Monument record 0975100000 - Field marked Church Close (Tithe Map)

Foundations of a building found by geophysics and confirmed by test pitting for the Whittlewood Project. On both the eastern and southern sides of the test pit, the foundations were excavated to their full depth 900mm below the present ground level. These were made up of 7 rough courses of large faced limestone blocks. These well-made foundations indicate a sizeable building, probably largely constructed in stone, and of considerable status. No post-medieval pottery was recovered from this test pit. The assemblage was, however, mixed, containing no less than 10 sherds of Romano-British pottery and 9 sherds of medieval pottery. The latter contaiined sandy shelly ware, shelly coarseware and Potterspury wares, likely therefore to have accumulated in the mid-thirteenth century. Whatever the function of the building, and in all probability it is the manor house itself, it cannot have survived long.
The Romano-British pottery was found in association with medieval pottery and it is clear that undisturbed deposits of Roman date do not survive. The material is likely, however, to derive from the immediate vicinity rather than having been brought to the site from further afield. In all probability, the pottery derives from a Romano-British site close by, whose associated deposits were disturbed in the digging of the foundation trenches for the medieval building. This is the earliest evidence for permanent human occupation of the village area (B1).