
postage, packing, and covenants and the quirks of 
printers and booksellers will remain a vivid memory 
with all who served on the Society’s committee. He 
was photographed at the Record Office only a few 
days before his death, reading a file of the Wiltshire 
Times, in preparation for a memoir to be inserted in 
a future volume to mark his half century in office. 


He was long a member of the West Wiltshire branch 
of the Historical Association and in recent years its 
president. He regularly attended the tours in this country 
and abroad which the Historical Association organized 
and it was through them that he met his wife, Dorothy, 
whom he married in 1972. They were regular attenders 
at the concerts of the Trowbridge Philharmonic Choral 
Society and the Trowbridge Orchestra, and took an active 
part in the affairs of the Trowbridge Civic Society and 
the Friends of the Trowbridge Museum. Both attended 
St. James’s Church, and Michael served for some years 
on the P.C.C. 

Regularly to be seen round the town (he did not 
drive a car), he never failed to have some new fact he 
had discovered, or some happening which had amused 
him to report. As a raconteur he was, in the writer’s 
experience, unequalled. His recall of events from 
childhood, schooldays, army, newspaper office, 
holidays, seemed detailed and perfectly complete. He 
will be sadly missed. 


KEN ROGERS 


Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 93 (2000), pp. 273-282 


Index 
by Philip Aslett 


NOTE: Wiltshire places are indexed or referenced under civil parishes. 


Abingdon (Oxon), 167, 269 

AC Archaeology. evaluations, 259-60, 262, 
263-4; excavations, 255, 257, 258 

Addington, Henry, Viscount Sidmouth, 10 

Adshead, Stanley Davenport, 210 

adzes: Neolithic, 153; Roman, 227 

aerenchyma, remains, 171 

aerial photography, 90-2, 96, 103, 140, 240, 
257, 261 

Agenda, 271 

agriculture, Romano-British, 233, 237 

Agrostemma githago (corn cockle), remains, 
42, 43, 44 

Ainsworth, James, 55 

Albania, 16 

Albert, Prince, 16. 

Aldbourne, 269; Aldbourne Chase, 108; 
Lewisham Castle, 108 

Alderbury, 197; kilns, 37 

Alfred, King, 183, 201 

Alington, Cyril, 211 

Alismataceae (water plantains), 171 

Alisma spp. (water plantains), 171 

Allan, Edith, 228 

Allason-Jones, L., 225 

All Cannings, Tan Hill, 239 

Allen, Michael J.: note on buried soil at St 
John’s Hospital and South Street, Wilton, 
200; note on marine shells from Ivy Street/ 
Brown Street, Salisbury, 45 

Allsop, Kenneth, 266 

Alton, 249; Alton Barnes, 253, 255; Alton 
Priors, 255; church, 255; Honeystreet, 255 

Alvestone (Avon), 265 

America, 252 

Amesbury, 66; Boscombe Down, 255; 
Boscombe Down Airfield, 255; Butterfield 
Down, 76, 77, 79, 81, 255; Coneybury, 
166, 167, 168; Gauntlet pipe factory, 38; 
London Road, 255; Normanton Farm, 67; 
Pitt’s Garage, 255—6; Queensbury Bridge, 
255; Ratfyn Barrow, 255, see also 
Stonehenge 

amphibians, bones, 45 

Ancient Monuments Laboratory, 2, 260, 264 

Andover (Hants), 66; faunal remains, 49, 50 

Andrews and Dury, map (1773), 250 

Andrews, Phil: note on excavations at Vale’s 
Lane, Devizes, 241-8; report on 
excavations at St John’s Hospital and South 
Street, Wilton, 181—204 

Anethum graveolens (dill): seeds, 42; uses, 44 

Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, 268 

animal bone see bone, animal 

animal remains see faunal remains 


Broad Hinton, 67, 228, 229, 230; Bicknoll 
Castle, 114, 115 

Broad Town, 257; bronze axe, 238-9 

Bromham: church, 87; Spye Park, 250 

Bromus spp. (brome-grass), seeds, 42 

brooches: Late Iron Age, 261; Roman, 220-5; 
Romano-British, 100, 102, 185, 198; 
Aucissa type, 223; Birdlip Brooch, 223; 
Colchester derivatives, 220-2; dolphin 
type, 222; Drahtfibel derivatives, 222; Late 
LaTeéne, 222—3; Nauheim derivatives, 222; 
penannular, 225; Polden Hill type, 220; 
Trumpet Type, 223-5, see also fibulae; 
strip brooches 

Brooks, Mr, 56 

Brooks, N., 265 

Broomfield, Michael, 238 

Brotherhood of Ruralists, 271 

Browne, William, 132 

Brown, Graham, 257, 264 

Brown, John, 132 

Brussels (Belgium), 65 

Bruton (Somerset), 112 

Buccinum undatum (whelk), 45 

buckles, Roman, 225 

Bucks see High Wycombe 

Budden, Thomas, 53 

building materials: medieval, 22, 257, 258; 
post-medieval, 243, 258; ceramic, 37-8, 
196-7, see also brick; chalk blocks; tiles; 
wattle and daub 

buildings: Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, 
263; Roman, 231; Romano-British, 90, 92, 
99; Saxon, 90, 185, 233; medieval, 26-8, 
57-9, 257, 258; post-medieval, 259, 261; 
16th century, 203; as war memorials, 210, 
see also villas; walls 

Bulford, 18 

Bull family, 125 

Bull, John, 125 

Bullock, Troyte, 268 

Bupleurum rotundifolium (thorow-wax), 44 

Burcombe Without, 185, 202 

Burghal Hidage, 183, 185, 201, 202 

burials see inhumations 

Burl, Aubrey, work noted, 269 

Burma, 272 

Burton (Glos), 83 

Burton, Thomas, 83 

Bury, Lady Charlotte, 12 

Busshel, William, 53 

butchery: Neolithic, 154, 156, 158, 162, 166— 
7, 175; Beaker, 78-9; Romano-British, 
198, 200; medieval, 50; post-medieval, 51 

Butler, Charles Ponsonby, 254 


Button family, 249 
Button, Sir Robert, 249 
By Brook, 103, 219 
Byron, Lord, 16 


Caerleon (Gwent), 222 

Calluna vulgaris (heather), 42 

Calne: burial registers, 120, 122; Castle House, 
120, 125-7; Castle Street, 125; church, 
120, 122-8; doctors, 268; fortifications, 
108; Ingen Housz in. 120-30; Quemerford, 
128 

Calne Without: Calstone, 125; Derry Hill, 124; 
Quemerford, 128, see also Bowood 

Caltha palustris (marsh marigold), 44 

Cambridge: Corpus Christi, 272; Magdalene 
College, 212-13; Trinity College, 16 

Cambridgeshire see West Wickham 

Camden, Ist Marquess of, 10-12 

Camerton (Avon), 223 

Campbell College (Ireland), 210 

camps, temporary, 237 

Camulodunum (Essex), 227 

Cannabis sativa (hemp), seeds, 43 

Canterbury, Archbishop of, 181 

Canterbury (Kent): cess pits, 45; Prerogative 
Court, 54 

Carex spp. (sedge), 44, 200 

Carlisle (Cumbria), 240 

Caroline, Queen, 12 

Carrawburgh (Northumberland), 227, 240 

Case, Humphrey, 76 

Castle Combe, earthwork, 114 

Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, Viscount, 10-12 

castles, 261; Norman, 105, 107; medieval, 
241-8; classification, 116-17; early, 105— 
19 

Catesby, Sir John, 87 

cats, bones, 45,51, 198 

cattle: bones, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 59, 79, 157, 
160-5, 166, 198, 200, 261; teeth, 102, 155, 
160, 162, 165 

Caundel, John, 52, 53 

celts, Neolithic, 134 

cemeteries: Bronze Age, 260; Romano-British, 
90, see also inhumations 

Centaurea cyanus (cornflower), charred grains, 
43, 44 

ceramics see pottery 

Cerastium spp. (chickweeds), charred seeds, 
200 

cereals: charred, 168, 172, 173, 174; remains, 
42,43, 44, 45, 131, 153-4, 168-9, 170 

cess pits: medieval, 24, 28, 39, 43, 45, 48, 49, 
50, 59; post-medieval, 51, 191 


274 


Chaffin, Mr, 55 

Chaffyn, Mistress C., 54 

Chaffyn, Thomas, 53, 54 

Chafin, Thomas, 54, 56 

Chafin, William, 54, 66-7, 270 

Chafyn, Charles, 54 

Chafyn, Dorothy, 54 

Chafyn family, 57 

chalk blocks, 24, 141, 144 

Chandler, John: documentary report relating 
to excavations at Ivy Street/Brown Street, 
Salisbury, 51-7; work noted, 268 

Channel Islands, 50, see also St Clement 

charcoal, 80, 141, 144, 168, 170, 173-4, 176, 
258 

Charlton Musgrove (Somerset), Cockroad 
Wood, 112 

Charterhouse (Surrey), 210 

charters, Anglo-Saxon, 185, 265 

Chartists, 272 

Chedworth (Glos), 228, 229 

Chenopis atrata (black swan), 70 

Chenopodium murale (goosefoot), seeds, 170, 
174 

Cherhill, 167; Yatesbury Field, 134 

Chester, cess pits, 45 

Chesterholm 
(Northumberland), 240 

Cheverell, Robert, 87 

Chicklade, manor, 84, 86, 87 

Chilmark, stone, 188 

Chippenham, 84; Bell Inn, 86; Cock, 70; gas 
pipeline, 90-104; hundred, 264; Market 
Place, 108; Swan, 70;Western Bypass, 233— 
8 

Chippenham College Archaeology Group, 103 

Chippenham Without: Allington, 258; 
Corsham Wood, 258; Sheldon Manor, 
257-8; Sheldon Wood, 258 

Chiseldon, Burderop Down, 148 

Chitterne, great bustards, 67 

Chokke, Richard, 83, 84, 85 

Chrysanthemum segetum (corn marigold), 
charred grains, 43, 44 

Church, Rosemary, work noted, 268 

Chute, William, 10 

Civic Arts Association, 209 

Clarence, Duke of, 12, 15 

Clarendon Park, 250; Ashley Hill, 31; 
Clarendon Palace, 29, 37; Fussell’s Lodge 
long barrow, 166; Petersfinger, 31; tile 
industry, 38 

Clark, Dorcas, 254 

Clarke, Bob, 255; note on bronze axe from 
Broad Town, 238-9 

Clark family, 249, 254 

Clark, John, 254 

Clark, Thomas, 254 

clay pipes, 6, 7, 38 

Cleal, Rosamund M. J., report on excavations 

at Crescent Copse, Shrewton, 71-81 

cloth trade, Salisbury, 53 

Clutterbuck, Daniel, 250 

Clwyd see Prestatyn 

Clyffe Pypard, 115; Stanmore, 115 

Clyro (Powys), 266 

Cnut, King, 265 

Cobbett, William, 9 


(Vindolanda) 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Codford, 87; East Codtord, 86; West Codford, 
86 

coffins, lead, 123-4 

coins: Iron Age, 240; Roman, 220, 228-30, 
240; Romano-British, 228-30, 240 

Colchester (Essex);. 29, 223, 
Camulodunum, 227 

Colerne: Ashley Barn, 220; Bury Wood Camp, 
90, 103; Euridge [Ewerigga/Iwerugge/ 
Uridge], 219; Euridge Manor Farm, 218— 
32 

Cole, William, 70 

Collingbourne Kingston, barrows, 239 

Collingwood, R. C., 228 

Colnbrook, Sir George, 125 

Columella edentula (mollusc), 78 

combs: medieval, 197; bone, 38—9 

Comper, Sir Ninian, 214 

Compton Chamberlayne, 66 

Compton, Lord, 10 

Compton, Mary, 249 

conger eels, bones, 49, 51, 59 

Conium maculatum (hemlock): charred seeds, 
200; uses, 44 

conservation, and fungi, 80-1 

Constantinople, 16 

Coombes, John, 55 

Cooper, Charles, 250 

Cooper, Frances Sarah, 250 

Cooper, John, 250 

Cooper, John Allen, 250, 252 

Cooper, Mary, 252 

Cooper, Thomas, 250 

copper alloy objects: Roman, 220-7, 227; 
medieval, 29; waste, 197 

cores, 134, 148-9, 151, see also flintwork 

Coriandrum sativum (coriander), uses, 44 

Corio, 103 

Cornburgh, Avery [Alfred], 85 

Cornhill Magazine, 212 

Cornwall, 85, 239, see also East Looe; Penryn; 
‘Trevelgue 

Corsham, 16; church, 87; Corsham Court, 183 
Hartham Park, 115; Heywood Preparatory 
School, 258; Neston, 83, 85; Rectory 
Manor, 258 

Cotswold Aggregates, 259 

Cotswold Archaeological Trust, 77; 
evaluations, 241, 259, 262; excavations, 
90-104, 233-8 

Cotswolds, 102, 103, 237 

Country Life, 209 

Country Magazine, 269 

Cowley (Oxon), 219, 228 

Cranborne Chase, 132, 270 

Cranborne Downs (Dorset), 70 

Cranleigh (Surrey), 269, 271 

Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn), seeds, 169 

Crawford, OG: S., 132 

Crawford, T. S., work noted, 268 

Creighton, Oliver H., paper on early castles in 
medieval landscape, 105-19 

Cricklade, 196; fortifications, 108; High Street, 
258; Horse Fair Lane, 258; Three 
Horseshoes Inn, 258 

Croft Ambrey (Hereford and Worcester), 222 

cropmarks, 90—2, 94, 96, 103, 240 

Cross, Mr, 123 


PYAR 


Crummy, N., 225, 227 
Crutcher, Thomas, 56, 57 
culverts, Romano-British, 96 
Cumbria see Carlisle 
Cunetio, evaluations, 259-60 
Cunnington, Maud, 2 
Cunnington, William, 67, 132 
cups: Late Neolithic, 146; Romano-British, 
240 
cutlers, 16th century, 248 
Cyperaceae (herbs), 171 


Daily Telegraph, 63 

Dale, Mr, 132 

Danebury (Hants), 239 

Danes, campaigns, 183, 201 

Darvill, T., 77 

David, Andrew, 2 

Davies, Jessica, report on excavations at 
Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure, 131— 
80 

Davies, Stevie, 266 

Dawson, W. R., 70 

de Dunstanville family, 114 

deer: antlers, 162, 166; bones, 45,51, 96, 103, 
156, 198; teeth, 101 

Defence Estates Organisation (Lands) South- 
West, 71 

Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, 255 

defences: Late Saxon, 181—204; medieval, 241 

de Keynes family, 111 

Delmé, Peter, 9 

Deneman, Margaret, 52 

Denham, Thomas, 53 

Dennis, Ian, report on excavations atWindmill 
Hill causewayed enclosure, 131-80 

Devizes, 10, 12, 13, 18, 67; Baptist Chapel, 
247; Bear Hotel, 15; Bear Inn, 14; Black 
Swan, 70; Castle, 241; Chancel End, 271; 
Corn Exchange, 247; Corporation, 18; 
Hare and Hounds Street, 241; King’s 
Arms, 250; Long Street, 247; Market 
Place, 247; New Park Street, 241, 246, 247; 
New Port, 241; Pelican, 70; ringwork, 107; 
St John’s church, 247; Sheep Street, 247; 
Vale’s Lane, 241-8; Wayside Farm, 258; 
White Swan, 70 

Devizes Museum, 68, 132, 134, 219, 220, 227, 
230, 233, 239, 241, 249, 271 

Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette, 13-15 

Devon see Exeter; Plymouth 

Dew, 67 

Dewel, John, 52 

Dinton, Baverstock, 66 

Discus rotundatis (mollusc), 78 

dishes, medieval, 33 

Disraeli, Benjamin, Ist Earl of Beaconsfield, 
16 

Disraeli, Mary Anne, 16 

ditches: Neolithic, 2-4, 6, 175; Early Neolithic, 
146; Late Neolithic, 233, 261; Early 
Bronze Age, 233; Late Bronze Age/Early 
Iron Age, 262; Iron Age, 92, 96, 259, 260; 
Middle Iron Age, 233; Roman, 102; 
Romano-British, 92—4, 96, 99, 100, 103, 
233, 236, 261; Saxon, 183, 185, 186-8, 
201; medieval, 189, 191, 202, 255, 262; 
post-medieval, 257; ?modern, 189; ring, 


INDEX 


92, 141, see also gullies; pits 

Dobunni, 240 

dogs, bones, 45, 51, 158, 198 

Dole, hundred, 114 

Domesday Book, 52, 114, 183, 267 

Donne, John, 269 

Donyatt (Somerset), pottery, 36, 37 

Dorchester (Dorset), 181 

Dordogne (France), 271 

Dorn (Glos), 228, 229 

Dorset, 268; literature, 265—6; pottery, 31, see 
also Blandford; Cranborne Downs; 
Dorchester; Folke; Maiden Castle; Poole; 
Purbeck; Ridgeway; Shaftesbury Abbey; 
Sydling St Nicholas; Verwood; Waddon 
Hill; Woodcutts 

Douai, Walscin of, 115 

Douglas, Mr, 66 

Dove, Peter, 53 

Doves, Mr, 55 

Downes, Richard, 267 

Downman, E. A., 105 

Downside School (Somerset), 210 

Downton, 80; The Borough, 258; Castle 
Meadow, 108; Charlton, 53; Moot House, 
107; Old Court, 108; ringwork, 107-8 

Driesch, A. von den, 45 

Driver, J. T., paper on career of Thomas 
Tropenell, 82-9 

Drummonds (bankers), 122, 123 

Dubois, Mr, 66 

Duckett family, 125 

Duckett, Thomas, 125 

Duffy, Maureen, 266 

Dumont, Rev, 122 

Durdall, Thomas, 54 

Durdall, Widow, 55 

Durnford, Little Durnford, 86, 87 

Durrington, Durrington Walls, 100, 166 

Dycar, Nicholas, 53, 54 


Eames, George, 10 

earthworks, 107, 111; medieval, 264; 
interpretation, 105, see also mottes; 
ringworks 

East Anglia, beakers, 76 

East Anton (Hants), 228, 229 

Easterton, Eastcott, 67 

East India Company, 125 

East Knoyle, Milton, 86 

East Looe (Cornwall), 12 

East Sussex see Hastings; Seaford 

East Yorkshire, 239 

Eaton Socon (Beds), 114 

Ebbesborne Wake, Fifield Bavant, 100 

Edinburgh (Scotland), 16, 120, 210; Academy, 
210 

Edington, 87;Tinhead, 67 

Edmonds, M., 166 

Edmonstone, Mr, 15 

Edmunds family, 266 

Edward IV, King, 84, 85 

Edwards, Brian, paper on Marlborough 
College Memorial Hall, 205-17 

eels: bones, 45, 49; in medieval period, 50, 59 

Eleocharis spp. (spike-rush), 44 

enclosures: Neolithic, 1-8; Iron Age, 103; 
Romano-British, 233; causewayed, 131— 


80; palisaded, 131, see also hillforts; 
settlements 

English Heritage, 2 

Enright, Dawn, note on excavations at 
Chippenham Western Bypass, 233-8 

environmental materials, from Ivy Street/ 
Brown Street, Salisbury, 39-51 

Erlestoke: Erlestoke Park, 9-19; prison, 9, 19; 
Senior Officers Training School, 18-19; 
‘Stoke Park’, 10; village improvements, 10 

Erley, John, 83 

Essex see Camulodunum; Colchester; Harlow; 
Woodham Ferrers 

Estcourt, Mr, 12 

Estcourt, T. G. B., 15 

Ethelred II, King, 112 

Eton College (Berks), 211 

Euphrasia spp. (eyebright), seeds, 43 

Evans, John, 1, 2, 132 

Evelyn, John, 65 

Evil and Co., 252 

Eward, Suzanne, 51 

excreta: medieval, 26, 43; fruit stones in, 44 

Exeter (Devon), 90 


fabricators, Neolithic, 151 

faeces see excreta 

Fairbairn, Andrew S., report on excavations 
at Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure, 
131-80 

Falconer, William, 121 

Farleigh Hungerford (Somerset), 87 

faunal remains: classification, 45; from 
Crescent Copse, Shrewton, 78; from Ivy 
Street/Brown Street, Salisbury, 45-51, 59; 
identification, 45 

Fawconer, Jasper, 53 

Fettes School (Scotland), 210 

fibulae: Roman, 220; Alesia type, 223; Aucissa 
type, 223 

Ficus spp. (fig), seeds, 42 

field surveys: Chippenham Western Bypass, 
233; Euridge Manor Farm, Colerne, 231; 
Westbury, 263; Windmill Hill causewayed 
enclosure, 137 

field systems, 261; Romano-British, 99, 103 

Figheldean, Robin Hood’s Ball, 77, 79, 80, 153 

Findon (West Sussex), 66 

finials, medieval, 37-8 

First Pembroke Survey (1563), 203 

First World War see World War I 

fish: bones, 48, 49, 50; in medieval period, 50, 
59; recipes, 50 

Fisher, Mr, 15 

flagstones: 17th—18th century, 28; limestone, 
27 

flakes, flint, 90, 102, 134, 149, 151, 152, 236; 
notched, 149; serrated, 149, 153; utilised, 
149, 152, 153, see also flintwork 

Fleming, Ann, 250 

Fleming, Edward, 250 

flints: burnt, 73, 152, 154, 261, 263, 264; 
nodules, 188, 189; raw materials, 148, 236; 
scattered, 92, 102, 131, 137, 148, 151 

flintwork: prehistoric, 90, 102, 256, 264; 
Mesolithic, 102, 103, 235, 236, 257, 263; 
Neolithic, 4, 5, 103, 131, 132-7, 148-54, 
176; Early Neolithic, 141, 257, 263; Late 


275 


Neolithic/Early Bronze Age, 263; Beaker, 
73, 77-8, 79, 80; Bronze Age, 235, 236; 
Middle Bronze Age, 261; Late Bronze Age, 
263; classification, 271, see also adzes; 
arrowheads; awls; axes; blades; celts; cores; 
flakes, flint; hammerstones; Knives; 
scrapers; tools 

Foch, Marshall, 213 

Foeniculum vulgare (fennel), uses, 44 

Folke (Dorset), 84 

Font de Gaume (France), 271 

food, processing, 131, 166-7, 172-3, 176 

Foote, Robert, 249 

Forster, E. M., 266 

Fortescue, John, 83, 84 

Fosse Way, 90, 92, 102 

Fowler, Richard, 7 

Fowles, John, 266 

fowls, bones, 198 

Fox, Caroline, 126 

Fragaria spp. (strawberry), seeds, 42, 44 

France, 271, see also Arles; Brittany; 
Dordogne; Font de Gaume; Lascaux; Loos; 
Lugdunum; Lyons; Morvan; Paris 

Franco-Prussian War, 68 

Franklin, Benjamin, 121 

Freeman, Jane and Watkin, Aelred, work noted, 
268 

French Revolution, 121 

Fripp family, 125 

Frome, River, 265 

Froxfield, Rudge Romano-British villa, 239— 
41 

fruits, 59, 168-75; analyses, 43—4 

fruit stones, remains, 42, 43, 59 

fuels, plant, 173 

funerary monuments, prehistoric, 90 

fungi, arboreal, effects on archaeological 
remains, 71, 80-1 

furnaces, Late Saxon, 197 


Gadebridge (Herts), 223 

Galium spp. (herbs), 169-70 

Gauntlet pipe factory, 38 

geese, bones, 198 

Gentleman’s Magazine, The, 126 

geophysics: Barbury Castle, 260; Euridge 
Manor Farm, Colerne, 220;Windmill Hill 
causewayed enclosure, 137—41 

George III, Kung, 10 

George IV, King, 12, 15 

Germany see Trier 

Gerrish, Thomas, 252 

Gibbes, Bridgett, 54 

Giffard, Osbern, 114 

Gifford, Hazel, work reviewed, 267 

Gifford and Partners, excavations at Crescent 
Copse, Shrewton, 71-81 

Gilbert, Sarah, 10 

Gillard, Frank, 270 

Gillings, Mark, report on excavations at 
Beckhampton Avenue, 1—8 

Gilpin, 65 

Girl Guides, 271 

Glamorgan, castles, 117 

Glasgow (Scotland), Academy, 210 

glass, medieval, 24, 38 

Gloucester, Robert, Earl of, 114 


276 


Gloucestershire, 103, 266, see also Burton; 
Chedworth; Dorn; Hartpury; South 
Cerney; Tewkesbury 

goats: bones, 96, 157, 158, 160—5, 166, 198; 
teeth, 162 

Goddard, E. H., 105, 132 

Godshill (Hants), 108 

Golding, William, 266 

gold objects, Romano-British, 239-41 

Goldsborough family, 266 

Gomme, Alison, 19 

Goodfield, M., 239 

Gosport (Hants), 70 

Gower, Widow, 55 

gradiometers, 137 

gradiometer surveys, 137-41 

Grant (farmer), 67 

grasses, seeds, 42, 45 

gravel pits, Saxon, 108 

Graves, 67 

Gray, Thomas, 214 

Great Bedwyn, 83 

great bustard, in Wiltshire, 63-70 

Great Bustard Trust, 68 

Great Chard (Kent), 70 

Great Somerford, 117; church, 114; The 
Mount, 112-14 

Great War see World War I 

Greece, 16 

Green & Co, Messrs, 18 

Greenwood, Thomas, 122 

Griffin (farmer), 7 

Grigson, C., 165 

Grigson, Geoffrey, 266 

Grime’s Graves (Norfolk), 132 

Grimes, John, 53 

Grimes, Mary, 53 

Grimstead, West Grimstead, 31 

Grinsell, L. V., 140 

Grist, Stephen, 54 

Grittleton, 102, 115; Green Barrow Farm, 92 

Grove, Agnes, 270 : 

Grove, Harriet, 270 

Grove, Tom, 270 

Guernsey, 18 

Guido, Peggy, 271 

Guildford (Surrey), 269 

Guild Merchant, 183 

gullies, 235, 236; Late Bronze Age, 261, 263; 
Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, 262; 
medieval, 233, see also ditches 

Gumbleton, John, 55 

Gwent see Caerleon 


Habsburg family, 121 

Hadley (Middlesex), 249 

Hadrian’s Wall, 240 

Hamilton-Dyer, Sheila: note on animal bones 
from Crescent Copse, Shrewton, 78-9; 
note on animal bones from St John’s 
Hospital and South Street, Wilton, 198-9; 
note on faunal remains from Ivy Street/ 
Brown Street, Salisbury, 45-51 

Hamilton, Michael A., report on excavations 
at Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure, 
131-80 

hammers, 248 

hammerstones, Neolithic, 151, 152, 153,154 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Hampshire: pottery, 36; tile industry, 37, see 
also Andover; Danebury; East Anton; 
Godshill; Gosport; Kings Somborne; New 
Forest; Owlesbury; Romsey; Solent; 
Southampton; Sparsholt; Wherwell; 
Winchester 

Handle, Cristina, 53 

handles, medieval, 197 

Harcros Timber Merchants, 260 

Hardell, Robert, 86 

Harding, Margaret, 266 

Hardy, Thomas, 265, 266, 270 

hares, bones, 45, 48, 50, 198 

Harlow (Essex), Harlow Museum, 225 

Hartley, B., 219, 227 

Hartpury (Glos), 249 

Harvey, R., review by, 265 

Haslam, J., 181, 183, 201, 203, 241, 246-7 

Hastings (East Sussex), cess pits, 45 

Hather, Jon, 168 

Hatt, Robert, 54 

Haughton Court (Jamaica), 12 

Hawkes, C. F. C., 225 

Hawkins, Barbara, 269 

Hawkins, Desmond, obituary, 269-70 

Hay, Lady Charlotte, 18 

Haydon Wick, Moredon, 115 

Hay, Lady Julia, 16 

hazelnuts, remains, 169, 170 

hearths: Late Bronze Age, 261; Saxo-Norman, 
191, 197, 201 

hearthstones, Neolithic, 154 

heathers, seeds, 42, 43 

Heaton, Michael, report on excavations at 
Crescent Copse, Shrewton, 71-81 

Helbaek, H., 169 

Helix spp. (mollusc), 78 

henge monuments, 269 

Henig, Martin, note on ring from Froxfield, 
239-41 

Henry I, King, 108, 114 

Henry VI, King, 84, 86 

Herbert, Thomas, 84 

Hercules (god), sculpture, 219 

Hereford, Viscountess, 125 

Hereford and Worcester see Croft Ambrey 

Hertfordshire see Braughing; Gadebridge; 
Puckeridge; St Albans; Verulamium 

Heytesbury, 52, 261; Heytesbury House, 259; 
hundred, 114; Park Street Gates, 259 

Heywood: Down Farm, 90; Lodge Farm, 90 

Hibberd, John, 55 

Hickey, William, 250 

Higgins, Peter, note on palaeoenvironmental 
remains from Crescent Copse, Shrewton, 
78 

Highworth, Swan, 70 

High Wycombe (Bucks), 125 

Hill, David, 183 

hillforts: Iron Age, 90, 108, 116, 260, 262, see 
also enclosures; specific sites 

Hill, Henry, 250 

Hillman, Gordon, 168 

Hinde, Thomas, 211 

Hindon: manor, 84, 86, 87; Swan, 70 

Hinton, Pat: note on plant remains from Ivy 
Street/Brown Street, Salisbury, 39-45; note 
on plant remains from St John’s Hospital 


and South Street, Wilton, 199-200 

Historical Association, 272 

Hobbs, Steven, reviews by, 266-7, 267-8 

Hobhouse, Charlotte, 16 

Hobhouse, John Cam, Ist Baron Broughton 
de Gyfford, 9, 16-18 

Hobhouse, Julia, 16, 18 

Hobhouse, Sophia, 16 

Hodding, John, 66 

Hofmann, Richard Beer, 271 

Holgate, R., 2 

Holland, 126 

Holland, Henry, Lord, 250 

Holland (Jamaica), 12 

Holt: Great Chalfield, 82—9; Little Chalfield, 
84, 85 

Holt, T. E., work noted, 268 

Hordeum spp. (barley), charred grains, 42, 43, 
200 

Hordeum vulgare var. nudum (naked barley), 
grains, 169, 173 

horncores, 24 

horses, bones, 166, 198 

Houghton Hall (Norfolk), 12 

Houghton (West Sussex), Bury Hill, 6 

Howell, Danny, work noted, 268 

Hudson, W. H., 68-9, 266 

Hullavington, 115 

Hull, M. R., 225 

Hundred Days, 16 

Hungerford, 68 

Hungerford, Sir Edmund, 84 

Hungerford family, 52, 83, 84, 86 

Hungerford, Robert, 2nd Baron Hungerford, 
84, 86 

Hungerford, Robert, Baron Moleyns and 3rd 
Baron Hungerford, 84, 85, 87 

Hungerford, Thomas, 52 

Hungerford, Sir Thomas, 85, 87 

Hungerford, Thomas de, 52 

Hungerford, Sir Walter, 83 

Hungerford, Walter, 85 

Hunstanton (Norfolk), 65 

Hunter, John, 121 

Hunter, William, 121 

Hunt, Thomas, 38 

Hurst Fen (Suffolk), 148, 149 

Hussey, William, 66 

Hydra, sculpture, 219 

Hyoscyamus niger (henbane): charred seeds, 
200; uses, 44 


Ide, Isabel, paper on Erlestoke Park, 9-19 

Idmiston: Gomeldon, 35; Porton Down, 68 

Imber, 84; silt lagoons, 259 

India, 272, see also New Delhi 

infusions, 44 

Ingen Housz, Agatha (née Jacquin), 122 

Ingen Housz, Jan, biographical notes, 120-30 

inhumations: Beaker, 2; Late Bronze Age/Early 
Tron Age, 262-3; Saxon, 116; medieval, 
116; vault burials, 123-8 

inn names, ornithological, 70 

inoculation, smallpox, 121 

insect remains, from Crescent Copse, 
Shrewton, 78 

Ireland, 10, 239, see also Belfast; Campbell 
College; Knowles collection 


INDEX 


iron objects, 261; Roman, 222-3, 227; 
Romano-British, 185, 198; Saxo-Norman, 
198; medieval, 29, 198; post-medieval, 198; 
modern, 140 

iron slag, 181, 189, 191, 197, 202 

iron smelting, ?Saxon, 183, 191, 197 

Isle of Wight see Newport 

Italy see Milan; Ticinum 


Jackson, Gwyneth F., work reviewed, 267-8 

Jacquin, Josef, 122 

Jacquin, Nikolaus, 121 

Jamaica, 15, 16, see also Haughton Court; 
Holland; Llanrhumney; Lyssons; Sauls’ 
River 

James, Henry, 266 

James, M. K., 181 

jars: Romano-British, 94; Late Saxon, 196; 
medieval, 31, 35, 37 

Jatt, Thomas, 53,55 

Jefferies, Richard, 266 

Jersey see St Clement 

Jerveys, Isabelle, 86 

Jerveys, William, 86 

jewellery see beads; brooches; rings 

Jews, in Wilton, 183 

Jope, E. M., 7 

Jordan, Temys, 125 

Joseph I], Emperor, 126 

jugs, medieval, 33, 35 


Keiller, Alexander, 6-7, 131, 149, 151, 269; 
and Kendall, 132-4 

Kelly, S. E., work reviewed, 265 

Kelston (Avon), 265 

Kemp, Mr, 13 

Kendall, H. G. O., 131; biographical notes, 
132-4 

Kennet, River, 108, 115, 257 

Kennet Valley, pottery, 243, 245, 246 

Kent see Canterbury; Great Chard; Romney 
Marsh; Sheerness; Wye 

Kent, Duchess of, 12, 15 

Kew Gardens, 18 

Keynsham (Avon), 220 

Kidston, G. J., 249, 253, 254 

kilns: Romano-British, 94, 147; medieval, 30— 
1, 36, 243, 244-5; post-medieval, 35 

Kilvert, Francis, 266 

King, Mr, 68 

Kings Somborne (Hants), 202 

Kingston Deverill: Court Hill Plantation, 264; 
The Park, 264 

Kingston upon Thames (Surrey), 181 

Kington Langley, 102 

Kirby, Colin, 255 

knife finials: horse-head, 248; monkey-head, 
248-9 

knives, 198; Neolithic, 134, 149-51, 152, 153; 
Beaker, 151; Roman, 227; medieval, 29; 
16th century, 248-9 

Knook: Knook Castle, 261; pottery, 35; 
Quebec Barn, 261;Willis’s Field Barn, 261 

Knowles collection (Ireland), 134 


Lacock: kilns, 244—5; Naish Hill, 38, 243, 245, 
246, 257; Showell Nursery, 233 
Lake District, 265 


Lakenheath (Suffolk), 227 

Lamb, George, 16 

Lamiaceae (mints), seeds, 170 

Lancaster, Duke of, 111 

Lancastrians, 83, 84, 85, 87 

Langley Burrell Without, 67 

Lansdown, Benjamin, 272 

Lansdown, Charles, 272 

Lansdown, Dorothy, 272 

Lansdowne, Ist Marquis of see Petty, William, 
1st Marquis of Lansdowne 

Lansdowne, 3rd Marquis of see Petty- 
Fitzmaurice, Henry, 3rd Marquis of 
Lansdowne 

Lansdowne family, 16, 124 

Lansdown, Leonard, 272 

Lansdown, Michael, obituary, 272 

La Plante, Linda, 19 

Lark Hill (Worcs), 225 

Lascaux (France), 271 

Latton: Latton Lands, 259; The Street, 259 

Laverstock: kilns, 30-3, 195; pottery, 35, 37, 
193, 196, 243, 245, 246 

Lavis, Peter, work noted, 268 

Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent, 121 

Lawrence, D. H., 269 

Lawrence, Margarett, 54 

Lawrence, Sir Thomas, 15 

lead objects, medieval, 29 

leather, medieval, 39, 198 

Legge, A. J., 165 

Leicester, University, 1 

Lemna spp. (duckweeds), charred seeds, 200 

Leonard, William, 253 

Leopold, King, 16 

LEstrange, Household book, 65 

Leyden (Netherlands), 120 

Liber Niger (1455), 53 

Liddington Castle, 264 

Lincoln, 90 

Lincolnshire see Torksey 

linears, 92, 257; prehistoric, 261; Neolithic, 
139-40; Bronze Age, 141, see also ditches 

lingulae, Roman, 225 

Linnean Society, 63—5 

Linum usitatissimum (flax): seeds, 42; uses, 
44 

Listener, The, 269 

Litten, J., 123 

Little Bedwyn, Chisbury, 115 

Littleton Drew—Chippenham gas pipeline, 
excavations, 90-104 

Little, William, 54 

Llanrhumney (Jamaica), 12 

Loader, Emma, notes on finds at Ivy Street/ 
Brown Street, Salisbury, 29, 37-9 

Locking (Avon), 228 

Lodge, Sir Oliver, 18 

London, 120, 121, 125, 126, 254; British 
Museum, 225; Cavendish Square, 12; 
Cenotaph, 210; Charing Cross, 122; 
Cheapside, 65; Drapers’ Hall, 126; 
Elephant and Castle, 269; Holland House, 
16; Horse Guards, 16; House of 
Commons, 10, 12, 16; Knightsbridge, 16; 
Lambeth, 9; Lincoln’s Inn, 10, 83; Lords, 
269; Newgate Prison, 16; Oval, 269; Royal 
Academy, 209, 213; St James Palace, 15; 


Dil. 


St James Street, 15; Soho, 270; Southwark, 
240; Surveyors’ Institute, 206; Theatre 
Royal (Covent Garden), 10; University 
College, 168; University of, 271;West End, 
269; Westminster, 83, 206; Westminster 
School, 16; Whites’ Club, 15 

London, Hugh, 86 

Longbourne, David, 266 

Longbridge Deverill: Crockerton, 35, 36, 193, 
195, 196, 243, 245, 246; Hill Deverill, 83 

Long family, 87 

Long, Henry, 83, 84, 85 

Look, 270 

Loos (France), 206 

Louis the Dauphin, 108 

Louis XVIII, King, 16 

Louvain, University of (Belgium), 120 

Low Countries, 65 

Luckett, Larry, report on excavations at 
Euridge Manor Farm, Colerne, 218-32 

Ludgershall, 83; Castle, 107 

Ludlow family, arms, 86 

Ludlow, William, 83,86 

Lugdunum (?France), 230 

Lychnis flos-cuculi (ragged robin), 44; charred 
seeds, 200 

Lyme Regis, 266 

Lyneham: Hillocks Wood, 116; pottery, 245; 
Tockenham Court, 249 

Lyons (France), 230, 240 

Lyssons (Jamaica), 12 

Lywood, E., 68 


MacGregor, A., 39 

Machin, Blaise, obituary by, 270-1 

Machin, Eve, obituary, 270-1 

Machin, Max, 271 

Machin, Noel, 271 

Machin, Tess, 271 

McKinley, Jacqueline, 81 

Mackreth, D. F., note on finds from Euridge 
Manor Farm, Colerne, 220-5 

MacNeice, Louis, 270 

Maerla, barrow of, 108 

magnetometer surveys, 264 

Magnus Maximus, 229 

Maiden Bradley: Church Street, 259; High 
Street, 259; manor, 86, 87 

Maiden Castle (Dorset), 223 

Malmesbury, 268; Cam’s Hill, 108, 117; 
Castle, 114; Swan, 70 

Malmesbury Abbey, cemetery, 114 

Malus spp. (apple), seeds, 42, 44, 169 

Man, 132 

Mann and Rodway, 249 

Maria Theresa, Empress, 121 

marine shells, from Ivy Street/Brown Street, 
Salisbury, 45 

Markes, Edmund, 54 

Market Lavington, 65, 66, 68; pottery, 35, 196 

Marks, Mr, 55 

Marks, Thomas Chafin, 54 

Marlborough, 266; Bath Road, 205; Castle, 
108; Chandler’s Yard, 259; High Street, 
259; pipemakers, 38; pottery, 77 

Marlborough College: Cloistered Garth, 209; 
College Chapel, 207, 209; Council, 207 
9, 211, 213; Marlburian Club, 209; 


278 


Memorial Gardens, 211; Memorial Hall, 
205-17; Old Marlburians, 205, 206-10, 
211, 213; Roll of Honour, 212; war 
casualties, 206; War Memorial Committee, 
207-9 

Marlborough Downs, 79, 132, 260 

Marlburian, The, 206, 209, 210, 213 

Marshall, Ruth, work noted, 268—9 

Marshfield (Avon), Ironmonger’s Piece, 225 

Marshman, Michael: obituary by, 269-70; 
reviews by, 265—6, 267; work noted, 269 

Martin family, 267 

Martin, Mary, 53 

Martin, Thomas, 53 

Mary Rose (ship), 49 

Maton, G., 67 

Maton, Martha, 55 

Matthews, Rev. Murray, 68 

Maundrell, Henry, 122 

May, Thomas, 219 

Meaden, Terence, work noted, 269 

meat, processing, 131, 166-7 

Melbourne, Lord, 16, 18 

Melksham, King’s Arms, 252 

Membury, hillfort, 116 

memorials, war, 205-17 

Mentha cf aquatica (water mint), charred 
seeds, 200 

Mepham, Lorraine: note on excavations at 
Vale’s Lane, Devizes, 241-8; notes on finds 
from Ivy Street/Brown Street, Salisbury, 
29-37, 39; report on excavations at St 
John’s Hospital and South Street, Wilton, 
181-204 

Mercury, Temple of, 107 

Mere: Mere Down Farm, 264; papers, 266-7; 
Swan, 70 

Mere Historical Society, 266 

Mervyn, 85 

Mervyn, John, 84 

Mespilus spp. (medlar), 45 

metalwork: Romano-British, 198; Saxo- 
Norman, 198; medieval, 29, see also 
arrowheads; blades; copper alloy objects; 
gold objects; iron objects; knives; lead 
objects; nails; steel objects 

Methuen family, 16 

mice, bones, 45, 48, 50 

Middlesex see Hadley (Middlesex) 

Milan (Italy), 230 

Milbanke, Anne, 16 

Mildenhall, 85; Werg Mill, 259-60, see also 
Cunetio 

Milligan, Max, work noted, 269 

Millington, William, 272 

mill leat, post-medieval, 108 

Mills, John, 53 

Milvus migrans (black kite), bones, 49 

Milvus milvus (red kite), bones, 49 

Minety, pottery, 243, 245, 246, 257 

minimum number of anatomical units 
(MNAU) method, 155-6 

minimum number of individuals (MNI) 
method, 155-6 

Mitchell, A., 55 

Mitchell, Mrs F., 55 

MNAU method, 155-6 

MNI method, 155-6 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


mollusc remains: Crescent Copse, Shrewton, 
78; Windmill Hill, 166, 168 

Mompesson, Henry, 87 

Mompesson, John, 84—5 

Moncaster [Muncaster], Mrs, 253, 254 

Montacute (Somerset), 112 

Montagu, 67 

Moore, George, 55 

Moore, John, 266 

Moore, Thomas, 15, 16 

Moorhead,T. S. N., note on coins from Euridge 
Manor Farm, Colerne, 228-30 

Morales, A., 45 

Morgan, John, 38 

Morres, A. P., 68 

Morris, Johnny, 269 

Morrison, H., 219, 220,231 

Morrison, Mrs, 220 

mortar, 198 

Mortimer, Ralph of, 115 

Morus nigra (mulberry), 45 

Morvan (France), 228 

mottes, 108-16, 116-17; use of term, 107 

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 120 

Muncaster [Moncaster], Mrs, 253, 254 

Murray, Lynda J., work noted, 269 

Mustin, George, 53, 54 

Mustion, Elizabeth, 53, 54 

Myulus edulis (mussel), 45 


Nadder, River, 181, 183, 201 

nail cleaners, Roman, 225 

nails, medieval, 29, 198 

Naish, W., 52, 55 

Napoleon I (Bonaparte), 16 

Napoleonic Wars, 12 

National Trust, 256 

Naturaliste (ship), 70 

Naturalist, The, 270 

needles, medieval, 29 

Nesovitrea hammonis (mollusc), 78 

Netherlands, The, 126, see also Breda; Leyden 

Nettleton, 223, 225;The Gibb, 102; Nettleton 
Shrub, 90 

Neville, George, 85 

Newbury (Berks), 245 

New Delhi, 63 

New English Weekly, The, 269 

New Forest (Hants), pottery, 103, 227 

Newmarket (Suffolk), 250 

Newport (Isle of Wight), 12 

New Sarum see Salisbury 

New Statesman, The, 269 

Newton, John, 249 

Newton, William, 211 

New Zealand, 70 

NISP method, 155-6 

Norborne, Mary, 125 

Norborne, Walter, 125, 126, 128 

Norfolk see Grime’s Graves; Houghton Hall; 
Hunstanton 

Normans, 112, 114, 115 

North America, fungi, 80 

Northampton, 197 

Northants see Sulgrave 

North Perrott (Somerset), 253 

Northumberland see  Carrawburgh; 
Vindolanda 


North Wraxall, 103; Truckle Hill, 90 

Norwood, Cyril, 211 

Nottingham High School, 210 

number of individual specimens (NISP) 
method, 155-6 

nuts, remains, 169, 172 


Oaksey, Norwood Castle, 111 

Odontites verna (red bartsia), seeds, 43 

Ogbourne St Andrew: Barbury Castle, 260; 
Coombe Down, 264; Dean Bottom, 73, 79; 
mound, 116; Smeathe’s Plantation, 264; 
Smeathe’s Ridge, 264 

Olivier, Edith, 266 

organic materials, 198, 202 

ornithology, and inn names, 70 

Orwell, George, 269-70 

Ostrea edulis (oyster), 45 

Otis tarda (great bustard): decline, 66—8; 
protection, 65; reintroduction, 68; scarcity, 
63-5; sightings, 70; in Wiltshire, 63—70 

ovens, Romano-British, 258 

Owlesbury (Hants), 228, 229 

Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 134; defences, 
201; Lady Margaret Hall, 271; Magdalen 
College, 126; St Mary’s Hall, 10; 
University, 15 

Oxford Archaeological Unit, 259 

Oxfordshire: pottery, 196, 219, 227, 228; tile 
industry, 37, see also Abingdon; Cowley; 
Wayland’s Smithy 

Oxychilus alliarius (mollusc), 78 


palace, Saxon, 108 

palaeoenvironmental materials, Beaker, 78—9 

parenchyma, remains, 171 

Paris (France), 120, 121 

Parker Pearson, M., 7 

Parliamentary Reform Bill (1832), 16, 18 

Passmore, A. D., 134 

Peacock, Thomas Love, 16 

pebble hammers, 100, 103 

Pecten spp. (scallop), 45 

Pembroke, Earl of, 65 

Pennant, Thomas, 66 

Penruddocke family, 66 

Penryn (Cornwall), 10 

Penselwood (Somerset), Balland’s Castle, 112 

Percy family, 83, 85, 86 

Percy, Katherine, 83, 85 

Percy, Sir William, 85 

Petty-Fitzmaurice, Henry, 3rd Marquis of 
Lansdowne, 127 

Petty, George, 54, 55 

Petty, Lord Henry, 122 

Petty, Richard, 54, 55 

Petty, William, 1st Marquis of Lansdowne, 120, 
1122; 1233124, 125, 126 

Pevsner, Nikolaus, 210 

Phillips, Bernard, 257, 258, 262; note on ring 
from Froxfield, 239-41 

Phipps, T. H., 15 

photosynthesis, Ingen Housz’s studies, 120, 
121 

Pierce, Dr, 126 

piercers, Neolithic, 149 

pigs: bones, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 59, 79, 157, 
160-5, 166, 198; teeth, 155, 160, 162, 165 


INDEX 


pinbeaters, Late Saxon, 197 

Pinckney, Erlysman, 254 

pins: Roman, 225, 227; medieval, 29 

pipemakers, 38 

Pisum sativum (pea), remains, 43 

Pitman, William, 252 

pits, 235; Neolithic, 79, 151-3, 233; Early 
Neolithic, 131, 140, 141-4, 151, 154, 165, 
166, 167, 168, 173-4, 175-6; Late 
Neolithic, 131, 141, 144, 154-5, 165, 166, 
167, 169, 174, 176-7, 233; Beaker, 71- 
81; Bronze Age, 259; Early Bronze Age, 
79, 233; Late Bronze Age, 261; Late 
Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, 262; Middle 
Iron Age, 233; Romano-British, 94, 99, 
102; Late Saxon, 191; Saxo-Norman, 191; 
medieval, 22-4, 26-7, 42-3, 189, 191, 243, 
255; post-medieval, 27, 39, 243, 247; 18th 
century, 191; 19th century, 27; 20th 
century, 27; plant remains in, 173-4; stone 
destruction, 1, 4, 6; test, 137, 140-1, 148— 
54, see also cess pits; ditches; postholes 

Pitt, William, the younger, 10 

Plantago major (greater plantain), seeds, 170, 
174 

plant remains: from Crescent Copse, 
Shrewton, 78; from Ivy Street/Brown 
Street, Salisbury, 39-45, 59; from St John’s 
Hospital and South Street, Wilton, 199— 
200, 202; from Windmill Hill causewayed 
enclosure, 168-75, 175-6 

plants: applications, 44—5; burning of, 173 

Plymouth (Devon), 50 

Poa spp. (meadowgrasses), seeds, 170 

Pobeman, William, 53 

Polden Hills (Somerset), 220 

Pollard, Joshua: note on worked sarsen at 
Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure, 154; 
report on excavations at Beckhampton 
Avenue, 1-8 

pondweeds, uses, 44 

Ponting, C. E., 209 

Poole (Dorset), 70 

Poore, Sir Edward, 15 

Porpoise, The (yacht), 250 

Portugal, 16 

postholes: Neolithic, 152; Late Neolithic, 144, 
233; Early Bronze Age, 233; Late Bronze 
Age, 261; Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, 
262; Romano-British, 99; Saxon, 188-9, 
200-1; Saxo-Norman, 191; medieval, 26, 
27; post-medieval, 243, 259; modern, 137, 
see also pits; stakeholes 

postpipes, 144 

Potamogeton spp. (pondweeds), seeds, 43 

Potamogeton polygonifolius (bog pondweed), 
44 

Potter, Mr, 18 

pottery: prehistoric, 71, 147, 191, 192, 256; 
Neolithic, 4, 261; Early Neolithic, 141, 
144-6, 147, 175; Late Neolithic, 146-7, 
148; Beaker, 73, 74-7, 79, 261; Bronze 
Age, 77, 233, 234, 235, 236; Early Bronze 
Age, 261; Middle Bronze Age, 261; Late 
Bronze Age, 147, 148, 261, 263; Iron Age, 
90, 94, 102, 103, 259, 260; Late Iron Age/ 
Romano-British, 255; Roman, 219, 220, 
227-8, 263; Romano-British, 92, 94, 103, 


147, 185-6, 191, 192, 196, 200, 233, 236, 
255, 256, 257, 261, 262, 264; Saxon, 255; 
Late Saxon, 181, 189, 191, 192-3, 195-6; 
Saxo-Norman, 189, 191, 192-3, 195-6, 
201-2; medieval, 6, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29-37, 
108, 147, 189, 190, 191, 195, 195-6, 202, 
243-5, 246, 247, 256, 257, 258, 259, 262, 
264; post-medieval, 6, 24, 26-7, 29, 35-7, 
102, 147, 195, 245-6, 258, 259; 17th-18th 
century, 24, 27, 28; Black Burnished Ware, 
type 1, 227; Bristol-type slipwares, 36; 
Cheddar type, 192, 193, 196; chronologies, 
36-7; classification, 30; coarse redwares, 
36; coarsewares, 30, 31—3, 33-5, 36, 192, 
195; Crockerton type, 193, 195, 196, 243, 
245, 246; Dorset black burnished ware, 94; 
finewares, 33, 36, 192, 245; ?Frechen ware, 
36; German wares, 36; Grooved Ware, 4, 
6, 77, 144, 146-7, 148, 154; industrial 
wares, 36; Kennet Valley wares, 243, 245, 
246; Laverstock type, 30-3, 36, 37, 193, 
195, 196, 243, 245, 246; New Forest ware, 
103, 227; North Gaulish roughcast wares, 
192; Oxfordshire ware, 94, 103, 219, 227, 
228; Peterborough ware, 77; Raeren ware, 
36; Samian, 94, 100, 103, 192, 219, 227, 
261; Savernake ware, 94, 100; slipwares, 
36; Staffordshire-type slipwares, 36, 195; 
stonewares, 36; tinglazed earthenwares, 36; 
“Tudor Green’ ware, 35, 37, 196, 245, 246; 
Verwood type, 31, 35-6, 37, 195, 196, 246; 
Westerwald ware, 36; ‘Wiltshire Brown’ 
ware, 35, see also beakers; bowls; clay 
pipes; cups; dishes; jars; jugs; kilns; saucers; 
tiles 

Powys see Clyro 

Powys brothers, 265 

Prehistoric Society of East Anglia, 134 

Prestatyn (Clwyd), 220 

Priestley, Joseph, 121 

Primary Health Care Centres (Amesbury) Ltd, 
255-6 

Pringle, Sir John, 120 

Prothero, R. E., 206 

Prunus spp. (plum/sloe), stones, 42, 44, 169, 
170 

Pteridium aquilinum (bracken), 42 

Puckeridge (Herts), 223 

Pudding Brook, 237 

Puddlehill (Beds), 165, 167 

Punctum pygmaeum (mollusc), 78 

Pupilla muscorum (mollusc), 78 

Purbeck (Dorset), 31 

Purbeck, Eliza, 253 

Purbeck Marble, 22, 38 

Purpose, 269 

Pympol, Richard, 53 


Queensberry, Duke of, 66 

querns: Neolithic, 154, 176; Eaily Neolithic, 
141; Middle Bronze Age, 261; ?Romano- 
British, 197, 261; Saxon, 189 


rabbits, bones, 45, 51 

radiocarbon dating, Avebury area, 131—2, 175 
Rajasthan, great bustards, 63 

Ralf, 115 

Ramilisonina, 7 


279 


Ramsbury, Littlecote Estate, 239 

Ranunculus spp. (buttercups), charred seeds, 
200 

Rattew, George, 55 

Rawlings, Mick, report on excavations at Ivy 
Street/Brown Street, Salisbury, 20-62 

Rayner, Alan, 80 

Rayner, Louise, 268 

recipes, fish, 50 

Reece, Richard, 230 

refuse disposal, medieval, 50-1 

resistivity meters, 139 

ridge and furrow, medieval, 4 

Ridgeway (Dorset), 132 

rings: Roman, 225; Romano-British, 239-41 

ringworks, 107-8, 108-16, 116-17; use of 
term, 107 

roads: Roman, 90, 112, 256, see also trackways 

robber trenches, 19th century, 191 

Robertson, A. S., 225 

Robinson, A. M., 31 

Robinson, Paul, note on knife finial from 
‘Trowbridge, 248-9 

Rochester, Bishop of, 267 

Roche, Walter, 83 

Rogers, A. G., 134 

Rogers, Kenneth: note on Cumberwell, 249— 
54; obituary by, 272 

Romney Marsh (Kent), 70 

Romsey (Hants), 202; faunal remains, 49 

Rosaceae, seeds, 170 

Roseaman, Judith, note on fieldwork at Euridge 
Manor Farm, Colerne, 220 

Rosenlund, K., 45 

Rous, William, 85 

Route, John, 53 

Royal Commission on the Historical 
Monuments of England, 260 

Royal Historical Society, 265 

Royal Institute of British Architects, 211 

Royal Navy, 15 

Royal Signals, 272 

Royal Society, 121 

Royal Volunteers, 250 

Rubus spp. (blackberry/raspberry), seeds, 42, 
44 

Rumex spp. (dock), seeds, 170 

Rundell, Mary Ann, 254 

Rusteshale, Alice, 52, 53 


Sagittaria sagittifolia (arrowhead), 171 

St Albans (Herts), Verulamium, 227, 240 

St Barbara, 248 

St Clement, Jersey, 70 

St Joseph, J. K. S., 140, 219 

St Lawrence, 248 

Salisbury, 67, 83, 84, 134, 193, 195, 196, 197, 
202, 245, 246, 250, 266; medieval, 52-3; 
post-medieval, 53-5; modern, 55-7; 
Antelope Chequer, 21, 51, 52, 54, 56; 
Balle’s Place, 52; Barnwell Cross, 53; Bird 
in Hand, 70; Blue Lion, 51, 53,54; Brown 
Street, 20-62; Catherine Street, 52; 
Chough, 70;The Close, 53, 54, 261; cloth 
trade, 53; Colletts Garage, 57; Dairyhouse 
Bridge, 260; Dairy Meadow Lane, 260; 
East Harnham, 86, 87; Falcon, 70; Faraway 
Garage, 55, 57; Fisherton Anger, 86; 


280 


Fisherton Manor Middle School, 260-1; 
Gigant Street, 49, 53; Guilder Lane, 31; 
Harnham Bridge, 183; High Street, 260; 
itinerant mission, 268; Ivy Street, 20-62; 
kilns, 30-1; London Road/Rampart Road, 
30-1; Maiden Head, 51,53; Market ward, 
52; Martins ward, 51, 55; Milford Bridge, 
30; New Street, 51, 52, 53; Nyweton 
Westyate, 260; Old Livestock Market, 260; 
Old Sarum, 35, 107, 117, 181, 183, 260; 
Pheasant, 70; pipemakers, 38; Poultry 
Cross Market, 65; Queen Arms Inn, 51, 
53, 54, 55, 56-7; Red Lion, 67; Rollestone 
Street, 52; St, Martin’s Street, 52; St 
Thomas, 51, 54; Spread Eagle, 70; Swan, 
70;Three Swans, 70;Victorian, 268; White 
Bear, 51; White Swan, 70; Winchester 
Street, 52 

Salisbury, Bishop of, 267 

Salisbury Cathedral, 87; Archives, 51; Dean 
and Chapter, 51, 52, 53, 57; Ecclesiastical 
Commissioners, 55 

Salisbury City Council, 51 

Salisbury District Council, 21 

Salisbury Local Studies Library, 51 

Salisbury Museum, 248 

Salisbury Plain, 262; great bustards, 63, 65, 
66, 68, 69, 70 

Salisbury Plain Training Area, 
excavations, 71-81, 261 

Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, 68, 
239, 268 

Sambucus nigra (elder), 172, 200 

Sandford, 219 

Sandy Lane, 103, see also Verlucio 

Santo Domingo slave uprising (1797-1804), 
12 

sarsen stones, 1-2, 7, 141, 144, 176, 256; 
grinding, 173; worked, 154 

Sassoon, Siegfried, 205, 214 

saucers, medieval, 33 

Sauls’ River (Jamaica), 10 

Savernake Forest, 108, 245; kilns, 94, 147, 227; 
Knowle Farm, 132-4 

Savory, William, 122 

Sawyer, P. H., 265 

Scammell, E. L., 55 

Scammell, Mrs, 55 

Scandix pecten-veneris (shepherd’s needle), 44 

scanning electron microscopy, plant remains 
studies, 168, 170 

Scotland see Edinburgh; Fettes School; 
Glasgow 

Scott, Peter, 270 

scrapers: prehistoric, 90; Mesolithic, 257; 
Neolithic, 134, 153; Early Neolithic, 149, 
151; Late Neolithic, 149; Beaker, 77-8; 
Early Bronze Age, 149 

sculpture: Roman, 219, 220; Romano-British, 
240 

Seaford (East Sussex), 12 

Secale cereale (rye), charred grains, 43 

Second World War see World War II 

seeds: charred, 42, 43, 44, 45, 168-75, 263; 
identification, 42 

Segrim, Dr, 15 

Selby, John Prideaux, 67 

Seles, Geoffrey de, 267 


250) 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Sellars, Warren, 256 

SEM, plant remains studies, 168, 170 

Semington, 269 

Senior Officers’ Training School, 18-19 

settlements: Late Neolithic, 237; Bronze Age, 
233-8; Late Bronze Age, 237; Iron Age, 
90; Romano-British, 90, 103, 233-8; 
Anglo-Saxon, 260; Saxon, 256; Late 
Saxon, 107, 181-204; Saxo-Norman, 196; 
medieval, 20-62, 241-8, 256-7, 257-8; 
post-medieval, 241-8, see also castles; 
enclosures; villages 

Severn Valley, 222 

Sewell, Andrew, work noted, 269 

Seymour, Hugh, 219, 220 

Shaftesbury Abbey (Dorset), charters, 265 

Shakespeare, William, 265 

Shaw Mellor, Alfred, 219, 227 

sheep: bones, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 59, 96, 155, 
157, 160—5, 166, 198; Leicester Longwool, 
51; Southdown, 51; teeth, 162 

Sheerness (Kent), 250 

Shelburne family, 124 

Shelburne, John, Earl of, 125 

Shelburne, Lord, 121 

Shelburne, William, 2nd Earl of, 125 

Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 270 

shells (marine) see marine shells 

Sherrington: church, 115; motte, 114-15, 117 

shoes, medieval, 39 

shovels, Roman, 227 

Shrewton, 68; Bustard Inn, 68, 69; Crescent 
Copse, 71-81; Maddington, 84 (Manor 
Farm, 68); Old Coal Yard, 262; Robin 
Hood’s Ball, 77, 79, 80, 153; Rollestone 
Bake Farm, 68 

Shuter, Thomas, 54 

sickles, Roman, 227 

Sidmouth, Lady, 15 

Sidmouth, Lord, 15 

S., J., 67 

skates/runners, medieval, 197 

Slater, William, 127-8 

slavery: end of, 15; public opinion, 12 

slaves, treatment of, 12 

Small, Doug, work noted, 269 

smallpox, inoculation, 121 

Smart, Wake, 270 

smelting, iron, 183, 191, 197 

Smith, A: 'C:; 132 

Smith, Cecil, 68 

Smith, Charles, 10 

Smith, I. F., 6-7, 77 

Smith, John, 9 

Smith, Joshua, 9-10, 12, 19 

Smith, Mr, 126 

Smith, Rachael Seager, report on excavations 
at St John’s Hospital and South Street, 
Wilton, 181-204 

Smith, Stephen, 68 

Society of Friends, 271 

soils, buried, 200 

Solent (Hants), 50 

Somerset, 84, 225; great bustards, 68; pottery, 
195, see also Bishops Lydeard; Bruton; 
Charlton Musgrove; Donyatt; Downside 
School; Farleigh Hungerford; Montacute; 
North Perrott; Penselwood; Polden Hills; 


‘Taunton; Wanstrow 

Soper, Thomas, 54 

Sorley, Charles Hamilton, 206, 266 

Southampton (Hants), 59, 197; Brokage 
Books, 50; faunal remains, 48, 50; Lower 
High Street, 50; port, 50; University, 1 

South Cerney (Glos), 111 

South Wales, 239 

South Wraxall, 87, 249, 250, 252 

Spain, 16, 271; great bustards, 65 

Sparsholt (Hants), 228 

spatulas, medieval, 197 

Sphagnum spp. (bog moss), 44—5 

Spoerry, P. S., 31 

spoons, 248 

Staffordshire, slipwares, 36, 195 

stakeholes, 235, 236, 263; ?modern, 137, see 
also postholes 

Stanton St Bernard, Manor Farm, 262 

Stapleford, 115; ringwork, 111 

Staples, Samuel, 254 

stater, gold, 103 

statues, Romano-British, 240 

Staverton, Nestlé at, 268 

Steedman, Mrs, 67 

steel objects, medieval, 29 

steelyards, Roman, 227 

Stellaria spp. (chickweeds), charred seeds, 200 

Stephen, King, 111 

Stephens, Robert, 53 

Stephens, Widow, 54 

Steuart, George, 9-10 

Steward, Charles, 249, 254 

Steward, Jane, 249 

Steward, Richard, 249 

Stickler, Tracey, notes on animal bone from 
Littleton Drew—Chippenham gas pipeline, 
96, 100-1 

Stock, Jan, 63 

Stokes, Eleanor, 126 

Stokes, Judith, 125 

Stokes, Richard, 125, 126 

stone circles, 269 

Stonehenge, 6, 15, 65, 76, 79, 132, 153, see 
also Amesbury 

stones: burial of, 1, 4, 5, 7; Chilmark, 188; 
destruction, 7; rubbing, 154, 176; sockets, 
6, 7, see also sarsen stones 

stones (fruit) see fruit stones 

stonework: Early Neolithic, 154; ?Bronze Age, 
100, 103; Roman, 219, 220; Late Saxon, 
197; medieval, 38, 197, see also querns; 
sculpture 

Stourton with Gasper, Castle Orchard, 111— 
12 

Street, A. G., 266 

Street, George, 18 

strip brooches: Roman, 223; medieval, 197—8 

Struthionidae, 63 

studs, Roman, 225 

Stukeley, William, 1, 2, 6, 7 

Suffolk see Hurst Fen; 
Newmarket; West Stow 

Sulgrave (Northants), 114 

Surrey, 271, see also Charterhouse; Cranleigh; 
Guildford; Kingston upon Thames 

susceptibility meters, 139 

Sussex, knife finial, 249 


Lakenheath; 


INDEX 


Sutton Benger High Street, 262 
Sutton, James, 53 

Sutton Veny, Littkecombe Down, 264 
Svein, 115 

Swindon, 84 

Swindon Borough Council, 260 
Swindon Museum, 134 

Swinstead, J. Howard, 268 

Sydling St Nicholas (Dorset), 253 


Tahiti, 12 

tanning, evidence for, 24 

Taunton family, 254 

Taunton, Mrs, 253 

Taunton, Robert, 253 

Taunton (Somerset), 68; cess pits, 45 

Taunton, Thomas Pile, 253 

Taunton, W. L.T. P., 254 

Taylor, Anna Susanna, 12 

Taylor, Sir John, 12 

Taylor, John, 55 

Taylor, Simon, 12 

Taylor, Simon Richard, 12 

Taylor, Sir Simon Richard Brisset, 12 

Taylor, Simon Watson, 18 

tea, infusions, 44 

Tede, Dominique, 121, 122 

teeth: cattle, 102, 155, 160, 162, 165; deer, 
101; goats, 162; pigs, 155, 160, 162, 165; 
sheep, 162 : 

temples, Romano-British, 90 

tessellation, Romano-British, 240 

Tewkesbury (Glos), 84 

Thackeray, William Makepeace, 16 

Thomas, 2 

Thomas, Dylan, 270 

Thomas, Edward, 266 

Thomas Hardy Society, 270 

Thomas, James, paper on great bustard in 
Wiltshire, 63-70 

Thompson, Luigi, 240 

Ticinum (Italy), 230 

Tidworth, Tedworth House, 18 

Tighe, M. F., work reviewed, 266-7 

tiles: Roman, 220; Romano-British, 92, 96, 
103, 147, 233, 256; Late Saxon, 196-7; 
medieval, 24, 26, 27, 37-8; floor, 38; ridge, 
37-8; roof, 37 

Till, River, 71, 111 

Tilshead, 66, 67, 262; Breach Hill, 262; Copley 
Down, 261; Foxtrot Crossing, 261; Horse 
Down, 261;Tilshead Down, 261 

Timby, Jane: note on pottery from 
Chippenham Western Bypass, 236; notes 
on pottery from Littleton Drew— 
Chippenham gas pipeline, 94—5, 100 

Times, The, 206 

Time and Tide, 269 

Tocotes, Sir Roger, 85, 86 

Tolhurst, Peter, work reviewed, 2605-6 

Tollard Royal, 86 

tombs, chambered, 131 

tools, 198; Neolithic, 134; Roman, 227; flint, 
236, 257 

Torksey (Lincs), 228 

trackways, medieval, 259 

Transco, 90, 92 

‘Treadgold, Mr, 66 


tree holes, 2modern, 189 

Trevelgue (Cornwall), 228, 229 

Trier (Germany), 230 

Triticum spp. (wheat), charred grains, 42, 43 

Triticum aestivum (bread wheat), charred 
grains, 200 

Triticum dicoccum (emmer wheat), grains, 
169, 173 

Triticum monococcum (einkorn wheat), 
grains, 169 

Triticum spelta (spelt), charred grains, 200 

Tropenell, Agnes, 83, 86 

Tropenell Cartulary, The, 87 

Tropenell, Christopher, 87 

Tropenell, Edith, 83 

Tropenell family, arms, 86 

Tropenell, Henry, 83 

‘Tropenell, Margaret, 83, 86, 87 

Tropenell, Thomas, career of, 82—9 

Tropenell, Walter, 83, 85-6 

Trowbridge, 86, 249, 268-9, 270, 272; 
Bellefield House, 254; Bustard Club, 68; 
Castle, 107; Fore Street, 250; George and 
Woolpack, 252; Hilperton Road, 254; knife 
finial from, 248-9; Lloyds Bank, 250; 
pottery, 193, 196; St James’s Church, 272; 
Swan, 70; White Swan, 70 

Trowbridge Advertser, 272 

Trowbridge Boys’ High School, 272 

Trowbridge Chronicle, 272 

‘Trowbridge Civic Society, 272 

Trowbridge Museum, 272 

Trowbridge Orchestra, 272 

Trowbridge Philharmonic Choral Society, 272 

Trowbridge Reference and Local Studies 
Library, 51 

Tso-Hsin, Cheng, 68 

tubers, 168-75 

‘Tweeddale, 7th Marquis of, 16 

Tweeddale, 8th Marquis of, 18 


Underwood, Thomas, 253 

United States, 270 

University of Sheffield, Department of 
Archaeology and Prehistory, 155 

Upavon, 67; Widdington Farm, 262 

Urtica spp. (nettles), charred seeds, 200 

Urtica dioica (stinging nettle), uses, 44 

US Air Force, 260 


vault burials, 123-8 

Vellonia costata (mollusc), 78 

Verlucio, 103 

Vernon, Elizabeth, 126 

Verulamium (Herts), 227, 240 

Verwood (Dorset), pottery, 31, 35-6, 37, 195, 
196, 246 

Vicia faba (broad bean), seeds, 42, 43 

Victoria History of Wiltshire, 268 

Victoria, Queen, 12, 15, 16 

Vienna (Austria), 121, 122, 270-1 

Vikings, 112 

villages: medieval, 259, 264; deserted, 257 

villas; Roman, 218-32; Romano-British, 90, 
103, 239-41 

Vindolanda (Northumberland), 240 

Vinynge, George, 53, 54 

Vitis vinifera (grape), seeds, 43, 44 


Viveash, Samuel, 122 
Vousden, Aaron, 55 
Vousden, Ann, 55 

Vulpes vulpes (red fox), 68 


Waddon Hill (Dorset), 223 

Wales, University, 1 

Walker, Graeme, note on flintwork from 
Chippenham Western Bypass, 236 

Walker, Heneage, 249 

Walker-Heneage family, 249 

Walker, John, 249 

Walker, Mary, 249 

walls: Roman, 220; Saxon, 188; ?medieval, 191; 
medieval, 26, 28; post-medieval, 24, 191 

Walpole, Sir Robert, 12 

Walters, Bryn, 220; note on Euridge Manor 
Farm, Colerne, 231 

Walton family, 266 

Walton, Isaak, 50 

Wanborough, Earlscourt Manor, 262 

Wanstrow (Somerset), 36 

war memorials, 205-17 

Warminster, 54, 68, 84; Battlesbury Bowl, 
262-3; Battlesbury Camp, 262; 
Battlesbury Hill, 263; Battlesbury Wood, 
263; Boreham Farm Bungalow, 263; Brick 
Hill, 263; Cock, 70; Emwell Street, 245; 
Furnax Lane, 263; Harman Lines, 262; 
market, 67; Middle Hill, 263; pottery, 35; 
Swan, 70; White Swan, 70 

Warmwell, William, 52, 57 

War Office, 19 

War Report, 269 

Warriner, Mr, 15 

Warwickshire, 265 

Waterloo (1815), 67 

Waters, John, 67 

Watson, Anna Susanna, 12 

Watson, George, 10 

Watson Taylor family, 18 

Watson Taylor, George, 9, 10-16, 18 

Watson, William, 121 

wattle and daub, 197, 198, 201 

Wayland’s Smithy (Oxon), 131 

Weeks and Son, Messrs, 55, 56 

wells, 27; Romano-British, 99, 100; ?post- 
medieval, 24, 51 

Wessex, 183, 239, 270; literature, 265-6 

Wessex Archaeology: evaluations, 71, 259, 
260-1, 264; excavations, 233 (Amesbury, 
255; Avebury, 256; Devizes, 241-8; 
Salisbury, 20-62; Salisbury Plain, 261; 
Warminster, 262-3; Wilton, 181—204) 

Wessex, King of, 181 

Wessex Water, 255 

Westbury: chalk pit, 263; Northacre Business 
Park, 263-4 

Westby, Gregory [George], 85 

West Dean: Bentley, 66; church, 111; 
earthwork, 111, 117 

Western Front, 206 

West Indian Planters and Merchants, 12, 18 

West Indies, 12 

West Lavington, 67; Littleton Pannell, 115 

Westminster Press, 272 

West Stow (Suffolk), 197 

West Sussex see Findon; Houghton 


282 


West Tisbury, Pythouse, 53 

West Wickham (Cambs), 70 

Weyhill Brewery, 55 

Wheatley, David, report on excavations at 
Beckhampton Avenue, 1-8 

Wherwell (Hants), 66 

whetstones, 100 

Whipsnade Wildlife Park, 68 

White, Gilbert, 66 

Whittle, Alasdair, 1, 7; report on excavations 
at Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure, 
131-80 

Whittokesmede, John, 83, 84 

Wigmore, Thomas, 55 

Wilkes, Elizabeth, 53 

Wilkes, John, 53, 55 

William IV, King, 15 

Williams, Alfred, 266 

Williamson, Henry, 266 

Williams, Widow, 55 

Wilsford cum Lake, 67 

Wilson, Wynne, 206 

Wilton, 65, 87; Bull Bridge, 189; church, 183, 
189, 202, 203; Cross Bridge, 202-3; 
Ditchampton, 185, 202; fortifications, 108; 
Kingsbury Square, 183, 202; legal status, 
181-3; Market Place, 183; Netherwells 
Lane, 185; North Street, 202; Russell Street, 
202; St John’s Hospital, 181-204; South 
Street, 181-204; West Street, 185, 202 

Wilts and Berks Canal, 269 


THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 


Wiltshire: early castles, 105-19; tile industry, 
37 

Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History 
Magazine, 105, 134, 219 

Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History 
Society, 87, 134, 228, 271; Archaeology 
Field Group, 220 

Wiltshire County Archaeological Officer, 183, 
241 

Wiltshire County Council: Archaeological 
Service, 92, 233; Environmental Services 
Department, 233; Local Studies Library, 
270 

Wiltshire Gazette, 18 

Wiltshire Record Society, 272 

Wiltshire Rescue Archaeology Project, 256 

Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office, 51, 249, 
270 

Wiltshire Times, 272 

Winchester (Hants), 66, 183, 193, 196, 202; 
bishops of, 86 

windmills, 116 

Wingfield: Church Lane, 264; Stowford, 265 

Winterbourne, Figsbury Rings, 266 

Winterbourne Bassett, 132 

Winterbourne Monkton: Hackpen Hill, 132, 
134; Millbarrow, 131 

Winterbourne Stoke, 67; Hill Farm, 264 

Winterslow: Easton Down, 80, 131, 132; 
Winterslow Hut, 66-7 

Wodehull, John, 86 


Woodcutts (Dorset), Down Farm, 166, 167, 168 

wooden objects, Saxo-Norman, 198 

Woodham Ferrers (Essex), 70 

Woodhouse, Bill, 268 

Woodspring Museum (Avon), 228 

woodwork, medieval, 39 

Woolf, Virginia, 266 

Wootton Bassett, pottery, 257 

Worcester, cess pits, 45 

Worcestershire see Lark Hill 

Wordsworth, William, 265 

World War I, 268; casualties, 206; memorials, 
205-17 

World War II, 18; anti-aircraft gun pits, 260; 
memorials, 205 

Wroughton: Barbury Castle, 260; Overtown 
House, 264 

Wye (Kent), 70 

Wyles, Sarah F., note on marine shells from 
Ivy Street/Brown Street, Salisbury, 45 

Wylye, River, 115, 181, 183, 201, 263 

Wylye Valley, 261, 268 

Wyndham, Rev., 67 


Yarrell, William, 63—5, 67 

Yatton Keynell, 103; Church Farm, 264; Grove 
Farm, 101; Park Farm, 92 

York, 44 

Yorkshire, great bustards, 68 


Zeals, 267-8; Bypass, 267; Zeals House, 268 


WILTSHIRE HERITAGE ia 


= MUSEUM 
GALLERY 
LIBRARY 


Published by 
The Wiltshire Archaeological 
and Natural History Society 


ISSN 0262 6608 


WILTSHIRE HERITAGE 


MUSEUM 
GALLERY 
LIBRARY 


Published by 
The Wiltshire Archaeological 
and Natural History Society 


ISSN 0262 6608