An Archaeological Watching Brief at Losehill Hall, Castleton, Derbyshire

ARCUS were appointed by the Peak Park Authority District National to undertake a watching brief at Losehill Hall, Castleton. This report documents the results of the watching brief, undertaken during the replacement of the foul water drain to the residential centre. The fields between the Hall and the A625 contain a relict agricultural landscape containing features dating from the medieval period to the nineteenth century. These included features previously identified as ridge and furrow, boundary banks, a lynchet and a ha- ha. It was determined that an archaeological watching brief should be undertaken on the ground works associated with the new drain. The watching brief identified all archaeological features in the area between the access road and the ha-ha during stripping and excavation. However, all of these features were found to be nineteenth or twentieth century in date, and interpreted as service trenches for sewage and land drains.The finds were predominantly nineteenth and twentieth century pottery with the occasional animal bone. One finely worked flint of non-local material and three twentieth century coins were recovered and recorded as find spots.