Prehistoric

Land east of Place Farm, Bletchingley

Evaluation by G Hayman of SCAU for Hepworth Minerals & Chemicals Ltd, of two areas proposed for mineral extraction, following on from fieldwalking of one of the areas (centred TQ 333 517). The fieldwalking exercise recovered medieval and post-medieval material, as well as a quantity of prehistoric flint. Evaluation of this area recovered a few more stray finds and revealed the remains of a substantial hearth or kiln apparently of post-medieval date, a sand quarry of post-medieval date, and a couple of ditches and a posthole that contained prehistoric material.

18–32 London Road, Staines

Evaluation by G Hayman of SCAU for Conoco Ltd of the site of a proposed petrol filling station. Ancient soil horizons were found beneath modern levels, containing prehistoric, Roman and medieval material, indicating activity of all these periods in the vicinity. Several features were also recorded: a ditch of late 3rd to 4th century date; a ditch of late 13th century date; an undated ditch of some antiquity. No further features were noted during a subsequent watching brief on the redevelopment.

2-8 High Street, Staines

An evaluation by G Hayman of SCAU for Pearce Construction (South East) Ltd, of a redevelopment site in the centre of the town, found that some of the site had been damaged by the construction of modern basements, but that extensive stratigraphy survived elsewhere. A sequence of prehistoric, Roman and medieval deposits was recorded. Subsequent excavation was carried out by T Ennis of Tempus Reparatum. The earliest activity on the site appears to have been Late Bronze Age, followed by occupation in the Late Iron Age or early Roman period.

Land at Home Farm, Laleham

Evaluation by G Hayman of SCAU for Greenham Construction Materials and Tarmac Roadstone Ltd, of phase 4 of mineral extraction at this site, followed on from evaluation and excavation of the earlier phases in previous years. Two areas of archaeological interest, both occupying slightly elevated positions, were noted and subsequently excavated. A variety of features, mainly Middle or Late Bronze Age but including some Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, were recorded. Finds included fragments of perforated clay slabs, which are typically Late Bronze Age.

M25 Junctions 12 to 15

Evaluation by the Oxford Archaeological Unit for Chris Blandford Associates along the line of proposed link roads beside the M25. Nine sites were tested by a combination of trial pitting and test pitting: Thorpe Fields; land west of Thorpe by-pass; land between Longside Lake and Great Fosters; land north of Wickham Lane; the Unigate Dairies, Egham; land west of Queensmead Lake; Yeoveney Lodge; Cambridge Kennels; and Poyle Meadows. Of these sites, four contained positive archaeological evidence.

Land East of River Park Avenue, Egham

A watching brief by R Poulton, P Jones, N Marples and M Dover of SCAU for C A Cornish & Assocs, was carried out during groundworks for redevelopment. The site lies immediately south of the Thames and fluvial deposits were identified across most of the site. Some pieces of axe-trimmed wood were recovered from the lower deposits; no dating material was recovered, but these pieces are thought likely to be prehistoric in date. Observations on works to The Causeway, which lies immediately south of the site, indicated that little, if any, of the original make up survived in this section.

Wey Manor Farm, Addlestone

Evaluation in 1994 of the first phases (centred TQ 062 630) proposed for mineral extraction, by Graham Hayman of SCAU on behalf of Ready Mixed Concrete (United Kingdom) Ltd. The area adjacent to the river Wey was found to consist of flood plain deposits and no features or finds of archaeological interest were recovered. The remaining areas produced evidence for numerous archaeological features indicating a concentration of activity, probably settlement, on an area of higher ground. Here pits, ditches and a possible ring-gully produced finds of prehistoric (Bronze or Iron Age) and Roman date.

Land north of Albury Street, Albury

Evaluation by Tony Champion of SCAU for Albury Estates, of an area proposed for a new lake, revealed a layer of waterlogged silt containing a large number of small pieces of wood, some of which had clearly been cut or worked. Two pieces of struck flint were also recovered. The silt is presumed to represent a former channel of the Tillingbourne, which currently runs to the south of this site.

Postford Mill, Chilworth

Evaluation by A Powell and C Ellis of Wessex Archaeology, for Lam Watson Woods Architects, in advance of redevelopment of the mill site. Documentary evidence indicates that the site was used for gunpowder production in the late 17th century, but the evaluation produced no evidence for this. The gunpowder works are therefore presumed to have been largely restricted to the area covered by later mills and associated buildings and may, therefore, have been largely destroyed.

Trevereux Manor, Limpsfield

Evaluation by J Robertson of SCAU, for R Stilgoe, of an area proposed for an extension to the lake created in 1994, when a watching brief recorded a pit containing Late Iron Age/Romano-British pottery. The evaluation confirmed that the London-Lewes Roman Road runs only about 15 metres west of the alignment indicated by the Ordnance Survey. The road has clearly suffered damage since it fell out of use, probably as a result of ploughing. There was no sign of the expected side ditches. Numerous finds were recovered, indicating occupation in the near vicinity during the Roman period.

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