Monument record SPT 053 - Medieval activity possibly related to the former hamlet of Felchurch

2015: The earliest evidence of activity on the site was a Middle Saxon pit in the southwest of the site. The area remained the main focus for activity during the medieval period with a series of probable enclosures as well as a building platform and postholes. All of these features were of 12th/early13th century date and are likely related to the former hamlet of Fenchurch and it's church which is thought to have stood in this area. No direct evidence of the church was found however the building platform was large and a fragment of human bone was found within one of the enclosure ditches suggesting possible burial in the immediate area. Activity on the site seems to have ceased during the 13th/14th centuries. By the later post-medieval period the site was used for agricultural purposes, a series of field boundary ditches were recorded that correlate with those on the 1839 Sproughton Tithe map (S1).

2018: A further evaluation identified mostly medieval or post-medieval features. Two quarry pits in the south-west of Field 1 are thought to be medieval, and are suggestive of the agricultural nature of land use at this time. It is likely that these remains are related to those encountered during the previous phase of evaluation. Field boundaries of post-medieval date correlate to boundaries depicted on historic maps. A number of undated ditches/gullies and a pit most likely relate to the medieval and post-medieval occupation of the site (S2).

2019: A further evaluation and archaeological monitoring revealed two large but shallow eroded hollows, interpreted as possible trackways and possible precursors to nearby Poplar Lane to which they run parallel. Their fills produced small amounts of pottery, broadly dated to the 11th-14th centuries. Significant finds included two silver pennies of Henry III (minted 1251-54) and Edward I (minted 1279-1307). These were found in the topsoil, close to the postulated track-ways. The archaeological monitoring revealed a former field boundary ditch of post-medieval to modern date which was visible on the 1838 Tithe map (S3).

2019:Excavation identified Early Neolithic remains of a possible occasional/seasonal occupation site, perhaps for hunting/foraging, comprised a loose cluster of pits and a possible hearth containing pottery, struck flint, burnt clay and animal bone. A leaf-shaped flint arrowhead of similar date was also recovered from topsoil close-by. The land within the site remained largely unused until the 13th century AD, with a few residual pieces of Roman pottery and CBM indicating only a limited presence in the wider landscape. Medieval period remains dating to the late 13th-14th centuries, comprised a cluster of pits concentrated around a potential well, denoting an area of processing/production and disposal activities, though no structural remains were identified. Two of the pits were of distinctive form and may have had a specific, more-specialised, primary function. Cattle cranial remains recovered from the well also indicate butchery took place within the area. The remains are suggested to relate to the former hamlet attached to Felchurch Church, which is suspected to have been located close by. A series of parallel gullies adjacent to the well and pits indicate the remains of a contemporary cultivation system, perhaps within a wider open field. The function of these parallel gullies is broadly interpreted as agricultural in nature, perhaps associated with arable cultivation and/or drainage. A post medieval ditch appears to formalise and perpetuate the western limit of the medieval cultivation system, as part of the conversion of the landscape into enclosed fields. The 1838 tithe map of Sproughton and Ordnance Survey maps of the later 19th century depict this boundary and show the layout of the wider agricultural landscape of the late post-medieval/modern period (S4).

2022: These archaeological works carried out in Fields 2 and 3, located to either side of Poplar Lane,
comprise second stage evaluation and subsequent mitigation excavation. Eighty-three trenches were
investigated, determining the locations of five subsequent excavation areas totalling c.0.76ha in Field
2 (Areas C and D) and c.0.74ha in Field 3 (Areas E, F and G). The recovery of a small quantity of residual work flint of broadly earlier prehistoric (Mesolithic to Neolithic) date from across the excavation areas provides evidence of a limited and likely transitory presence in the landscape prior to the Bronze Age. A small assemblage of tentatively-dated Neolithic pottery recovered from a small number of pits scattered across Areas C, D and E may attest to a slightly more significant presence towards the end of this period. Early Bronze Age to earliest Iron Age (2100–500BC) remains were mostly present in Field 2. Nondescript pit and postholes clusters, including several structured deposits, a series of quarry pits and a possible structure, represent a significant increase in land-use and are posited to constitute occupation activity peripheral to the prehistoric settlement site recorded c.1km to the north (STP001)Except for a small quantity of residual pottery and coins recovered from subsoil deposits, no clear evidence of Roman or Anglo-Saxon land use was encountered in Fields 2 and 3. Land use was most intense during the medieval period, with identified remains being concentrated in Area E. Two large Boundary ditches enclose the medieval activity which includes several iterations of NW/SE / NE/SW field system ditches, interpreted as defining fields or enclosure plots, a large natural hollow utilised as a pond, two ovens and a low intensity of pits. No direct evidence for settlement (i.e. buildings) was recovered. However, these remains are considered to be part of a farmstead and to be representative of agricultural activity and food production/processing in the immediate vicinity of a settlement - presumably the former Felchurch hamlet. Post-medieval remains comprised primarily of field boundary ditches that are recorded on historic mapping. Two neonatal calf burials and a series of several possible quarry pits represent sporadic activity within these agricultural fields. The remains are collectively indicative of the continued agricultural management and use of the landscape (S5).