Sherwood – The Living Legend

Archaeological Desk Based Assessment

CONTENTS Page 1. Summary 1 2. Introduction 1 3. Methodology 1 4. The Site 1 5. Historic Environment Record Data 2 6. Period Assessment 2 7. Map Evidence 3 8. Walkover Survey 4 9. Geophysical Survey Results 7 10. Archaeological Potential 8 11. Discussion 9 12. Conclusion 11 13. References 12

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1. Summary

An archaeological desk based assessment of Sherwood – The Living Legend, (hereafter the Site) has been undertaken. A number of archaeological issues have been identified, which warrant further investigation. None of the issues identified is of such significance that they would preclude the principle of development. Mitigation measures are proposed that offer the opportunity of converting potentially negative impacts into positive outcomes that will help to provide information about this little understood historic landscape.

2. Introduction 2.1 This desk based assessment was commissioned by Nottinghamshire County

Council (NCC). The purpose of the assessment is to provide information that will form part of an Environmental Impact Assessment to be prepared by NCC in support of the Sherwood – The Living Legend project. The work has been undertaken in house by Ursilla Spence, NCC Senior Archaeological Officer, with assistance from Alistair Bush, Nottinghamshire Community Archaeologist.

3. Methodology 3.1 The assessment has been prepared in accordance with the Institute of Field

Archaeologists’ “Standard and guidance for desk based assessments”1. In line with the advice of PPG 16 “Archaeology and Planning” it is intended that this assessment will assist in identifying archaeological issues that may be impacted upon by the current proposal, and provide guidance as to the measures needed to address these issues. The work has concentrated on readily available primary and secondary documentary sources, in particular map evidence, supplemented by information available to the Nottinghamshire Historic Environment Record (HER). The desk based work was supplemented by a site visit which was undertaken on 15/03/07.

4. The Site . 4.1 The Site is centred on NGR SK 62820 67360. It lies on the northern edge of

the town of Edwinstowe, is within the parish of Edwinstowe, and the local authority district of Newark and Sherwood.

4.2 The geology here is the Nottingham Castle pebbly sandstone; the soils are

light, and generally well drained with many pebbles visible in ploughed areas. The topography of the Site is undulating. From a generally level area at the northernmost part of the Site, there is then a relatively steep slope southwards to the field boundary that divides the two fields that comprise the Site. The entire southern field is under plough, as is most of the northern field,

1 IFA, 1994, rev. 2001

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bar a strip of grassland adjacent to the wooded area that separates the Site from Swinecote Road. There are no standing buildings within the Site.

5. Historic Environment Record Data 5.1 Table 1 provides a list of the relevant, purely archaeological data from the

HER based on a search area of 500m from the boundaries of the Site. The locations of the sites are given on Fig 7.1 which also shows the search area. No sites are recorded from within the limits of the Site itself.

HER No Description Easting Northing L4124 Building, Edwinstowe 462670 366840 L4128 C12-C13 structure of St Mary’s Church, Edwinstowe 462520 366930 L4142 Linear features, Edwinstowe 463100 366650 L4143 Linear features, Edwinstowe 463200 367100 L5973 Roman coins, Edwinstowe 463250 366960 L8590 Medieval copper alloy seal matrix, Edwinstowe 463200 367100 L8837 Medieval coins, Edwinstowe 463250 366960 L9411 C14-C15 structure of St Mary’s Church, Edwinstowe 462520 366930 L9412 C19 features of St Mary’s Church, Edwinstowe 462520 366930

Table 1.

5.2 This information might appear to indicate that the Site has a low potential to

contain as yet undiscovered archaeological remains. Unfortunately this is misleading. Sherwood Forest Country Park (SFCP) and its immediate vicinity have fewer recorded sites per kilometre square than the rest of the County2, a result -amongst other factors - of an historic lack of archaeological survey here. Recent survey work undertaken by NCC within the SFCP has demonstrated the deficiency of existing records, recording a range of previously unknown earthwork features. This data, although not yet added to the HER, has been of great help in assessing the archaeological potential of the current Site.

6. Period Assessments (a) Prehistoric. There is no evidence for prehistoric settlement or activity

from within the Site. Nevertheless there is a general background over the Sherwood Sandstones for finds of worked flints and metal tools such as the Bronze Age axe that came from just beyond the Site. There are few concentrated densities of such finds, suggesting they result from casual loss, say through hunting, rather than settlement or other focussed activity. There are no known settlement remains of prehistoric date on the Sherwood sandstones until the Iron Age.

2 Spence, unpubl.

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(b) Iron Age - Roman. On the northern part of the Sherwood Sandstones there are cropmark remains of an extensive and cohesive landscape of fields, tracks and settlement enclosures that is usually termed the “brickwork plan” field system because of the characteristic layout of the fields. There is a strong correlation between the settlement enclosures and scatters of Roman pottery, although there remains an expectation that some of this landscape originates in the Iron Age. Part of this landscape can be seen to the north of the Site, on the other side of Bilhagh, and it is considered likely that this would have extended further south. There are some cropmarks to the south of Thoresby Colliery, short sections of ditches with no perceptible pattern, unlike the very clear settlement enclosures to the north. One pair of ditches appears to define a trackway that if extended would continue onto the Site. The date of these cropmark features is unknown.

(c) Medieval – Post-medieval. The development of the landscape in the

medieval and post-medieval period is discussed in detail below. 7. Map Evidence 7.1 The area is covered by a number of maps that pre-date the ordnance survey,

which provide a detailed overview of the developing land uses of the Site. 7.2 On William Senior’s map of 1638 the Site seems to be made up of three

areas; from north to south these are; an area of breck3, part of a block of land marked as “free land” and part of the East field, one of the three open fields of the town. There is no sign of woodland here at this time. It is difficult to be certain where the boundaries of the Site are on this map, as the main point of reference is the junction of the tracks through Birklands and Bilhagh, and later maps indicate that the routes have shifted over time.

7.3 A map of Perlethorpe dated 1738 shows the Site in two parts divided by a

track running east-west. The northern portion is part of “Blackhill Dale Breck” while to the south of the track the area that had been the free land and part of the open field on Senior’s map has been enclosed as two thin fields shown with hedgerow trees. To the west of the Site, by the junction of the roads, several buildings are shown. A building in this spot, to the west of Swinecote Road is also visible on the enclosure award map of 1821, where it is described as “Rookery”. On this map the east west track is shown running up to Swinecote Road and stopping there, extending only as a drive past the Rookery. The land to the north of the track is described as manorial land belonging to the Duke of Portland. To the south, nothing is marked – presumably because, as indicated on the 1738 map, this area had already been enclosed.

3 Breck – the system of short term conversion of woodland or heath to farmed land.

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7.4 By Sanderson’s map of 1835 the outlines of the Site are clearly visible. It is interesting to note that much of Bilhagh and the SFCP is shown as open ground dotted with trees, presumably veteran oaks. The east-west track no longer exists, but its line survives as a field boundary that divides the northern part of the Site from the southern. This is the field boundary that survives to the present day. The area of breck has clearly started to regenerate, and a number of trees are shown dotted across it. The southern part of the Site is now one field, shown dotted with trees, and with its southern boundary marked with a line of standard trees along the field boundary, which is likely to have been a hedgerow. In the north-west corner of the southern field two small enclosures are shown, with a building in the one closest to the road. The Rookery, however, appears to no longer exist.

7.5 In various forms, and with a succession of buildings, the enclosures in the

north western corner of the southern field are visible on all subsequent mapping up to 1969, but with no trace of them on the OS map of 1977. Presumably this building was constructed between 1821 and 1835. It is possible however that it is in fact the Rookery. The Rookery and the buildings on the 1738 map lie to the west of Swinecote Road, but it is possible that it is the road that has moved. The route of tracks through the Forest changes drastically over the mapping, presumably reflecting shifts of the roads and tracks as traffic has worn out the fairly soft sandstones. Given the similarity of positions of the Rookery with the building that appears on the Sanderson map, it is tempting to wonder if the road has simply been rerouted around the building. Either way, there was a building within the Site which predates 1835, and which therefore has an archaeological interest.

7.6 The 1885 map shows this corner of the Site in some detail. The building has

gone from the enclosure by the road, but there is a building shown attached to the eastern enclosure, which now appears to be laid out as a formal garden divided by paths into four equal areas. This map shows the northern part of the Site subdivided into allotments separated by a series of paths.

7.7 Mapping after this shows various changes to the enclosures in the north-

western corner of the southern field, including the removal of the paths and the dividing boundary at some point between 1890 and 1898. Other changes include the appearance of a pump of the 1898 map, and by 1960 another building has been built in the enclosure, which has been extended, and both buildings have drives which come off a path that had previously served the allotment gardens. The allotment gardens appear to have fallen into disuse between 1938 and 1955, possibly as a result of the sinking of Thoresby Colliery in 1925. Maythorn Grove was constructed between 1955 and 1960.

7.8 The mapping from Sanderson and later shows the continuing regeneration of

Bilhagh, although the use of part of the Site for firstly an Army camp and then a camp for displaced persons in the post-war period, clearly resulted in another phase of woodland clearance. Nevertheless, the speed of regeneration from wooded heath in 1835 to the dense woodland we see today is impressive.

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8. Walkover Survey 8.1 The walkover survey was undertaken on 15/03/07. The weather was slightly

overcast, with occasional slight showers. Visibility was good 8.2 The southern field had been ploughed within the last few weeks. The time

lapse between ploughing and the site visit was useful, as subsequent weathering had allowed soil marks to become visible; hence the site of the post medieval enclosure and buildings was apparent as a darker soils mark, with frequent fragments of brick, tile, glass and pottery visible on the surface.

8.3 The post medieval enclosure shared its northern boundary with the field

boundary that divides the Site into two fields. At approximately the point where the post medieval enclosure would have ended, the nature of the field boundary changes noticeably. Alongside the site of the former property, the hedge is fairly gappy, there is little difference in level between the fields on either side and there is no sign of a bank. After a break in the hedge, used by agricultural machinery, there is the first of four mature standard hedge trees, which also marks the start of the survival of a substantial bank, which then continues as a marked landscape feature right up to the boundary with the Thoresby Colliery land. The species variability of the hedgerow on the bank is described in the ecological report. The bank marks an increasingly noticeable difference in level between the northern and southern fields. Experience of earthwork features in the SFCP suggests to the author that this is one of the best preserved and most prominent in Birklands and Bilhagh. There is no obvious evidence for its date, however, this is the boundary that is marked on Sanderson’s map in 1835, it is almost certainly the edge of the track marked on the 1738 map, and it is conceivably the boundary of the different land -uses marked on Senior’s map of 1638, which seems to mark the edge of the open fields as opposed to the brecks that have been taken from the Forest.

8.4. No other features were identified on the walkover from within the Site;

however, a number of slight earthwork features were noted in the area of woodland lying between the Site and Swinecote Road. These have not been recorded in detail. Of particular note however, is an area of certainly 20th century dumped material which may be filling an earlier earthwork feature. Vegetation growth in the area is limited, and tree coverage minimal. This may simply be rubbish dumping from Edwinstowe; one such area is known from within the SFCP itself. However, it could feasibly also suggest a munitions dump, which are not uncommon in this area. A metal detecting survey may be useful if any works are intended within the woodland area.

8.5 A further feature of note, almost certainly archaeological, is a narrow hollow

way crossing the woodland. Although such features are typically difficult to photograph, Fig 2 gives an impression of its form.

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Fig 2. 8.6 A further hollow way is known at the far northern end of the woodland area

(Fig 3). This disappears where it is overlain by a metal railed compound. While it may result from ground disturbance connected with the creation of the compound, it is more likely that it is an earlier feature which has been partly destroyed.

Fig 3.

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8.7 Where these two features lead into the Site, there is no sign of them surviving as earthwork features. However, the adjacent areas have obviously been repeatedly ploughed. Their absence is not a surprise.

8.9 A final point arising from the walkover is that there were some trees which

appeared to show signs of having been managed. Fig 4 shows a possible oak pollard.

Fig 4. 9. Geophysical Survey 9.1 The Site was subject to magnetic susceptibility sampling, followed by 7ha of

gradiometry. The geophysical investigation was designed primarily to test for unexpected archaeological linear features, but was also seeking signs of a linear fissure known to have been repaired by the Coal Authority in the 1990s.

9.2 At the time of writing only the preliminary results are available, and are

subject to the author’s non-specialist interpretation. 9.3 The geophysical investigations located the post medieval enclosure as an

area of high magnetic variability, which is to be expected given the frequency of material such as brick, tile, ceramics, glass and metal, as well as ground disturbance, e.g. from demolition. Elsewhere in the southern field, traces of ridge and furrow were identified. Interestingly, these run NNE – SSW. It was expected that these would run east-west, as the earliest map of the village, Senior’s map of 1638, shows the main street running north-south, as today, with the open fields clearly marked and running east-west. The clear

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presence of ridge and furrow with this unexpected orientation suggests that the village and its open fields were significantly re-planned in the medieval period.

9.4 The northern field has anomalies which are currently being interpreted as tree

throws, and a few ferrous anomalies. There are also two or three linear features. One of the more southerly of these may possibly be the fissure repaired by the Coal Authority, but all require further investigation.

9.5 The geophysical survey has picked up no sign of the cropmarks identified on

fields south of Thoresby Colliery. As ridge and furrow has been identified, it is assumed that the techniques have worked, and therefore, that were these features present, they would have been identifiable.

10. Archaeological Potential 10.1 In addition to the search of the HER and documentary sources, this

assessment has studied aerial photographs held by NCC. There is a faint soilmark crossing the southern portion of the Site running west-east. This continues and is clearer on land south of Thoresby Colliery, where it meets a north-south soilmark of some width. Further north-south soil marks can be seen on fields to the east. These latter reflect field boundaries that are present on Sanderson’s map. The west-east soilmarks within the Site do not fit with any features on the historic mapping. However, the topographical survey shows that this part of the Site dips slightly, while the digital terrain model for the wider area suggests that this reflects the course of a previous minor tributary of the Maun. This soilmark is regarded as being unlikely to represent buried archaeology, although it could potentially contain palaeoenvironmental evidence.

10.2 de 10.3 The northern part of the Site is closely connected with the breck system. How

this might be represented in the archaeological record is unknown. The geophysical survey of this part of the Site has not been particularly enlightening. If there were traces of breck boundaries, or ridge and furrow, the later use of this area as an allotment has rendered them invisible.

10.4 Most of the southern part of the Site was part of one of the open fields of the

village. This part of the Site also has the remains of the buildings that appear on post medieval mapping. It is possible that the buildings pre-date 1738. They do not appear on William Senior’s map of 1638, but he was not primarily interested in individual buildings. Elsewhere on the Sherwood sandstones there is evidence that isolated settlement outside village cores often has a medieval origin.

10.5 The hedge bank has a significant archaeological potential, as it is likely to

have been raised directly onto an existing ground surface. Therefore there will be an earlier soils surface buried within the bank, which can contain

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dating evidence and significant data about the environment and climate at the time when it was created. Opportunities for investigating such soil surfaces are rare.

11. Discussion 11.1 The archaeological issues identified to date are:

• The post medieval buildings in the top NW corner of the southern field. • The hedge bank that divides the two fields. • The linear anomalies identified by the geophysics if these are not the

Coal Authority repairs. • Several low earthworks in the woodland between the Site and

Swinecote Road. • Earthworks known from within the SFCP.

Mitigation will be required if any of these are impacted upon by the proposed development.

11.2 It is proposed that the following mitigation measures are adopted:

• The majority of the hedge bank be retained. • Archaeological sections be cut into the bank, to investigate the

potential of buried soils surfaces. • The entire Site is fieldwalked. The fields are currently in excellent

state for fieldwalking, the next opportunity will be post harvest. • A programme of archaeological evaluation, involving trial trenching, is

undertaken, concentrating on parts of the Site that will be impacted by ground works for new buildings, turbines, ponds and redbuds, etc.

• A programme of mitigation is drawn up dependant upon the results of

the geophysical investigations, fieldwalking and trial trenching. • Mitigation measures may include the provision of archaeological

watching briefs over parts of the development. This will require the adoption of specific working techniques by earth moving contractors, including the use of machines fitted with toothless buckets.

• The mitigation programme will need to take into account the works to

be undertaken within the NNR, including the removal and remediation of the visitor centre.

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11.3 PPG 16 “Archaeology and Planning” recommends that archaeological

evaluation be undertaken before a planning decision is made “where important archaeological remains are believed to exist”. The hedge bank is the single most important archaeological feature known on the Site. Most of this feature is to be retained, which will achieve preservation in situ, while the remainder will be investigated; overall an appropriate migitation strategy. For the remainder of the Site, while unknown archaeological features may exist here, it is not thought likely that these would be of such significance that they would preclude development. Because of the archaeological interest identified to date, it is recommended that in this case evaluation is undertaken once detailed plans have been completed, and once planning consent has been granted. A suitable planning condition can achieve both additional investigation and any subsequent mitigation required.

11.4 It is anticipated that the archaeological mitigation within the NNR would

involve archaeological involvement in the clearance of hard surfaces, services etc, to minimise damage to features, and record any that are encountered.

12. Conclusion 12.1 The desk based assessment has considered information held on or available

to the HER, the historic mapping for the area, and other documentary sources. The work has led to the conclusion that the Site has a potential to contain as yet unknown archaeological sites and features, particularly features associated with medieval and post medieval land uses. These are considered unlikely to be of such importance that they would preclude development. It is recommended that the hedge bank that separates the northern part of the Site from the southern be preserved in situ. In addition, post medieval buildings identified from mapping and areas of the Site where there will be ground disturbance as a result of the proposed development need to be subject to further archaeological investigation, which should be undertaken once a planning consent has been secured. General mitigation for features identified at the evaluation stage can be suggested now, although the results of the evaluation will inform detailed mitigation measures. Both the evaluation and subsequent mitigation can be achieved through the imposition of a suitable planning condition.

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13. References

Ekwall, E, 1966, The Oxford Dictionary of Place Names

Gover, JEB, Mawer, A, & Stenton FM, 1940, The Place Names of Nottinghamshire Morris, J (ed), 1977, Domesday Book, Volume 28 Nottinghamshire

Pevsner, N, 1979, The Buildings of England; Nottinghamshire

Rackham, O, 1993, The History of the Countryside

Spence, U, unpublished paper, Risk mapping in the Trent Valley

Stafford, P., 1985, The East Midlands in the Early Middle Ages

Thoroton, R, 1677, rev Throsby, J, 1790-1796, The Antiquities of Nottinghamshire, Volume III.

Maps

William Senior, 1638 Perlethorpe, 1738 William Chapman, Nottinghamshire, 1774 Edwinstowe Enclosure Award 1821 Edwinstowe Tithe award 1831 George Sanderson, 1835, “Twenty Miles around Mansfield” OS 1885 1:2,500 OS 1887-1890 1:10560 OS 1898 1:2500 OS 1900 1:10560 OS 1919 1:2,500 OS 1920 – 21 1:2,500 OS 1938 1:10560 OS 1955 1:10560 OS 1960 1:2,500 OS 1968 1:10560 OS 1969 1:2,500 OS 1977 – 1988 1:2,500 OS 1989 1:10,000 OS 1991 1:2,500 OS 1994 1:2,500 OS County Series 1916

us/jh08084/eia/arch/finrep/ll.doc 26th March 2007