holy trinity church old wolverton milton keynes · 2015-03-23 · holy trinity church, old...

Holy Trinity Church Old Wolverton Milton Keynes

Archaeological Watching Brief

Accession no. AYBCM: 2014.104 Site code: HOT 14

February 2015

for

Holy Trinity Church

CA Project: 660344 CA Report: 15072

© Cotswold Archaeology

1

Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes: Archaeological Watching Brief

Holy Trinity Church Old Wolverton Milton Keynes

Archaeological Watching Brief

Accession no. AYBCM: 2014.104

CA Project: 660344 CA Report: 15072

prepared by Caoimhín O’ Coileáin, Project Supervisor

Date 12 February 2015

checked by Nicola Powell, Post-Excavation Manager


approved by Simon Carlyle, Principal Fieldwork Manager

Signed


Issue 01

This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their

own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission. © Cotswold Archaeology

Cirencester Milton Keynes Andover

Building 11 41 Burners Lane South Stanley House Kemble Enterprise Park Kiln Farm Walworth Road Kemble, Cirencester Milton Keynes Andover,

Hampshire Gloucestershire, GL7 6BQ MK11 3HA SP10 5LH t. 01285 771022 t. 01908 564660 t. 01264 347630 f. 01285 771033

e. [email protected]


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CONTENTS

SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 3

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 4

2. RESULTS .......................................................................................................... 7

3. DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 8

4. CA PROJECT TEAM .......................................................................................... 8

5. REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 8

APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS .................................................................... 10

APPENDIX B: OASIS REPORT FORM........................................................................... 11

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 1 Site location plan, 1:25,000

Fig. 2 Site location plan showing Scheduled Monument, 1:5000

Fig. 3 Area of observed groundworks, 1:1000

Fig. 4 General view of Holy Trinity from the site of the medieval village, looking north-east

Fig. 5 Removal of the old path surface, looking north-west

Fig. 6 The cable trench, looking north-west


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SUMMARY

Project Name: Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton

Location: Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes

NGR: SP 8034 4127

Type: Watching Brief

Date: September 2014 and January 2015

Scheduled Monument ref: 1013660

Location of Archive: Buckinghamshire County Museum Service

Accession no: AYBCM: 2014.104

Site Code: HOT 14

In September 2014 and January and February 2015, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an

archaeological watching brief at Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes. The

work, which was commissioned by the Reverend Gillian Barrow-Jones, Holy Trinity Church,

was carried out during groundworks associated with improvement works to the church’s

access path.

Due to the shallow depth of the excavations, which generally did not exceed c. 200mm, no

archaeological features or deposits were encountered during groundworks associated with

the upgrade of the path. The excavated spoil was scanned for artefactual material but none

was found.


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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 In September 2014 and January and February 2015, Cotswold Archaeology (CA)

carried out an archaeological watching brief at Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton,

Milton Keynes (site centred on NGR: SP 8034 4127; Fig. 1). The work, which was

commissioned by the Reverend Gillian Barrow-Jones, Holy Trinity Church, was

carried out during groundworks associated with improvement works to the church’s

access path.

1.2 The church is situated immediately to the west of a scheduled medieval motte and is

surrounded by scheduled earthworks associated with the medieval village of Old

Wolverton (SAM ref. 1013660). Although the church building and churchyard are

excluded from the scheduled area, the area of the proposed path improvements lies

within the boundary of the scheduled site. Due to the archaeological potential of the

site and in accordance with the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act

1979 (as amended), a programme of archaeological work (a watching brief) was

carried out during groundworks associated with the path improvements as a

condition of scheduled monument consent, as granted by the Department of Culture,

Media & Sport (DCMS).

1.3 The archaeological investigation was carried out in accordance with a Written

Scheme of Investigation prepared by CA (2014) and abided by the Chartered

Institute for Archaeologists’ (CIfA) Standard and Guidance for an Archaeological

Watching Brief (CIfA 2009) and the English Heritage (EH) procedural documents

Management of Archaeological Projects 2 (EH 1991) and Management of Research

Projects in the Historic Environment (MoRPHE): Project Manager’s Guide (EH

2006).

The site

1.4 The site is located within the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Old Wolverton, in the parish

of Wolverton and Greenleys, approximately 4km to the north-west of Milton Keynes

town centre (Fig. 1). It lies within an area of earthworks associated with the medieval

motte and bailey castle and deserted medieval village of Old Wolverton (SAM ref.

1013660; Fig. 2). The church and churchyard are located on a north-west facing

slope, overlooking the valley of the River Great Ouse (Fig.4); locally, the site lies at

approximately 76m above Ordnance Datum (aOD). The site is accessed via a lane

leading off Old Wolverton Road, which passes the site to the south-east.


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1.5 The solid geology of the site comprises Jurassic rocks of the Blisworth Limestone

Formation, with rocks of the Whitby Mudstone Formation outcropping on the lower

slope to the north-west. The bedrock is overlain by superficial Quaternary River

Terrace deposits of sand and gravel (BGS 2014).

Archaeological and historical background

1.6 Reference to the Milton Keynes Historic Environment Record (HER), supplemented

with information from published and online sources, has shown that the site lies

within an archaeologically rich landscape, populated with a range of sites dating

from the Mesolithic to the modern periods. Of particular relevance to the current

project are the remains of the medieval motte and bailey castle and deserted

medieval village of Old Wolverton. The church of Holy Trinity, a Grade II* Listed

building, probably dates to the 12th century, although it was extensively rebuilt in

1809-1814.

1.7 The origins of the village date back to the Saxon period, although it has been

suggested that the land may once have formed part of a Roman estate centred on

Bancroft villa (Croft & Mynard 1993). The Saxon settlement was focused on an

enclosure in the area of Wolverton Mill Training College, which lies c. 500m to the

south of the site. The corner of the enclosure was investigated in 1971 and other

areas nearby were examined in the 1990s (Preston 2007); more recently, evidence

has been uncovered in the area for early to mid Saxon settlement, comprising the

remains of two Grubenhaus that predate the enclosure and late Saxon timber

buildings, set in regular plots, with associated pits, cess pits, a well and a

malting/drying oven (Thorne 2005).

1.8 In the Domesday Survey of AD1086, the settlement at Wolverton is recorded as

Wlverintone (Wulfhere’s estate), a place-name that may date back to the 8th or 9th

century. It is recorded in the survey that in the reign of Edward the Confessor

(AD1042-1066), the manor of Wolverton was held in free tenure by three thegns,

Tori, Godwin, and Alvric, although by the time of the Domesday Survey it was held

by Manno (or Mainou) le Breton. The manor, along with Manno’s other fiefs in

Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, formed the barony of

Wolverton, which was held of the crown for fifteen knights fees and the service of

defending Northampton castle (VCH 1927).


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1.9 Mannou’s successor to the barony was Meinfelin, probably his son, who was

appointed Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire in AD1125 (ibid.). He was

also the founder of Bradwell Abbey and he probably instigated the construction of

the motte and bailey castle at Wolverton, although the history of the castle and the

reasons for its construction are poorly documented. The last recorded lord of

Wolverton to hold the barony was John de Wolverton, who died in or around 1341.

1.10 The manor continued to be held by the descendants of John de Wolverton until the

mid-15th century, when it was obtained by the Longville family. By the 16th century

the village had fallen into decline, partly due to the continuing prosperity of nearby

Stony Stratford, but also due to the piecemeal enclosure of the estate by the

Longvilles; the village is likely to have been depopulated by this time and by the mid-

17th century had been converted to parkland adjoining the 16th-century manor

house.

1.11 The Longvilles held the manor until 1713, when financial hardship forced them to

sell the estate to Dr John Radcliffe of Oxford; he died shortly after its purchase and

the estate was subsequently administered by the Radcliffe Trust, with its income

contributing to the building of the Radcliffe Observatory and Library at Oxford.

1.12 With the construction of the London to Birmingham Railway in the 1830s, Wolverton

was chosen as the site of a station and locomotive works, which both opened in

1838. The modern town built up around the locomotive works and in 1878 George

McCorquodale established a stationery and printing works to employ the wives and

daughters of railway employees.

1.13 Wolverton continued to expand throughout the first half of the 20th century and in

the 1970s was incorporated into the modern development of Milton Keynes.

Previous archaeological work

1.14 The site has not been subject to previous archaeological work, although an

evaluation was undertaken in the lane leading up to the church by ASC Ltd, which

revealed a post-medieval ditch below 1.2m of soil and made-ground (ASC 2008).


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Archaeological objectives

1.15 The objective of the watching brief, as stated in the WSI (CA 2014), was to investigate

and record any archaeological features or deposits that may be encountered during

groundworks associated with the development.

Methodology

1.16 The fieldwork followed the methodology set out within the WSI (CA 2014). An

archaeologist was present during all intrusive groundworks, including during the

removal of the old path surface and during the excavation of the cable trench for the

lighting bollards (Figs. 3, 5 and 6).

1.17 Deposits and features were planned and recorded in accordance with CA’s

Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual (CA 2007). Each context was

recorded on a pro-forma context sheet by written and measured description;

principal deposits were recorded by drawn plans and drawn sections. The site was

surveyed using GPS in accordance with Technical Manual 4: Survey Manual (CA

2012). Photographs (digital colour and 35mm black & white film) were taken as

appropriate. There were no finds and no suitable deposits were encountered for

environmental sampling.

1.18 The archive from the project is currently held by CA at their offices in Milton Keynes;

this will eventually be deposited with the Buckinghamshire County Museums

Service. A summary of information from this project, as set out within Appendix B,

will be entered onto the OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain.

2. RESULTS

2.1 The first stage of the watching brief monitored the removal of the surface of the

gravel path to a depth of c. 150mm (Fig. 5). This revealed the surface of the subsoil

and patches of coarse gravel remaining from the path’s sub-base.

2.2 The second stage monitored the excavation of the cable trench along the edge of

the path and the foundations for the lighting bollards. Excavation for the cable trench

did not exceed c. 200mm in depth and only topsoil and patches of pea-grit gravel

were encountered. The bollard foundations, which were slightly deeper, being

excavated to a depth of c. 300mm, were cut into the top of the subsoil.


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2.3 No features or deposits of archaeological interest were observed during

groundworks and, despite visual scanning of spoil, no artefactual material was noted

in the excavated spoil.

3. DISCUSSION

3.1 Due to the shallow depth of the excavations, which generally did not exceed c.

200mm, no archaeological features or deposits were encountered during

groundworks associated with the upgrade of the path. The excavated spoil was

scanned for artefactual material but none was found. The only deposits encountered

were turf/topsoil, pea-grit gravel from former path surfaces and the surface of the

subsoil.

4. CA PROJECT TEAM

The fieldwork was undertaken by Caoimhín Ó Coileáin and Simon Carlyle. The

report was written by Simon Carlyle, with illustrations prepared by Dan Bashford.

The archive has been compiled by Caoimhín Ó Coileáin and prepared for deposition

by Emily Evans. The project was managed for CA by Simon Carlyle.

5. REFERENCES

ASC (Archaeological Services & Consultancy Ltd) 2008 Archaeological evaluation:

Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes, report ASC/1027/OWH/2

BGS (British Geological Survey) Geology of Britain Viewer

http://maps.bgs.ac.uk/geology viewer_google/googleviewer.html, accessed 29

August 2014

CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2014 Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton, Milton

Keynes: Written Scheme of Investigation for an Archaeological Watching Brief,

unpublished document

Croft, R A, & Mynard, D C, 1993 The Changing Landscape of Milton Keynes,

Buckinghamshire Arch. Soc. Monograph Series, 5


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Hey, G, and Hind, J, 2014 Solent-Thames Research Framework for the Historic

Environment: Resource Assessments and Research Agendas, Oxford Wessex

Monograph, 6

Preston, S, 2007 Bronze Age Occupation and Saxon Features at the Wolverton

Turn Enclosure, near Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, Records of Buckinghamshire,

47, 81-117

Thorne, A, 2005 Wolverton, Wolverton Mill, Great Monks Street, South Midlands

Archaeology, 35, 19-20

VCH (Victoria County History) 1927 A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume

4, 505-509


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APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS

Context

Interpretation Description Thickness (m)

100 Turf/topsoil Soft mid greyish-brown organic silt with mod. fine to coarse pebbles

0.25

101 Layer Pea-grit gravel 0.06 101 Subsoil Firm mid brown silty clay with mod. fine to coarse

pebbles >0.07


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APPENDIX B: OASIS REPORT FORM

PROJECT DETAILS

Project name Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes Short description

Due to the shallow depth of the excavations, which generally did not exceed c. 200mm, no archaeological features or deposits were encountered during groundworks associated with the upgrade of the path. The excavated spoil was scanned for artefactual material but none was found.

Project dates 24 September 2014, 26 January and 6 February 2015 Project type Watching Brief Previous work None Future work None Monument type Historic churchyard Significant finds None PROJECT LOCATION Site location Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes Study area 0.01ha Site co-ordinates SP 8034 4127 PROJECT CREATORS Name of organisation Cotswold Archaeology (CA) Project Brief originator - Project Design (WSI) originator CA Project Manager Simon Carlyle (CA) Project Supervisor Caoimhín Ó Coileáin (CA) PROJECT ARCHIVE Accession no:

AYBCM: 2014.104 Content

Physical Buckinghamshire Museum Milton Keynes HER

None Paper Site records and photos Digital Report, digital photos BIBLIOGRAPHY CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2015 Holy Trinity Church, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes: Archaeological Watching Brief, CA typescript report 15072

MiltonKeynes

CotswoldArchaeology

N

PROJECT TITLE

FIGURE TITLE

FIGURE NO.DATEREVISIONSCALE@A4

PROJECT NO.DRAWN BYAPPROVED BY

0 1km

Reproduced from the 2007 Ordnance Survey Explorer map with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office Crown copyright Cotswold Archaeology Ltd 100002109

c

27-11-2014001:25,000 1

Holy Trinity, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes

Site location plan

Cirencester 01285 771022

Milton Keynes 01908 564660

Andover 01264 347630

w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk

e [email protected]

660344DJBJB

Site

241000241000

480000480000

481000481000

242000242000

CotswoldArchaeology

N

PROJECT TITLE

FIGURE TITLE



Reproduced from the digital Ordnance Survey Explorer map with the permissionof Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office Crown copyright Cotswold Archaeology Ltd 100002109 c

11-02-2015011:5000 2


Site location plan showing Scheduled Monument



Andover 01264 347630


e [email protected]

660344DJB/LJHJB

site

Scheduled Monument

Fig. 4

0 250m

Holy Trinity Church

Old W

olver

ton

Road

Motte

Car Park

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

CotswoldArchaeology



Andover 01264 347630


e [email protected]

N

PROJECT TITLE

FIGURE TITLE



Reproduced from the digital Ordnance Survey Explorer map with the permissionof Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office Crown copyright Cotswold Archaeology Ltd 100002109 c

11-02-2015011:1000

660344DJB/LJHJB 3


Area of observed groundworks

area 1 observed groundworks

0 50m

CotswoldArchaeology

PROJECT TITLE

FIGURE TITLE

FIGURE NO.

4 & 5

Holy Trinity Church, Old WolvertonMilton Keynes

Photographs



Andover 01264 347630


e [email protected]

5

4

4 General view of Holy Trinity from the site of the medieval village, looking north-east

5 Removal of the old path surface, looking north-west

PROJECT NO.DATESCALE@A4

DRAWN BYCHECKED BYAPPROVED BY

66034411/02/15n/a

LJHJBSC

CotswoldArchaeology



Andover 01264 347630


e [email protected]

PROJECT TITLE

FIGURE TITLE

FIGURE NO.

6

6

Holy Trinity Church, Old WolvertonMilton Keynes

6 The cable trench, looking north-west

Photograph

PROJECT NO.DATESCALE@A4

DRAWN BYCHECKED BYAPPROVED BY

66034411/02/15n/a

LJHJBSC

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