Monument record MLI127655 - Late Saxon to early post-Medieval settlement activity, Church Road, Old Leake

Summary

A dense array of features indicating a sustained period of occupation on land to the north of Church Road, Old Leake.

Type and Period (6)

  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 800 AD? to 1750 AD?)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 800 AD? to 1750 AD?)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 800 AD? to 1750 AD?)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 800 AD? to 1750 AD?)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 800 AD? to 1750 AD?)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 800 AD? to 1750 AD?)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Full Description

Small and widely distributed quantities of medieval and late Anglo-Saxon pottery were recovered in April 1996, during a programme of systematic field walking on land to the north of Church Road, Old Leake. The majority of these fabrics appear to have been produced locally, though some fragments of Lincoln Kiln-type shell-tempered sherds were present, along with Bourne, Lincoln and Toynton All Saints wares. {1}{2} Subsequent magnetometry survey of the site also conducted in April 1996 recorded a complex series of intercutting ditch-like and pit-like features. Some of the linear anomalies were indicative of medieval or post-medieval field boundary ditches, though the complex intercutting nature of the features likely indicates prolonged occupation in this area. {3} Subsequent trial trenching was conducted in August 1996 to assess the complex series of intercutting ditches and pits previously identified on the land off Church Road. Seven trial trenches were excavated, revealing an unusually complex range of archaeological features including ditches, gullys and pits, dating from the Late Saxon to post-Medieval periods, and confirming the prolonged span of occupation in this area. It was thought that many of the recorded ditches had functioned as field boundaries, with the discrete pits possibly representing industrial activity on or nearby the site. A number of the features contained rubbish or dumped deposits, associated with this settlement and industrial activity in the Late Saxon and Medieval periods. Analysis of environmental samples taken from an east to west aligned boundary ditch identified 9th to 10th century material including carbonised grains and seeds (including carbonised beans), pottery, mollusc shell, charcoal and ash, and corroded flakes of iron hammerscale. A number of ditches and pits containing pottery from the late 15th to the 18th century were also identified. Occupation appears to have taken place between the 16th and mid-17th centuries, followed by a possible hiatus in the later 17th century, with re-use of the site in the 18th/19th centuries. The chronology suggests that this apparent hiatus may have occurred at the end of the English Civil War (1642-46). Many of the features sampled which date to this period contained large quantities of ash and charcoal, with some containing window lead, stained glass and even worked stone. {4}{5} Archaeological excavation conducted in 2005 revealed a continuous sequence of deposits from the Late Saxon period (late 9th - 10th centuty) through to the post-Medieval period (mid-late 18th century). A rectangular timber-beam structure of late 9th-10th century date was identified and this may have functioned as an outbuilding. A field or enclosure system on a north-northeast to south-southwest alignment was established during the Late Saxon/Saxo-Norman period and remained in use until the Late Medieval period. Distinctive sub-rectangular pits were first identified in the Saxo-Norman period and continued to be dug into the post-Medieval period. These pits were probably used for clay extraction, the clay possibly being used for flooring, flood defences and possibly pottery production in the area (possible waster sherds were also identified in the pottery assemblage). The majority of features excavated dated from the Medieval period (13th-16th century) and represented extensive occupation either on or within close proximity to the site. A timber beam slot and post structure of 13th-15th century date was identified. A large quantity of later Medieval brick and tile were recovered, suggesting the presence of buildings in the vicinity. Post-Medieval remains were more limited and occupation on the site appears to have ceased by the mid-late 18th century. Environmental evidence and animal bone suggests that the site had a mixed pastoral/arable economy. During the earlier occupation of the site (late 9th-12th century) animals appear to have been reared primarily for milk or wool whereas during the Medieval period and later they were killed earlier, suggesting a shifting focus to meat production. A salt resistant barley was grown in the area, later supplemented with wheat which may have been imported to the settlement from elsewhere. Pottery from the site consists mainly of locally produced wares with an increasing number of imported wares from the later phases of activity, including a small quantity of continental Medieval and post-Medieval wares. Medieval carved stone and painted glass fragments were also recovered. These probably originated from the nearby church (MLI12801). {6}{7}

Sources/Archives (7)

  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 1996. Desk Top Study and Field Evaluation Report: Church Road, Old Leake. PCA Site Code: CRO96.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 1996. Desk Top Study and Field Evaluation Report: Church Road, Old Leake. LCNCC: 1996.59.
  •  Report: Landscape Research Centre Ltd. 1996. Magnetometry Survey on Land at Church Road, Old Leake. -.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 1996. Church Road, Old Leake: Archaeological Evaluation Report. PCA Site Code: CRO96.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 1996. Church Road, Old Leake: Archaeological Evaluation Report. LCNCC: 1996.59.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. 2007. Archaeological Excavation on land opposite The Old Vicarage, Church Road, Old Leake. APS Site Code: OLV05.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 2007. Archaeological Excavation on land opposite The Old Vicarage, Church Road, Old Leake. LCNCC: 2005.172.

Map

Find a placename, postcode or grid reference

Map layers

Base layers

Info

Record list

Tools

Location

Grid reference Centred TF 4075 5038 (102m by 96m) Estimated from sources
Civil Parish OLD LEAKE, BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (4)

Please contact the HER for details.

External Links (0)

Record last edited

May 6 2025 12:07PM

Feedback?

Your feedback is welcome. If you can provide any new information about this record, please contact us.