The site was beyond the margins of the village of Stoke Golding, Leicestershire, a settlement with Medieval origins but not mentioned in Domesday Book of 1086. There were a modest range of sites and finds in the wider area listed in the county Historic Environment Record including prehistoric flint scatters, Roman pottery, a Saxon spearhead and possible moated Medieval site, though none of these sites nor finds were particularly close to the site.
The nearest entry was for an area of medieval/post-medieval ridge and furrow to the south-east, which was nearly ubiquitous for the Midlands. The site was more notable for its proximity to the site of the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 which was present to the north-west. The battlefield, covering a very large area, is Registered. The limits of the designated area lie about 400m away from the site, though the actual extent of the fighting is less clearcut.
In order to determine the presence/ absence, extent, condition, character, quality and date of any archaeological or palaeo-environmental deposits within the area of development it was proposed to dig 25 trenches, each 25-27m long and 1.8-2m wide. In addition, a metal detector survey was also carried out across the site, comprising transects spaced 2.5m apart.
All trenches were opened successfully and revealed two post-medieval ridge and furrow systems; one aligned N-S the other E-W. Dividing these two systems was a post-medieval field boundary; comprising a ditch observed on an east-west alignment. The metal detecting survey only found six items of interest; two coins, a copper alloy buckle and a lead fishing weight of a late post-medieval/modern date.
A lead seal and copper alloy buckle ring were concluded to be medieval in date, though this was uncertain. There was no clear evidence that these pieces could be linked with the Battle of Bosworth. The site was therefore considered to have very low archaeological potential. Given this lack of potential, the development was able to go ahead as planned.
The core service that we started with, our ecology team has grown into an impressive department offering every possible service relating to the planning and development sectors. PEA, PRA, biodiversity net gain, protected species surveys, mitigation documents and licensing.
Find out more
Our in house landscape architects bring a wealth of experience in their field. Industry experts offer LVIA and expert witness alongside a team delivering landscape design, landscape character assessment and garden design.
Find out more
A highly experienced and capable in house team of arboricultural consultants deliver tree surveys, AIA, AMS & woodland management plans to a diverse range of sectors and UK wide.
Find out more
Our fully qualified and experienced archaeologists work primarily for the planning and development sectors and provide WSI, desk based assessments, trial trenching and excavations.
Find out more
Our largest growth area. Our contracting teams are specialists in the field of creating and managing habitats for the benefit of biodiversity alongside offering ecological mitigation fencing and badger sett closure and creation.
Find out more