SNN111742 - An archaeological evaluation of areas to be affected by the development of the Chester Farm site, March 2016

The evaluation has shown that archaeological preservation is very good in some parts of the farmyard, whilst in others substantial hard-landscaping in the form of terracing has removed archaeological remains. The area around the modern barn at the southern end of the development (barn 2) preserved numerous deep cut pits, presumably for quarrying, but these remains did not extend to the southern limit of the development where they may have been removed by terracing. To the east of this upper courtyard area a post-medieval building comprising massive limestone walls with a brick built structure abutting it was found. This stone building may be the building that appears to be a later addition to the 1756 estate map. The area between the two covered yards (barns 12 and 17) and the middle courtyard produced no evidence for surviving archaeological levels. However, two walls running approximately north-south and ditches and pits were evident in the area of the gateway between the drive and the courtyard. A single trench in the lower courtyard produced evidence of recent activity in the form of a soakaway and a pond, both cut through a soil which overlay a north-south ditch producing Saxo-Norman pottery. Two trenches along the line of the drive identified a range of discrete isolated pits of various sizes. In the trench nearest to the house, the continuation of the Saxo-Norman/ early medieval boundary that had been identified in the lower garden last year, was found. This boundary may once have defined a higher status property on the site of the present Chester House. The southern trench in the drive revealed two large quarry pits, one containing medieval material and the other a mixture including post medieval.