Surrey Archaeological Society

A watching brief by M Saywood of SCAU on an area in the northern limit of the main quarry overlying the Gault clay revealed no finds or features of archaeological interest.

Appraisal by M Higgins of SCC of a gabled, two-bay, open-hall house, one of which was open. Situated on a tight urban plot, it was constructed before 1540 with an overshot cross entry and divided service.

Watching brief and subsequent detailed archaeological excavation by G Santamaria of WA to the north and east of previous phases of work (figs 6 and 7) and an exploratory machine slot excavated through a possible palaeochannel revealed but not investigated during the 2015 season. The possible palaeochannel measured c 40m in width but was relatively shallow, at a maximum of 2m to the underlying sand (fig 8).

Watching brief by D Atkins of CBAS of ground contouring and a temporary haul road during remodelling of the golf course. Machine excavation was carried out to a maximum depth of 300mm with only very occasional patches of the underlying natural deposit exposed. Consequently, the presence of any archaeological features could not be confirmed, although the poor drainage makes the presence of settlement activity unlikely. The few finds recovered were of post-medieval date.

Excavations by J Payne of SCAU ahead of planned mineral extraction revealed evidence of archaeological activity dating from the Mesolithic through to the post-medieval period. The more important finds included a pit that contained Beaker-type ceramics, diagnostic flint tools of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age date and the remnants of a Middle/Late Bronze Age field system, which was in part truncated by a Middle/Late Iron Age settlement. The Iron Age settlement comprised a series of ring-ditches and numerous discrete cut features set within a substantial enclosure ditch.

Watching brief by P McCulloch of PCA on new drainage work through the churchyard. The churchyard is at a visibly higher ground level than the surrounding land, which was thought to be indicative of extensive burials; however, no evidence of in-situ burials, or any archaeological deposits, finds or features were observed. The area may have been extensively disturbed or deliberately cleared in the construction of the modern church hall.

Additional phase of evaluation by B Davis of WA, following work undertaken in 2014 (SyAC 99, 232), revealed no further evidence of 18th century occupation or for nearby Iron Age to Romano-British ironworking, as previously identified. Both phases of work demonstrated extensive ground disturbance associated with the former 20th century industrial complex that formerly occupied the site.

Evaluation by A Haslam of PCA following demolition of the former aerospace works revealed archaeological features in the form of parallel ditches and several small pits. The fills of all the features were largely sterile, with only one pit producing pottery and pantile fragments from the late 18th to early 19th centuries. The lack of earlier, residual, material suggests that none of the features is likely to pre-date the late post-medieval period.

Archaeological monitoring by T Collie of SCAU revealed no finds or features of archaeological interest.

A magnetometry and earth resistance survey by R and S Ainslie of Abingdon Archaeological Geophysics within the boundary of the Scheduled Monument revealed three anomalies of possible archaeological origin. A subsequent test pit evaluation by W Weller of SCAU revealed a segment of a possible early medieval ditch towards the north of the site and confirmed that some areas to the south of the site had been truncated by recent quarrying.