Land off Birdie Way, Rush Green, Hertford, Hertfordshire An Archaeological Evaluation for Bride Hall Development Limited by Sarah Coles Thames Valley Archaeological Services Site Code RGH00/ 01 January 2000
Summary Site name: Land off Birdie Way, Rush Green, Hertford, Hertfordshire Grid reference: TL 3490 1305 Site activity: Field evaluation and desk-based assessment Date of project: December 1999/January 2000 Site code: RGH00/01 Area of site: c. 0.68 hectares Summary of results: Negative Monuments identified: None Location and reference of archive: The archive is at present held by Thames Valley Archaeological Services, 47 49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5NR and will be deposited with Hertford Museum in due course. i
Land off Birdie Way, Rush Green, Hertford, Hertfordshire An Archaeological Evaluation by Sarah Coles Report 00/01 Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological field investigation carried out on land off Birdie Way, Rush Green, Hertfordshire (TL 3490 1305). The project was commissioned by Mr Marc Freeman of Bride Hall Development Limited, 49 Hay s Mews, Mayfair, London, W1X 7RT. As planning permission is to be requested from East Hertford District Council for the construction of housing and a drive through restaurant on this site an archaeological investigation was required. This is in accordance with the Department of the Environment s Policy and Planning Guidance Note Archaeology and Planning (PPG16 1990) and the Council policies covering archaeology. The project was carried out to a specification approved by Mr Alex Hunt of the Archaeology Section of Hertfordshire County Council. The fieldwork and desktop study was carried out by Sarah Coles, Steve Ford, Nicola Powell and Andy Taylor during December 1999 and January 2000. The site code is RGH00/01. Location, Topography and Geology The site is located on the eastern outskirts of the town of Hertford, on a trapezoidal-shaped parcel of land c. 0.68 hectares in extent, between Pine Hurst housing estate and Stanstead Road (Fig 1). The northern and western boundaries are formed by a close-board fence enclosing an area of waste ground with scrub. The eastern boundary is fenced in the same manner and separates the waste ground from an additional car park area built for the adjacent petrol station, behind which is a modern L-shaped ditch. The southern boundary consists of the Stanstead Road and roundabout on the A10. The site is divided into two parcels of land by the remains of the now redundant Thieves Lane, which runs across the site from east to west. The lane is now a steep-sided overgrown hollow-way. In the southern part of the site are modern brick footings. No building is shown on any of the maps studied and, as the footing trenches were not backfilled, it may never have been completed. The site lies on level ground at a height of c. 70m above Ordnance Datum. The underlying geology is indicated by the British Geological Survey to be glacial gravels over Reading Beds (BGS 1975) but only glacial gravels were observed during the evaluation. 1
Desk-Based Assessment Cartographic Evidence Six maps were consulted at the Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies Centre (Appendix 1). The earliest map seen was a map of Hertfordshire by Bryant dated 1822 (Fig 3) that does not show the site area in detail. The site lies in an open area with a lane (Thieves Lane) crossing from east to west. The Second Edition of the Ordnance Survey dated 1898 (Fig 4) shows the southern section of the site as part of a large enclosed field, with Thieves Lane dividing it from Barrow Field to the north. The Ordnance Survey map produced in 1923 shows no alterations to the site (not illustrated). However, the 1938 Ordnance Survey (Fig 5) shows the replacement of the fields with a golf course and the projected line of a Roman road (Ermine Street), which ran near to the eastern boundary of the site. The 1964/1972 map (Fig 6) shows that Thieves Lane was still present despite the golf course and that there were no associated buildings on the area of the site. The most recent map (Fig 2) shows that Thieves Lane was no longer an access road between the Stanstead Road and a minor road in Ware. The golf course has been replaced by a modern housing estate with an area of open space surrounding the round barrow. The proposal site is an enclosed but undeveloped area. Archaeological Background The Hertfordshire Sites and Monuments Record was consulted in December 1999 and this revealed a number of entries for the vicinity of the site. The closest entries are listed in Appendix 2. There are no entries for the development area itself but there are five entries for sites nearby. To the northwest of the site is an upstanding bowl barrow, a probable burial mound dating to the early Bronze Age [Fig 1, 1]. This earthwork is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and has not been excavated. To the south-east a later Bronze Age pit was found and excavated and shown to contain four loomweights and pottery [2]. Another pit of Bronze Age date was found to the south of the proposal site [3]. Just to the south-east is the projected line of Roman Ermine Street, the location of which was confirmed by excavation at NGR TL 3500 1270 in 1974; it dates to AD 50 410 [4]. To the west of the site is the possible location of a 16th century beacon, perhaps on or near the upstanding round barrow [5]. Further afield are cropmarks of a single-ditched ring-ditch enclosure probably dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age [6] and to the north-east is the location of a possible Bronze Age occupation site [7]. More recent entries include a mine known to have been worked for chalk and flint in 1897 [8], and a pillbox with defensive trenches dating from the Second World War [9, 10]. 2
Evaluation Objectives and Methodology The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the presence/absence, extent, condition, character, quality, and date of any archaeological deposits within the area of development. A specification for the fieldwork was agreed with Mr Alex Hunt of the Archaeology Section of Hertfordshire County Council. The original scheme required the excavation of nine trenches, 1.6 m wide and 20 m long. However, on-site considerations dictated that this varied. The desktop study (above) was carried out in advance so that the results could inform the fieldwork with regard to positioning of the trenches. The earliest cartographic source available (Bryant s map of 1822) showed that Thieves Lane was in existence at this time and it was considered that it could be late Medieval in origin. If so, it was thought possible that contemporary buildings may have fronted onto the lane. The position of the trenches was therefore arranged parallel to and adjacent to Thieves Lane to enhance the chance of locating any such deposits. The trenches were excavated using a JCB-type machine fitted with a toothless bucket under continuous archaeological supervision. The topsoil was removed until the natural gravel was exposed. The spoilheaps were searched for finds and possible archaeological features were investigated. Following an on-site discussion with the County Archaeologist, five trenches (1, 2, 7, 8 and 9) were subject to a second phase of machining in order to verify that archaeological features were not present where their bases would have been more easily visible; up to another 0.30m of the gravel was removed. A complete list of trenches giving lengths, breadths, depths, and a description of sections and geology is given in Appendix 3. Results The nine trenches dug ranged in length from 16 to 27m (Fig 2). A uniform stratigraphic sequence was present in all of the trenches across the site, with a thin topsoil (turf) overlying sandy gravel. Trench 6 was more sandy than the other trenches and was more disturbed by root penetration. The topsoil typically ranged in depth from 0.20m for trenches at the northern end of the site, to 0.40m for those towards the southern end. The south-east end of Trench 4 lay close to the boundary of Thieves Lane and 0.2m of made ground was revealed beneath the topsoil. It is not clear if the thin topsoil observed in several 3
places is a product of landscaping associated with use of the site as a golf course. A small number of possible archaeological features were examined in Trench 4 but these were shown to be very shallow and caused by root activity. Several loam patches clearly observed at the base of the trenches subject to the second phase of machining were investigated but their sterile, homogenous fill would appear to be of natural origin. None of the trenches revealed any features of archaeological significance but a number of worked flints were retrieved from the spoilheaps (Fig 2). Finds Struck flint by Steve Ford A small collection of struck flint was recovered from the spoil heaps (Appendix 4): six flakes and a bashed lump (tested nodule). None of the pieces are chronologically diagnostic and only a general date of Neolithic to late Bronze Age can be suggested. Pottery by Steve Ford A single sherd of late post-medieval pottery was recovered from Trench 4. Conclusion The evaluation has produced a small number of prehistoric struck flints, which indicates some prehistoric activity in the vicinity. This is unsurprising as a number of Bronze Age occupation deposits were revealed during construction work in nearby areas and further traces of activity are expected from the builders of the probable early Bronze Age round barrow found to the west of the site. Apart from these few finds no deposits of archaeological significance were found and therefore the site would appear to have no archaeological potential. Bibliography BGS, 1975, British Geological Survey, 1:50000, Sheet 239, Solid and Drift Edition, Keyworth PPG 16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning, Department of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance Note 16, HMSO 4
Appendix 1: Cartographic sources 1822 Bryant, Hertfordshire (Fig 3) 1898 Ordnance Survey Second Edition (Herts XXIX. 12) 1:2500 (Fig 4) 1923 Ordnance Survey (Herts XXIX. 12) 1:2500 1938 Ordnance Survey Revision (Herts XXIX. 12) 1:2500 (Fig 5) 1964 Ordnance Survey (Herts TL 3413 TL 3513) 1:1250) (Fig 6, north) 1972 Ordnance Survey (Herts OS 3412 TL 3512) 1:1250 (Fig 6, south) 5
Appendix 2: Extract from Hertfordshire Sites and Monuments Record No SMR No. NGR (TL) Brief description 1 98 3475 1311 Bowl Barrow: Early Bronze Age (?) 2 6512 3500 1290 Pit: Late Bronze Age 3 4712 3490 1280 Pit: Bronze Age 4 4669 3500 1270 Road (Ermine Street): Roman (AD 50 410) 5 4001 3475 1311 Beacon : Post-Medieval, 16th century 6 2169 3430 1270 Cropmarks -ring ditch: Neolithic or Early Bronze Age 7 1875 3830 1346 Occupation site: Late Bronze Age 8 7278 3520 1350 Chalk and flint mine: Post-Medieval (19th century) 9 6904 3468 1300 Pillbox : Post-Medieval (WWII) 10 9079 3450 1300 Trenches : Post-Medieval (WWII) 6
Appendix 3: Trench details 0m at south or west end Trench Length Depth New depth Comments Number (m) (m) (m) 1 20.30 0.30 0.38 Topsoil 0 0.20m, gravel 70.15m AOD 2 18.60 0.32 0.42 Topsoil 0 0.30m, gravel 69.85m AOD 3 21.70 0.30 Topsoil 0 0.30m, gravel 69.84m AOD 4 19.90 0.20 Topsoil 0 0.20m, made ground 0.20 0.40m, gravel 70.06m AOD 5 27.00 0.40 Topsoil 0 0.40m, gravel 69.63m AOD 6 20.30 0.30 Topsoil 0 0.30m, gravelly sand 69.62m AOD 7 19.00 0.35 0.58 Topsoil 0 0.30m, gravel 69.49m AOD 8 16.90 0.33 0.50 Topsoil 0 0.25m, gravel 69.30m AOD 9 19.50 0.30 0.65 Topsoil 0 0.28m, gravel 69.40m AOD 7
Appendix 4: Catalogue of struck flint Trench Location Type Number 1 5 10 Intact flake 2 15 20 Intact flake 4 5 10 Broken flake 5 5 10 Intact flake 7 10 15 Bashed lump 8 5 10 Broken flake 9 10 15 Broken flake 8
SITE 13000 7 8 SITE 1, 5 12000 10 9 2 3 6 4 TL34000 35000 RGH00/01 Land off Birdie Way, Rush Green, Hertford, Hertfordshire, 2000 Figure 1. Location of site within Hertford and Hertfordshire showing SMR entries within a 500m radius of the site. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Pathfinder 1096 TL21/31 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Licence AL52324A0001 (reproduced at 1:12500)
Land off Birdie Way, Rush Green, Hertford, Hertfordshire, 2000 N 13100 Birdie Way 1 2 4 3 Tee Side Thieves Lane 5 9 6 footings 7 8 13000 Flint Flake Bashed lump A10 Roundabout TL34900 0 100m Figure 2. Trench loctaion plan showing flint finds. RGH00/01
Approximate location of site Land off Birdie Way, Rush Green, Hertford, Hertfordshire, 2000 RGH00/01 Figure 3. Bryant s Map of Hertfordshire, 1822.
Site Land off Birdie Way, Rush Green, Hertford, Hertfordshire, 2000 RGH00/01 Figure 4. Ordnance Survey 2nd edition, 1898.
Site Roman Road Land off Birdie Way, Rush Green, Hertford, Hertfordshire, 2000 RGH00/01 Figure 5. Ordnance Survey, 1938.
Site Land off Birdie Way, Rush Green, Hertford, Hertfordshire, 2000 RGH00/01 Figure 6. Ordnance Survey, 1964 (south) and 1972 (north).
Plate 1. Trench 1 looking east, scales: 1m and 2m. Plate 2. Trench 9 looking east, scales: 1m and 2m. RGH00/01