Land adjacent to Pontefract Road, Upper Cudworth, Barnsley: Trial Trench Report

Archaeological trial trenching was undertaken in early September 2025 at the allocated housing development site [HS32], Cudworth, South Yorkshire (NGR: SE 39178 09690). The works were carried out in advance of a planning application for a proposed housing development at the site. The evaluation was commissioned by Gaddes Homes Ltd and undertaken by LS Archaeology. A programme of geophysical survey had previously been completed across the development area, providing an initial assessment of the site's archaeological potential. The subsequent phase of trial trenching was designed to test and refine the results of the geophysical survey through a targeted evaluation strategy, investigating both identified anomalies and areas of apparently negative response to ensure a representative sample of the development footprint was assessed. The results of the evaluation provide a robust, ground-truthed dataset to inform the planning process and support the determination of any further archaeological mitigation required to manage the potential impact of the proposed development on the archaeological resource The trial trenching and geophysical survey at Upper Cudworth identified a series of linear ditches forming part of a prehistoric coaxial field system, alongside 18th century ridge-and-furrow cultivation. These previously unrecorded features can now be added to the South Yorkshire Historic Environment Record (HER). The prehistoric field system comprised several ditches, one of which aligns closely with the modern route of Tentake Lane, suggesting long-term continuity of land division. No artefacts were recovered from the ditch fills, and environmental sampling indicated low potential for further evidence. A Neolithic to Bronze Age hammerstone and a 12th century pottery sherd were recovered from the topsoil, demonstrating multi-period activity but no direct dating for the ditches themselves. The later ridge-and-furrow represents 18th century agricultural reorganisation, supported by the recovery of a small post-medieval metal-detected assemblage including two 18th century buttons and a complete crotal bell bearing the maker's mark WG (William Gwynn, Aldbourne, c. 1770-1813). These finds reflect manuring and general agricultural use of the land during the late post-medieval period.