SNN109623 - Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment: Land off Guilsborough Road, West Haddon, Northamptonshire

A desk-based assessment was carried out for Landmark Planning in order to determine the archaeological potential of land off Guilsborough Road, West Haddon, Northamptonshire, to inform a proposed planning application for a residential development of the site. Data was gathered from a range of primary and secondary sources including a search of the Northamptonshire Historic Environment Record, Northamptonshire Records Office, and the National Monuments Record. There is potential for prehistoric activity within the development site. The site lies adjacent to scatters of prehistoric flints recovered from fieldwalking and the course of the long-distance prehistoric routeway, the Jurassic Way may cross the site. There is potential for Roman activity within the proposed development area. The site lies adjacent to Roman pottery scatters discovered during fieldwalking and also lies close to an extensive Romano-British settlement excavated on the line of the West Haddon bypass. There is little evidence for Anglo-Saxon activity on the site. Anglo-Saxon activity is likely to have been focused on the historic core of West Haddon to the southwest. There is little evidence for medieval activity on the site, beyond scatters of pottery likely to represent manuring. It is likely therefore that in the medieval period the site was utilised as agricultural land. The site has remained agricultural throughout the post-medieval period to the present day. There are six Listed Buildings within the study area, none of which are considered to be negatively impacted upon by the proposed development, either physically or in terms of their setting. Overall, the site has a moderate archaeological potential of regional significance for evidence of prehistoric and Roman activity, and negligible potential for all other periods.