Monument record 5627/1 - Possible Medieval Watermill, east of Stoke Bruerne Park

A watching brief undertaken during road works alongside the River Tove in 1990 identified several features, mainly former water courses, including a deliberately constructed, straight channel adjacent to a limestone wall, limestone rubble and rough surfaces. A small amount of 14th-century pottery was collected. The features lie on the eastern edge of a number of earthworks. They appear to represent part of a mill or other riverside focus.

{3} Watching brief has located and identified a previously unknown medieval structure, part of a larger complex continuing west and surviving as earthworks in the adjacent field. The location of this complex on low lying ground close to the river and adjacent a large deliberately created channel might speculatively argue for its being interpreted as a mill or related riverside complex. Dating evidence is limited but based on the small pottery assemblage a 14th century date could be advanced for use/abandonment.

Features identified during the watching brief included a limestone layer including wall fragment of structure which continues as an earthwork to the west. Possibly part of a complex of structures. A feature, c.15m wide and max. 0.5m deep, was filled with alluvial clay containing a lens of charcoal. It appeared to represent either a former stream channel or former shallow hollow or 'pond'.

The field adjacent to the road corridor contained earthwork traces of several former water courses. Subsequent watching brief during drain construction alongside road found 3 stream channels to the north of the possible building remains.

{5} Several features, mainly former water courses, were recorded in a roadside drainage ditch during realignment road-construction works across low lying land beside the River Tove in December 1990. Of particular interest was a deliberately constructed, straight channel, 8.80m wide and at least 0.90m deep. Immediately adjacent to it were exposed part of a substantial limestone wall, limestone rubble and at
least three rough surfaces. These features, from which a small amount of fourteenth-century pottery was recovered, lie on the edge of some previously unrecorded earthworks located to the west of the new road-corridor. They appear to represent part of a mill or other riverside focus.

<1> Cadman, G.E., 1990, River Tove bends, Stoke Bruerne, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN50239.

<2> Cadman, G., 1990, A508 River Tove Bends, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN50184.

<3> Cadman, G., 1990, Archaeological Watching Brief Report on A508 River Tove Bends Road Construction 1990, (checked) (Report). SNN45916.

<4> Pike A. (Editor), 1991, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter, p.72 (unchecked) (Newsletter). SNN2091.

<5> Dix B., 1992, Recent Work in Northamptonshire Archaeology, P124 (checked) (Article). SNN104441.

Record last edited

Nov 28 2019 9:15AM