SNN108803 - Kingswood School, Corby: An Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment

An archaeological desk-based assessment of Kingswood School, Corby, was carried out in June 2006 in advance of proposed development. A site visit was made to Kingswood School in order to visually assess the archaeological potential of the study area. Both primary and secondary sources, including cartographic evidence, were researched in order to construct an historical background to the site and its environs. The HER was also consulted to uncover any previous archaeological work or finds within the proposed development or local area to inform the assessment of archaeological potential. The assessment uncovered evidence of Iron Age and Roman settlement activity surrounding the proposed development area. A site inspection found that Kingswood School, c.1965, consists of two separate sites, Upper and Lower, constructed on two of the three levels of terracing. The buildings are typical of school buildings of their period and appear to have no significant architectural or historical value or rarity. The artificial terracing was constructed by excavating the northern area first and redistributing the soil to the south to create two other graduated levels. It is probable that any underlying archaeology within the middle and southern terraces has been sealed by this process but lost within the excavated northern level. The potential for the survivial of underlying archaeology within the study area is further enhanced by cartographic evidence which suggests that it has remained part of the surrounding field systems since at least the enclosures of the 1830s, and, as a result, stayed largely free from archaeologically destructive processes.