Monument record SPT 053 - Medieval activity possibly related to the former hamlet of Felchurch

2015: The earliest evidence of activity on the site was a Middle Saxon pit in the southwest of the site. The area remained the main focus for activity during the medieval period with a series of probable enclosures as well as a building platform and postholes. All of these features were of 12th/early13th century date and are likely related to the former hamlet of Fenchurch and it's church which is thought to have stood in this area. No direct evidence of the church was found however the building platform was large and a fragment of human bone was found within one of the enclosure ditches suggesting possible burial in the immediate area. Activity on the site seems to have ceased during the 13th/14th centuries. By the later post-medieval period the site was used for agricultural purposes, a series of field boundary ditches were recorded that correlate with those on the 1839 Sproughton Tithe map (S1).

2018: A further evaluation identified mostly medieval or post-medieval features. Two quarry pits in the south-west of Field 1 are thought to be medieval, and are suggestive of the agricultural nature of land use at this time. It is likely that these remains are related to those encountered during the previous phase of evaluation. Field boundaries of post-medieval date correlate to boundaries depicted on historic maps. A number of undated ditches/gullies and a pit most likely relate to the medieval and post-medieval occupation of the site (S2).

2019: A further evaluation and archaeological monitoring revealed two large but shallow eroded hollows, interpreted as possible trackways and possible precursors to nearby Poplar Lane to which they run parallel. Their fills produced small amounts of pottery, broadly dated to the 11th-14th centuries. Significant finds included two silver pennies of Henry III (minted 1251-54) and Edward I (minted 1279-1307). These were found in the topsoil, close to the postulated track-ways. The archaeological monitoring revealed a former field boundary ditch of post-medieval to modern date which was visible on the 1838 Tithe map (S3).