ENN104787 - Deanshanger to Greatworth pipeline:Evenley Mill, 2009 (Excavation)

{1} An excavation was carried out near the village of Evenley, Northamptonshire. The excavation identified medieval activity on the site of the watermill, comprising two ditches, a small assemblage of medieval pottery and possibly the remains of a mill race pre-dating the post-medieval channel, suggesting that there may have been a watermill on the site from at least the 12th/13th century, if not earlier. This may be one of the three watermills in Evenley recorded in Domesday Book in AD 1087. The post-medieval watermill and mill race were probably constructed in the 16th/17th century. The remains of the mill buildings were not encountered; map evidence suggests that these probably lie immediately to the west of the site. The mill race, which was visible on the surface as a substantial silted channel with banks on either side, measured approximately 5m wide by 2m deep and extended across the field for a distance of c 240m. On the south side of the mill race were the remains of a drystone revetment wall that dates to the late 17th or 18th century. The watermill fell out of use in the early 19th century and the mill race was deliberately blocked with a dump of blue clay at around this time. A watching brief, maintained during the construction of the pipeline in selected areas, encountered no archaeological remains, other than those of a post-medieval drystone wall and features previously identified by trial trench evaluation. [Inf from OASIS form online]