Medieval kiln dump and possible site of pottery kiln at Mill Green (EHER 842)

The site of a possible medieval pottery kiln was identified at Mill Green in 1879 and revisited several times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the antiquarian R.M. Christy and various local groups. The pottery assemblage recovered from the site suggests a local kiln which was in production during the late 13th century until the 14th century. Field investigations in 1975, 1988 and 1993 located no traces of a kiln, but the evidence has been interpreted to suggest a kiln site must be very close by. It may be a duplicated record along with EHER 753 and EHER 727.

April 1879. Chance finds. The site was first identified in 1879 by the antiquarian R.M. Christy who identified 'Roman' pottery in a hedge bank 10 yards from the Eastern edge of Mill Green. <1> <2> The material was later found to be medieval. <3> The pottery is dated to possibly the 14th century. <4> May 1889. June 1892. June 1914. Site visits to 'No.1 Site'. The site was revisited three times by R.M. Christy and the Essex Field Club. This site does not appear to have been excavated, rather it was subjected to repeat visits for collection of pottery fragments from the exposed stratum of a bank at the edge of a field. <3> <5> <6> <7> 1914. Field survey. The site was revisited by R M Christy and F W Reader, but not excavated. EHER 843, to the North, was excavated. [Former description: Excavated by F W Reader. No kiln structure was found but a layer of black earth and many pottery sherds (possibly 14th century) were found.] <3> September 1975. Field survey. The description of the site locates it to TL 6414 0142. This is now well overgrown and the adjacent fields are permanent pasture. Nothing of interest was seen on the ground. <8> <9> <8> gives OS card reference as TL60SW18 but this refers to other kilns, in our collection, though card is earlier in date than the one referred to here-does later card have the same number? [This could be EHER 843]. August 1988. Field survey. At time of visit area indicated was stubble covered; no evidence of pottery working. <10> 1993. Field survey. The pockets of clay and brickearth in Writtle Forest are known to have been exploited from the medieval period onwards. The survey of Writtle Park in 1993, funded by English Heritage, did not find any extant evidence for this site. <11> See also <12>. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. NRHE Summary Description: The site was indicated by a kiln dump and was the first known example of pottery production at Mill Green. The pottery is in a fabric originally known as West Kent ware, now known as Mill Green ware and is sandy and slightly micaceous. Forms include jugs, cooking pots and bowls. <13> This record does not directly represent the location of a kiln. Instead, it is a findspot/artefact scatter of medieval pottery which probably constitutes a kiln dump and which has been interpreted as the site of a kiln. In addition, it may be associated with kiln dump 80537 immediately to the SW. It may be a duplicated record along with EHER 753.