DBA – desk based assessment, HBS/A – historic building survey/assessment, HVIA
– historic visual impact assessment, NMP – National Mapping Programme
A total of 16 sites were examined in 11 parishes. 4 commercial firms produced the
reports; 9 of these reports were prepared by SWARCH, 2 by AC Archaeology, 2 by Wessex
Archaeology and 1 by Substrata. The remaining two were carried out by Historic England.
6 of the reports were prompted by residential development and 5 by the provision
of services such as drainage and cabling.
1. Barnstaple: 121 Boutport Street
Although at face value the building is a 19th century shop with 20th century storage
buildings to the rear, on closer examination a 16th century roof truss was found
in the first floor roof. This suggests that the building was originally part of a
cross passage house that was subdivided and remodelled in the 19th century. All other
internal features of both 16th and 19th century origin have been removed, however.
2. Barnstaple: Museum, The Square
To support a planning application for the extension of the Museum on land between
it and the Long Bridge, an archaeological evaluation, comprising three test pits,
was carried out on the site of the proposed extension. This followed a desk based
assessment carried out by SWARCH (also 2016, but not yet on the ADS website).
The site of the Museum extension was known to have previously been occupied by the
nineteenth century Bridge End House. It had been demolished in the 1960s when the
Long Bridge was widened. A total of fourteen archaeological features were revealed,
including: one bridge foundation cut, one posthole, one path, six surfaces, three
walls, and two wall robber cuts.
Finds were predominantly in various demolition and dump layers. To the west of the
Museum they comprised mainly demolition material, as might be expected from the former
site of Bridge End House. These finds consist largely of post mediaeval, nineteenth
and twentieth century material. In the test pit to the south of the Museum building,
the finds comprised dumped material, predominantly pottery and kiln waste, presumably
from nearby or onsite potteries and lime kilns. The waste was locally produced post
mediaeval domestic pottery with some industrial pottery from further afield. This
was considered to be consistent with the domestic nature of the previous occupation
of the site and, before that the industrial use of a riverside site.
In overall terms these features and finds demonstrate the urban development of this
riverside site, from industrial use, lime and pottery kilns, in the eighteenth and
early nineteenth centuries to later nineteenth century domestic use, including the
construction of Bridge End House and the Museum building, which was also originally
built as a house.
3. Barnstaple: St Mary’s, Pilton
The work, to replace electricity poles, involved the removal of a small section of
the churchyard wall and the auguring of two post holes for replacement the poles.
The removal of the wall revealed the stratification of graveyard layers. The finds
were mainly post-mediaeval pottery fragments, with some North Devon gravel tempered
sherds dating from the 15th-16th centuries, later North Devon gravel free sherds
and a 17th century clay pipe stem.
4. Bittadon: St Peter’s Church
St Peter’s Church was rebuilt in the 19th century. The trench for the new drains
was dug from the west tower to the boundary wall of the graveyard. No archaeological
features or finds were discovered.
5. Braunton: 27 North Street
This site lies just outside the historic core of Braunton. Features identified as
a result of topsoil stripping include ditches, postholes and wall footings to the
west and remains of the farmyard and buildings to the east. Finds include mediaeval
and postmediaeval pottery sherd. Two flint flakes were found in one of the early
ditches in the south west part of the site.
Overall the findings indicate the development of the mediaeval and post-mediaeval
farmstead, including the division of the site into an orchard and walled garden in
the 19th century. The alignment of the earliest ditches and the flint flakes found
in them suggest features that pre-date the mediaeval burgage plots on this side of
North Street; they may even be prehistoric.
6. Challacombe: Chapman Barrows
A rectangular earthwork enclosure on the south west end of the Chapman Barrows group
of monuments was surveyed by Hazel Riley in 2009 and reported in the Historic England
report on an enclosure at Little Hangman, Combe Martin.
Details of the enclosure bank and ditch are described, within its setting on Chapman
Barrows. Possible origins for the structure are considered, including post mediaeval
peat cutting and a possible stock enclosure associated with Radworthy, which lies
to the east. However, after comparing the enclosure with similar ones at Tennyson
Down on the Isle of Wight and at Wilsford Down, south of Stonehenge, Wiltshire, the
conclusion is drawn that the feature is possibly a mortuary enclosure associated
with the ceremonial landscape of Chapman Barrows.
The report notes that further work has been carried out at the site since the survey,
notably through the HLF-funded Longstone Landscape Community Archaeological Project.
7. Combe Martin: Little Hangman
As a result of the identification of a possible enclosure at Little Hangman in the
National Mapping Programme (NMP) for Exmoor, survey work was carried out in 2009
by the Archaeological Survey and Investigation team from English Heritage, at the
request of the National Trust and Exmoor National Park. It has now been reported
in a Historic England Research Report, published in 2016, together with a site at
Challacombe Common (see above).
The site lies at the western edge of Exmoor and sits on and around the summit of
Little Hangman, a prominent landmark that rises 220m high above and to the east of
Combe Martin and overlooks the cliffs of the Bristol Channel coast. It consists of
an enclosure bank and platforms. The survey enabled these features to be described
in detail and their origin and purpose to be considered.
The documentary research considers Little Hangman in the context of the (now National
Trust owned) West Challacombe estate. It includes a 1531 inquiry into rights of grazing
on the area. It also considers the site in the context of mining activity at Combe
Martin.
The research then places the feature in the context of comparable enclosures in the
south west. In particular it is considered in relation to early Neolithic tor enclosures
in Devon and Cornwall and to Later Bronze Age to Iron Age Cornish “cliff castles”.
Tor enclosures are characterised by their location and altitude, by the incorporation
of natural landforms and by the presence of platforms and terraces forming level
areas for occupation or other activities. The report acknowledges that the site has
perhaps more in common with Cornish cliff castles, where a headland or promontory
is defined by earthworks.
The report concludes that the site is a possible tor enclosure and that, if so, it
is the only known early Neolithic enclosure on Exmoor and is therefore of regional
and national significance. In overall terms the report concludes that the evidence
suggests that the western part of Exmoor was important in the landscape of the early
Neolithic period in the South West. In this context it considers that the coastal
location of Little Hangman is significant.
8. Combe Martin: Glen Lyn car park and coach park adjoining Pack o’ Cards
A watching brief was carried out while SWW installed two waste water tanks in different
locations in the village. Despite the known presence of buildings and other works
historically, no features or finds were observed. This is believed to be due to previous
ground disturbance.
9. East Anstey: Highaton, West Anstey
Monitoring and recording were carried out during the construction of a manege. It
was required in view of the known archaeological features, such as barrows, in the
near vicinity. The area was excavated using a toothless grading bucket. No features
were found and the finds were limited to two sherds of 19th century tin-glazed stoneware.
10. Fremington: Glenwood, Old Bideford Road
Wessex Archaeology kept a watching brief along the route of a sewer pipe being laid
between Old Bideford Road and a termination point just south of Bickington Road.
The first part of the route northwards ran alongside Tews Lane and was constructed
by directional drilling, with occasional access pits; the second part travelled in
a north-westerly direction across open fields and topsoil stripping and trenching
were the method of construction used in this section.
In one of the areas of topsoil stripping five ditch features were observed; these
were consistent with the alignment of former field boundaries that delineated post-mediaeval
strip fields. There were some finds of pottery sherds. Of the 62 sherds 6 were mediaeval
and the remainder post-mediaeval.
11. Fremington: land adjacent Mead Park
The gradiometer survey was commissioned by AC Archaeology in order to establish the
probability of archaeological features existing on site that needed to be investigated
in pursuit of the residential development of the site. The site location lies between
Fremington and Bickington, close to Muddlebridge on the north side of the main road.
Eleven magnetic anomaly groups were mapped as representing possible archaeological
deposits. Of these four are likely to represent former field boundaries shown on
the Fremington Tithe Map. The remainder are typical of former field and enclosure
boundaries.
12. Kentisbury: East Bredwick Farm
A watching brief was carried out during the excavation of cable trenches, in view
of the presence of a Scheduled Ancient Monument comprising three Bronze Age round
barrows and an Iron Age univallate enclosure 300m north of the farm. No archaeological
features or finds were exposed during the work, however.
13. Landkey: Birch Road
Birch Road lies to the north of Landkey Newland. A substantial area between the road
and the existing village is to be developed. The Desk Based Assessment rehearsed
the history of the village and of land ownership in the vicinity. Reference was made
to Tithe and subsequent OS maps showing the site to be in agricultural use and subdivided
by post mediaeval field boundaries. The geophysics survey indicated the presence
of other field boundaries, some of which had been removed since the Tithe Map was
published in 1847, and others which had been relicts of mediaeval field systems which
had been removed earlier. One possible enclosure on a different alignment that might
precede the field system was identified.
14. North Molton: Lower Poole Barns
The site lies immediately to the south of Lower Poole Barns on the south west side
of the village. It consists of three fields. Four evaluation trenches were opened
and five archaeological features were found. These were one linear gully, one linear
ditch, two post holes and a pit. Finds included post mediaeval pottery, 18th, 19th
and 20th century glass bottles and fragments of slag.
The large amount of slag is considered to represent evidence of metal working activity
on or in the vicinity of the site. It was found in association with 16th-17th century
pottery sherds, indicating that the activity probably dated from this period.
15. South Molton: 80 South Street
The site lies on the west side of South Street, close to the town centre, in an area
known to contain burgage plots. A rectangular area was excavated to formation level
and a test pit excavated within that area. Features discovered included two areas
of cobbled surface and footings and drains associated with a recently demolished
modern building. Finds included a substantial quantity of mainly 18th and 19th century
domestic ware, including North Devon gravel-free and grave3l tempered coarseware.
Other finds included clay pipe stems and bowls, ceramic building materials and bottle
glass.
16. Tawstock: Land adjoining Old Bideford Road, Roundswell
The site is an irregularly shaped field in the ownership of Devon County Council,
lying between Old Bideford and Old Torrington Roads. It is surrounded by modern development,
with housing to the north, Sainsbury’s to the west and the Roundswell Business Park
to the south. Seven evaluation trenches were dug in the accessible part of the site;
their location was restricted by the presence of and overhead power line and dense
vegetation.
Despite the known presence of archaeological features in the vicinity, little was
found on the site. Most features were modern drainage, with some post mediaeval former
field boundaries and ditches. Finds included modern building materials and pottery
sherds. One of the sherds was considered to be mediaeval, of North Devon coarseware
dated to the 13th to 15th centuries. The remaining sherds were post mediaeval or
modern.
Conclusions
This was the first year for some time that reports weren’t mainly prompted by renewable
energy developments, but instead by residential development or servicing. There are
few stand out reports this year, the most notable being the surveys of Little Hangman
and Chapman Barrows by Historic England and the investigation of the site of the
proposed North Devon Museum extension in Barnstaple.
3rd May 2018
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