Stirchley Blast Furnaces, Shropshire, UK

In the late 18th century Thomas Botfield established a substantial mining and ironworking business in the East Shropshire Coalfield. A partner in the Lightmoor Company, Botfield was well-connected with the Darby and Reynolds families, and on his death the business passed to his three sons. Thomas Botfield junior was also an innovator, developing new safety chains for mine lifting gear and a system of cast-iron roofing, as well as being a pioneer in the development of hot blast in iron smelting. This project for Telford and Wrekin Council was funded under the Parks for People programme supported by the Big Lottery Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Nexus Heritage undertook historic building recording and archaeological excavation on a pair of

Thomas Botfield junior’s furnaces built in 1823-4. This work revealed that Botfield experimented with hot blast and other innovations very early on; this enlightened ironmaster also built several rows of workers’ housing for his employees. Work at Stirchley also involved a significant public heritage element, with several volunteers and local history groups having meaningful engagement with the project. The results of the Nexus Heritage project have informed conservation strategies, enabled the client to apply for further funding, and have enhanced interpretation of the site.

Project ORCHID

Nexus Heritage was part of a team led by the SRI Foundation (http://www.srifoundation.org/index.html). This projects consists of  an initiative by USAF Air Combat Command to catalyze cultural heritage site data availability in support of all phases of joint contingency and other operations.  ORCHID consisted of the following components:  (1) Strategic Planning Workshop, (2) Expeditionary Force Heritage Training and Awareness Programs, (3) Cultural Resource Valuation and Prioritization for Contingency Operations, and (4) Cultural Heritage Site Data Development for areas outside the USA.  Task 4 consists of four subtasks:  (i) International Standards study, (ii) Country Profile Development, (iii) Country Data Population, and (iv) MCRAD database revision and sustainment. Nexus has been involved in Task 3 and Task 4i and ii.

Chillington: archaeology and conservation on a post-medieval estate in Staffordshire

With over 800 years of practice, the Chillington estate in Staffordshire is already adept at managing the rural historic environment. Recent work has included the installation of new visitor amenities, and the conservation of an impressive early 18th century farm complex – all involving close collaboration between archaeologists and other historic environment professionals.

Nexus Heritage was appointed to work on this multi-disciplinary project in January 2010 by Horsley Huber Architects, on behalf of the landowner John Giffard. The work is funded by Natural England under the Higher Level Stewardship Scheme, and will continue into 2011. We have brought together a range of archaeological approaches and have been closely involved in developing strategies for future management and interpretation.

Owned by the Giffard family since the 12th century, the Chillington estate was emparked in 1511. Within a few years the Norman hall had been replaced by an impressive quadrangular Tudor mansion said to have been ‘remarkable for the various forms of its windows and chimneys’. A decorated floor tile from this phase of the house was found during excavation of service trenches.

The house was modernised from 1724, with a new wing probably designed by Francis Smith of Warwick; these additions also included a brewhouse and dairy, as well as the elaborate octagonal dovecote which is the centrepiece of the farm complex. This housed over 1000 doves and provided meat, eggs, feathers and guano possibly for gunpowder. At the same time the estate landscape was changed: the village was moved to accommodate a new approach to the hall, which was enhanced with a long avenue. Groundworks encountered redeposited kitchen waste associated with the 1720s landscaping, along with a collection of early 18th century clay pipe fragments apparently hidden beneath a large sandstone slab – was covert smoking hastily concealed from the client during building works?

From the 1770s a new programme of changes to the hall and its landscape was initiated. The park was remodelled under the direction of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and James Paine, in the process creating the largest serpentine lake in Brown’s oeuvre. A watching brief on drainage trenches in the park area revealed some of Brown’s landscaping techniques – involving the importation and mixing of different types of sand and clay to create or enhance earthwork features.

Rebuilding of the house took place in the 1780s under Sir John Soane, who completely removed any surving above-ground Tudor fabric (although retaining the 1970s additions). Quantities of demolition rubble associated with thi sphase were found between the hall and the park. These included a large deposit of 18th century cylindrical wine bottles. Visual analysis of the necks found nine different types, all predominantly from the 1770s and 1780s. Statistical analysis gave an average date of 1779. It is tempting to associate this concentrated and closely-dated assemblage with celebrations commemorating the completion of what we might now call a ‘project milestone’ on one of these large-scale construction and earthmoving projects.

Meanwhile the farm complex was further extended in the 18th century, in styles which complemented the Hall. A complex of stables and barns was arranged as a courtyard surrounding the dovecote. The north and east ranges included stables, tack rooms and a smithy. The west range, added slightly later, included hay barns, machinery sheds and livestock sheds. The south range was final addition to the courtyard, incorporating a malt house which survives largely intact. Other later additions to the complex included a 19th century Dutch barn and a steam pumping station.

The buildings were continually altered to accommodate changing farming practices on the estate. As a result the farm complex very closely reflects the surrounding landscape, and provides clear evidence for its agricultural history: an increase in arable cropping in the 19th century, for example, or a decrease in the use of horses in the 20th century.

As well as providing detailed understanding of the phasing of the buildings themselves, the archaeology has also recorded important detail relating to the functional and social uses of the buildings. One example has been the recording and mapping of an extensive area of graffiti in one of the hay barns. With dated inscriptions ranging from 1858 to 1959, the graffiti records potato harvests and other cropping regimes. There is also personal graffiti including pictures of a ‘horseless carriage’ and a WW2 bombing raid.

The work at Chillington is ongoing. Management of the project by Horsley Huber Architects has encouraged close communication and good feedback between all professionals, contractors and estate staff. Historic building recording has accompanied the conservation programme, and continues to inform approaches to repair and interpretation. Nexus’ archaeological approach has complemented that of other professionals, and we have contributed to understanding the estate’s past management of the rural landscape to help it deal with changes in the future. The next 800 years are sure to be just as interesting!

St John the Baptist’s Church, Egham, Surrey; Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment:

In December 2010, CPL Architects commissioned Nexus to complete an Archaeological Desk Based Assessment for St John the Baptist’s Church, Egham, prior to a proposed extension to the south. The Neo-Classical church was built of stone dressing and brick infill by Henry Rhodes in 1817 to 1820 over vaults of varying shapes.  The cemetery dates back to at least the 16th century and contains a number of grade II listed chest tombs and headstones, predominately from the 18th and 19th century.  To the north of the church, adjacent to the High Street, is the 18th century Lychgate (Grade II*), which was the porch of the former church built in 12th century. The aim of theassessment was to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Church and its

archaeological and historical landscape, and to determine whether the proposed extension would impact any archaeological remains, especially those associated with the graveyard.  The assessment comprised an examination of evidence found in the Surrey Record Office, the Surrey Historic Environment Record, the Greater London Historic Environment Record, the Guildford Diocesan Registry and other available published and unpublished material. 

The assessment established a high potential for archaeological remains to be present on the site dating from all periods.  The archaeological deposits likely to be encountered on the assessment site were suggested to relate to the prehistoric period and Roman occupation and roads across the site, a Saxon and Norman Church and associated burials in the centre of the site, outbuildings and garden features in the northern section of the site and agricultural buildings and activity in southern section of the site.  It was recommended that a programme of recording and investigation in line with PPS5 was appropriate to further identify, clarify and assess the importance of any archaeological remains on the site and to mitigate the risk of any impact during proposed development on or near the site.

Harlech Castle

Nexus Heritage is drafting ‘Towards a Statement of Significance for Harlech Castle’ to assist Cadw setting out the elements that contribute most strongly to the Significance of the Castle. The newly published Cadw document Conservation Principles provides the starting point, along with the published versions of Statements of Significance endorsed by the World Heritage Committee and will thereby serve as guidance to Cadw in decision-making about the site (conservation, display and interpretation, site management and investigation, etc) and in their statutory role in assessing the effects of change – anthropomorphic or natural – upon the Castle and enabling informed decisions to be made to conserve or enhance the Significance of the Castle.

Cirencester Town Hall Interpretation Strategy

Nexus Heritage is providing an Interpretation Strategy for Cirencester’s Town Hall as part of a major HLF funded conservation programme. The Town Hall is a Listed grade 1 building of circa 1490 built in the Perpendicular style. The Town Hall was originally a stand-alone structure with a gothic arched bridge, built shortly after its construction to span the public street, thus joining it to the Parish Church of St John Baptist.  It was used by Cirencester Abbey to conduct business and legal affairs with the Crown Commissioners and visitors – and is sometimes touted as the first ‘office-building’ in England.  It has never been a consecrated building and records of its use suggest a very practical role in the life of the town. The structure is also important for having

undergone major restoration works in 1831-33, and again  in 1908-09 at which time the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) were instrumental in introducing their philosophy to conservation. The history of repair and conservation is clearly legible in the Town Hall, thus enhancing its importance.

Rochester Castle

Dr G Wait managed on behalf of Gifford the assembly, co-ordination and participation in an international consortium of organisations working to conserve the curtain walls of the magnificent Medieval castle of Rochester, Kent. The consortium consisted of British archaeologists and structural engineers, the Italian remote sensing company Euromin, the materials science institute IBAC at the University of Aachen, and German materials science expert P Sobek. Funding for the project was derived from the European Community's Project Raphael, the City of Rochester upon Medway, and English Heritage.

National Roads Authority, Guidelines for the Assessment of Cultural Heritage Impacts of National Road Schemes

This study (competed early 2007) considered for the first time a methodology for understanding and assessing the effects of road-schemes upon what is becoming known as the ‘intangible cultural heritage’ and which includes Local History and Genealogy, Folklore, Memory and Oral History, Literature, Traditions, Tourism, Historical/cultural Geography and Natural History. The Gifford team included specialist academic support from Australia and Canada, drawing upon experience in those countries as well as several European countries.

Llangors Crannog

Llangors Crannog is a 10th Century artificial island lying in Llangors Lake in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The island is being eroded by wave action within the lake. A scheme to conserve the island has been devised and funding sought from CADW (Welsh Heritage) and the Heritage Lottery Fund. 

The solution, devised by marine engineers and archaeologists involves driving a series of timber piles outside the line of archaeological sensitivity, with a ring of stone filled gabions inside. The ‘lakebed’ and archaeological timbers have been protected with a geotextile sheet, and carefully placed rock armour and gabions.

Niuheliang, Liaoning Environment Project

Assessment of heritage management strategies and the preparation of site specific proposals for major sites including the religious complex at Niuheliang. The project has been noteworthy for the range of institutions involved, demanding diplomacy and project management skills as well as technical expertise in field archaeology.

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