Digital Archive from Archaeological Recording of a Kiln at West Hyde Embankment, Hertfordshire, July 2019 (HS2 Phase One)
High Speed Two Ltd., MOLA Headland Infrastructure, MOLA Northampton, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5284/1135491. How to cite using this DOI
- HS2 Phase One: London to West Midlands Historic Environment Digital Archive
- Curated Collection: Kilns Through the Ages
Data copyright © High Speed Two Ltd. unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a The Open Government Licence (OGL).
Primary contact
High Speed Two Ltd.
2 Snowhill
Queensway
Birmingham
B4 6GA
United Kingdom
Tel: 08081 434 434
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 4721
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1135491
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
This collection comprises of site photographs, drawings, documents, a CAD drawing, a 3D model and archive decision records from archaeological recording of a kiln at West Hyde Embankment. Work was carried out by MOLA Northampton in July 2019 as part of Phase One of the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project.
Project Summary
The archaeological recording was undertaken on land located to the west of the village of West Hyde, Hertfordshire, south of Chalfont Lane. It comprised a single land parcel (35m by 25m) located within a large arable field. The archaeological recording was implemented in order to investigate and record the remains of a post-medieval kiln identified during trial trench investigations (1C18WEHTT). The remains of the kiln were recorded in Trench 89 which targeted a large sub-circular anomaly recorded by an earlier geophysical survey undertaken by HS2. The archaeological recording revealed the entire remains of the kiln and two associated pits. The kiln was set in a sheltered valley on a man-made terrace that was assumed to be the first phase of the construction. The remains of the kiln comprised a brick floor and brick and tile walls that formed two parallel chambers, set in a cut within the base of the terrace. The chambers were thought to be flues for transferring the heat from a fire to the above kiln chamber. None of the superstructure survived on the site and there was evidence that it had partially collapsed into the chambers before the site was levelled. Archaeomagnetic dating strongly suggested the date of the last firing was between AD 1300 and AD 1550 and the bricks associated with the kiln were dated from the late 15th to 16th centuries, although both methods noted the possibility of a later date. The kiln probably produced roof tiles, based on comparisons to a local contemporary kiln. It might have formed part of the economy of an estate as suggested by historic documentation associated with another contemporary kiln sited in the south-east of England.
The final deposition location for the artefactual assemblage is to be confirmed.
Re-Use Value Statement
This archive can be used independently and/or in in conjunction with the rest of HS2 datasets in order to inform the archaeological features and periods unearthed on this route as interpretations of landscape archaeology. This can also function as a guide to digital archiving for future infrastructure projects benefiting both the commercial sector and the research community.
