Excavation at Land at Linacre Reservoirs, Cutthorpe, Derbyshire

ARCUS was engaged by Severn Trent Water PLC to undertake an archaeological evaluation resulting from a proposal to erect a Visitor Centre on one of the car parks close to Linacre Reservoirs. It is known that the car park covers the site of Linacre House which was demolished in the 1930s, after it was declared a potential source of pollution to the water supply. Although the fabric of the house is not thought to have been of any antiquity, it may have stood on the foundations of a much earlier building. The objective of the evaluation was to investigate the depth of any extant foundations and/or buried land surfaces which lay beneath the present car park and/or adjoining grassed areas. Three narrow trenches were excavated at the southern end of the site across the area proposed for the construction of the Visitor Centre. It was apparent that a previous land surface had been exposed at the northern end of Trench 1, together with a portion of stone flagging and curbing which may have been part of a forecourt or yard area. Modern building debris found immediately on top of the flagging suggested that this had resulted from the demolition of buildings in the 1930s. Similar comments could equally apply to the stone debris and dressed stone also found at the edge of the flagging. It appeared that the old land surface shelved downwards immediately to the south of the flagged area, indicated by the metalled edging to the flags and the results of the three auger holes in Trench 1. There was evidence that the ground has been built-up to extend the promontory of land southwards, facilitating car parking on a relatively level surface. Successive layers of material in all trenches suggested that this occurred in several phases, subsequent to the demolition of the buildings. The auger hole tests in Trenches 2 and 3 are also consistent with this prognosis. The former land surface which was exposed when the house and its outbuildings were demolished is, therefore, sealed beneath a considerable depth of more recent in-filling, especially at the southern end of the car parking and recreational area. Consequently, the foundations of any former buildings within the evaluation area are likely to be at a similar level.