Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment of Land Adjacent to the Manor House, North Wingfield, Derbyshire

In October 2004, ARCUS were commissioned by Karl Shaw to undertake a desk- based assessment on land adjacent to the Manor House, North Wingfield (SK 4054 6450). The assessment was required in association with a planning application for housing development at the site. The desk-based assessment comprised a site visit, documentary and cartographic research. The only known prehistoric activity within 1km of the site consists of a flint scatter to the northwest, although the proposal area is sited on a prominent hill, which would be a natural focus for prehistoric and later activity. North Wingfield was in existence prior to the Norman Conquest, and had a pre-Norman church. The current church contains Norman and later architecture and monuments, the majority being of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century date. A fifteenth-century chantry was constructed to the north of the church, now converted into the Blue Bell Inn. There is an L-shaped moat feature within the proposal area, partially infilled, but with sections still retaining standing water. The date of the feature is not known, but it is possibly medieval, and may relate to a former building close to the church. Whilst any major structures are likely to be outside the proposal area, there is the potential for associated features outside the moat. The Old Rectory (now known as the Manor House) was probably built in the eighteenth century, although a date-stone of 1690 indicates that it had earlier origins, and may have been extensively rebuilt or refaced. The building was surrounded by gardens and a pleasure ground by 1842, with an associated farmhouse to the south- east (now the Sunday School). Two stone walls shown on the 1842 map survive to the present, adjacent to the proposed north and south access routes to the development. One has a blocked gateway and an infilled window or door. Archaeological field evaluation, such as geophysical survey and trial trenching, would be required to assess the extent, nature and date of the possible moat and any associated features. There may also be remnants of eighteenth- or nineteenth- century garden features and landscaping within the proposal area. The two stone boundary walls are part of the historic development of the site, and should be preserved in situ if possible. The settings of three listed buildings (the Manor House, the Church and the Blue Bell) are considered to have been previously compromised by the construction of bungalows along the perimeter of the site, but development affecting the associated garden features, such as the moat, should be carefully designed.