Medieval

1066-1600

Victor House, rear of 72-74 High Street, Staines

Excavation by J Grove of Wessex, for MEPC UK Ltd, in advance of redevelopment. Earlier Roman activity (1st-2nd century) was found to be restricted to higher land at the southern end of the site. Here, a number of refuse pits and a series of gulleys and ditches were revealed, as well as two occupation surfaces and a possible oven. An episode of flooding separated these features from those of mid Roman date (2nd century), which were also concentrated on the higher ground.

Blue Anchor Public House, 13-15 Market Street, Staines

Watching brief by P Jones and J Robertson of SCAU, for Wizard Inns, during work on an extension and improvements to the Blue Anchor. The nature of the foundation trenches, 3m deep and 0.85m wide, meant that they were unsuitable for proper archaeological recording to take place. Pottery of Roman (late 1st - 2nd century) date and a small, possibly, Roman coin, as well as late medieval (15th century) pottery, animal bone and tile, were recovered from the spoil heap.

St Nicholas’ Church, Shepperton

Evaluation and watching brief by J Stevenson of SCAU, on behalf of the church, of part of the site for a proposed extension. The trenches were restricted to the area outside the churchyard; they revealed considerable disturbance, presumed to represent landscaping in the 19th century. The watching brief on remedial works on the east end of the Chancel revealed the foundations to be constructed from mortared chalk rubble, sitting on the natural gravel, with no obvious signs of earlier structural remains. A number of both articulated and disarticulated human remains were also revealed.

Home Farm, Laleham

Evaluation and excavation by G Hayman of SCAU of Phase 7 of this mineral extraction site, for Greenham Construction Materials Ltd, revealed a variety of features; the quantity of finds associated with many of these is indicative of settlement activity. Most features were revealed on an area of marginally higher ground. They include a very large ditch, possibly forming an enclosure around a settlement. The finds appear to be of Bronze Age date and probably relate to the settlement of that date found in previous phases (4E and 6B).

Wey Manor Farm, Addlestone

Following evaluation of Phase 4 of this mineral extraction site in 1997, by G Hayman of SCAU for RMC Aggregates, a watching brief was maintained by SCAU on the stripping of the area. A couple of features of Middle Iron Age and Roman date were revealed, but the main features of interest appear to be Bronze Age. These features included a round house with an ancillary gulley and an enclosure ditch. A pit within the round house included part of a cup decorated by slashes made with a flint blade or flake.

Land at the corner of Pyrcroft Road and Guildford Street, Chertsey

Excavation and a watching brief by D Hopkinson of AOC, for Countryside Properties (Commercial) PLC, of the site of Phase 5 of the Chertsey Revitalisation Scheme, following an evaluation in 1997. The earliest evidence revealed was a series of intercutting Saxo-Norman gullies, apparently demarcating an enclosure extending to the north and west, with an opening in its south east corner. A series of pits and ditches of 14th - mid 16th century date appear to be the next phase of activity. Two major ditches of this date defined plots alongside Guildford Street.

Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe

A watching brief was maintained by J Robertson of SCAU, for RMC Aggregates (UK) Ltd, on soil stripping in advance of mineral extraction. The site revealed no features of archaeological interest, although stray finds recovered include two struck flints and a sherd of Saxon grass-tempered pottery. Fragments of burnt flint and pieces of medieval and post-medieval tile were observed over much of the stripped area.

Former Netherne Hospital, Chipstead

Evaluation and excavation by J Stevenson and G Hayman of SCAU, for Gleeson Homes, in advance of residential development on the former hospital site. The evaluation was aimed at testing the results of an earlier geophysical survey, and revealed evidence of prehistoric and medieval activity. The subsequent excavation revealed a scatter of prehistoric features, including a ditch and two small pits. One of these produced a quantity of flint debitage, seemingly of Mesolithic date. Neolithic and Bronze Age flintwork was also recovered, while the ditch and other pit were of Bronze Age date.

Battlebridge House, Merstham

Evaluation by D Dobson and D Killock of PCA, for Crest Homes, revealed evidence dating from the post-medieval period to the present day. One trench produced Bronze Age flintwork and a late 12th century pit. Further work revealed a truncated ditch aligned roughly east to west, the fills of which contained a sherd of Mid-Late Saxon pottery and one dating to the 12th century. This feature is likely to be the remains of a field or enclosure boundary.

The Barons, Reigate

Evaluation by J Robertson of SCAU, for Green Property (UK) Ltd, in advance of redevelopment for offices, revealed no features of archaeological interest. A number of finds were recovered however. These included pieces of struck prehistoric flint and numerous sherds of pottery, ranging in date from the 12th century onwards, as well as fragments of tile, clay pipe and animal bone. It is likely that this area was formerly in agricultural use and that most of these finds are the result of manuring.

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