SNN108255 - Land East of Northampton Road, Brackley, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Desk-based Assessment

The application site comprises areas of pasture and cultivated land, now surrounded by road. The land was formerly part of Brackley's Old Town open field until it was enclosed c.1829. A map prepared in 1830 shows the position of strips and furlongs within the open field, and the positions of the divisions between some of these were used for the enclosed field boundaries. The map indicates that the irregular boundary between the cultivated land and meadowland may have lain within the application site, and existing lengths of hedges containing ash trees in these positions may be of pre-Enclosure date. Part of the medieval open field is preserved as ridge and furrow earthworks in the north-western field, but the earthworks have not been selected in past surveys as warranting protection. A flint implement of Late Neolithic or Bronze Age date was found in August 2008, but until the walkover, no archaeological artefacts were known from the site. To the north-west of the A43 roundabout, Iron Age pottery was found in the fills of undated graves and other features, and an undated (probably late prehistoric) rectangular enclosure with internal features is known from cropmarks to the east of the application site. The local presence of occupation and funerary features raised the potential for unknown prehistoric remains within the application site – no Roman remains are known in the close vicinity. Sustained medieval and later ploughing may have removed shallow deposits. The proposed development of the site will affect the ridge and furrow earthworks and any surviving below-ground archaeological remains. These would be the subject of a mitigation strategy agreed with the planning authority, comprising preservation in situ and preservation by record, as appropriate.