SNN110941 - Cross Farm, Old Road, Walgrave, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation, 2013

In January 2013, an archaeological evaluation, comprising the excavation of two trial trenches, was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology on a plot of land at Cross Farm, Old Road, Walgrave, Northamptonshire. The work, which was commissioned by Narinder Hammond, is being carried out to fulfil an archaeological condition attached to outline planning consent for the residential development of the site. The evaluation encountered the remains of a probable medieval plot boundary, aligned perpendicular to Old Road, and seven smaller medieval ditches that may form plot subdivisions or small enclosures within the plots. The alignment of the plot boundary ditch and the greater density of features in the eastern part of the site suggest that these remains are associated with ‘backyard’ activity to the rear of dwellings that fronted on to Old Road in the medieval period. Medieval pottery, dating to the 12th to 14th centuries, was recovered from the ditches, along with animal bones and charcoal that indicates the discard of domestic waste from nearby households. Charred grain recovered from soil samples taken from the ditch fills suggests that crop-processing, possibly grain-drying, may have been carried out on the site. An 18th or 19th-century ditch containing a ceramic land drain crossed the western part of the site and there were two ephemeral, undated features in the same area.