The Coach Yard, Streatley Road, Upper Sundon, Bedfordshire: short form report

In response to a planning condition the Heritage Network was commissioned by the landowner to undertake a programme of archaeological monitoring on the development groundworks at The Coach Yard, Streatley Road, Upper Sundon, Bedfordshire. Planning permission for the development was granted by Central Bedfordshire Council, subject to a standard archaeological condition issued under the provisions set out in the Department of Communities and Local Government's National Planning Policy Framework. A full specification for the work carried out is contained in the Heritage Network's approved Project Design. The site is located at the south-east end of Upper Sundon, on Streatley Road, centred on NGR 504940 227650. It is bounded to the north and east by Streatley Road, to the south and southeast by open fields, and to the west by no.64 Streatley Road. The proposed development entails the restoration of a previously demolished garage building and its conversion into offices. The monitoring of the development groundworks for the present project revealed a stratigraphic sequence consisting of layers of modern made ground which appear to have been used to backfill a possible quarry. The finds, which were noted but not retained, included HP sauce bottles, meat paste and Bovril jars and a stoneware Hartley's jam jar, which indicates that the material dates to the early - mid 20th century. The evidence suggests that the layers encountered during the present project are likely to have been deposited as levelling material prior to the construction of the former garage in the mid 20th century. No other archaeological features, deposits or finds were encountered during the course of the present investigation and no evidence for activity pre-dating the early modern period was noted. No information was gained that could be considered to contribute to the research aims for the project, as defined in the approved Project Design.