Surrey Archaeological Society

Watching brief carried out by R and P Savage of SyAS, and assisted by A Norris, revealed that the remains of the stone medieval churchyard wall, probably dating to the 12th or 13th centuries, had been encased within a brick rebuilding of the wall in the post-medieval period. As a result of the watching brief and resultant discussions, the necessary repairs to the later brick wall were modified to encase and preserve the medieval remains.

Eight test pits dug by SyAS under the direction of R Savage (four at the White Hart, 150 High Street, together with three at The Old Vicarage and one at Lea Cottage, both in Church Street). A small amount of Late Saxon pottery was recovered in the two locations in Church Street, while stratified 12th century layers were revealed close to the High Street at the White Hart.

Watching brief carried out by R Savage of SyAS showed heavy contamination down to, and into, the natural sands and gravels by 19th century pits containing industrial and light-industrial waste.

Evaluation by S Thompson of WA within the grounds of Sutton Place revealed plough scars of likely post- medieval or modern date and recovered a small assemblage of medieval pottery from the topsoil. It is probable that differences in the underlying geology accounted for a linear feature observed in aerial photographs dissecting the site.

Excavation and watching brief by M Collings of WA in advance of flood protection, landscaping, tip remediation and redevelopment alongside the Hoe stream of areas identified as being of potential interest during evaluation of the site in 2010. The excavation confirmed the presence of postholes, gullies and ditches. Owing to the lack of secure archaeological finds, it was possible to date only two ditches: one to the Early-Middle Iron Age and a second to the post-medieval/modern period.

Fieldwork carried out by W Mills with volunteer assistance under the overall direction of R Savage of SyAS to investigate any surviving contexts related to the discovery during fieldwalking in the 1920s and 30s of the Late Upper Palaeolithic flint blades now held in the British Museum as the Lawson Collection. Two transects of auger holes indicated the survival in parts of the site of late Ice Age soil horizons, but not close to the site of the flint discoveries.

Evaluation by O Good of WA revealed a post-medieval ditch, a number of undated shallow pits and several modern field boundaries.

Excavation by A Guinness of SCAU for the Community Archaeology Project, involving the investigation of two former air-raid shelters on the site. The shelters had been partially demolished and the remains buried, with the excavation being an opportunity to establish their correct locations and state of preservation, while providing a training platform for over 100 local children to learn basic excavation techniques, learn about the archaeological discovery process, and handle real artefacts from the Second World War.

Historic building recording and evaluation by G Thompson and S Watson of PCA. The original Aldebrook House was designed in an 'Old English' fusion of Surrey and Wealden vernacular style by celebrated architect Richard Norman Shaw for the Liberal politician Pandeli Ralli in the early 1880s. Following alterations in the mid-1930s, the house was used as a convalescence hospital for servicemen during the Second World War, and subsequently demolished in the late 1950s and replaced by a smaller property of uninspired contemporary design.