Medieval brick kilns for Beaulieu Palace, on the Radial Distributor Route, Beaulieu (EHER 83259)

Archaeological excavation in 2016 recorded five brick kilns or 'clamps', quarry pits and working surfaces, which were associated with brick production for Beaulieu Palace.

September-November 2016. Archaeological excavation. High medieval. The earliest phase of activity dates to the 'high medieval' period and several ditches in the southern part of the excavated area and in Trench 611 could be assigned this date. These ditches may have formed part of the outlying field system to the medieval manor complex at Bulls Lodge Farm, located 0.17km to the west. The ditches were substantial and larger than might be expected for agricultural fields, however the poorly draining nature of the natural geology may have made this necessary. Transitional medieval (Tudor) The features which date to the transitional medieval period all relate to brick making and consist of the remains of five clamps or kilns, associated quarry pits, trackways and and work surfaces. Four of the clamps are characteristic of being used to fire standard bricks, with similar kilns having been excavated at Hampton Court Palace and Beeleigh Abbey. These brick kilns would have had a central chamber which was left open to create an updraught and a series of flues present along the long axis of the kiln, which was present within the excavated examples. Bricks would have been stacked up either side of the flues along within part of the central chamber. Once the bricks had been stacked the kiln structure would be covered over by turf before firing occurred. The excavated examples only have the basal part of the surviving clamp structure, however, the flues and overall kiln structure were still evident. A fifth kiln was encountered to the south of the main group in Trench 611. This was much smaller in size, measuring 5m by 3m in comparison to the larger ones which were 20m by 10m in plan. The structure of the kiln was also different, with only one flue evident located along the short axis. It is possible that this kiln was used for specialist bricks, such as finistrals, though no bricks or wasters of such bricks were found. The brick kilns are broadly dated to the Tudor period based on the bricks found in association with them, and combined with documentary references in historical texts about Beaulieu. Several features associated with the working of the kilns were evident in the excavation area. These included two large quarry pits that were recorded adjacent to the kilns, both with cart tracks leading up to / away from them, and which were subsequently backfilled with brick waste. The two quarry pits were different shapes, one of which being roughly sub-circular and the other being long and thin. They may be of a slightly different date, possibly different seasons of work done by different workers, or they may have been targeting specific outcrops of higher quality clay. No specific evidence for any structures associated with the itinerant workers was encountered during the excavation. External surfaces were identified but given their location near to the kilns and quarry pits it is likely that these were laid down as a work surface rather than associated with domestic settlement. It is possible that the structures lay outside the excavation area or that they were temporary buildings which have not survived in the archaeological record. <1>