SNN115457 - Archaeological desk-based heritage assessment of land at Rushden AFC, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, May 2021

MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) conducted an archaeological desk-based heritage assessment of land at Rushden AFC, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire. The site lies within open farmland on the south of Chelveston Road, east of Higham Ferrers. There are no designated heritage assets within 750m of the site. A small number of prehistoric flints were found in the wider area. Two Bronze Age round barrows lay nearby to the north-west and a pit alignment lies close to the north. Fragments of Bronze Age pottery were found to the south of Newton Road but no other remains dating to early prehistoric periods were found. Extensive occupation of the Iron Age and Roman periods is known in the area around the site, comprising a long curvilinear settlement with a central trackway or ditch, leading north-eastwards from the southern end of Higham Ferrers. The overall pattern of the settlement identified though previous archaeological work suggests that settlement remains comprising roundhouses and sub-rectangular enclosures lie on either side of this linear boundary. The settlement passes through Plots G and I to the south but is unlikely to survive within other areas of the wider site although peripheral features may be present within Plots F and H. Ridge and furrow may also be present across the site. Cartographic evidence suggests that the site lay within open fields during the postmedieval and modern periods.