SNN115456 - Land to the Rear of Gordonville, High Street, Twywell, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation

In July 2023, two archaeological evaluation trenches were excavated in the garden of ‘Gordonville’, in the village of Twywell, Northamptonshire, where it is proposed to build two detached dwellings. The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether significant buried archaeological remains would be affected by the proposal. The site was deemed to have potential for buried remains pertaining to the origin and development of the village. The locality is also known to have been settled during the Iron Age and Roman periods. The trenches (in total, c. 59 sq. m) were positioned to provide a representative sample of the area to be affected by the development. The evaluation would allow the planning authority’s archaeological advisor to decide whether a form of mitigation would be required. The trial trenches revealed no features or deposits of archaeological significance and no artefacts of any period. Early 18th century map evidence suggests that the proposed development area was once a part of the medieval open-fields, and that its boundaries were formed at some point in the late medieval to early post-medieval periods. There was, however, nothing to confirm medieval strip cultivation in either of the trenches. There was evidence that garden landscaping had occurred at some time in the modern period. The results of the evaluation suggest that it is unlikely that anything of archaeological significance exists within the proposed development area.