SNN109620 - Heritage Assessment: Land at Butchers Gardens, Walgrave, Northamptonshire

Land at Butchers Gardens, Northall, Walgrave has been considered for its heritage potential. The proposed development area can be shown to have a high potential for archaeological survival of evidence from the early modern period. This is because the development area is located in an area where map evidence of the 18th century shows a small farmstead. Due to the level of archaeological evidence in the study area the development sire, therefore, has high potential to yield further archaeological evidence. This report suggests that the potential for further evidence should be evaluated by trial trenching. It is anticipated that the evidence from the early modern and perhaps medieval periods will have survived, particularly as the site lies on a slope in an area that has been garden during the 20th century. Given the age of the potential deposits and their nature it is unlikely that archaeology will therefore provide an absolute constraint to development. The indirect impact of the proposed new dwelling has also been assessed in terms recommended by English Heritage and PPS5. The report concludes that the proposed development does lie on the margins of the setting of the Walgrave Moat, a Scheduled Ancient Monument. However the setting comprises a well defined fenced boundary framed by hedged vegetation and more distance housing of mixed date, the majority modern. This provides a largely harmonious framing which emphasises the monumentality of the Walgrave Moat. The proposed development will maintain the harmony of the framing and will not introduce a visually discordant feature into the setting. The report concludes that the proposed development will not harm the significance of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.