NHER 61879 (Monument record) - Remains of post-medieval outbuilding

April 2014. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of a ménage.
Topsoil was stripped from approximately 60% of the development area, with the ground level built up across the remainder of the site. Natural deposits were only observed in part of the stripped area, with subsoil and redeposited clay deposits exposed elsewhere.
In the south-eastern corner of the site the remains of a narrow, rectangular brick-built structure with an apsidal end were recorded. This probable outbuilding had an infilled barrel-vaulted cellar that had most likely been used for cold storage. Its form is consistent with a mid 18th-century date – making it contemporary with nearby Red House (NHER 12664). It is probably one of the outbuildings that can be seen on the Kirby Cane tithe map of c.1840.
The remains of late 19th- and 20th-century paths and a driveway were also noted.
There was little evidence for the common edge ditch that is known to have crossed the site. This boundary is marked on 19th-century maps and corresponds with a series of earthwork features visible on aerial photographs, including a short section of bank in the vicinity of the site itself (NHER 29791). A patch of softer topsoil possibly marked the position of this infilled ditch, although its probable line meant that it mostly fell largely within an area that was left undisturbed.
A Late Neolithic/Bronze Age flint core and a small number of modern metal objects were the only finds recovered during this work.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 22 September 2016.