Monument record 3249/0/1 - C18th Garden Temple on Mound at South-West Corner of Parkland (Probable Chinoiserie)

{1} Small building shown as "temple" at south-west corner of Roman defences.

{2} The south-west corner of the Roman defences was also examined. Before excavation it comprised a low mound made up of a mass of stone rubble and soil 2m deep, which contained some C17th or C18th pottery along with many Roman sherds. At the time it was interpreted as modern spoil heap but is more likely to be the site of the small building shown on the 1756 map as "Temple". It was probably associated with the small park laid out around Chester House in the early C18th.

{3} Possible Roman building (Morphed Aerial Archaeology Interpretation). Crop/soilmark: Unconfirmed overlay.

{4} A circular anomaly which coincides with the location of a building described as a "temple" in a map of 1756.

{5} A low, heavily-ploughed mound, 75ft in diameter. One quadrant of the top was stripped and the mound was then sectioned. The mound proved to be unditched and to consist of a featureless accumulation of soil and stone rubble 6ft thick and containing a scatter of Roman sherds ranging from 1st century to late 4th century. Much of the stone rubble was of small pieces of the yellowish lias limestone normally used for building on the site, and the make-up also contained fragments of Roman building brick. The whole deposit was typical of the debris of stone-robbing activities and obviously contained no intact Roman deposits. Its late date was confirmed by a small sherd of brown glazed pottery, 17th century or later, found at the base of the deposit and well sealed by the mound. The mound was clearly a recent spoil heap from the robbing of the town defences.

{6} A circular stone structure in the south-western corner of the town is probably the summer house or vantage portrayed on the 1756 estate map (Fig 4, B8).

{?} Large bank of limestone rubble c.0.7m depth x 11m wide overlay Roman features and was in turn overlain by a large lens of brown sandy loam up to 1.4m depth. It is interpreted as the remnants of a mound known to have existed in south-west corner of the walled area of Roman town and shown on later surveys as "temple". The surface of the mound was almost obliterated but a section suggested that it was originally constructed from the debris of stone-robbing.

<1> Cowper, T., 1756, Chester on the Water, (unchecked) (Map). SNN105156.

<2> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.92-4 & Fig.91 (checked) (Series). SNN77380.

<3> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Photographs). SNN104822.

<4> Dix B.N., 1991, Archaeological Evaluation at Irchester, Northants, 1990-91, p.22 (checked) (Report). SNN1694.

<5> Knight J.K., 1967, Excavations at The Roman Town of Irchester, 1962-63, pp.106-107 (checked) (Report). SNN48299.

<6> Butler A.; Meadows I.; Fisher I., 2010, Archaeological Geophysical Survey at Chester Farm, Irchester, Northamptonshire, p.7+Fig.4 (checked) (Report). SNN107215.

Record last edited

Sep 11 2014 2:51PM