Medieval to post-medieval boundary ditches at Hammonds Farm (EHER 80758)

Trial trenching in 2016 recorded several boundary ditches which mostly correspond to field boundaries portrayed on OS maps from 1799 to 1958. Only one ditch, that found in Trench 5, does not correspond and is thought to be of earlier origin.

August 2016. Trial trenching. The cropmark targeted by Trench 5 along the Northern edge of the site was found to be the remains of a ditch. This boundary does not appear on historic mapping from 1799 onwards and, being aligned on and close to the extant parish boundary, it is possibly a preceding boundary of earlier post-medieval date or perhaps even medieval. The probably Early/Middle Iron Age pottery retrieved from its fill is presumed to be residual. Where archaeologically investigated, or found to correlate with features shown on historic OS mapping, the straight linear cropmarks on either a NNE-SSW or WNW-ESE alignment can virtually all be demonstrated to define agricultural boundaries and land drains dating from the later 19th century onwards. Some of these, such as in Trench 4, were open and/or functioning until the post-WWII opening-up of the landscape. Ditches recorded in Trenches 19, 26, 32 and 34 correspond to field boundaries shown on OS maps from 1799 to 1958. Perhaps significantly, some of these cut the subsoil layer, showing their relatively recent date. Some, such as that in Trench 26, appear to have had ceramic drains inserted into them before backfilling. Although generally lacking any dating evidence, other parallel or perpendicular ditches are clearly associated drainage features located within the historic fields. These seem particularly prevalent in the East of the site, toward the Sandon Brook. <1> See <2>-<6> for OS maps.