Untitled - Council for British Archaeology

Tind the course of the Saffi.on Ditch clarified documentary ovidence,
later confirmed in work by County'Record Office staff, that'lt ran on
two sides of this site rather than across it. This would suggest a reinterpretation
of a feature found i'urthersouth, in the 1977 excavations.
by:Jane Hassan and Peter Woodward, as a possible gravel:extradtiOn west
of the Ditch rather than asthe Diteh'itsélf. A mien AreaSkdavation
on the streetfrontage showed that in the early medieval period thé ground
had been marshy. No structural evidence for this period was seen; and
the earliest pottery, of Middle Saxon date, was residual.,
GROVE PRIORY, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, Bedfordshire - Evelyn Baker, Bedfordshire
County Council and DoE
This is'an alien priory of the Abbey of FontevraUlt fibunded after
1164, and which changes its stAtus to that of a manor after 0.1300.
Work has been concentrated on completing the large areaexcavation
previously reported, and has involved extending the trench west to the
lip of the_fishOtonds with the intention ofexposing thé west part of the
range of buildings containing.ovens (pericid 5) already'located.
since many of the
The graveyard proved very difficult to excavate
grave cuts, were nearly invisible'in-the boulder clay. R. Thomas and S.
-Quin managedto locate more than twenty individualsswithinthe working'
area. Although dating is a problem, it may be that all the-skeletons-
belong either to thebrethren or possibly brethren and the chaplains who
replaced them. Of the bones that survived there appear to be no babies,
children or positively identifiable women, (though detailed pathology is
yet to be done) so the manor folk of. the later period do not seem to have
been buried here.
The boundary ditch in period 2 apparently went underneath the tim-
ber hall ,and it,continuing west, pOssibly wider the line of the'rere
dorter' drain of period 5'. This makes it difficult to ascertain the
direction of the drain flow due toi slumping in the ditch. The answer
lies fUrther north. The drain can-now,be seen turning.southinrespécting
the 13th - 14th Century'masonry building containing a complicated se-.
quehce of hearths and ovens (Plate.1). This bake orbrew: house ie raised
,above'the general level'of sutrOunding conteipOrailr ground surfadet; as
we have seeh in the wet season, this brings the floors'safely aboVe modern
floOr level.
To the south is another building, probably slightly earlier, with
dWarf stone wall footings and post pads: It appears tollave.had a complicated
history, beginning as a large aisled structure containing
hearths 'of minor industrial.function. This'was shOrtened by removing
the east end and reflooring with earth; this probably entailed losing its
south aisle.and having a new domestic tile hearth placed centrally be-
tween the north aisle wall and the south wall. Dense,burhing, probably
throw out frOm the early industrial activity was seen to the south and
west.
Ovei-lying the'burning ii a elay depOsit, probably from'cleaning Out
or widening the fishpond fiarther west. A heavy cobbled surface ran-Pai--
allel between the buildings and the fishpond which. may have originated as
é natural water course. ConteMporary with the cobbled road or'path is a
-