Devon County Council Historic Environment Record 

Civil Parish:
Sampford Peverell	National Grid Reference
(8-figure NGR)
ST30301141
	Number: (Leave blank)	
Subject: Archaeological watching brief on groundworks at Millwood Homes development, Chains Road, Sampford Peverell.

Planning Application no: 04/0283/ARM	Plan/Photo attached?      Y

(should show the location of areas investigated excavated and features exposed)	
Description of works.
Groundworks associated with the construction of new dwellings at Chains Road 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 archaeological supervision (where notified).

The area of development was divided by a roadway running approximately N/S. To the east of this, a garage and plots 1-5 were located, with a service trench bisecting the roadway at the north end. To the west were plots 8-11.

Service trench:
Ran SW to NE along the edge of the site adjacent to Chain’s Road; 0.6 to 0.8m deep.
Uppermost deposits were of hardcore and tarmac rubble 0.2m deep to NE, up to 0.5m deep to SW. This overlay 0.2m depth of grey-pink sandy silt with rubble inclusions which was sealed by a layer of pink-brown, silty sand with abundant natural gravel and stone.

Garage
Shallow graded excavation revealed only modern hardcore and rubble.

Plot 1
Grading of this area revealed made-up ground comprising a mix of rubble (modern brick fragments, stone and grey slate) and gravel chippings, with red clay subsoil beneath. Debris associated with cars reinforced the received information that previously the plot had been used as a garage. Two sherds of post-medieval glazed earthenware were recovered during grading.
Foundation trenches were excavated to a depth of 1.2-1.5m, revealing a layer of made-up ground over a red clay with bedrock at the base. 
At the north end of the eastern trench a ‘V’ shaped cut was visible with a modern fill composed of gravel and grey brown sand (modern drainage).

Plots 2-5
This area was initially stripped to a depth of 0.5m revealing only rubble and hardcore rich in modern bricks. Trenches 0.4m wide were then dug between piles for concrete sill beams; the excavation of these trenches was observed.
The trenches in plot 2 were only 0.3-0.4m deep and revealed modern made-up ground over red clay subsoil.
The trenches in plots 3-5 were 0.4-0.5m deep and revealed a layer of dark grey clay loam containing brick, tile, charcoal, coal and partly rotten roots and wood. This was c. 0.1m deep and overlay red clay subsoil.

Roadway
The N/S roadway was excavated to a depth of 1.0m. The northern 30m of its length revealed a layer of hardcore and rubble containing tarmac, brick and concrete 0.4m deep; This overlay a red-brown clay bedrock. A brick, concrete and stone footing 0.5m wide and 0.3m high ran roughly down the middle of the excavated area at the top of the hardcore layer.
In the southern 15m of the roadway a concrete block wall ran approximately up the centre of the excavated area to the full depth of the excavation. 

Plots  8-11 (west of roadway)
The sections in plot 8 were deepest in the NW corner where they reached 0.5m; they tapered away to the east and south where the ground level dropped away (the base of the excavation being level). Only modern hardcore and tarmac was revealed.
The deepest section of Plot 9 was in the middle of its NW edge where it reached 1.2m; There were no NE and SE sections as the ground level dropped away and the base of the excavation was level.
Plot 10 was 0.8m deep in its W corner, 0.6m to the S, 1.0m to the N and 0.6m to the E. 
The uppermost layer revealed in the areas of plots 9 and 10 was a compacted layer of hardcore, rubble and clay 0.1-0.3m deep. This overlay a firm, mid grey-brown loamy soil with grit, charcoal, coal, brick and lime mortar inclusions and some extensive lenses of charcoal and coal. This was 0.3-0.4m thick and had some disturbance from modern services. Under this lay red-brown clay.

Plot 11
Shallow excavation revealed only modern hardcore and rubble.

Conclusions
The areas examined predominantly revealed profiles of made-up ground (modern rubble and hardcore) over red-brown clay natural subsoil. This reinforces the suggestion of the desk-based assessment by South West Archaeology (Green 2004) that the area in question lay outside the medieval core of Sampford Peverell. The depth of modern rubble and hardcore over the site may have truncated evidence for early activity although no signs of archaeological features were evident in the subsoil either. Any structural evidence for the buildings shown on the 1st edition 6” ordnance survey mapping (in the NW area of the development) seems to have been disturbed by more recent activity. Finally, there were very few finds, even from recent centuries.  

	Reference.

	Date.
of site visit(s)
21.11.05
23.11.05
 1.12.05
 2.12.05
 5.12.05
 6.12.05
10.01.06
11.01.06
13.01.06
16.01.06
24.02.06
	
Recorder (name and organisation)
Chris Preece (SWARCH)
Martin Gillard (SWARCH)	Date sent to HER

15th November 2006	

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.  
Any plans or photographs embedded within or attached to this form remain the copyright © of the recorder, and must not be reproduced in any publication without the explicit consent of the copyright holder.