Essex Archaeol Hist 34 (third series)

Archaeological investigations in advance of industrial development at Springfield Park, Chelmsford located Late Bronze Age occupation remains on the edge of a plateau above the Chelmer valley. The site lies adjacent to the Late Bronze Age defended enclosure at Springfield Lyons and may be seen as an associated element. The principal area of activity was focused on a well-preserved rectangular post-built structure, with an extensive deposit that formed as a result of cattle corralling. Finds and environmental evidence indicate that occupation was short-lived, perhaps only a few decades or less, but included domestic settlement with small-scale crop cultivation and on-site processing, as well as animal pounding. A second group of Late Bronze Age animal pens to the north of this is also probably associated. Includes specialist reports on

Excavations of the Late Iron Age and Roman settlement within Cressing churchyard and in the adjacent field were undertaken in the 1970s. They revealed evidence of occupation from the first half of the first century AD through the fourth century and into early Saxon times. Aerial photography confirmed that the excavated area was part of a substantial settlement extending over c. 9 hectares. Includes specialist reports on

report prepared in 1979

An archaeological investigation was conducted during 1997 at 3 Lea Valley Road in the London Borough of Waltham Forest prior to redevelopment. Evidence from three trenches and from a watching brief on subsequent ground works revealed a sequence of alluvial flood deposits and, in two of the trenches, two main phases of cultural activity during the Late Iron Age and during the late Saxon/early medieval period.

Rescue excavations in St Mary Magdalen's churchyard and adjacent almshouse land revealed the remains of a small medieval hospital and recorded the stages in its transition to a post-medieval almshouse. A religious institution which was founded as a refuge for lepers in the early 1100s, the hospital's original accommodation included an infirmary hall and a timber outbuilding in grounds situated half-a-mile from the walled town. Some of the excavated skeletons showed abnormalities consistent with leprosy. In the c. mid-thirteenth century, the hospital's main quarters were relocated to a new site in the northern area of its grounds when St Mary Magdalen's church was built on part of the hospital's original infirmary hall. Next to the church, the eastern part of the twelfth-century hall was altered and retained for a time. Foundations projecting from the south side of the church are believed to belong to a chapel for hospital inmates used from the thirteenth century onward. The main hospital building to the north was later joined by a second block which remained in use as an almshouse until it was demolished in 1832. Includes specialist reports on

The author looks at evidence indicating the presence of man-made mounds, in the form of the Old English place-name elements beorg, berwe or berg; hlaw; and cruc, crug or cryc. Includes a summary of possible place-names incorporating these elements in Essex.

The author examines 171 Anglican clergy wills from between 1670 and 1789, to consider the evidence for social status of their burial instructions and requested locations; their real estate; monetary bequests and gifts of personal estate, including moveable property; and legacies.

Description of a shafthole adze, presumed to be Bronze Age, recovered from a garden in Starlings Green.

Separately authored summaries of project-based work carried out by the Essex County Council Archaeological Service during the year, including

Separately authored descriptions of historic buildings recorded during the year in Essex, arranged alphabetically by parish and including