Watching brief by Essex County Council Field Archaeology Unit during the laying of cable trenches to the east of Hoe Mill Barns, Woodham Walter, 2009 - EEX55744

Archaeological monitoring and recording took place during the excavation of an 80m long trench to the east of a redundant 19th century farm known as Hoe Mill Barns. The trench was cut to lay an electricity supply to the farm and ran along the northern edge of a paddock and field located on the high ground above the barns, on the northern limit of a Scheduled Ancient Monument (EHER 7863) cropmark complex. There are no cropmarks recorded in the paddock to the west, but it is likely that activity continued on this side. It is therefore included within the scheduled area. The land to the west of the paddock has been quarried in the past, providing the hollow in which Hoe Mill Barns is located. The work was undertaken by contractors using a mechanical excavator fitted with a narrow 0.3m wide flat-bladed bucket. The field trench was cut to a depth of 0.6m along the roadside verge and the trench along the edge of the paddock was dug deeper, to 1.1m. NRHE data transfer: Monitoring of cabling groundworks within the known cropmark enclosure recorded an undated linear and a modern pit. Information from OASIS Online Form.