SNN111103 - Holdenby House, Holdenby, Northamptonshire: Archaeological watching brief, May 2017

Between 24th August and 27th October 2015 Foundations Archaeology undertook a programme of archaeological watching brief on land at Holdenby House, Holdenby, Northamptonshire (NGR: 468922.267818 - centred). The project was commissioned by BSA Heritage on behalf of Askew Nelson and was informed by earlier historical research, along with auger, geophysical, topographical and archaeological evaluation surveys. The watching brief comprised the monitoring of groundwork excavations associated with the restoration of a late 16th century fishpond, known as the ‘Elizabethan Pond’, which is located to the southwest of Holdenby House. The pond and its environs are scheduled, although works to the west were located outside the scheduled area. The archaeological works identified the presence of a stone-built culvert; various ceramic, metal and plastic drainage pipes and a possible soakaway, in the area around the Elizabethan Pond. A Post-medieval metalled path was also exposed at the east corner of the pond. The stone-built culvert was probably related to the 16th – 18th century formal gardens and most likely represented the remains of a water supply conduit, which linked a conduit head, located to the west of the site, to the Holdenby fishponds. A nearby metal silt trap was most likely to have been associated with a later soakaway. Two cut features, which were partially revealed during the course of the groundworks, remained poorly defined and undated.