Desk-based assessment report - Thames Valley Archaeological ...

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Historical background Odiham is first recorded in Domesday Book (1086) and is, at this time, recorded as Odiham meaning ‘wooded homestead or enclosure’ (Mills 1998). Prior to 1086 it is thought that Odiham was a royal domain (Coates 1989). There is also suggestion that a royal residence existed at Odiham in the Saxon period, however no archaeological evidence has been found to support this (VCH 1903). All Saints’ church dates from the 13th century, and has no earlier features however it has also been suggested that it may have been a Minister church in the Saxon period (Hase 1994). An area known as ‘The Bury’, is located to the east of the church, and this name has often been associated with the presence of a Saxon royal residence (Hase 1994). By the time of Domesday Book (1086) King William held Odiham which was assessed before the Conquest and afterwards at £50. It had previously belonged to earl (King) Harold. It is recorded as having almost 80 hides and land for 56 ploughs as well as 8 mills, 21 acres of meadow and woodland for 160 pigs (Williams and Martin 2000, 90). A second entry in Domesday Book records Godwine holding ‘Bartley’ in Odiham, which was worth 20s both before and after the Conquest, and had been held by King Edward (Williams and Martin 2000, 121). Judging by its entry in Domesday Book, Odiham was clearly a prosperous town. This is further highlighted by the construction of a castle at North Wanborough c 1207. The castle was expanded in the 14th century to include a chapel, a hall, service buildings, the King’s Chamber, the ledene chamber and a chamber for the Queen were all added (VCH 1903; Roberts 1995). King John was a frequent visitor to the castle which would also have added to the prosperity and economy of the town (Millard 1988). In addition a Royal park is known to have existed at Odiham which was not only used for hunting but also supplied timber and venison. The park is known to have been in existence since the late Saxon period and at this time was well stocked with deer (VCH 1903) By the 16th century the castle was in a state of disrepair, and the Manor became the royal residence in Odiham, with Queen Elizabeth visiting in 1591 (Millard 1988). The Manor house no longer exists but is thought to have been located where Palace Gate Farm is now situated. The farmhouse is a grade II listed building dating from the 16th century, and is thought to have been one of the entrances to the Manor; the house is thought to have been demolished sometime between William Godston’s survey of the town in 1739, and 1840. <strong>Archaeological</strong> background General background The town is located to the north east of Hampshire at the junction of roads from Basingstoke, Farnham, Reading and Alton. Odiham, and the surrounding area, has a large number of finds and sites recorded from all periods. 4
To the south-west of All Saints’ Church excavations revealed a probable round house consisting of a circular set of post holes dating from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. Cropmarks were investigated during the excavations which were revealed to be a series of linear ditches and a trapezoidal enclosure (Jenkins 1991). In addition six Roman inhumation burials were recorded, dating to the 4th century. The presence of a Roman villa is also recorded to the north of the town. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM 305) and was partially excavated in 1929 and 1930, which revealed tessellated pavements and a bath suite. Although the town is thought to have Saxon origins very little evidence for Saxon activity has been recorded. The only reference to possible Saxon activity is for several sherds of pottery retrieved during work at the cemetery close to Kings Street have been described as being similar to Anglo-Saxon ‘Portchester’ ware (Moorhouse 1972) Work carried out on the site of the castle, located to the north of the town, has revealed an octagonal keep which was constructed later than the original castle, possibly in the mid 13th century (Barton 1982; Allen 1984; Barton and Allen 1985). Further investigations to the east Palace Gate produced two sherds of medieval pottery (Saunders 1995) and work at Palace Gate itself failed to record any finds or features associated with late medieval royal residence (TWA 1988). Hampshire Sites and Monuments Record A search was made of the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) for a radius of 0.5km around the proposal site in June 2005. A total of 51 sites and findspots including a selection of listed buildings are recorded for this area. A full catalogue of the search area comprises 156 listed buildings. The SMR information is summarized as Appendix 1 and entries are located on Figure 1. Listed buildings (some not included in the SMR) are listed in Appendix 3. Prehistoric A single findspot is listed for the prehistoric period [Fig. 1; 30]. Roman Findspots of Roman material are listed in the SMR [29, 31]. Saxon No entries are recorded for the Saxon period in the SMR 5
Page 1 and 2: St John’s House, The Close, Odiha
Page 3 and 4: St John’s House, The Close, Odiha
Page 5: Hampshire County Council, policy E1
Page 9 and 10: A more detailed survey of the town
Page 11 and 12: ut the site visit did indicate that
Page 13 and 14: APPENDIX 2: Historic and modern map
Page 15 and 16: Site ID Site Name Type Grid referen
Page 17 and 18: SHO05/58 St John’s House, The Clo
Page 19 and 20: Site SHO05/58 St John’s House, Th
Page 21 and 22: SITE SHO05/58 St John’s House, Th

Desk-based assessment report - Thames Valley Archaeological ...

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