Surrey Archaeological Society

Evaluation by S Thompson of WA. A ditch containing Late Bronze Age pottery and a waterlain soil deposit characteristic of either a river channel or flood plain suggest the site is located within a well-preserved and rich prehistoric landscape.

Evaluation by C Russel of ASE revealed that the site had been previously stripped and levelled almost certainly during construction of the works, and no finds or features of archaeological interest were discovered.

Evaluation by D and G Trimble of APS. A ditch was revealed that contained a significant quantity of Middle-Late Iron Age pottery. Further features found included additional ditches and a pit, all of which contained burnt flint and evidence for ironworking in the form of furnace lining, slag and hammerscale - both flake and spheroidal. The results are highly suggestive of an Iron Age domestic settlement site with associated metalworking being present in the vicinity, which, if confirmed by more extensive investigations, could potentially be of regional significance.

Evaluation by N Randall of SCAU did not reveal any finds or features of archaeological significance.

Watching brief by T Tapply of AC revealed a small pit containing Bronze Age pottery.

Watching brief by T Munnery of SCAU during gas pipe installation works. A post-medieval culvert of likely Victorian date was revealed, together with a small amount of medieval and post-medieval pottery.

Test pit monitoring and watching brief by I Howell and G Rapson of MOLA. The test pits revealed only limited details regarding underlying deposits, together with a small number of Palaeolithic flints – examples of which have been encountered in the area previously. Subsequent monitoring of the main excavation works revealed a moderate amount of additional worked flints, the majority of which were assessed as undiagnostic, although some Palaeolithic and Mesolithic material was present. A number of truncated burnt features were also encountered.

Community archaeology project, Dig Preston 2011, undertaken as a collaboration by Preston Community Archaeology Project Group, Raven Housing Trust and SCAU. This located and uncovered sections of the manor house of Preston Hawe that stood on the site between the 12th and 15th centuries, and was previously investigated by Brian Hope-Taylor in the 1950s, and evidence of a chapel that served it.

Evaluation by R King of FA revealed no evidence for deposits pre-dating the late post-medieval period. A tile-rich layer encountered in one trench might represent the backfilling of a post-medieval pond suggested to have been located in the area.

Soil stripping, mapping and sampling of four large areas by A Thorne of ASE. Area one revealed a series of linear features and scattered pits and postholes, probably of Roman date and representing agricultural activity. Substantial evidence of post-medieval and modern field systems was also present in both above and below-ground forms. Areas two and three were badly truncated and damaged, but revealed similar evidence for agricultural land management and activity in the Late Iron Age/Early Roman periods. Area four revealed only a single post-medieval linear feature.