Monument record 1767/1/2 - Mill leat

{1} The mill was fed from the S and W by two leats built of limestone, draining the palaeochannels The leat draining the western palaeochannel had largely been destroyed by the construction of the rear wall of the villa. The stone lining had been removed and the construction trench filled with rubble, except at its E end where an outturn to the N took the leat away from the wall. Here the leat survived largely intact. It was defined by limestone walls cutting into and standing above the contemporary ground surface. The eastern palaeochannel was drained by a leat emanating 80m S of the mill. In this distance, the leat fell through approximately 0.45m, producing a head of water to drive the mill. Most of the fall occurred in the last 30m of the leat’s course. A 14 m length was exposed. Here the leat consisted of a slabbed floor flanked by walls, four courses of which survived. The channel thus formed was 1.2m wide. A considerable amount of limestone rubble was distributed across the area, suggesting that the walls had been truncated before the onset of alluviation covered the site. A second exposed length showed that it was stepped in section. The central channel was 0.9 m wide, while the offset upper level was 2m wide.
The leat was also exposed in two places under the east wing of the later villa. There was again evidence for an offset upper level to the leat. The central channel was 0.76m wide while the offset part was at least 1.3m wide. It would appear that the leat narrowed gradually in its approach to the mill, adding to the gradient effect in creating a head of water.

The villa construction in the late 2nd century necessitated the destruction of most of the W leat. The N end of the other leat was built over; the remainder may have been retained as a landscape feature. A marked dip in the ground to the S of the villa was noted, and it is possible that the leat was diverted into this to create an artificial pond; this could not be confirmed, however, as work on this part of the site was curtailed following agreement on its preservation.

{3} An excavation undertaken by Oxford Archaeology in 1990; in the mid 2nd century the buildings probably represented a watermill, since there was a leat on either side of the building; use as a barn may be indicated by the large entrance;

<1> OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT, 1992, Redlands Farm, Stanwick: Site Narrative, p.34-5, 40 (checked) (Report). SNN69021.

<2> OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT, 1992, Redlands Farm, Stanwick, Northamptonshire: Post-Excavation Assessment, (unchecked) (Report). SNN75157.

<3> Parry S., 1993, Raunds Area Survey Report, p.30 (checked) (Draft). SNN1175.

Record last edited

Oct 9 2014 12:05PM