SNN109596 - Rye Hill, Watford Gap: Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment

Headland Archaeology carried out a desk-based assessment of a site to the south of Watford Gap, Northamptonshire on behalf of Fisher German. The purpose of this assessment was to inform a planning application for a proposed single wind turbine. The site is presently an arable field between the A5 (Watling Street) and the West Coast Mainline railway. The Watford Gap has been a communication route since at least the Roman period, as evidenced by Watling Street, and continues to be an important route, as the Grand Union canal, followed by the railway and more recently the M1 motorway all pass through here. This strategic position has meant that the Watford Gap area has been a focus of activity since at least the Bronze Age. Cropmarks of enclosures are known from aerial photographs of the site, underlying the medieval ridge and furrow fields. The currently proposed turbine location is on a headland between two such medieval fields. The application site contains known heritage assets of local importance (post-medieval enclosure, medieval ridge and furrow remains and earlier enclosures/features) and has high potential for further buried remains of local importance. Pre-determination evaluation work is often required in Northamptonshire for developments of this type and would take the form of trial trenching to investigate the archaeological potential of the application site and further inform the application. No designated assets are predicted to experience significant effects as a result of changes to their setting.