A Watching Brief at Danny Lake, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex

Overview

A planning application to dredge Danny Lake and spread the resulting sludge over an adjacent field was submitted to Mid-Sussex District Council by the owners. John Mills, the Assistant County Archaeologist, asked the Mid Sussex Field Archaeological Team to carry out a watching brief during the topsoil stripping of the adjacent field.

Introduction

Danny Lake is located at TQ288154, within the grounds of Danny Park. The field in which the sludge was being spread was situated immediately to the south of Danny Lake (Fig. 1). Approximately 10 to 15 cm of topsoil was first stripped from the surface of the field, and the sludge was spread over the stripped area. In due course, once the sludge has settled, the topsoil will be spread over the top of the sludge.

The Fieldwork

A number of site visits were made during the work, initially by Chris Butler and John Mills and then subsequently by Michael Fairbrother. During the site visits, the stripped surface was inspected for archaeological features and finds, and the spoil heaps of stripped topsoil were inspected for finds. In addition Michael Fairbrother searched the exposed surface with a metal detector to recover metal finds from the remaining topsoil.

A number of finds, predominantly of Post Medieval date, were recovered during the work, and are discussed below. No archaeological features were observed, probably due to the shallow depth of the topsoil stripping which was not sufficiently deep to uncover any features present.

The Finds

1.    Pottery

A small number of mostly Post Medieval pottery sherds were recovered, and are listed below. Other pieces of similar Post Medieval pottery sherds were noted in the stripped topsoil, but not collected.

2.    Prehistoric Flintwork

A small assemblage of 18 pieces of prehistoric flintwork was found in the stripped topsoil, and on the exposed surface, and is listed below. All of these pieces would fit into a Later Neolithic or Bronze Age date range.

In addition to the worked flint, five pieces of fire-fractured flint, weighing 83 gms. were also recovered.

3.    Metal items

Amongst the metallic finds recovered with a metal detector were 11 (non military) buttons of 19^th and 20^th century date, a copper-alloy stud, part of a spoon or fork handle, two copper-alloy wire rings and six fragments of lead. In addition two bullets of probably WW11 date were found.

4.    The Coins by David Rudling

Three coins were submitted for identification:

1. Roman. Illegible 4th century bronze coin (16mm).  Probably barbarous, and possibly a copy of the FEL TEMP REPARATIO soldier spearing fallen horseman type of c.348-364.  Pierced for suspension.

2. Illegible. Copper halfpenny coin or token.  Probably George II or George III, c.1729-1775.

3. Victoria.  Copper farthing.  1838-1860.  Date illegible.

 In addition, nine 20^th Century coins were found and are listed below:

1. George V halfpenny (1929).

2. George VI  three penny piece (1941).

3. George VI  six penny piece (1941).

4. George VI  six penny piece (1942).

5. Elizabeth II  halfpence (1990) x 2.

6. Elizabeth II  one pence (1978).

7. Elizabeth II  two pence (1971).

8. Elizabeth II  two pence (1987).

5.    Other finds

Numerous pieces of Post Medieval building material and glass were observed, of which only a few examples were collected for reference. These included pieces of brick, tile and slate, together with bottle and window glass fragments. A single piece of sandstone was recovered which may be a piece of building material. One fragment of a possible Medieval tile was also found.

Discussion

Due to the limited nature of the groundwork, very few finds were recovered during the fieldwork, and no archaeological features were recorded. Existing evidence for archaeological remains within Danny Park, comes from work carried out in the earlier part of the 20^th century.

The Roman road, the Greensand Way, runs east-west through Danny Park, to the north of Danny Lake, and can be seen as a distinct agar and cutting in places (Margary 1948). The road runs eastwards into the Roman settlement of Hassocks, where it crossed the north-south London to Brighton road. A Roman tile kiln was also apparently found within the northern part of The Plantation (Couchman 1925), although a recent survey within this wood in an attempt to relocate it could find no trace of it (Butler 2000a). A small number of finds, including tile and pottery of Roman date, have recently been found to the west of The Plantation, and may be the actual location of the tile kiln, or alternatively could suggest the presence of a building. Further to the west, at Randolph's Farm, a substantial Roman building (possibly a villa) was found in the 19^th century (Blencowe 1862). A recent resistivity survey has confirmed the presence of this building (Butler 2000b).

Although no archaeological features were found, and there was no evidence for Roman activity here, the presence of prehistoric flintwork shows that there may have been prehistoric activity in the area. Wolstonbury Hill, 1km. south of the site is a Later Bronze Age enclosure, and may be contemporary with the flintwork discovered during this watching brief. The bullets, George VI coins and some of the buttons may relate to military activity in Danny Park during the Second World War.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Mrs Greta Scacchi, representing the owners, who kindly gave permission for the watching brief to be undertaken. John Mills, Assistant County Archaeologist, made the initial arrangements, and Michael Fairbrother helped with the watching brief.

Chris Butler  MIFA

References

• Blencowe, R.W.  1982 - "Roman Remains at Hurstpierpoint", Sussex Archaeol. Collect. 14, 176-181.

• Butler, C.  2000(a) - "Further Work at Hassocks", Mid Sussex Field Archaeological Team Newsletter 41, July 2000.

• Butler, C.  2000(b) - "A survey of the Randolph’s Farm Roman Villa, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex", Unpublished MSFAT report.

• Couchman, J.E.  1925 - "A Roman Cemetery at Hassocks", Sussex Archaeol. Collect. 66, 34-61.

• Margary, I.D.   1948 - "Roman Ways in the Weald", Phoenix, London.