Land at Joyce Frankland Academy, Bury Water Lane, Newport: An Archaeological Evaluation

As indicated by a desk-based assessment prepared by Pre-Construct Archaeology, archaeological features encountered by the evaluation were limited to field boundaries associated with past agricultural use of the site. One of the ditches, which had a ceramic land drain at its base, corresponded with a field boundary shown on the 1842 Tithe map of the area, a boundary that was still extant until the late 19th century. A parallel ditch in the northern part of the site and a ditch leading off this at right angles probably form part of the same post-medieval ditch system, as indicated by the small quantity of tile recovered from the fill of one of the ditches. Noting the field pattern on the 1842 Tithe map, it is probable that a number of smaller, rectangular fields were amalgamated prior to 1842 to form the large field numbered '250' on the Tithe apportionment. Other than a small, shallow ditch in the north-western part of the site, from which was recovered a fragment of post-medieval tile, the only other features and deposits encountered by the evaluation were associated with modern development and activity within the academy grounds. This was not collected in OASIS IV whAs indicated by the desk-based assessment (PCA 2018), archaeological features encountered by the evaluation were limited to field boundaries associated with past agricultural use of the site. One of the ditches, in Trench 3, corresponds with a field boundary shown on the 1842 Tithe map of the area, a boundary that was still extant until at least the late 19th century. This ditch contained a ceramic land drain at its base. A parallel ditch in Trenches 15 and 16, and a perpendicular ditch in Trench 15, probably form part of the same post-medieval ditch system, as indicated by the small quantity of tile recovered from the ditch fill in Trench 16. Noting the field pattern on the 1842 Tithe map, it is probable that a number of smaller, rectangular fields were amalgamated prior to 1842 to form the large field numbered '250' on the Tithe apportionment (PCA 2018, fig. 6). 8.2 Finds from the features were extremely sparse, confined solely to fragments of late medieval to post-medieval peg tile, fragments of post-medieval brick and one fragment of residual Roman tile. Fragments of abraded tile were also noted in the topsoil and subsoil, suggesting that quantities of this material had been dumped and scattered over the site, the material possibly deriving from a nearby building. 8.3 The remaining features encountered by the evaluation were modern in date, associated with the construction of a car park in the southern part of the site or general landscaping in the grounds.