Swindon Churchward, Swindon Wiltshire, Archaeological Watching Brief and Recording

Planning permission was granted to Thomas Homes Ltd by Swindon Borough Council for a mixed use redevelopment of part of the site previously occupied by the Brunel Railway Works in Swindon. The works involved the construction of a single building on a piled foundation, laying of an access road and the construction of another piled foundation building surrounding an internal car park and the installation of associated services. Oxford Archaeology (OA) was commissioned by Thomas Homes Ltd to undertake a programme of archaeological recording, excavation and watching brief to examine and record the remains revealed and affected by the construction works. The watching brief and recording work was undertaken in three main phases between May 2008 and July 2010. Two additional visits were made to the site to monitor the excavation of service trenches. Contact with the site manager was made at various points up until August 2016 to monitor the requirement for archaeological work, at which point it was agreed that no further archaeological work was required. It was suggested by the developer that in order to clear the areas for piling it would be more practical and efficient to undertake a strip and reduction of the full footprint of the proposed new buildings rather than mark out and excavate numerous small pits (OA 2008). This method of excavation was also easier to control from an archaeological standpoint and features revealed were easier to understand with the perspective of a wider area view. All excavation work for the new building, car park, road and services were supervised by OA with full recording of areas of exposed archaeological remains undertaken to a sufficient extent to represent the remains present. This included drawn plans and sections, photography and written records. Recorded walls and inspection pits of several phases of workshop buildings of The Great Western Railway Works.