T H A M E S V A L L E Y

S E R V I C E S

ARCHAEOLOGICALARCHAEOLOGICAL

The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire

Archaeological Watching Brief (Phase 1)

by Andy Taylor

Site Code: WHM12/79

(SU 6120 8797)

The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire

An Archaeological Watching Brief (Phase 1)

For Willowside Homes

by Steve Ford and Andy Taylor

Thames Valley Archaeological Services

Ltd

Site Code WHM 12/79

November 2012

i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR

Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email tvas@tvas.co.uk; website: www.tvas.co.uk

Summary

Site name: The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire Grid reference: SU 6120 8797 Site activity: Watching Brief Date and duration of project: 26th September–10th October 2012

Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: Andrew Mundin Site code: WHM 12/79 Area of site: c.0.2ha Summary of results: Several features were encountered during groundworks. These features were mostly of post-medieval or modern date. Two ditches were observed, one of which was undated and the other tentatively dated to the medieval period. Residual and stray finds of Roman, medieval and post-medieval pottery were recovered. Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Oxfordshire County Museums Service in due course. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. All TVAS unpublished fieldwork reports are available on our website: www.tvas.co.uk/reports/reports.asp. Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford 13.11.12

1

The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire An Archaeological Watching Brief (Phase 1)

by Andy Taylor

Report 12/79

Introduction

This report documents the results of an archaeological watching brief carried out at The Wall House,

Mongewell, Oxfordshire, OX10 8DA (SU 6120 8797) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Andrew

Hyman, of Willowside Homes Ltd, Abbots Lodge, Goring Heath, Oxfordshire, RG8 7RZ.

Planning permission (P10/W1752) has been gained from South Oxfordshire District Council to build new

houses at The Wall House, and on land to the east. This reports deals only with the pre-demolition work to the

east of the existing building (Phase 1). The consent is subject to two conditions (10 and 11), requiring the

implementation of an archaeological watching brief to be maintained during the period of ground works.

This is in accordance with Planning for the Historic Environment (PPS5, 2010), and the District Council’s

policies on archaeology. It is acknowledged that PPS5 has now been superseded by the National Planning Policy

Framework (NPPF 2012). The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Mr Richard

Oram, Planning Archaeologist for Oxfordshire County Archaeological Services and based on a brief prepared by

him (Oram 2012). The fieldwork was undertaken by Andrew Mundin, with assistance from Chris Crabb, David

Platt and Susan Porter between the 26th September and 10th October 2012. The site code is WHM 12/79.

The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at

Oxfordshire County Museums Service in due course.

Location, topography and geology

Mongewell lies to the south east of Wallingford on the opposite bank of the River Thames in the parish of

Crowmarsh (Fig. 1). The village is a small hamlet that includes Carmel College (now disused), the ruinous

church of St John the Baptist, and a small collection of houses to the west. The site is adjacent to The Wall

House, so named as it is located on Mongewell Park’s northern brick boundary wall (Fig. 2). The site was

previously an overgrown garden. The only building formerly on the site was a swimming pool pump house

which has recently been demolished. The underlying geology is 1st (Flood Plain) Terrace Gravels (BGS 1980)

within the valley base, though possibility with colluvium (hill wash) from the Lower Chalk entering the

2

stratigraphy from the east. The site lies at a height of c.50m above Ordnance Datum, the valley rising steeply to

its east; the Thames is located about 300m to the west.

Archaeological background

The archaeological potential of the site area has been highlighted in a brief for the project prepared by Mr.

Richard Oram of Oxfordshire County Archaeological Service (Oram 2012). In summary, this potential is

because the site lies within an area of considerable archaeological interest on the floor of the Thames Valley. For

example, to the south, fieldwork around North Stoke has revealed extensive lithic scatters representing

Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement with extensive Iron Age and Roman settlement on the hilltops

to the south east (Ford 1987; Ford and Hazell 1989). Just to the north east lies the major Iron Age boundary work

(Grim’s Ditch) and excavation of a section of it in advance of construction of the Wallingford Bypass revealed

Late Bronze Age occupation and a medieval stone structure as well as the Iron Age monument. A rich late

Bronze Age riverside site was recorded on the west bank of the Thames also (Cromarty et al. 2006) and both

Saxon and Neolithic occupation recorded 250m west of the site. Just to the south west, where Carmel College

now stands, is the site of the deserted late Saxon/medieval village of Mongewell which was mentioned in

Domesday Book (Williams and Martin 2002). It was assessed at 10 hides with 9 ploughs. The population was

one knight along with 5 slaves, 6 villans and 11 bordars. Also of note are two mills, 5 acres of meadow and

woodland. It was worth £14. It is thought that the village was deserted between AD1350-1450 AD. The historic

core of the hamlet is located on the site of Carmel College when an original Georgian mansion was replaced with

the current building in 1890. The parish church of St John the Baptist has 12th-century origins but was

remodelled extensively during the late 18th century. It is now ruinous but is listed (Grade II).

Objectives and methodology

The purpose of the watching brief was to excavate and record any archaeological deposits affected by the works.

This was to involve examination of all areas of intrusive groundworks and include observation of surface

stripping, geo-technical investigations, the excavation of foundations and service trenches, landscaping works

and all other invasive work. Archaeological deposits that were exposed by the groundworks were to be recorded

but not further excavated unless under immediate threat of destruction.

3

Results

This involved examination of areas of intrusive groundworks and included an area of ground reduction (Plot 1).

All deposits were uncovered by a small 360º mechanical excavator.

New boundary wall trench (Figs. 3 and 5)

This long trench was fully observed to its base of excavation. A disturbed stratigraphy was noted towards the

existing park wall in the vicinity of the former pool pump house but at 14m along the trench from the north, a

less disturbed stratigraphy was present. This comprised a layer of topsoil (50) 0.4m deep along the remaining

length of the trench to its limit at 26m from the north. Under this was a subsoil (51), which was 0.17m thick at

the north end thinning to the south. Beneath this subsoil and cut into the natural geology was a linear feature (1),

at 20.5m along the trench from its northern end. This feature, interpreted as a ditch, contained two fills (52 and

53) (Fig. 5). The upper fill was a friable dark grey silty clay with occasional flecks of charcoal. No finds were

recovered from this fill. The basal fill of the feature (53) was a dark brown grey clayey silt, with occasional

charcoal flecks and gravel pieces. A single tiny sherd of medieval pottery was recovered from layer 53.

Plot 1 (Fig 4)

The extent of plot 1 was stripped of overburden to a depth of 0.24m but did not expose the natural gravel

geology. The remaining overburden consisted of a mid grey silty clay mixed with gravel and chalk (55) to the

east and an orange silty clay (58) below this on the western side of the site. On the eastern side a chalk dump

(57) was evident below the overburden. Two late post-medieval features (2 and 3) cut through this made ground

layer, both containing modern pieces of brick and tile. A test pit was dug through 55 to a depth of 0.79m, in

order to determine the nature of the site’s stratigraphy. This consisted of 0.34m of clay with gravel and chalk mix

(55) overlying 0.31m of chalky hill wash (58). This overlay gravel natural geology

Further post medieval features were also observed cut through the chalk dump. Pit 3 was not excavated but

was seen to contain post-medieval brick and tile pieces. Pit/gully terminus 4 measured 0.45m wide and 0.20m

deep and contained a piece of 19th-20th Century pottery. Pit/ditch Terminus 5 measured 0.70m wide and 0.20m

deep and contained a piece of post-medieval pottery and four pieces of tile. Features 6 and 7 were inter-cutting

pits with pit 7, containing a piece of 20th Century pottery, being cut by pit 6. This was also the case with gully

terminus 8, which contained two sherds of 20th Century pottery and was cut by gully terminus 9. Part of a

probable backfilled well (10) was also noted in this area.

4

The footings in this area, which measured 0.90m wide and were dug to a depth of 1.15m, were next

observed where a ditch (11) cut through the hill wash layer was observed. This was aligned approximately NW-

SE and measured 1.20m wide and 0.70m deep. Its mid grey brown, sandy silt fill (65) did not produce any

datable finds but a 10 Litre soil sample contained 60 pieces of burnt flint and wood charcoal.

Plot 2

The footings of this area were of the same dimensions as observed in Plot 1. The stratigraphy in this area

consisted of 0.25m of topsoil overlying 0.35m of yellowy grey made ground containing brick and tile fragments.

This overlay a mid yellow grey sandy silt overlying natural chalk. No archaeological deposits were observed in

this area.

Finds

Pottery by Paul Blinkhorn The pottery assemblage comprised 33 sherds with a total weight of 293g. It was recorded utilizing the coding

system and chronology of the Oxfordshire County type-series (Mellor 1984; 1994), as follows:

WA38: Wallingford ware, AD1050 – 1250. 2 sherds, 20g OXBF: North-East Wiltshire Ware, AD1050 – 1400. 1 sherd, 9g OXAM: Brill/Boarstall ware, AD1200 – 1600. 3 sherds, 12g OXST: Rhenish Stoneware, AD1480 – 1700. 1 sherd, 1g OXDR: Red Earthenwares, 1550 onwards. 2 sherds, 11g WHEW: Mass-produced earthenwares, 19th - 20th century 24 sherds, 240g

In addition, two sherds (12g) of residual late Roman (3rd–4th century) pottery were also noted. The pottery

occurrence by number and weight of sherds per context by fabric type is shown in Appendix 2. The range of

fabric types is typical of sites in the region. Most of the pottery recorded as WHEW are fragments of 19th–20th

century flower pots. Most of the medieval material was redeposited in later features, but the range of pottery

indicates that there was activity at the site from the 11th–14th centuries.

Environmental sample by Jo Pine

A 10 Litre soil sample was taken from ditch 11 and wet sieved using a nest of sieves down to 0.25mm. A large

amount of charcoal was recovered much of which was over 2mm thick, thus making species identification

possible if further study was necessary. However, no seeds or seed casings were recovered.

5

Conclusion

The watching brief identified a modest amount of certain and possible archaeological deposits on the site. The

majority of these consisted of pits of post-medieval/modern date but two ditches were also observed. One of the

latter was undated but the other tentatively dated to the medieval period on the basis of a single sherd of pottery.

Roman and medieval pottery was also recovered from the site as stray or residual finds.

References BGS, 1980, British Geological Survey, 1:50 000, Sheet 254, Solid and Drift Edition, Keyworth Cromarty, A M, Barclay, A, Lambrick, G and Robinson, M, 2006, Late Bronze Age ritual and habitation on a

Thames eyot at Whitecross Farm, Wallingford: the archaeology of the Wallingford bypass 1986–92, Thames Valley Landscapes Monogr 22, Oxford

Ford, S, 1987, ‘Flint scatters and Prehistoric settlement patterns in South Oxfordshire and East Berkshire’, in A G Brown and M R Edmonds (eds), Lithic Analysis and Later British Prehistory, BAR 162, Oxford, 101–35

Ford, S and Hazell, A, 1989, ‘Prehistoric, Roman and Anglo-Saxon settlement patterns at North Stoke, Oxfordshire’, Oxoniensia 54, 7–23

Mellor, M, 1984, A summary of the key assemblages. A study of pottery, clay pipes, glass and other finds from fourteen pits, dating from the 16th to the 19th century in T G Hassall et al, Excavations at St Ebbe's Oxoniensia 49, 181-219

Mellor, M, 1994, Oxford Pottery: A Synthesis of middle and late Saxon, medieval and early post-medieval pottery in the Oxford Region Oxoniensia 59, 17-217

Oram, R, 2012, The Wall House, Mongewell, Crowmarsh Gifford, Design brief for archaeological watching brief, Oxfordshire County Archaeological Service, Oxford

Williams, A and Martin, G.H, 2002, Domesday Book, a complete translation, London

APPENDIX 1: Catalogue of features excavated

Cut Fill(s) Type Date

1 52, 53 Ditch Medieval(?)

2 54 Pit Post-Medieval

3 56 Pit Post-Medieval

4 59 Pit/Gully Terminus Modern

5 60 Pit/Ditch Terminus Post-Medieval

6 61 Pit Modern

7 62 Pit Modern

8 63 Pit Modern

9 64 Pit Modern

10 Possible Well Post-Medieval

11 65 Ditch Undated

APPENDIX 2: Pottery occurrence by number and weight (in g) of sherds per context by fabric type

Roman WA38 OXBF OXAM OXST OXDR WHEW

Cut Deposit No Wt No Wt No Wt No Wt No Wt No Wt No Wt - 50 - - - - 1 9 - - - - - - - - - 55 1 11 1 14 - - 2 10 - - 1 8 13 164 1 53 - - - - - - 1 2 - - - - - - 2 54 1 1 1 6 - - - - 1 1 - - 7 57 4 59 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 2 5 60 - - - - - - - - - - 1 3 - - 7 62 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 4 8 63 - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 13 Total 2 12 2 20 1 9 3 12 1 1 2 11 24 240

87000

88000

89000

SU61000 62000

SITE

WHM 12/79

Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Explorer 171 at 1:12500Ordnance Survey Licence 100025880

SITE

Bicester

Henley-on

Banbury

OXFORD

-Thames

Witney

Wantage

Thame

Abingdon

Didcot Wallingford

The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire, 2012Archaeological watching brief

Figure 1. Location of site within Mongewell and Oxfordshire.

The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire, 2012Archaeological watching brief

Figure 2. Detailed location of site.

SU61100 61200

Reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital mapping under licence. Crown copyright reserved. Scale: 1:1250

87900

88000

SITE

N

WHM 12/79

WHM 12/79

Figure 3. Location of observed areas.

The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire, 2012Archaeological watching brief

0 50m

N

The Wall House

Constitution Hill

No. 2

Mongewell Park Lake

swimming pool

ba

pits 8,9 pit 3

100m

450mm

450mm

a

d

c

b

d

well? 10

a

a

b

d

c

b

cpit 2

a

d

c

b

pit 6,7

pit 4, 5

1

Plot 1 reduced strip

only 0.1m removed

TP1

top of made ground 55

park wall removed

top of 57

new boundary wall trench

Plot 2

observed88000

87900

SU61100 61200

(see Fig. 4)

knocked down and to become Phase 2

cd

WHM 12/79

Figure 4. Detail of features in Plot 1.

The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire, 2012Archaeological watching brief

0 5m

N

ba

pits 8,9

a

d

b

a

a

b

d

c

b

c

a

d

c

b

TP1

2

6

7

45

3

10

existing park wall

boundary wall demolished(to foundation level only)

8

9

top ofmade ground 55

top oforange fill 57

new footing trenches

Ditch (cut 11)cuts 58 (chalky dump)

88000

88010

SU61210 16220

not bottomed

not further investigated in footing trench, Chris!!!

upper features

lower features

Key

WHM 12/79

Figure 5. Sections.

The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire, 2012Archaeological watching brief

0 1m

1

2

54

NNW SSE

SE NW

Topsoil - 50

Subsoil -51

52

53natural geology

6 7

54

NE SW

SW NESW NE

8

6463

59 60

61 62

50.24maOD

49.29m

49.19m

49.24m

9

65

10

11

57

58disturbed fill of boundary wall

3

56

disturbed

NWSE49.2m

49.19m

SWNE

65

11

55

49.19m

58

oblique section

oblique section

Plate 1. General site shot, looking north.

Plate 2. Ditch slot 1, looking north west, Scales: 1m.

Plates 1 and 2.

WHM 12/79

The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire, 2012Archaeological watching brief

Plate 3. Deep pit (cut 2), looking east, Scale 1m.

Plate 4. Ditch (cut 11), looking south east, Scales: 1m.

Plates 3 and 4.

WHM 12/79

The Wall House, Mongewell, Oxfordshire, 2012Archaeological watching brief

TIME CHART

Calendar Years

Modern AD 1901

Victorian AD 1837

Post Medieval AD 1500

Medieval AD 1066

Saxon AD 410

Roman AD 43BC/AD

Iron Age 750 BC

Bronze Age: Late 1300 BC

Bronze Age: Middle 1700 BC

Bronze Age: Early 2100 BC

Neolithic: Late 3300 BC

Neolithic: Early 4300 BC

Mesolithic: Late 6000 BC

Mesolithic: Early 10000 BC

Palaeolithic: Upper 30000 BC

Palaeolithic: Middle 70000 BC

Palaeolithic: Lower 2,000,000 BC

Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd,47-49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading,

Berkshire, RG1 5NR

Tel: 0118 9260552Fax: 0118 9260553

Email: tvas@tvas.co.ukWeb: www.tvas.co.uk