Devon County Council Historic Environment Record 

Civil Parish:
Winkleigh
	National Grid Reference
(8-figure NGR)
SS63330803
	Number: (Leave blank)	
Subject: Archaeological watching brief on groundworks at Dartmoor View, Queen Street, Winkleigh

Planning Application no: 1/0222/2006/FUL
	Plan/Photo attached?      Y

(should show the location of areas investigated excavated and features exposed)	
Description of works.
Groundworks associated with the construction of a new dwelling at Dartmoor View were monitored by South West Archaeology (SWARCH) staff. The work conformed to a written scheme of investigation (WSI) drawn up by SWARCH in consultation with Devon County Historic Environment Service (DCHES).
Excavation was carried out using a toothless grading bucket under constant archaeological supervision.

The main area of development, the dwelling, was located in an area where a garage had been previously situated. The concrete foundations of this were first removed prior to excavation of the new footings, which varied in depth between 1m and 1.8m in depth. 

The four external footings are here described (see attached plan), the internal ones did not add to the information. 
In the north end of T3, the western footing, natural shale was exposed at 0.6m (from surface) with a maximum trench depth of 1.8m. Sealing this was a greyish coal-rich layer which reinforced reported use of the area at one time as a coal yard. This in turn was sealed by tarmac-type hardcore levelling. 
In the south end, shale was at a similar depth, here being sealed by a band of mid-brown clay (0.3m thick) and above that, topsoil with finds ranging from medieval to C20th ceramics.
In T4, mid-trench, the shale was at 0.7m depth, with the mid-brown clay layer (0.5m thick) sealed again by the coal rich layer (0.1m thick). At the eastern end, the ditch of the hedgebank was revealed, cut into the shale natural. This was half-sectioned but was found to be only 0.1m deeper than the trench depth of 1.1m. No finds were made to date it.
T5 removed part of the eastern side of the hedgebank to a finished maximum depth of 1.4m. Mid-trench, shale was revealed at 0.9m depth, with the body of the hedgebank some 0.4m thick. This was sealed by topsoil containing modern detritus 'topping-up' (plastic, brick, bed-end etc.).
T9, the northernmost footing, revealed a large pit cut into yellow clay/shale natural at 1.10m depth. The fill of this comprised bands of greyish-brown, strong smelling silty clay and probably represented a waste pit, possibly septic. Finds were of C19/20 date and included a Lumb & Co. bottle base (date 1913), a stoneware jar (cider?) and a late C19/early C20 Keiller stoneware marmalade jar. This deposit was sealed by topsoil. The maximum trench depth was 1.4m.

Two geothermal trenches to the south of the development were also monitored.
T1 revealed weathered shale with bands of yellow clay at 0.5m depth sealed by a thick band of topsoil representing garden make-up. This contained a variety of intrusive ceramics including N. Devon medieval coarseware, N. Devon post-medieval wares and C19/20 varieties. One lug appears to be Bronze Age in date.
In T2, to the east and south of T1, a slight change in the geology was observed, with a layer of natural sandy orange clay with grey sandstone below the shale. In the south end of the trench the sandy orange clay began at 0.55m depth and was sealed by a 0.2m band of greyish-brown silty clay with medieval and post-medieval ceramics. In the middle of the trench in the east-facing section, the band of greyish silty clay sealed a feature which may be a pit or possibly a ditch. This feature had gentle sloping sides and the base of the cut was at 1.2m depth. No finds were made to help date it. No evidence of this feature was discernible in the west-facing section but given its proximity to the hedgebank and the drop of some 4m to the east of the bank this is not surprising. At the north end of the trench, the profile was similar to T1, with shale at 0.6m depth and above it topsoil.

	Reference.

	Date.
of site visit(s)
2.10.06
3.10.06
6.10.06
9.10.06	
Recorder (name and organisation)
Chris Preece (SWARCH)	Date sent to HER	

Please email completed form to:  archaeol@devon.gov.uk or post to County Archaeology Service, Environment Directorate, Matford Lane Offices, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter EX2 4QW.  Information recorded on this form will be added to the Historic Environment Record, and made available to all researchers.  
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