Essex Archaeology and H is101y 40 (2009)) 1-77
West Thurrock: Late prehistoric settlement, Roman burials
and the medieval manor house, Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Excavations 2002
Phil Andrews
With contributions by Paul Drury, Jessica Grimm, Jacqueline I. McKinley, Lorraine Mepham, Christopher Phillpotts,
Jorn Schuster, Chris]. Stevens and Sarah Wyles
Illustrations by S.E. James
Two excavations were オョ、・イエ。ャセ@
between Q セウエ@
Thurrock and Purfleet in 2002 in advance of construction of
H igh Speed 1 (formerly the Channel1imnel R ail Link). At High H ouse) ditches) gullies and pits of mainly
late prehistoric and early R oman date were concentrated on the higher ground in the western half of the site.
The late prehistoricfeatw·es may represent two phases of settlement-related activity within an overall Middle
Bronze Age - Early han Age time span. The Late Imn Age and early Roman features were probably also
settlement-related and included a small enclosure) a possible trackway and an unusual group of at least 14
inhumation burials and two cremation burials inserted along the entire exposed length of an ・。イャゥQセ@
prehistoric
ditch. At Stone House) the unexpected discovery of building 1·emains during construction work led to an
excavation which revealed a large part of a late 13th I early 14th centwy stone building of some stature and
status) as well a sequence of 11th-13th centwy features probably associated with ウエッ」ャセ@
control) and a small
number of late prehistoric pits. The considerable amount of documentary evidence shows that) almost certainly
from as ea1·ly as the beginning of the 14th century) Stone H ouse was the manor house ッヲセウエ@
Tlnt1Tock. The
building had been extensively mbbed and the finds assemblages were relatively po01; but it rep1·esents a
significant discove1y in the county. New Place) later known as High H ouse) was built in the mid- 16th centwy
on higher ground to the north-west and subsequently assumed the position of'manor house)) while Stone House
became a tenanted fann. In 1683 Stone House was rebuilt on a more modest scale on an adjacent site) and
was used as the parish worMouse for a period of about 20 yeaTS at the end of the 18th century, with final
demolition co1-ning in the 1920s.
INTRODUCTION
Project background
..
This report incorporates data from two excavations
between WestThurrock and Purfleet, both carried out in
2002 as part of the High Speed 1 (H S 1, formerly the
Channel Tunnel Rail Link) Section 2 works (Figure 1) .
T he excavations were commissioned by Rail Link
Engineering (RLE) and were undertaken by Wessex
Archaeology. The principal discoveries comprised late
prehistoric and Romano-British features at High House
(site code: ARC PHH01 ) and the site of the medieval and
later manor house ofWestThurrock at Stone House (site
code: ARC 31 OT02) . T he results of HS 1 Pleistocene
investigations at Purfleet and the Holocene investigations
atWestThurrock Marshes will be reported on separately
elsewhere.
The High House fieldwork was undertaken on an
elongated strip of land situated immediately to the south
of the Purfleet By-pass and to the north of High House
Farm, a 17th/early 18th century complex of Grade II
Listed Buildings (including one structure that is also a
Scheduled Monument) . At this location (centred on
NGR 556696 178 101 ) the route ofHS1 passes through
a substantial cutting which required full excavation of
archaeological remains in advance of construction.
The Stone H ouse fieldwork was undertaken on the
northern edge ofWestThurrock Marshes, within an area
bounded by the London, Tilbury and Southend railway
to the south, London Road to the north, industrial units
to the west, and the northern approach to the M25
Dartford Crossing to the east. The site lies approximately
midway between the villages of Purfleet and West
Thurrock (at NGR 557100 177828), south of the
junction of Stonehouse Lane and London Road. HS 1
passes across the WestThurrock Marshes on an elevated
section at this point, carried on piers supported by
reinforced piling. The nature of the construction work
precluded any archaeological recording and although
limited stripping was carried out in the vicinity of each
pile, the depth ofThames floodplain alluvial deposits in
these areas ensured that nothing other than relatively
recent (i.e. post-medieval) deposits was exposed. A
watching brief was undertaken during enablement works
for the construction of a substantial temporary site
compound, batching plant and haul road in the north
part of the site, and the medieval remains at Stone House
were first seen during the stripping of topsoil and subsoil
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
l
Hertfordshire
0
Mar Dyke
Purfleet
a1way
StCiement's
= = = = == = = = =:::9Church iii
1
178000
West Thurrock
Marshes
:
•
0
....
:j
Excavation area
Chalk pit
lt
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........_
177000
2km
Figure 1 Site location plan, showing excavation areas
© Crown copyright and/or database right. All rights reserved. Licence number 10001 4800
2
WESTTHURROCK
from this area. Following a site meeting which established
the importance and vulnerability of the remains, detailed
archaeological excavation was undertaken where possible
on the exposed remains and available parts of the
surrounding area. At the east end of the site, the relatively
minimal impact of the ancillary works on the buried
archaeological resource required only an archaeological
watching brief.
This publication follows a programme of work set out
in the project design (Union Railways (North) Limited
(URN) 2006). Full details of the features and deposits,
along with finds and environmental analyses, can be
found in the archive which will be deposited with
Thurrock Museum.
burntflints (URL 1995, 22,maps 1aand 1b),two sherds
of medieval pottery and thirteen post-medieval sherds
(URL 1995, 22, maps 1a and lb). Following this, a
magnetometer survey indicated a series of parallel
north/south linear anomalies, considered to have resulted
from past cultivation (URL 1996, plans 1.2 and 1.3) .
Archaeological evaluation trenches excavated in 1998
at High House (site code: ARC HHP97) (URL 1999)
established that the anticipated Pleistocene gravels did
not extend this far to tl1e south-east and so the site had
negligible potential for Palaeolithic deposits. However,
the evaluation demonstrated that Late Bronze Age I Early
Iron Age, Romano-British and post-medieval features
were present on the site.
Archaeological background
Topography and geology
Previous archaeological work in the area has concentrated
on the Pleistocene deposits overlying the chalk anticline at
Purfleet that contain crucial evidence relating to a former
course of the River Thames. These deposits, which are
banked against the north face of the anticline, were laid
down during alternating cold (glacial) and warm
(interglacial) conditions and are associated with large
assemblages of Palaeolithic stone tools. Important
assemblages of Palaeolithic material have been recorded
from the nearby Esso Pit, Botany Pit (including Beacon
Hill), Greenlands Pit and Bluelands Pit (Figure 1).
In addition, various finds of later date have also been
recovered as a result of quarrying and are recorded in the
Essex Historic Environment Record (SMR) . These
include Iron Age/Romano-British material as well as
features, such as pits and ditches, from Botany Pit;
Neolithic, Bronze Age and Rom ano-British m aterial
from Beacon Hill; and Mesolithic, Neolithic, Iron Age
and medieval material from Greenlands Pit immediately
to the north of the High House site.
The existing buildings of High House Farm comprise
a 17th century octagonal brick dovecote, the 17th
century timber-framed and plastered brick farm building,
and an early 18th century weather-boarded timber barn.
These are Listed Buildings (Grade II) and the dovecote
is also a Scheduled Monument (SM 32420).
An Environmental Assessment of the route of HS 1
(U nion Railways Limited (URL) 1991) collated existing
information and highlighted the potential of the area
arou nd High House but did not identify an
archaeological potential for the Stone House site.
Subsequently, an archaeological evaluation of the
Pleistocene deposits immediately to the north-west of
High House recorded a substantial ditch and a smaller
feature, both of probable late prehistoric date, the former
interpreted as possibly part of a Late Bronze Age
enclosure or an Early Iron Age boundary ditch. In
addition to worked flint, 14 sherds of late prehistoric
pottery were recovered, all but two of which occurred
residually in later contexts (Oxford Archaeological U nit
(OAU) 1995) .
A fieldwalking survey at High H ouse recorded a
general scatter of nineteen worked flints, including one
scraper of possible Neolithic date, and a further five
The High House site is located towards the highest part
of the Purfleet anticline, between the River Thames
approximately lkm to the south and the Mar Dyke
channel to the north and west. The edge of the Mar Dyke
channel, considered to be an early course for a loop of
the Thames (known as the Ockenden Loop), lies less
than 500m to the north and less than l OOm to the west
of the site. The western two-thirds of the site occupies
almost level ground on tl1e very top of the anticline, with
a very gentle south-east facing slope, descending within
the site lin1its from a height of c. 20.50m above Ordnance
Datum (aOD) in the north-west to c. 18m aOD in the
south-east. Further to the south-east the slope increases
towards the River Thames floodplain, with the lowest
part of the site at c. 11.50m aOD.
The Stone H ouse site is located at the very base of
the south-facing side of the anticline, immediately above
the northern edge of the River T hames floodplain,
between about 1m and 2m aOD. The structural remains
identified in the excavation were concentrated on a small
promontory that extends out into the floodplain, forming
a natural focus for activity in the area. The edge of the
floodplain was clearly defined within the site, with the
lower lying area being covered by a brown organic-rich
soil representing the extent of the former marsh.
The solid geology fo r the area is mapped as
Cretaceous U pper C halk (Ordnance Survey 1998),
forming the south-facing side of the Purfleet Anticline
extending from the mouth of the Mar Dyke at West
Purfleet across to Little Thurrock near Tilbury. The
British Geological Survey notes superficial caps of
Palaeocene Thanet Beds sand on the surface of the
anticline, probably the deposits encountered at Stone
House, although no drift geology is m apped in the
immediate vicinity of High House. H owever, the
excavation revealed superficial spreads of'flinty wash'; a
sandy silt containing flints and small chalk inclusions,
overlying chalk. It is likely that this 'flinty wash' is largely
a chalk-derived periglacial deposit.
Excavation methods
All fieldwork was conducted in accordance with a Written
Scheme of Investigation (URN 2001). Excavation at
High House (see Figures 1 and 2) was targeted on three
3
ESSEX ARCHAEOL OGY AND HISTORY
.17017
. . 17019
-17018
17016
D
Early Bronze Age
-
Middle -Late Bronze Age
-
Late Bronze Age I Early Iron Age
Undated
0
c] ]Mセ
]
M]S
50
100m
Figure 2 High House: plan (Area 1), Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age- Late Bronze Age I Early Iron Age features
contiguous areas (separated by two access routes to High
H ouse Farm) of 12,660m 2 (Area 1), 6100m 2 (Area 2)
and 1940m 2 (Area 3), together representing just over
50% of the evaluated area. T he site was stripped of c. 0.3
- 0.4m depth of topsoil and subsoil by a 360° tracked
excavator, to expose in situ chalk-derived and natural
chalk deposits. All archaeological features were digitally
surveyed and then excavated by hand. Excavation took
place from January to March 2002, and an interim report
on the results was submitted in 2004 (URN 2004a).
On the Stone House site (Figure 1), building remains
were discovered unexpectedly in late March 2002 during
a watching brief in the northern part of the site and
limited excavations were undertaken during a temporary
cessation of machine stripping. The exposed build ing
remains and other visible features were d igitally mapped
and artefact samples retained to ascertain their probable
date. In this area, representing approximately half of the
area covered by medieval and post-medieval building
remains, excavation was only possible to a very cursory
level ('salvage recording') prior to the laying of geotextile
and crushed concrete and construction of the site
compound. Two complexes of building remains were
identified, the most northerly of probable post-medieval
date and identified as the 'Stone House' shown adjacent
to the road to Purfleet (London Road) on the 1st edition
Ordnance S urvey map (1873). The southern group of
buildings, of flint, chalk and ashlar construction, was
identified as of medieval origin, although underlying 11th
- 12th century AD and late prehistoric features were also
present. T he subsequent stripping of topsoil on the
southern part of the site exposed fu rther remains of
medieval buildings, which were again digitally mapped
and sampled for dating. Following a site visit on 9th April
2002 by representatives of Essex County Council and
English Heritage, and confirmation of the importance of
the building remains, provision was made for excavation
of the southern part of the site, which took place during
April and May 2002. Additional areas predominantly to
the south-east (Zones 1 - 4; see Figure 16) but also to
the west of the principal excavation area were subject to
a watching brief, which concentrated on obtaining a
detailed plan of the remains, with focused artefact
sampling to obtain dating evidence where feasible. It soon
became clear that the features exposed were relatively
modern (i.e. 17th I 18th century or later), and as a result
little detailed excavation was carried out, particularly as
most were to be subject to minimal impact by
construction works. The archaeological and historical
background of Stone H ouse and its surrounding
landscape was subsequ ently collated in a desk-based
assessment (Wessex Archaeology 2003a), whilst the
results of the excavation and watching brief have been
the subject of a draft interim report (URN 2004b).
4
WESTTHURROCK
In addition to the investigations at High House and
Stone H ouse, a continuous watching brief (ARC
31 OT02) was maintained in the vicinity of Purfleet
between April and December 2002, during the
preliminary phases of enablement and construction
works associated with HS 1. This was concerned
primarily with the recording of Pleistocene deposits, but
a small number of features of late prehistoric, Roman and
later date were also identified, most in the immediate
vicinity of High House and relating to discoveries made
in the excavation there.
flake with a concave crescentic retouch on one margin.
There is a very small component of blade-like flakes and
a broken bladelet which are likely to belong to early
technologies, most probably Mesolithic or Early
Neolithic. The bulk of the material, however, which
includes a pair of piercers, tl1ree scrapers and a notched
flake, is likely to be Late Neolithic I Early Bronze Age,
with a smaller component of later Bronze Age material.
In addition to the worked flint, there are also two
sherds of Beaker pottery (Figure 3, 1 and 2) . These
were the only finds from a possibly natural hollow
(17077) towards the west end of the High House site (see
Figure 2).
RESULTS
Middle Bronze Age - Late Bronze Age I
Early Iron Age (Figure 2)
Earlier prehistoric
The earlier prehistoric period is represented by finds
only. Furthermore, the entire assemblage of worked flint
(459 pieces, the majority from High House) is clearly
residual, with various chronological components. On the
basis of the few tools and the technological indicators it
is probable that the earliest piece (from High House) is
Lower Palaeolithic, comprising a large, orange, patinated
0
セ M」
セ M」]
ct
Scale 1:3
The High H ouse site appears to have subsequently
become the focus of later Bronze Age activity. At least
two phases have been distinguished, though phasing
within the late prehistoric period is slightly problematic
due to the relatively low numbers of intercutting features
and the restricted nature of the pottery assemblage. The
100mm
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· · - - · -- -._ __;--=---------:
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Pottery: Beaker (nos 1-2) and L ate Bronze Age I Early Iron Age (nos 3- 11)
5
ESSEX ARCHAEOLO GY AND HISTORY
results from High House can be seen as evidence for
sporadic land-use throughout the Middle -Late Bronze
Age I Early Iron Age.
Three Middle Bronze Age pits (17030, 17064 and
1 7049) and two gullies (17021 and 17043) lay at the
eastern end of Area 1 at High H ouse, and represent the
earliest archaeological features on the site. Pit 17030 and
pit 17049 were both approximately 0.2m deep and
produced pottery including part of a globular urn. Pit
17064 was heavily truncated and contained no dating
material, but it has been provisionally assigned to the
Middle Bronze Age on the basis of its proximity to the
other two pits. To the west of the pits was a gully 17043,
orientated north-south, with a short, slightly sinuous
gully ( 17021 ) approximately 1Om to the north-west and
parallel with it. These gullies appear to have been
contemporaneous but their function is unclear.
Pit 17025, approximately 0.25m deep, also lay
towards the eastern end of Area 1. In addition to Middle
I Late Bronze Age pottery, it also produced a small
assemblage of briquetage, perhaps deriving from a
pedestal (Figure 4, 2).
Features assigned to the Late Bronze Age I Early Iron
Age were found almost exclusively in the western half of
Area 1, along the south-facing brow of the Purfleet
anticline. They had a broad east - west alignment and
included at least 12 shallow pits and large hollows of
variable shape and size, some intercutting, which formed
three discrete clusters. They all contained similar, fairly
homogeneou s, dark fills including burnt flint and small
amounts of burnt clay. The most substantial hollow
(17069) lay at the east end of the alignment, measured
approximately 1Om by 6.5m, was 0.6m deep and had
been cut by a smaller pit (1 701 2) of similar date. T he
medium-sized features (170 12, 17018, 170 19, 17024,
17055 and 17039 I 17066-8) were up to 5m across,
between 0.2m and 0.4m deep, and some were very
irregular in plan. The small features ( 17016, 1701 7,
17040, 17041 , 17042, and 17050), most of which lay
towards the western end of the alignment, were up to
1.5m across, 0.2 - 0.5m deep, and might best be
described as pits. The majority of these pits and hollows
contained pottery, sometimes in relatively large quantities,
for example hollows 17024 and 1 7069 producing 165
and 104 sherds respectively from the excavated portions,
and pit 17050 being the only feature devoid of pottery.
The 104 sherds from hollow 17069 included a significant
proportion offmewares (Figure 3, 8 and 10), while most
of the 106 sherds from pit 17041 came from two vessels
(Figure 3, 7) . H ollow 17024 also contained fragments of
as many as six triangular loomweights, while pit 1704 1
contained one complete triangular loom weight (Figure
4, 1), and hollow 170 12 and pit 1701 7 contained
fragments of clay blocks or bars, possibly p arts of
loom weights. Part of a Hertfordshire Puddingstone saddle
quern came from pit 170 17 and a possible quem
fragment of unidentified sandstone from hollow 1701 8.
Towards the east end of Area 1 was ditch 17000, also
assigned to the L ate Bronze Age I Early Iron Age,
although whether it was contemporary with the features
---------------- -\
\
\
I
\\ \ \
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
0
-- I
50mm
2
3
'-.-----..J'
Figure 4 F ired clay objects: Middle - Late Bronze Age I
Early Iron Age (nos 1-2) and Late Iron Age I RomanoBritish (no 3)
to the west could not be ascertained. Aligned
approximately north-south, it extended beyond the limits
of excavation, and a subsequent excavation undertaken in
2008 has shown it to continue to the south for at least a
further 50m , with a single, narrow causeway in this part.
It was a relatively substan tial feature measuring
approximately 2.5m wide and 1.2m deep with a broad Ushaped proftle, and pr oduced 81 sherds of late prehistoric
pottery. After almost completely silting up, a series of
Roman inhumation and cremation burials were inserted
along its entire exposed length (see below) .
Only nine sherds of pottery from Stone H ouse have
been assigned a probable L ate Bronze Age I Early Iron
Age date, most of them being residual in later contexts,
and the only feature tentatively assigned to this period is
a short length of gully (not illustrated).
Pottery
by L orraine Mepham
The total prehistoric (excluding L ate Iron Age)
assem blage from High House comprises 1051 sherds
6
WESTTHURROCK
..
( 10,990g), virtually all of Middle Bronze Age to Late
Bronze Age I Early Iron Age date.
Methods of analysis have followed the standard
Wessex Archaeology recording system for pottery
(Morris 1994), which accords with nationally
recommended guidelines (PCRG 1997). Fabrics have
been defmed on the basis of dominant inclusion type (for
prehistoric fabrics). In this instance, fabrics have been
defined on a relatively broad scheme of classification
reflecting 'catch-all' groups of fine- and coarsewares
rather than individual fabric 'recipes'. Brief fabric
descriptions and totals, by both sh erd count and weight,
are given in Table 1.
The earliest element within the assemblage consists
of two sherds, both from a single context (hollow 17077)
at High House. These are identifiable as Beaker, but of
unknown form. Both are in grog-tempered fabrics and
both are decorated with impressed motifs - one is a rim
sherd (Figure 3, 1 and 2).
The Middle Bronze Age to Early Iron Age assemblage
from High H ouse comprises 1047 sherds (10,958g) .
Much of this group comprises sherds in flint-tempered
fabrics in varying degrees of coarseness. Amongst this
group, fabrics containing frequent but relatively well
sorted flint inclusions, either coarse (FL2) or fine (FL4),
have been identified as falling within the DeverelRimbury ceramic tradition of the lower Thames valley,
although only two diagnostic rim forms are present- one
from a fineware globular urn and one from a coarseware
One sherd has been burnt or overtired to such an
extent that the original fabric type is indeterminate; eight
other sherds, in both flint-tempered and sandy fabrics,
and from several different features, are also burnt.
Otherwise condition is fair to good. Some of the more
friable coarseware fabrics have suffered some
deterioration. M ean sherd weight overall is 10.5g, rising
to 11.5g in contexts dated as M iddle Bronze Age to Early
Iron Age, and falling to 6.1 g in residual contexts.
Apart from the Deverel-Rimbury for ms already
mentioned, three basic vessel forms were recognised.
These comprise coarseware shouldered jars with upr ight
or slightly inturned rims, with finger tip or fingernail
impressions on the shoulder and/or the rim (Figure 3,
3-6); small or medium-sized coarseware convex jars with
slightly inturned rims; and carinated or roundshouldered fineware bowls with upright or slightly
everted necks (tripartite proftle), some burnished
(Figure 3, 7-10). One rim, from a vessel of unknown
form, has a markedly expanded profile, witl1 finger
impressions (Figure 3, 11), but otherwise m ost r ims
have simple rounded or flattened proftles, while some are
slightly expanded internally and/or externally. Apart from
impressions on rims and shoulders, decoration is entirely
absent.
A further 11 sherds (16g) from High House remain
undated. These are all in shelly fabrics, none sufficiently
distinctive to assign to sp ecific date range - they could
be L ate Bronze Age I Early Iron Age, L ate Iron Age, or
urn probably of bucke t form. Non e of the :shen.l:s are
even m euieval.
decorated.
A few sherds in coarsely tempered but less well sorted
fabrics (FL1 ) have been broadly dated as Middle I L ate
Bronze Age; there are no diagnostic sherds. Other flinttempered fa brics have been dated as Late Bronze Age I
Early Iron Age, and include both coarsewares (FL5) and
'finewares' (FL3), the latter defined on the basis of the
size and sorting of inclusions, and by a generally better
surface finish, including burnishing. Alongside the flinttempered wares, shelly wares are also relatively common,
with a much smaller proportion of sandy wares,
including some with distinctive glauconitic inclusions.
The small group of nine sherds from Stone H ouse are
less easily tied down chronologically. These are in flinttempered, shelly and sandy fabrics, but include no
diagnostic sherds. The flint-tempered fabrics are likely to
date to the L ate Bronze Age I Early Iron Age, as at High
House, the shelly fabrics could be either Late Bronze Age
I Early Iron Age or L ate Iron Age; and sandy wares are
found throughout this broad period in the region.
Date r a nge
EBA
MBA
MBA
M/LBA
LBA/EIA
LBA/EIA
LBAIEIA
LBA/EIA
LBA/EIA
LBA/EIA
LBA/EIA
Fabric type
GR3
FL2
FL4
FLl
QU1
QU2
QU3
FL3
FL5
SH1
UNKN
Distribution on site
Later prehistoric pottery came largely from contexts in
Area 1 at High H ouse; 848 sherds (97 53 g) derived from
Description
Grog-tempered Beaker fabric
D evere!-Rin1bury coarseware
D everel-Rimbury fineware
Coarse flint-tempered fabric
PDR coarseware, sandy
PDR coarseware, sandy with flint
PDR fineware, glauconitic sandy
PDR fineware, flint-tempered
PDR coarseware, flint-tempered
PDR coarseware, shelly
Unknown fabric type (burnt)
Total
No. sherds
Weight (g)
2
22
11
13
11
6
4
204
573
202
32
250
256
31
55
85
13
2295
60 10
1959
4
10,990
1049
PDR = post- Deverei-Rin1bury
Table I
Pouery: Early Bronze Age- Late Bronze Age I Early Iron Age fabric totals
7
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
contexts which have been dated as Middle Bronze Age to
Early Iron Age.
Four features contained only Middle Bronze Age
fabrics - pits 17030 and 17049, and gullies 1702 1 and
17043, all at the eastern end of Area 1. In each instance
only small quantities of potter y were recovered.
Of the later features the lar gest group, 165 sherds
from pit 17024, included six coarseware rims, three of
them fmger-impressed and all probably from shouldered
jars (Figure 3, 4), as well as one fin eware carinated
vessel. Pit 17069 (104 sherds) also contained a mixture
of coarsewares and finewares, from a number of vessels
(a maximum of eight, on the basis of rim sherds) . In
contrast, the contents of pit 1704 1 (106 sherds) consisted
largely of sherds of just two vessels, one fineware
tripartite bowl (Figure 3, 7), and the lower p art of a
coarseware vessel; this pit also contained an almost
complete triangular loomweight (Figure 4, 1), and its
contents could therefore potentially be regarded as a
'special deposit ', although it should be noted that pit
17024 also yielded fragments from a maximum of six
triangular weights. The d ating implications of these
associations will be discussed fu rther below.
Only one other feature (ditch 17000) contained what
appeared to be sherds of a single vessel dep osited
together, alth ough the ditch also produ ced a mixture of
sherds from other vessels, as seems to be the case for all
other context groups. In other words, most of the pottery
appears to represent 'standard' domestic refuse.
perhaps m ore likely. One is the occurrence of a
significant proportion of shelly wares, seen as a ceramic
development of the Early Iron Age at North Shoebury
(Brown 1995, 83), although interestingly absent from the
Early Iron Age assemblages from Orsett and the Grays
By-pass (Wilkinson 1988). T he second is the presence
of a number of tripartite fineware bowls with footring
bases, seen at North Shoebur y, Rectory Road (Grays Bypass) and Orsett. A date range of 6th to 4th centuries BC
was suggested for the North Shoebury Early Iron Age
assemblage (Brown 1995, 87) .
List of illustrated vessels (Figu re 3)
I.
Beaker rim sherd, fabric GR3. PRN 217, context 10229, natural
feature 17077 .
2 . Beaker decorated body sherd, fabr ic GR3. PRN 217, Context
10229, natural feature 17077.
3 . Coarseware jar rim, fabric FL5. PRN 224, context 10255, natural
feature 170 19.
4. Coarseware jar r im, finger-impressed, fabric SHl. PRN 275,
context 10326, pit 17024.
5. Coarseware rim, finger-impressed, fabric FLS. PRN 126, context
10 157, pit 17069.
6. Coarseware jar rim, fingerna il-impressed shoulder, fabric FL5.
PRN 91, context 10126, pit 17012.
7. Fineware bowl profile, fabric FL3. PRN 232/238, Obj. No. 19554,
context I 0260/10261, pit 1704 1.
8. Fineware bowl rim, fabric FL3. PRN 117, context I 0154, pit
17069.
9. Fineware bowl rim, fabric FL3. PRN 141, context 10164, pit
170 16.
I 0. Fineware bowl rim, fabric FL3. PRN 120, context I 0 I 56, pit
17069 .
I I. Expanded rim, fabric SHl. PRN 206, Context 10219, pit 17018.
Discussion
T he M iddle Bronze Age m aterial is too sparse for a
detailed consideration of its affinities, but generally it
appears to fall within the local Deverel-Rirnbury range
of south Essex and the lower T hames Valley generally, as
seen, for exam ple, at Mucking and North Shoebury
(Barrett and Bond 1988; Brown 1995; Figure 1).
Certainly there is no sign of the more elaborate
decoration seen on the Ardleigh group from the north of
the county.
North Shoebury also provides good parallels for the
Late Bronze Age - Early Iron Age assemblage, although
the range seen atWestThurrock in terms of vessel forms
is far more limited; using Barrett's classification (1980),
only Class II (coarseware) jars and Class IV (fineware)
bowls were identified, although this may be at least partly
due to the scarcity of diagnostic sherds. T here are other
com parable assem blages in the area from Orsett and
Mucking (Barrett 1978; Barrett and Bond 1988) and
further afield at Springfield Lyons, Chelmsford (Buckley
an d Hedges 1987), and sites in the lower Blackwater
Valley such as Slough Farm and Lofts Farm (Brown
1988; 1998) .
Overall the potential date range is Late Bronze Age to
Early Iron Age. The Class I coarseware jars with finger
impressed rims and shoulders are characteristic of the
Late Bron ze Age plainware of the region, dating to the
early 1st millennium BC. However, these vessels are also
seen in Early Iron Age assemblages, and there are otl1er
indications that a slightly later date for the assemblage is
Fire d clay
by Lorraine Mepham
Loomweights
A maximum of eight loomweights are present, seven
from High H ouse and one possible exam ple from Stone
H ouse. T he loomweights are all, as far as can be
ascertained, of triangular form, the typical Iron Age form
of the region . Only one survives as near complete
(Figure 4, 1), from pit 17041. T his weight has three
perforations; only one corner survives intact, but tl1e side
length can be extrapolated from the position of the
perforations as c. 160mm; the tl1ickness is 50mm.
Fragments from a maximum of six further weights
(identified from corner fragments) came from pit 17024.
T he fragments from a p ossible loomweight found at
Stone House came from a medieval context. In addition
tl1ere are three fragments from High House which could
derive either from further loom weights, or from
slabs/blocks (which have flat surfaces but no edges or
corners). These came from gully 17021, pit 17071 and
pit 17017.
The fabric of the weights and possible weights varies,
but is generally poorly wedged, with a relatively fme matrix,
and sparse to common organic inclusions, with occasional
detrital flint an d quartz. Fabrics are soft, reflecting firing at
relatively low temperatures; some fragments are
incompletely oxidised, with unoxidised cores.
8
WESTTHURROCK
Charred plant remains
Triangular loomweights occur from the Early Iron
Age onwards in Essex, although are most frequent in
Late Iron Age contexts (Major 1998) . At Slough House
Farm, in the Blackwater Valley, a small quantity was
found in Late Bronze Age contexts (ibid., table 11 ). At
High House, all seven probable loomweights were
associated with Late Bronze Age I Early Iron Age pottery,
in pits 17024 and 17041 (with a suggestion that the date
range for the pottery falls relatively late within the
sequence; see Pottery). There is some suggestion at
Slough House Farm that loomweight dimensions
increased between Early/M iddle Iron Age and Late Iron
Age contexts; only one example from High House had
measurable dimensions, but is thinner than the Slough
House Farm Early/Middle Iron Age weights (ibid., 161).
by Chris J. Stevens
Fourteen bulk samples were taken from Middle Bronze
Age to Late Bronze Age I Early Iron Age features at High
House. These were processed and assessed and five of
the richer samples selected for analysis: one from a
Middle I Late Bronze Age pit and four from Late Bronze
Age I Early Iron Age pits. All of the samples produced
cereal remains, although t11e material was poorly
preserved and specific identifications to species were not
always possible (Table 3).
In the Middle I Late Bronze Age sample emmer wheat
chaff and grains (T dicoccum) are present, along with
similar numbers of barley grains. A single possible glume
of spelt wheat (Triticum spelta) was also recovered. The
range of cereals is in keeping with oilier sites in me
region, for example, Norm Shoebury, where possible
spelt was also recovered (Murphy 1991 ; 1995) . It might
be noted mat assemblages of this period from across me
Thames in North Kent have produced spelt wheat in
large quantities (Pelling 2003).
The Late Bronze Age I Early Iron Age pits produced
evidence for spelt and barley only, al tl1ough the
possibility that emmer was also present cannot be ruled
out. A single grain of possible free-threshing wheat
( Triticum aestivwn sl) was also recorded. Wild food
remains included a few fragments of hazelnut ( Corylus
avellana) and tl1ree stones of sloe (Prunus spinosa).
The absence of emmer in the Late Bronze Age I Early
Iron Age samples from High House may be a reflection
of differential preservation. Other Late Bronze Age sites
in south Essex have generally produced evidence for born
emmer and spelt alongside barley, as have many recently
excavated HS 1 sites in Kent. At Rook Hall Farm and
Springfield L yons (Murphy 199 1; 1987) spelt wheat
predominated, while emm er dominated assemblages at
Slough House Farm (Murphy 1998), Fossetts Farm
(Wessex Archaeology 2005) and Lofts Farm (Murphy
1988b; 1991) .
Seeds of weeds growing witl1in the Bronze Age fields
and brought in after harvesting were generally sparse.
They included many species commonly found on later
prehistoric sites, such as vetches/wild pea ( Vicia I
Lathyrus sp.), knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare), oats
(Avena sp.) and brome grass (Bromus sp.). Of more
interest were many seeds of black mustard or wild
cabbage (Brassica nigra/oleracea) . Both are common close
to me sea, a1tl1ough only black mustard is known as an
arable weed inland. H owever, given me location of me
site, either species is possible. The samples also contained
many seeds of bulrush or grey club rush (Schoenoplectus
lacustris/tabernaemontanz), as well as a single seed of burreed (Spmganium erectum), which are also likely to have
grown within marshy areas, including brackish
conditions. The rushes and reeds may, of course, have
had an economic use, for example as t11atch.
It is probable that most of the remains derived from
charred waste after pounding of hulled wheat spikelets
and the separation of the glumes. The poor preservation
of the assemblage and the high number of roots in the
Briquetage
Fourteen fragments of briquetage, defined as ceramic
equipment associated with salt production, were
recovered, aU from one Middle - Late Bronze Age
context (pit 17025) and probably deriving from a single
object; all fragments are in a similar coarse, organictempered fabric. Four fragments conjoin and appear to
derive from a pedestal (Figure 4, 2)
Salt briquetage, frequently in organic-tempered
fabrics, has now been recognised on a number of
prehistoric and Roman sites in Essex, and salt production
is attested in coastal areas (Fawn et al. 1990). T he High
House object could be of similar form to Bronze Age
examples from Mucking (Barford 1988, fig. 27, 15-18),
or to Late Iron Age/Roman examples from the Red Hills
in Essex (Fawn et al. 1990, 69, figs. 10-11) .
lliustrated objects (Figure 4)
I.
2.
Triangular loomweighr. Obj. No. 19SSS,context 10261, pit 17041 .
Briquetage ?pedestal. Context 10002, pit 17025.
Animal bone
by Jessica Grimm
The majority of what is a rather small animal bone
assemblage (all from High House) is in fair to good
condition. The results correspond with tl1e wider picture
for this period as cattle dominates among the
domesticates (Table 2) and no wild species were present.
The presence of horse bones confirms its reintroduction
to Britain in the Early Bronze Age. Cattle and sheep/goat
were slaughtered at sub-adult and adult stages indicating
mixed husbandry strategies for milk and meat as well as
for wool and use as draught animals. Pigs were
slaughtered around the ideal age of two after which they
do not gain any more meat. The even distribution of
skeletal elements suggests that cattle and pig were
slaughtered and their products processed on the site. The
distribution is less even for sheep and might indicate
transport of meat parts from the site. A left sheep
metatarsus produced a height at the withers of 0.55m
and a right horse metacarpus provided a height at the
withers of 1.29m, indicating rather small animals.
9
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Species
LBA/EIA
n
%
Mammal
H orse (Equus caballus)
3
Cattle (Bas taurus)
58
Sheep/Goat ( Ovis/Capra)
27
1
Sheep (Ovis aries)
7
Pig (Sus dal!lesticus)
Dog (Canis fmniliaris)
Cat (Felis catus)
M ole (Talpa eumpeus)
M ouse/slu·ew
Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Vole (Cricetidae)
Water vole (Arvicala terrestris)
Whale (Cetacea)
Bird
D omestic fowl (Gallus gallus dom .)
Goose (Anser anser)
Mallard (Anas plathyrhynchos)
Small passerine (Passerifamzes)
C f. Teal (Anas cf. crecca)
Thrush (Titrdus philamelas)
Fish
C f. ling (M alva malva)
C f. small cod (Gadus morhua)
C f. tub gurnard (Chelidanichthys lucernus)
Amphibian
Common frog (Rana temporaTia)
Classes
L arge mam mal
78
59
Medium mammal
Small mammal
Bird
F ish
Amphibian
233
Total
LIA/ERB
n
%
1. 3
24.9
11. 6
0.4
3. 0
3
61
34
3
8
56*
1.1
23.0
12.8
1.1
3.0
2 1. 1
Med
Med/p-med
n
%
n
%
5
75
50
0 .9
13.2
8 .8
0.2
19.8
0.9
11.6
0.7
0.7
0.4
0.2
0.2
2
47
52
24*
11
0.9
2 1.0
23.2
10.8
5.0
14*
6.3
1. 2
0.9
0.2
0.2
0 .2
0 .2
11
5.0
0.5
0 .5
112*
5
66*
4
4
2
0.4
0.4
7
5
0.5
0.5
0.2
6
1.1
13.6
19.8
0.5
0.9
1.6
1.8
100.0
33.5
25.3
14
84
5.3
3 1.8
77
112
3
5
9
10
100.0
265
100.0
565
25
23
5
4
11.3
10.4
2. 3
1.8
222
100 .0
*(partial) skeleton (s)
Table 2
Animal bone: species list and number of identified specimens (all periods)
samples suggest considerable biological activity that will
have effected preser vation and may have selectively
destroyed the more fragile glumes (Boardman and Jones
1990). T he small number and dominance of seeds of
larger seeded species is seen at many of the prehistoric
sites in d1e region (Murphy 1987; 1988b; 199 1; 1998)
and would suggest that crops were brought to, and stored
at the settlement in a relatively clean state. T his storage
would occur after they had been threshed, winnowed and
sieved and most of the smaller, lighter seeds removed,
following har vest in mid to late summer.
It is noted d1at species of Schaenaplectms spp. have
been recorded as weeds of rice fields (Yuan et at. 199 1).
T his argument has been used previously to suggest d1at
other wedand species whose seeds are commonly fo und
amongst cereal remains were also once weed s of arable
fields Gones 1988; Stevens 1999) . It could be suggested
dlen that during dle M iddle to L ate Bronze Age fields
extended onto areas that lay close to dle T hames and
were perhaps seasonally flooded . Ard marks sealed by
alluvium and dated to dle Middle Bronze Age at
Soudlwark certainly su ggest d1at fields were located in
such localities in dle past (Bates and Minkin 1999).
Late Iron Age (Figure 5)
Late Iron Age features at High H ouse were largely
confined to a relatively small area within dle central part
of Area 1, widl two adjacent featu res almost 400m away
towards dle east end of Area 2.
The principal feature appears to have been a small,
sub-rectangular, partly double-ditched enclosure
(17076). The ditches had been heavily truncated,
generally being 0.20 - 0.25m deep, but overall dley
produced 79 sherds of L ate Iron Age potter y along widl
ten residual sherds. T he outer d itch enclosed an area
approximately 32m by 22m which may have been open
on dle norm side, although it is quite possible dlat dle
enclosure extended beyond dlc limit of excavation . T he
10
WESTTHURROCK
M/LBA
Period
Feature type
Feature no.
Sample size
Cereals
Hordeum vulgare sl (grain)
H. vulgare sl (rachis fragment)
Triticum sp. (grains)
T dicoccum (glume base)
T dicoccwn (spikelet fork)
Triticum spelta (glume bases)
Triticum spelta (spikelet fork)
T dicoccwn/spelta (grain)
T dicoccum/spelta (spikelet fork)
T dicoccum/spelta (glume bases)
Triticum cf. aestivwn sl (grain)
Cereal indet. (grains)
Cereal frag. indet. (est. whole grains)
Cereal (germinated coleoptile)
Cereal indet. (basal rachis fragment)
Cereal indet. (culm node)
Other crop species
Prunus domestica
Other species
Fumaria sp.
Urtica dioica
Corylus avellanau (fragm ents)
Chenopodium album
Chenopodium rubrum/tabicum
Atriplex sp. L.
Agrostemma gitlzago
Montiafontana subsp. chondrospenna
Polygonaceae indet.
Polygonum avicula1·e
Rumex sp.
Rumex acetosella group
Large Malva type
Bmssica sp. (B. nigra/B.oleracea)
Pnmus spinosa
Vicia/Lathyrus sp.
M edicago lupilina
Trifolium sp.
Lithospennum arvense
セイ「・ョ。@
officina/is
Hyoscyamus niger
Plantago lanceolata
Odontities vermts
j セイッョゥ」。@
sp. (flat)
Galium apm·ine
Tripleurospennum inodorum
Centaurea sp.
Sclzoenoplectris sp.
Eleocharis cf. palustris
Poaceae (indet.)
Poaceae (culm node and internode)
Poa/Phleum sp.
Avena sp. (grain)
Avena sp. (floret base indet.)
Avena /Bromus sp.
Bromus sp.
Sparganiwn erectum
Table 3
barley
barley
wheat
emmer wheat
emm er wheat
spelt wheat
spelt vvheat
emmer/spelt wheat
emmer/spelt wheat
emmer/spelt wheat
bread w heat
cereal
cereal
cereal
LBA/EIA
Pit
17049
10
Pit
17016
20
Pit
17017
20
4
6
6
3
2
11
cf.1
2
1
2
1
11
6
7
cf. l
12
10
30
5
4
MILIA ERB
Pit
Pit
17024 17041
20
17
6
Pit Ditch
237 17010
8
20
4
1
2
2
1
2
4
1
10
7
8
1
6
6
2
1
5
2
20
cf.4
10
4
22
8
8
18
9
61
31
8
393
22
20
16
1
2
cf.1
plum
fumitory
common nettle
hazel
fat-hen
red/up-right goosefoot
oraches
corn cockle
blinks
knotgrass
knot grass
docks
sheeps sorrel
mallow
wild mustard/cabbage
sloe
vetch/pea
black medick
clover
corn gromwell
ver vain
henbane
ribwort plantain
red bartsia
ivy-leaved speedwell
cleavers
scentless mayweed
knapweed
bulrush/grey club rush
common spike-rush
grass seed
grass culm node
meadow grass/cats-tails 2
oat grain
oat floret base indet.
oat/brome
brome
bur reed
6
2
1
86
3
2
1
1
1
1
4
1
cf.3
1
1
1
23
11
5
1
2
2
1
2
2
1
10
2
8
3
13
4
Charred plant remains: late prehistoric and Roman
11
1
10
1
5
26
2
1
3
2
1
11
1
20
5
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Enclosure17076
Late Iron Age
-
Early Romano-British
Undated
0
c]
セM]
]
50
100m
M
F igure 5 High House: plan (Area 1), Late Iron Age and Romano-British features
inner ditch enclosed an area approximately 20m by 12m
and was open to the west. A cluster of five small pits
(17051 , 17052, 17053, 17054 and 17073) lay within the
inner part of enclosure 17076, although only 17051 in
the north-east corner produced pottery. It is possible that
17052, 17053 and 17054 were substantial post-holes
rather than pits, perhaps belonging to a four-post
structure approximately 1.5m square, though no trace of
a fourth post was identified.
Immediately to the west of enclosure 17076 was a
further cluster of small pits, four of which contained Late
Iron Age pottery (17026, 17027, 17032 and 17035) and
three ( 17028, 17033 and 17034) with no datable fmds.
Further to the west were pits 17036 and 1707 1 which lay
at either end of gully 170 11, all of which produced
pottery. The relationship between these three features is
unclear but gully 17011, which was 6.5m long, may have
held a fence or shelter. The majority of the pits were
between 0.1 Om and 0.25m deep although pit 17036,
which was slightly larger than the remainder, was 0.65m
deep.
Ditch 17007, aligned approximately north/south, was
slightly sinuous in plan and extended beyond the limits of
excavation. It was only 0.15m deep and appears to have
been recut (as 17008) at the nortl1 end where it extended
across the west side of enclosure 17076, probably after
the latter went out of use, although the arrangement was
such that it is possible that the enclosure was largely
incorporated within the new ditch system. Ditch 17007
produced a small assemblage of Late Iron Age pottery,
and two sherds of Romanised pottery recorded from
ditch 17009 may actually have come from ditch recut
17008.
Two further Late Iron Age pits (27009 and 27010)
lay towards the eastern end of Area 2, both on the
northern edge of the excavated area and perhaps part of
a larger group. These pits were similar in morphology and
fill to those in Area 1.
A few late prehistoric features were also identified at
Stone House. These comprised seven shallow, subcircular or irregularly-shaped pits (105, 228-31, 237,
312; Figure 14), six of which contained very small
quantities of Late Iron Age grog-tempered pottery and
one of which (pit 23 7) may have been of slightly earlier,
Middle Iron Age date. Part of a possible triangular
loomweight was also recovered, and a potin coin (a
Kemish Flat Linear 1, dated to the 1st or 2nd century
BC) represents an unstratified find. The features were
clustered on the spur of higher ground and provide
evidence for late prehistoric activity at the edge of the
Thames floodplain. Given the conditions of excavation,
and the likely effects of intense medieval development, it
is possible that other features were removed or went
unrecognised, though the recorded distribution is likely
to reflect a genuine focus of activity, the nature of which
remains unclear.
12
WEST THURROCK
Early Romano-British (Figure 5)
The Late Iron Age and early Romano-British pottery
is discussed together below.
The use of L ate Bronze Age I Early Iron Age ditch 17000
at High House as the site of an early Romano-British
linear cemetery (see below) is likely to indicate the
continuing visibility and significance of this later
prehistoric boundary in the early Romano-British period.
Certainly the alignment of the ditch and any surviving
bank seems to have been influential on the alignment of
other ditches dug in the Romano-British period . The
earlier ditch may h ave determined the position of a
trackway, which became established during the Roman
period. This would be one inter pretation of ditches
1700 1, 17002 and 17004 immediately to the west of
ditch 17000, with ditch 170 10 forming a more
substantial boundary further to the west .
Ditches 17001, 17002 and 17004, each between 0.3m
and 0.5m deep an d approximately 1.5m wide, lay
towards the east end of Area 1. All were aligned
approximately north/south and 1700 1 and 17002
extended beyond the limits of excavation. Ditch es 1700 1
(containing one late prehistoric sherd) and 17002 (one
Roman sherd) ran parallel to each other, c. 1Om apart,
and ditch 17004 (undated) followed the same alignment
a short distance to the west.
Ditch 17010 also extended b eyond the limits of
excavation, and an excavation undertaken in 2008 has
shown it to continue for at least a further 50m to the
south. This was the most substantial ditch on site,
m easuring approximately 4 .5m wide and 1m deep, with
a som ewhat irregular, open U-s haped proftle. It
contained a fairly homogeneous fill with no evidence for
recutting, and although only a small volume was
excavated it produced a relatively large pottery
assemblage (702 sherds) .This included, as well as vessels
in grog-tempered, shelly and sandy fabrics, one sherd
from a D ressel 1 amphora, one sherd of South Gaulish
samian (form 27 cup) and two sherds of a fine,
wheelthrown, white-slipped, oxidised ware. Most of this
group could be accommodated within a 1st century BC
date range, but the samian and fine oxidised ware serve
to extend the date range (at least for secondary fills
10 189 and 10 191) into the second half of the 1st century
AD. T his extended date range would accord with that of
the grave goods from inhumation burial 17044 in ditch
17000 (see below) which can be dated to the mid I late
1st century AD. H owever, it is possible that the early use
of ditch 170 10 overlapped with the fmal phase of Late
Iron Age enclosure 17076 and the digging of ditches
17007 and 17008. A fur ther ditch (29302; not illustrated)
of probable Roman date was recorded approximately
475m to the west of ditch 170 10 during the watching
brief. This was 3.1m wide and 1.1m deep, with aUshaped proftle, and was aligned approximately
north/south.
T he m ost notable discover y was 14 inhumation
burials (Figures 7-11) - two (1 7074 an d 17075)
recorded as part of the subsequent watching brief (ARC
3 1OT02) -and two cremation bur ials (17046 and 1704 7;
Figure 12), all dug into the top of Late Bronze Age I
Early Iron Age ditch 17000 at the east end of Area 1, the
Metalwork
by Jorn Schuster
An Early La Tene-type brooch (Figure 6, 1) was found
unstratified at Stone House. It is of Hull's type lBc and
can broadly be dated to the 4th century BC (Hull and
Hawkes 1987, 107, pl. 32). The pointed-oval decoration
seems to be a south-eastern attribute.
Figure 6, 2 is a small, socketed reaping hook. The
missing tip precludes any more detailed typological
consideration but a Late Iron Age or early RomanoBritish date can be assumed (Rees 1979, 464; Manning
1985, 56-58). It is an unstratified m etal detector find
recovered during the watching brief to the west of High
H ouse.
Illustrated objects (Figure 6)
1.
2.
Early La Tene type brooch. Incomplete. Leaf-shaped bow has flat
cross-section, double-grooved pointed-oval decoration o n front.
Foot and catchplate form sharp U-bendfreturn with oval-shaped
terminal ending in small snout. H ead and pin missing . Copper
alloy, Obj. No. 2, unstratified.
Small reaping hook, blade set at right angle to open, flanged socket.
Tip of bla de and base of socket missing . Iron, Obj. N o. 134,
watching brief, around chainage 29500 (Bronze Shield Yard).
Charred plant remains
by Chris ]. Stevens
A single bulk sample from a M iddle I L ate Iron Age
feature (pit 237) at Stone House was analysed (Table 3).
This contained relatively few remains but it did produce
evidence for both spelt and emmer wheat, showing the
continued cultivation of the latter crop in the region
through from the Middle Bronze Age to the Roman
period (see below) .
0
Figure 6
Copper alloy and iron objects
13
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
also had no evidence for coffins were adult males and the
other was a juvenile I subadult of unknown gender.
Cremation burial 17047 (adult ?female) contained a
copper alloy brooch, and what were probably the remains
of copper alloy and glass pyre goods came from
cremation burial 17046 (adult) . Both burials were
unurned.
No mid- or late Roman features or fi nds were
identified at High H ouse and there were no Roman
features at all at Stone House. However, five sherds of
Roman pottery (one early, four late) were found in
residual contexts at Stone House, as were two late Roman
coins (a Radiate copy of the late 3rd century and a Fel
Temp Reparatio 'Fallen Horseman' issue of the 350s
AD), hinting at activity in the general area, and perhaps
a change in focus to the lower lying flood plain area in
the later Roman period.
deepest at c. 1m reaching the base of the ditch. The
inhumation burials recorded in the excavation comprise
17029, 17037, 17044, 17048, 17056, 17057, 17058,
17059, 17060, 17061 17062 and 17063. The inhumation
burials were aligned north/south and, along with the
cremation burials, were found along the entire length of
the exposed ditch. It is almost certain, therefore, that
other burials lie along its continuations to the north and
south. Indeed, excavation undertaken in 2008 has
revealed two further graves cut into the ditch fills, one
approximately 50m to the south, demonstrating that this
linear cemetery extended over a distance of at least 1OOm .
None of the inhumation burials intercut and they were
fairly evenly spaced, the exception being inhumation
burial 17062 (the only infant burial), which lay next to
inhumation burial 17048. Both cremation burials lay
close to inhumation burials but in neither case did they
intercut. Nevertheless, what appears to be redeposited,
unburnt bone representing a second individual was
recovered from the grave fill of inhumation burial 17037
and a very small quantity of cremated bone came from
the grave fill of inhumation burial 17057.
The inhumation burials comprised six adult males,
four adult females and one adult ?female, one juvenile I
subadult and one infant. One of the cremation burials
was that of an adult ?female, the other an adult of
unknown gender.
There was clear evidence for coffins in six graves,
represented by coffin stains and nails in inhumation
burials 17029, 17044 and 17059, and by coffin nails and
other fittings in inhumation burials 17057, 17062 and
17063. Human bone generally survived in good
condition, the exception being the small quantity of bone
from 17062, the one infant burial. All but one of the
skeletons were oriented with heads to the north, and the
majority were placed in a flexed position on the right side,
with one crouched (burial 1706 1), one loosely crouched
(burial 17058) and one extended (burial 17056) .
Five of the inhumation burials (all adults) included
grave goods, or had items such as brooches that indicate
clothed burial or shrouds. The most exceptional was
inhumation burial 17044 (a male) which was
accompanied by four pottery vessels - a platter, a bowl
and a jar at the feet, and a platter in the chest area, the
latter containing three copper alloy brooches and a
broken glass unguent vessel. A further two brooches and
a copper alloy ?brooch pin bent into a loop lay nearby,
and there were fragments of copper alloy binding,
perhaps from a wooden vessel at the feet. The pottery
vessels and brooches from this grave can be dated to the
mid I late 1st century AD. Four other inhumation burials
included copper alloy brooches: 17029 (female) - one,
in the chest area; 17059 (male) -one, in the chest area;
17060 (female) - three, all by the legs; and 17061
(female) - two, both in the ch est area. The remaining
nine inhumation burials were unaccom panied, but burial
17062 is noteworthy as there were several iron fittings
which may indicate that the body (of an infant) was
placed in a box with a hinged lid (see below) . It is noted
here that three of the four unaccompanied burials which
Catalogue of burials
All graves certainly or probably contained articulated
skeletons, with the exception of 17046 and 17047 which
were unurned cremation burials. Inhumation burials
17074 and 17075 were revealed during the watching
brief on a service trench immediately to the north of the
site, but full recording and recovery of skeletal remains
was not possible; the grave cut only was seen in the case
of 17075, and neither grave is illu strated in plan here.
The inhumation burials were orientated approximately
north - south, following the alignment of ditch 17000;
17057 was the exception, with the head to the south.
Virtually all of the graves were sub-rectangular in plan,
with moderate to steeply sloping or near-vertical sides,
and fairly flat bases.
Age ranges given are approximate, drawn from Table
4 where fuller osteological details are provided.
Inhumation butia/17029
(Figure 8)
Grave 10033: 1.90m x 1.05m wide, 0.90m deep (base at
15.64m aOD) . Coffined (1.40 x 0.60m), in NW
corner of grave.
Human remains: 10067; flexed on right side, facing west,
body slumped back. Adult female c. 25-30 yr.
Grave goods:
Obj. No. 19507: (below left femur) Nauheim-derivative
brooch, Hull Type 11A. Four-coil internal chord
spring of subcircular section. Flat bow with ver y slight
ridge down centre and very faint longitudinal lines,
tapers to foot. Small, subrectangular, solid catch plate.
Copper alloy, context 10035.
Obj. Nos 19501-67 (not illus.): Six iron coffm nails, three
at either end of the grave.
Inhumation buria/ 1703 7
(Figure 11)
Grave 10076: 1.30m x 0.60m wide, 0.75m deep (base at
15.62m aOD).
Human remains: 10 125; flexed on right side, facing west.
Juvenile I subadult c. 12-13 yr. Foot bones from a
second individual, an adult c. > 18yr, came from grave
fill.
14
WESTTHURROCK
•'
Inhumation burial 17044
r'-t9513
vLYURセ@
セ@
- - - - .... )
19514
D"'セ@ cJ
...._ .,.D
I
...
10132
i!f:
QYU
L ゥセ
A
Ske Ieton
セLN@
19529
I
1-- Coffin
Q
セ ᄋ@
""
セHゥ|@
セ
セ@
19518
|⦅O
QYUR@
19523
19520
gャ。ウZセ@
0
20mm
(JVPIM)
0
1m
·-(0)
\ L
セ@
19521
M セ@
19519
19524
0
Cu alloy objects: I •
10
•
I
20mm
I
I
ZO Oセ
19525
0
Pottery: I
-
-
セ
,
セZ 。M⦅@
19523
50mm
I
Figure 7
19522
High House: plan, inhumation burial 17044
15
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Inhumation burial 17029
I
•
I
I
I
I
I
I
....__coFF•Ij
M
セ
I
19504
N@
\
セ@
I
19506
19505
0
Cu alloy objects: I •
10
•
1
20mm
I
Inhumation burial 17059
Profile A
E
19627
Edge
ᄋセ
r
\
0294
0
1m
Figure 8
」ッヲゥ
ッヲ@
0
Fe objects: セ@
ョ セ@
20mm
I
I
Iii
High House: plan, inhumation burials 17029, 17059
16
WESTTHURRO CK
catchplate. Copper alloy, context 101 14.
Obj. Nos 19513-16 & 19526 (not illus.): Five iron coffm
nails, one at each corner of grave and one by the left
knee.
Inhumation buria/17044
(Figure 7)
Grave 101 13: 2.10m x 1.1 5m wide, 0.90m deep (base at
15.33m aOD). Coffined ( 1.60m x 0.55m).
H uman 1·emains: 10 132; flexed on right side, facing west,
body slumped forward. Adult male c. >50 yr.
CTemation bw·ia/17046
(Figure 12)
Grave 10 128: 1.05m x 0.75m wide, 0.28m deep (base at
15.8 1m aOD ). At tl1e base of the grave fill (10129)
were three featureless lumps of fu·ed clay, total weight
approximately 1.8kg.
Human remains: Fill 10129, adult c. > 18yr.
Grave goods :
Obj. No. 19517: (at waist) Colchester one-piece brooch.
Ten coils, five transverse grooves on wings. Sharp
angle at top of rectangular-sectioned bow, tapers
towards foot, longitudinal ridge down centre.
Perforated, triangular catchplate. Copper alloy,
context 10114.
Obj. No. 195 18: (at chest) Hod Hill type brooch. Hinged
pin (broken), axial rod survives. Very wide
subrectangular panel on upper part of bow with
moulded lugs either side and transverse groove
decoration (ridges beaded). Lower part of bow tapers
to footknob with multiple transverse beaded
mouldings. Remains of original whitemetal-coating
on bow and footknob. Subrectangular catchplate,
single circular perforation. Copper alloy, context
10114.
Obj. No. 19519: (above arms) ?Brooch pin, bent into
oval-shaped loop. Oval cross-section, tapers to point
one end. Copper alloy, context 10114.
Obj. N o. 19520 : (on planer 1952 1) Small tubular
unguent bottle (neck missing), pale blue glass.
Obj. No. 1952 1: (above arms) Sarnian form 18 platter,
stamped. PRN 80.
Obj. No. 19522: (at feet) Greyware narrow-mouthed jar.
PRN 82.
Obj. No. 19523: (at feet) Binding, in seven fragments,
?all of same object. Rectangular-sectioned strip,
severely corroded and bent. One fragment has ovalsectioned rivet attached to one end. Copper alloy,
context 101 14.
Obj. No. 19524: (at feet) Imitation Cam 56 platter. PRN
8 1.
Obj. No. 19525 : (at feet) Samian form 24125 bowl,
stamped. PRN 85 .
Obj. No. 19527 : (on platter 19521 ) Brooch with spring
in cylindrical cover with double-groove decoration at
tips, sharp right angle at top of head. Bow has Dshaped cross-section with multiple transverse grooves
fllled with ?niello inlay. Triangular, perforated
catchplate, pin broken. Copper alloy, context 10 11 4.
Obj. No. 19528: (on planer 1952 1) Colchester one-piece
brooch. Four transverse grooves on wings, sharp
angle from head to bow (also slightly bent postdepositionally). Bow of flat section, tapers slightly
towards foot which has small footknob, longitudinal
groove down centre. Triangular, perforated
catchplate. Copper alloy, context 10 11 4 .
Obj. No. 19529: (on platter 1952 1) Langton D own
brooch . F lat rectangular-sectioned bow, straight join
to cylindrical spring cover, tapers to foot. T inned
surface with longitudinal groove decoration, starting
only after bend of head into bow and faint transverse
lines on outside of spring cover. Triangular, perforated
Grave goods:
A fragment of copper alloy link and the end of what may
have been a pin were recovered by sieving, and a trace
of possible melted glass was noted as being fused to a
fragment of bone, all possibly representing the
remains of pyre goods (not illus.) .
CTemation bu1·ial17047
(Figure 12)
Grave 10130: 0.50m diameter, 0 .50m deep (base at
16.26m aOD) .
H uman remains: Fill 10149 I 10 150 (contained the
majority of cremated bone) I 10 15 1, Adult ?female c.
35-45yr.
Gmve goods:
Obj. No. 19549: Colchester one-piece brooch. Iron axial
rod still in place. End half of hook holding external
chord split into two strands. Faceted D-sectioned
bow, tapers to foot, groove down centre with zigzag
decoration. Large perforated triangular catchplate.
Tip of pin missing, part (Obj . No. 19551) fo und in
context 101 49. Fire patina. Copper alloy, context
10150.
Obj. No. 19552: Copper alloy fragment (unid .) (not
ill us.)
Analysis of the charcoal from this grave shows that
Quercus sp (oak) was chosen as the main pyre fuel, its
dominance almost certainly reflecting selection for
this purpose. Only two other taxa were found,
represented by single fragments of Fraxinus excelsior
(ash) and Salix I Populus sp (willow I aspen), p erhaps
incorporated in the fuel or pyre remains by accident,
or the remains of small objects or unworked wood
included in the cremation fo r specific properties or
associations.
Inhumation bw·ia/17048
(Figure 11)
G rave 10146: 1.70m x 0.95m wide, 0.45m deep (base at
16.29m aOD ) .
Human Temains: 10 148; flexed on left side, facing east.
Adult male 40-50yr.
Inhumation buria/17056
(Figure 11)
Grave 10286: 1.90m x 0.90m wide, 0.35 deep (base at
15.32m aOD). A sligh t step at the nor th end may
have been a deliberate feature created to form a headrest.
17
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Human re11zains: 10287; extended on right side, facing
Grave goods:
west, body slumped forward slightly. Adult male c.
22-28 yr.
Obj. No. 19557: (lower right leg) Colchester-derivative
brooch. Axial bar still in place, transverse grooves on
wings tips. Large crest on head and ridge extends
down centre of bow. Solid, triangular catchplate. Pin
broken (=Obj. No. 19586, context 10331). Copper
alloy, context 10332.
Obj. No. 19558: (lower right leg) Colchester-derivative
brooch. Axial rod still in place. Wings plai n, D-shaped
bow, tapers slightly to foot, no decoration visible.
Solid, triangular catchplate. Pin separate. Copper
alloy, context 10332.
Obj. No. 19559: (lower right leg) Colchester-derivative
brooch. Wings plain, D-sectioned bow with
pronounced ridge down centre and beading either
side. Bow tapers slightly towards foot. Solid,
subrectangular catchplate. Pin separate but retained.
Copper alloy, context 10332.
Obj. Nos 19566; 19584-5 (not illus.):Three iron ?coffin
nails, in N half of grave.
Inhumation burial 1 705 7
(Figure 10)
Grave 10292: 1.90m x 0.75m wide, 0.75 deep (base at
15.11m aOD). Coffmed (unknown dimensions).
Human remains: 10337; flexed on right side, head at
south end (tl1e only example with this orientation),
facing east. Adult female c. 35-40 yr. 0.8g of cremated
bone from a second individual, an infant c. >5yr,
came from grave fill.
Grave goods:
Obj. No. 19561: (south end of grave) Joiner's dog.
Rectangular-sectioned bar, widest in middle, arms at
approximate right angles, tapering from sides to
inward-bent tips. Iron, context 10337.
Obj. No. 196 11 : (nortl1 end of grave, precise location
uncer tain) Joiner's dog. Rectangular-sectioned bar,
both ends tapering, one arm bent at approximate
right angle the other at c. 60°. Iron, context 10342.
Obj. Nos 19512-15 (not illus.) : Four iron coffin nails,
three at S end and one at N end. Possibly three more
(unlocated) from soil sample.
Inhumation buTia/17061
(Figure 9)
Grave 10296: 1.45m x 0.70m wide, 0.65 deep (base at
15.78m aOD).
Human remains : 10333; crouched on right side, facing
west. Adult female c. 40-50 yr.
Inhumation bw·ial 17058
(Figure 11)
Grave 10293: 1.35m x 0.65m wide, 0.60 deep (base at
15.45m aOD).
Human remains: 10320; loosely crouched position on
right side, facing west. Adult male c. 30-50 yr.
Grave goods:
Obj. No. 19560: (in front of chest) Colchester one-piece
brooch. Spring broken, in two parts - right side of
spring and pin separate. Iron axial bar. Transverse
groove decoration on wings. Sharp right angle at head
to bow. Rectangular cross- sectioned bow, tapers
towards foot with double longitudinal grooves down
centre. Broken triangular catchplate (originally with
opening) has been repa ired by fixing subtriangular
sheet to old catchplate with two iron rivets. Old part
of brooch with blue patina, spring and repaired
catchplate with green patina. Copper alloy, context
10333.
Obj. No. 19583: (upper chest) Colchester one-piece
brooch. Six-coil spring with outer chord, not attached
to head of bow where only small stub remains; may be
replacement for original spring. Transverse groove
decoration on wings. Sharp angle from head to bow.
Rectangular-sectioned bow tapers slightly towards
foot; raised ridge down centre of bow with grooves
either side filled with faint transverse lines. Triangular
catchplate with L-shaped perforation, pin-rest
missing. Copper alloy, context 10333. Copper alloy
brooch.
Inhumation buria/17059
(Figure 8)
Grave 10294: 1.70m x 0.80m wide, 0.45 deep (base at
15.41m aOD). Coffined ( 1.35 x 0.50m).
Human remains: 10305; flexed on right side, facing east,
body slumped back. Adult male c. 30-40 yr.
Grave goods:
Obj. No. 19570: (above upper chest) Colchesterderivative brooch. Transverse groove decoration on
wing tips. Crest at top of head continues as
pronounced ridge down centre of bow. Zigzag
decoration on ridge. Bow tapers slightly towards foot.
Large, elaborately perforated, triangular catchplate.
Inside of bow shows transverse lines indicative of
removal of central casting flash with hammer or small
chisel. Copper alloy, context 10304.
Obj. No. 19627: Nail, flat head, subrectangular-sectioned
tapering shaft. Iron, context 10302.
Obj. Nos 1961 7-26; 19628; 19565; 19569; 19581; 19628
(not illus.): Fifteen iron coffm nails, irregularly spaced
around edge of coffm (one unlocated) .
Inhumation burial 1 7062
(Figu re 10)
Grave 10297: 1.15m x 0.85m wide, 0.60 deep (base at
16.13m aOD). Coffined (0.99 x 0.55m; see below).
Human remains: 10338. Infant c. 1.5 - 2.5 yr.
Inhumation burial 17060
(Figure 9)
Grave 10295: 1.65m x 0.75m wide, 0.65 deep (base at
15.73m aOD).
Human remains: 10332; flexed on right side, body
slumped back? Adult female c. 30-40 yr.
Grave goods:
Obj. No. 19567: L ong triangular ?hinge plate, slightly
shorter than triangular, pierced plate of loop hinge
18
WESTTH URROCK
Inhumation burial 17060
0
Cu alloy objects: 1 •
10
•
20mm
1
•
Inhumation burial 17061
セ@
セ M ᄋ@
0
19583
1m
Figure 9
High House: plan, inhumation burials 17060, 17061
19
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
19592. (Iron sheet frags 19562, 19587 and 19590
may be part of this). Iron, context 10338.
Obj. No. 19578 (not illus) : Iron sheet fragment, context
10338
Obj. No. 19591:Joiner's dog. Rectangular-sectioned bar,
one arm bent twice at right angles, the other is more
rounded, both tips pointing slightly inwards. Iron,
context 10338.
Obj. No. 19592: Loop hinge. Both parts remaining.
Pierced, triangular plate complete with remains of two
nails. Looped p late with sides tapering towards
missing end, remains of two nail holes, looped end
bent at right angles to rest of plate ( cf. Manning 1985,
fig.31 , 2). Iron, context 10338.
Obj. No. 19595: L-clamp. Wide end of rectangular
section, tapering just before right-angled bend to
width of stem. Iron, context 10338.
Obj. No. 19597: (south-west part of grave) Nail.
Spherical head witl1 flattened base, oval cross-section.
Square-sectioned shaft tapers to point. Copper alloy,
context 10338.
Obj. Nos 19562; 19565; 19574-9; 19580; 19588-9;
19593-4, 19596 (not illus.) : Fourteen iron coffin
nails. Possibly five more (unlocated) from soil
samples.
The iron objects (other than the nails) were concentrated
in the nortl1-east and south-east corners of the grave,
each group including a hinge and clamp or joiner's
dog. Together, these suggest a small coffin or box,
with a lid hinged on the east side.
coffined) and two unurned cremation burials. T wo
inhumation grave fills contained fragments of
redeposited bone, unburnt in one instance (10077, burial
17037) and cremated in the other (10337, burial 17057) .
J\!Iethods
Recording and analysis of the cremated bone followed
the writer's standard procedure (McKinley 1994, 5- 21;
2000). Age (cremated and unburnt bone) was assessed
from the stage of skeletal and tooth development (Beek
1983; Scheuer and Black 2000), and the patterns and
degree of age-related changes to the bone (Brothwell
1972; Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994) . Sex was ascertained
from the sexually dimorphic traits of the skeleton (Bass
1987; Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994). The variable
integrity of the attributed sex is denoted in Table 4 as
'??' most likely,'?' probable and un-questioned.
Where possible a suite of measurement was taken
from the unburnt bone (Brotl1well and Zakrzewski 2004)
to enable the calculation of variou s skeletal indices
including stature and cranial index (Trotter and Gieser
1952; 1958: Brothwell 1972, 88; Bass 1987). Non-metric
traits were recorded in accordance with Berry and Berry
(1967) and Finnegan (1978) . T he degree of erosion to
the bone was recorded using the writer's system of
grading (McKinley 2004a, fig. 7 .1-7) .
R esults
A summary of the results from analysis is presented in
Table 4. Full details are in the archive.
The graves had all cut through the fill (s) of northsouth ditch 17000 at the east end of Area 1 (Figure 5) .
T he inhumation graves ranged between 0.35m to 1m in
depth, with an average of c. 0.7m; the cremation graves
had a shallower range of 0.3-0.Sm. There was no
intercutting between the extant graves, nor had tl1ey been
cut by any other intrusive feature in antiquity. That at
least one inhumation grave had been disturbed, however,
possibly by the insertion of a later grave, is demonstrated
by the recovery of redeposited lower lin1b elements from
the grave fill of burial 17037 in the central area of the
ditch. The small quantity of redeposited cremated bone
(0.8g) from the grave fill of inhumation burial 17057
may represent material not collected for burial from one
of the same cremations as represented elsewhere within
the assemblage. Remains within two inhumation graves
were subject to some level of modern disturbance; the
skull in the shallowest grave ( 10286 burial 17056; 0.35m
deep) was clipped during machine stripping of the site,
and the remains from burial 17074, discovered during
the watching brief stage of the investigations, were only
partially recovered when the grave was truncated by a
service trench (it was not possible to excavate the
remainder of the grave for health and safety reasons.
The percentage of skeletal recovery from the
inhumation graves, which ranged from 2% (infant) to
97% (adult male) with an average of c. 78%, is illustrative
of variable levels of bone survival rather than any
disturbance. All the surviving bone was root marked and
eroded to some degree, with that from four graves being
Inhumation buTiall 7063
(Figure 10)
Grave 10298: 1.80m x 0.65m wide, 1.00 deep (base at
15.80m aOD). Coffined (unknown dimensions).
Human remains: 10341; flexed on right side, facing west.
Adult male c. >50 yr.
Grave goods:
Obj. No. 19573 (not illus.): Glass fragment (?melted)
(Unlocated)
Obj. Nos 19568; 1957 1-2; 19598-10; 19616; 19667 (not
illus.): Seventeen iron coffm nails, mostly around the
edge of the grave, with two nails from the grave fill.
Inhumation buTia/17074
The dimensions of the grave were not ascertained in the
watching brief. It contained 303006, the skeletal
remains of an adult, possibly female, c. >45 yr. Only
the upper part of the skeleton was recovered, the
remainder apparently having been truncated by an
earlier service trench, and the burial position could
not be determined.
Inhumation buTia/17075
Only a small part of the grave cut was seen in the
watching brief, and no skeletal material recovered.
Human bone
by Jacqueline I. M cKinley
Human bone was recovered from 20 early RomanoBritish contexts (1 st century AD), including the remains
of 13 in situ inhumation burials (six of which were made
20
WESTTHURROCK
Inhumation
burial 17057
from Xray
19611
Inhumation
burial 17063
Skeleton
QP セ@
セa
」イ@
•19615
•
Coffin nail
•
u
19561
Fe object
T
Cu alloy object
6
Glass
ᄋセ セ@
10292
- -
0
Fe objects: I
50mm
I
セュア@
セ@
Q\'l!f--19600
f>
19604-e
19603
from Xray
Inhumation burial 17062
19575
19576
• • セN⦅@
195n
•
....
QYU セY@
19578 - T
I
I
I
19595
QセUYP
19589
1 19580
ᄋ@
•
10338
v
セ@
YUVW@
19591
1
7-=+
19562
19597
I
9S8'8":>
セQ
957'
,
1 Skeleton
セQ
fl\
I
I
セ YUW@
19593
セ|@
Mセ ᄋN@
YUT@
1959s 1
19592
0
19596
Bose
10298
a:==w
I
19567
0
from Xray
10mm
"'""'
"1 o297
0
1m
(j]
Figure 10
High H ouse: plan, inhumation burials 17057, 17062, 17063
21
\ ._19601
19602
1
'
ESSEX ARCH AEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Inhumation
burial
Inhumation burial
Inhumation burial
17048
17056
17037
Inhumation
burial
17058
10076
10146
10293
1m
0
Figure 11
High House: plan, inhumation burials 17037, 17048, 17056, 17058
17062) recovered are very poorly preserved. The sex of
the individual - probably related to robusticity - m ay
have been of some significance; half the male remains
were amongst the best preserved as compared with only
20% of the female remains, but a higher proportion of
the male remains were also amongst the least well
preser ved. The presence/absence of a coffin and/or grave
goods appears to h ave been of some, though limited
significance; a higher proportion of the bone from the
coffmed burials is poorly rather than well preserved and
the bone from the 'richest' burial ( 17044) is amongst the
most poorly preserved.
Post-depositional movement - generally slumping
back or forwa rd - of the body had clearly occurred in at
least fo ur of the six coffined burials 17029, 17044, 17057
and 17063 .T hree skulls were warped due to soil pressure
(in burials 17029, 17058 and 17063; two coffined, one
not) and two (in burials 17048 and 1706 1; un-coffmed)
were particularly h eavily fragmented; both male and
female skulls were affected.
Green staining was obser ved on bone from four
graves (Table 4). The location of the staining matches
that of copper-alloy items in all cases other than burial
1706 1 where no object was recovered adjacent to the left
scapula; this suggest tl1at either one of the brooches from
this grave m ay have moved from its original position
subsequent to decomposition of the soft tissues, or that a
third copper-alloy item was subject to post-deposition
degradation/destruction. The origin of the dark brown,
possibly organic (?leather) staining to the skeleton in
burial 17074 is unknown since the nature of its recovery
means the in situ position was not recorded .
graded 2-3 (slight/moderately degraded) and that from
a further four being graded 4-5 (heavily degraded); the
rest was moderately degraded. The trabecular bone of the
axial skeleton and articular surfaces tend to be most
poorly preserved, there being few complete skeletal
elements from those deposits with the least well
preserved bone. In some graves certain skeletal areas
were better (e.g. feet 10341, burial 17063) or less well
(e.g. feet and vertebrae 10320, burial 17058 and right
side skull 10 125, burial 17037) preserved than others.
The best preserved remains were from the coffined burial
17059 (adult male).
A variety of factors may affect bone preservation, the
most important of which generally comprise the nature
of the soil matrix and water permeability (H enderson
1987; Nielsen-Marsh et al. 2000; Millard 200 1). The
ditch fill (and, consequently, the grave fills) comprised a
rich loam which was probably relatively neutral but
encouraged extensive root activity - the cause of much of
the degradation to the bone. The deeper graves had cut
through the ditch base into the underlying natural of
sandy silty clay overlying the degraded chalk,
representing a more acidic environment with poorer
drainage. The most poorly preserved and least well
represented adult remains were from the second deepest
grave (0.92 m; 10113, burial 17044); the average depth
of the graves containing heavily degraded bone being c.
0.25m greater than the average for those containing the
best preserved bone.
T here is no consistent pattern in the levels of
preservation related to other obvious intrinsic or extrinsic
factors, though the bones of the one infant (10338, burial
22
WEST T HURROCK
Cremation burial 17046
•
"'
f!!}j)
· ·.:-:·
1
Cu alloy object
Burnt clay
A ,.-:-:::·
.·.
Coffin nail
Charcoal
. .·. · ..
.
1m
0
Cremation burial 17047
19549
19550 -
("·""'
?0 A • \
-t
-·
seclion
•
19552
19551
19549/51
0
I •
Iii
Figure 12
10
•
H igh H ouse: plan, cremation bu rials 17046, 17047
T he cremated bone is in good visual condition and
includes a relatively representative proportion of trabecular
bone as well as the m ore taphonomically stable and robust
compact bone. The relatively deep su rviving d epths of the
graves render it unlikely that any bone was rem oved from
the burials as a result of d isturbance/ truncation.
The pelvic traits and the size and robusticity of the
bone generally reflect strong sexual dimorp hism, though
in one small, gracile female (17 075) and one large, robust
m ale ( 17063) the sub-pubic and greater sciatic notch
ang les of the pelvis are in the med ial range. T he sexually
dimorphic traits of the skull are not strongly marked and
at tim es are contradictory; the m andibles of both sexes
are commo nly sim ilarly sligh tly squared at the m ental
protuberance and flared at the gonion; the su pra-orbital
marg ins are rarely pronounced in the m ales and the
nuchal crest in both sexes are commonly small; the
mastoid processes are frequently u ndiagnostic in size and
particularly shape (both between and within individuals,
e.g. one side rounded and the other poin ted) .
It is clear that graves continu ed to the north of the
excavated area, and consequently, an unknown number
of ind ivid uals are missing from the cemetery population.
Although there was a small cluster of female burials in
Demographic data
The u nburnt bone assemblage consists of the remains of
14 individuals, comprising two immature ( 14.2%) and
12 adults (85. 7%); the latter comprises a minimum of six
m ales, five fe m ales and o ne unsexed ind ividual (Table
4) . Adults of both sexes were iden tified across the age
range fr om c. 20 year s to over 50 years; the d istrib ution
is almost identical between the sexes, with the m edian
around 35- 40 years. T he two individuals identified
within the crem ated bone assemblage were both adults,
including one p robable female.
23
Burial
Grave
Context
Deposit type
Unburntbone
17029
10035
10067
coffmed burial c. 93%
17037
17037
10077
101 25
redep.
burial
17044
17048
10076
10076
10 113
10146
10 132
10148
Quantification
c. 1% I.
c. 94%
coffined burial c. 43%
burial
c. 96%
N
""'
Age/sex
Pathology
Grave/pyre goods
adult c. 25-30 yr.
fem ale
adult > 18 yr.
juvenile/subadult
c. 12-13 yr.
hypoplasia; calculus; bowing in fibula shafts; mvshovelling max,. !2, enamel pearl !2, 1 wormian
Green staining left
distal femur.
adult >50 yr.
male
ad ult c. 40-50 yr.
male
17056
10286
10287
burial
c. 87%
adult c. 22-28 yr.
male
17057
10292
10337
coffmed burial c. 91 %
17058
10293
10320
burial
adult c. 35-40 yr.
female
adult c. 35-45 yr.
?male
c. 91 %
hypoplasia; calculus; periosteal new bone - proximal
femora; mv- impacted maxillary left P2/retained
deciduous m2, multiple worrnian bones (37), ossicle
at lambda, metopic suture, mastoid suture,
coalescence left 3rd metatarsal/lateral cuneiform
osteoarthritis -left hip; Schmorl's node- 1T ;
Fe stained - left distal
femur
osteophytes - T1 2 rib, L 5 bsm, left temporemandibular, right hip; periosteal new bone -left
mandible; enthesophytes - left proximal femur
ante monem tooth loss; caries; dental abscess; calculus
cribra orbitalia; fracture - rib shaft; rickets - tibia and
fibula bowed; periosteal new bone - proximal femora,
tibiae shafts; ? leprosy - right middle and proximal
phalanges; degenerative disc disease- C7;
osteophytes - right foot distal IP, right hip, C6 bsm,
T6 bsm, L3-4 bsm; calcified cartilage - thyroid, rib;
enthesophytes - proximal femora, patella, calcanea;
mv - fusing left 5th distal IP
caries; calculus; osteochrondritis dessicans -left
femoral medial condyle; ?tuberculosis/brucellosis?T1 , T6-8, T10, L5, Sl ; new bone- right navicular;
Schmorl's node-T5, T7-Ll; osteophytes- T9-1 0
bsm; mv - maxillar y right M34 absent, mastoid
suture, tarsal coalescences
calculus; Schmorl's node - 1T , L4; mv- pegged
maxillary I2s, sacralised L 5 with lateral coalitions
caries; abscess; calculus; hypoplasia; periodontal disease;
?tuberculosis/brucellosis?- T7- 8, T11 ; osteoarthritis
-right wrist; Schmorl's node - T6-7, T9-11 ;
osteophytes - atlas anterior facet, left hip; pitting right hip; enthesophytes -right tibia; mv - tooth
rotation, wormian bones
tT1
(/)
(/)
tT1
X
>
:;o
()
セ@
0
t"'
0
C)
-<
セ@
tj
:r::
..,(/)
0
セ@
17059
10294
10305
coffmed burial c. 97%
adult c. 30-40 yr.
male
17060
10295
10332
burial
c. 90%
adult c. 30-40 yr.
female
17061
10296
10333
burial
c. 94%
adult c. 40-50 yr.
female
17062
17063
10297
10298
10338
1034 1
coffmed burial c. 2% s.
coffmed burial c. 63%
N
U'l
17074
?
Cremated bone
17046
10 128
17047
10130
17057
10292
Green staining left
clavicle shaft, anteriorlateral (left) T2-3, left
1st-3rd ribs
Green staining r ight
tibia
Green staining left
scapula, left humerus
and anterior of C4
infant c. 1.5-2.5 yr.
adult >50 yr.
ante mortem tooth loss; caries; dental abscess;
male
calculus; osteoarthritis - 2T, 2L; osteophytes - 2L
bsm; pitting- left hip; enthesophytes - left distal
fibula, right navicular, 5th metatarsals; mv - wormian
bones
adult >45 yr.
ante mortem tooth loss; calculus; periodontal disease; dark staining left 2nd
??female
osteophytes - atlas anterior facet, right proximal IP rib and left clavicle
(hand), right 5th distal IP (hand); degenerative disc
disease - 2C; osteoarthritis - 2 right costo-vertebral,
left shoulder; pitting - left sterno-clavicular
303006
burial
c. 25% s.a.u.
101 29
?un. burial
188.9g
adult> 18 yr.
10131,
10149-51
10337
?un. burial
+ rpd
redep.
684.8g
adult c c. 35-45 yr.
??female
> infant (>5 yr.)
0.8g
caries; dental abscess; calculus; cribra orbitalia;
Schmorl's node-Tll, L4; pitting - both acromioclavicular, 11-12th rib heads, left 9th costo-vertebral;
m v - ossicle at lambda, L5-S 1 accessory facet
caries; calculus; osteoarthritis - right costo-vertebral;
Schmorl's node-T11 ; enthesophytes- iliac crests;
plastic changes- right femur and tibia
ante mortem tooth loss; caries; abscess; calculus;
periodontal disease; ?tuberculosis - left elbow;
osteoarthritis - C3-4, 11th costo-vertebral, L5-6,
right shoulder; periosteal new bone - left scapula,
left ulna, radius and humerus; degenerative disc
disease- C5-6, L5; osteophytes- T5-8 bsm,
L2 bsm, S 1, right elbow, left 1st and 2 right distal IP
(hand), right 1st meta-phalangeal (hand), right 1st
proximal IP (hand), hips; pitting- right acromioclavicular; enthesophytes - calcanea; mv - partially
sacralised L6 with S 1 coalition, worm ian bone
osteophytes- atlas anterior facet, 1L bsm, 1st
metacarpal head enthesophytes - distal tibia
KEY: un. - unurned; rpd - redeposited pyre debris; s. - skull; a. - axial skeleton; u;- upper limb;
l. -lower limb; bsm - body surface margins; m v - m orphological variation
Table 4 Human bone: summary catalogue
0.8g unburnt animal
bone. Fuel ash slag
0.3g burnt/unburnt
animal bone
,g
m
(/)
>-i
>-i
::r:
c::
"'"'
0
()
セ@
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
10333. There was no clear correlation between increased
severity and the age of the individual.
Periodontal disease (gingivitis) may lead to bone
resorption vvith consequent loosening of the teeth and
exposure of more of d1e tooth surface to caries attack.
Slight lesions reflective of the condition were observed
around one or two molar sockets in two female and one
male dentition (2 1.4%; scoring according with Ogden
2005) .
The ante mortem loss of between one and four teeth
was recorded in two male and two female dentitions.\'<lith
d1e exception of one maxillary incisor possibly lost as the
result of trauma, all losses were of distal teed1. All those
exhibiting tooth loss were over 40 years of age, the higher
rates being seen in the older individuals. The overall rate
(Table 6) is well below that of 14.1% given by Roberts
and Cox for their Romano-British sample of 29 sites
(2003, table 3. 12), only four sites wid1in which show
similarly low rates to d1ose recorded at High H ouse.
D ental caries, resulting from destruction of the tooth
by acids produced by oral bacteria present in dental
plaque, was recorded in between one and eight (average
five) teeth from five male and t\;vo female de ntitions
(Table 6). The majority of lesions (c. 63%) were in the
molar teeth, with c. 30% in the maxillary premolars and
lesions in t\;vo maxillary incisors (adult male 1 034 1).
Many lesions ( 4 1.2%) had resulted in total destruction
of d1e tooth crown, but where the origin of the lesion was
apparent there was a close division between occlu sal
(32.3%) and the contact area (26.5%) . T he overall rate
(Table 6) is higher than the 7.5% given by Roberts and
Cox for the period (2003, table 3.1 0); though several
individual sites within their sample have closely similar
rates. Three of the older individuals with carious lesion s
had also suffered ante mortem tooth loss, most probably
as a result of carious destruction. All the affected
dentitions had calculus deposits; the female with heavy
calculus having carious lesions in six teed1 with the ante
mortelll loss of two teeth. T here is a clear increase in the
frequency of lesions with age but it is not purely
incremental.
Infection from gross carious lesions had tracked into
the supportive structure resulting in dental abscesses in
four male and one female dentition. All but one have a
single lesion and all except one lesion is in the maxillary
dentition where the infection had, in each case, tracked
the central area of the ditch, both sexes were found along
its length with d1e few immature individuals recovered
dispersed amongst them; this suggests that there is
unlikely to be any spatial distribution on the bases of age
and/or sex in the ditch external to the excavated segment.
The low proportion of immature individuals is not
unusual within archaeological populations, with a variety
of possible intrinsic (e.g. taphonomic) and extrinsic (e.g.
exclusion of young infants) factors having been
suggested to explain the occurrence. The ver y poor bone
survival in the one excavated infant grave at H igh H ouse
could mean od1ers in less clearly defined graves (e .g. no
goods/coffin or shallower) could have been lost from the
assemblage.
Skeletal indices and non-llletric traits
A summary of the indices it was possible to calculate is
given in Table 5 and some non-metric traits/
morphological variations are indicated in Table 4.
Further details and discussion regarding d1ese figures
have been placed in the archive.
Stature was estimated for eight individuals including
four females and four males. Both the male and female
means of 1.67m and 1.58m are just below the averages
given for the period by Roberts and Cox (2003, 163) of
1.69m and 1.59m respectively.
Pathology
Pathological changes were observed in the remains of 13
individuals including one of the two cremated adults;
Table 4 contains a summary of the pathological lesions
observed and the bones affected. All the rates shown
below refer only to remains from d1e unburnt
assemblage.
Dental disease
All or parts of 12 erupted permanent dentitions were
recovered including from all the sexed ad ults and the
juvenile/subadult.
Dental calculus (calcified plaque/tartar) was observed
in all surviving dentitions except 10 132 where no teeth
were recovered. Slight-moderate deposits were most
commonly observed, with the heaviest deposits anterior
labial or disto-lingual; heavy deposits, covering the
occlusal surface of the teeth, were observed in the right
distal mandible and maxilla from the mature adult female
Fem ale
Estimated stature
Cranial index
Platymeric index
Platycnemic index
Robusticity index
Male
Range
Mean
1.54- 1.63m
(5' W'- 5' 4")
69 .8-73.3
7 1.3- 94.6
65.9- 87.5
114.1- 128.8
1.58m
(5' Rセ B I@
(SD 1. 78)
(SD 10.3)
(SD 10.8)
(SD 7.36)
71.7
83.2
76.3
12 1.7
(Data derived from left side measurements; SD
Table 5
HUGS
Range
Mean
1.61- 1.75m
セ BM
5'8%")
63.3-76.3
73.3-78.1
67.8-81.1
12 1.8-134. 1
1.67m
(5' 5%")
70.3 (SD 6.5)
76.6 (SD 2.0)
74.6 (SD 5.9)
126.4 (SD 5.36)
= standard deviation)
Human bone: summary of metric data
26
WESTTHURROCK
few reported cases from Roman Britain, Roberts and
Cox giving a CPR of 0.2% (2003, 11 9). There are three
possible cases from High H ou se, though there are
differential diagnoses for each and all are inconclusive.
In two cases- 10287 (young adult male) and 10320
(mature adult male) - lytic lesions in mostly thoracic
vertebrae may have been tuberculous in origin and
represent an early stage of tl1e djsease. Destructive lesions
- some representing several coalesced lesions, some witl1
slight sclerosis and one with small spicules of new bone
- were recorded in tl1e anterior margins of generally ilie
inferior body surface in a possible seven, mostly adjacent
vertebrae from 10287 (Table 4; Plate 1). In most cases
there is slight loss in tl1e anterior height of the vertebral
body. Similar, botl1 in location and form, tllough sbghtly
more extensive destructive lesions with slight sclerosis
were observed in two non-adjacent tlloracic vertebrae in
10320, one oilier adjacent vertebra showing loss in
anterior body height and indications of sub-surface
lesions in tile x-radiograph. In botll cases a differential
diagnosis of brucellosis may be offered. A recurrent or
acute infectious disease caused by any species of Brucella,
brucellosis is an occupational disease in individuals
working witl1 cattle or oilier aninlals which may form a
host for iliese intercellular parasitic organisms (interpersonal transmission is uncommon), infection by which,
tllough rarely fatal, can be debilitating and prolonged
(Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martin 1998, 192- 193) .
D estructive and reparative processes tend to occur
simultaneously in brucellosis in contrast to ilie largely
destructive processes in tuberculosis, though ver tebral
body collapse is not normally associated witi1 tile former.
Spinal tuberculous lesions, however, tend to include a
maximum of between two and four adjacent vertebrae,
generally in ilie lower ilioracic/lumbar region (Roberts
and Manchester 1997, 138- 139). Botll diseases are more
common in males, tile onset of tuberculosis tending to be
in ilie young, while brucellosis is usually seen in
individuals over 30 years of age (Aufderheide and
Rodriguez-Martin 1998, 192-193; Roberts and Cox
2003, 229). The spinal lesions from High H ou se have
some characteristics of boili conditions bu t not all of
eitller, consequently diagnosis is inconclusive.
The tllird possible case of tuberculosis is tllat of ilie
adult female 10333, who had experienced total
destruction of tile left elbow joint, witll ankylosis of ilie
foreshortened radius (by c. 30mm) and ulna (c. 15mm),
and loss of most (c. 1OOmm) of the distal half of ilie
humerus (Plates 2 and 3) . T here was limited new bone
formation resulting in sm ootll ankylosis of tile radius and
ulna. Infection of tile periosteum had resulted in fairly
extensive new bone formatio n; coarse-grained around
through to the buccal surface of the bone. The overall
rate is below the mean of 3. 9% from Roberts' and Cox's
sample (2003, table 3.13) .
Very slight dental hypoplasia (developmental defects
in the tooth enamel reflective of periods of illness or
nutritional sn·ess in the immature individual; Hillson
1979) was obser ved two dentitions. Both the crude
prevalence rate (CPR 14.3%) and the true prevalence
rate (TPR 7%) are close to those recorded for the period
by Roberts and Cox (2003, table 3.16); 13.5% and 0.1 %
respectively.
Trauma
Evidence for trauma was limited in both extent and
severity. Lesions of p robable traumatic origin were
observed in two adult males, giving a similar C PR
(14.2%) to that of 10.7% reported by Roberts and Cox
for the period (2003, 151) .
A well-healed, transverse rib fracture with slight
dorsal displacement of one half was recorded in 10148
(1/114 ribs; 0.9%) . Such fractures are amongst the most
common seen in archaeological populations and
generally result from a fall against a hard object (Adams
1987, 107) .
Although considered an idiopathic metabolic djsorder
by some workers, osteochondritis dissecans is generally
believed to be traumatic in origin resulting in localised
bone necrosis (Rogers and Waldron 1995, 28-30;
Roberts and M anchester 1997, 87-89; Aufderheide and
Rodriguez-Martin 1998, 8 1-83; Knlisel 2000, 11 6) . A
classic, unilateral example was observed in the left
femoral medial condyle of 10287 (1 /20 d istal femora).
The apparentl y high CPR of 7.1 % compared with the
average for the period of 0.2% (Roberts and Cox 2003,
151) has undoubtedly been skewed due to the small size
of t11e population.
Infections
Tuberculosis is a chronic bacterial infection caused by
mycobacterium tuberculosis/bovis, infection resulting from
eitl1er ingesting infected food or by droplet infection from
another individual (Ortner and Putscher 1985, 141-1 76;
Roberts and Manchester 1997, 135-142; Aufderheide
and Rodriguez-Martin 1998, 118- 141 ) . The condition
affects the skeleton in a minority of cases - c. 3% in
m odern populations (Ortner and Putscher 1985, 142)the spine being affected in c. 25- 50% of cases (Roberts
and Manchester 1997, 138; Aufderheide and RodriguezMartin 1998, 12 1). Phthisis or pulmonary tuberculosis
was recognised by G reco-Roman medical writers as a
serious and common problem, particularly amongst the
urban poor Gackson 1988, 180-1 ) . There are relatively
Female (5 dentitions)
Male(6 dentitions)
T otal (incl. unsexed)
Teeth
Socket positions
Ante mortem tooth loss
Caries
Abscesses
136
137
303
149
145
323
9 (6.0%)
7 (4.8%)
16 (4.9%)
14 (10.3%)
20 ( 14.6%)
34 (11.2%)
1 (0.7%)
5 (3 .4%)
6 (1.9%)
Table 6 Human bone: summary of permanent dentitions by sex
27
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Plate 1 Lytic lesions in anterior margins of three thoracic vertebrae inferior bodysurfaces (inhumation burial 17056, context
10287, young adult male); possible tuberculosis or brucellosis
the joint area, particularly the c. 60mm distal ' butt-end'
of the humerus shaft and patchy fine-grained new bone
across most of the remaining humerus shaft, the
proximal shafts of the ulna and radius, and the ventral
surfaces of the left scapula. X-radiograph shows
retention of original cortex within much of the distal half
of the humerus and the proximal ulna, but total
destruction of the joint and no internal foci of infection
or sinuses. There is little apparent atrophy of the bones
of the forearm in comparison with the unaffected right
side, suggesting the joint destruction occurred over
months rather than years.
The location of the lesions, with marked destruction
and limited reparative processes, are characteristic of
tuberculous infection, as is the involvement of a single
joint, the elbow being a relatively common site where the
initial lesion is generally in the humerus - which may be
reflected in the comparatively high level of destruction of
this bone (Roberts and Manchester 1997, 137-8;
Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martin 1998, 140). A
possible differential diagnosis is for septic or pyogenic
arthritis, which while it shares many of the characteristics
of tuberculosis- single joint, highly destructive- is more
rapid, tends to be less destructive (ibid. 140), involves the
formation of much proliferative new bone and more
common ankylosis (Rogers and Waldron 1995, 96).
Whatever the cause, this individual would have
experienced exquisite pain, with massive inflammation
around the joint which would have rendered most of the
arm inoperative, together with the general debilitation
resulting from such major infection, and the possible
spread of septicaemia which may have been the cause of
death.
A possible case of tuberculoid leprosy was recorded
from High House, in the remains of a mature adult male
( 10 148). A chronic infectious disease, with a long
incubation period and slow progress, leprosy is caused
by mycobacteTiwn lepra, which may be transmitted by
skin contact or droplet inhalation (Roberts and
Manchester 1997, 142-150) . Infection is mainly of the
peripheral nerves, leading to loss of sensation and
function, with frequent secondary infection due to
insensitive tissue damage. Classic bony changes include
absorption of the toe and finger bones and the nasamaxillary area of the face, with common secondary
infection in the lower leg (ibid.; Aufderheide and
Rodriguez-Martin 1998, 145-6). T he severity and
distribution of the lesions is dependant on the immune
status of the individual; higher immunity is more likely to
lead to the less mutilating tuberculoid leprosy rather than
the more damaging lepromatous form (Roberts and
Manchester 1997, 147). Rhinomaxillary featu res are
absent in tuberculoid cases, though the bone lesions
occur earlier and more intensively (Aufderheide and
Rodriguez-Martin 1998, 145-6). Changes are often bilateral but rarely symmetrical (ibid. 151). The disease
28
\XfESTTHURROCK
Plate 2 Left ar m bone from inhumation burial 17061 (skeleton 10333, adult female) showing total destruction of the elbow
joint, with foreshortening and ankylosis of the radius and ul na. Possible tuberculosis or septic/pyogenic arthritis.
Plate 3 Inhumation burial 1706 1 (skeleton I 0333, adult female)
29
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
was included in the condition referred to as
'elephantiasis' by Greco-Roman writers and was
described by Celsus Gackson 1988, 182-4). Two cases
have been described from Late Roman Britain, from
Poundbury, Dorset and Cirencester, Gloucester (Reader
1974; Molleson 1993, plate 63; Roberts and Cox 2003,
120); M olleson gave a differential diagnosis of psoriasis
for the Poundbury case bu t the lesions do have the
characteristics of leprosy (ibid.).
The changes to 10148 were limited to two of the
surviving seven right foot phalanges; there were no
rhinomaxillary changes nor were any changes observed
in the finger phalanges (26 of 28 recovered), or any of
the left foot bones (7 of 14 recovered). The distal
articular surface of a small (u n- numbered) midd le
phalanx is eroded/ resorbed centrally with micro-pitting
in the affected area, and the distal end of the 5th
proximal is eroded producing a foreshortened
' pencilling' effect with no distal articular surface (Plate
4); in at least the latter case the implication would be for
similar destruction of the adjacent middle and
presumably distal phalanges. The only other possibly
associated lesion is fine grained, plaque-like periosteal
new bone over the proximal halves of the anterior-lateral
tibiae shafts; similar patchy new bone was recorded on
the proximal lateral shaft of both femora but the fibulae
were devoid of such changes. Although not conclusive,
if this were to represent a case of leprosy, the implied low
severity of the condition suggests high immunity in
the individual which may have been enhanced if
the suggested tuberculosis was present within the
population; there being a degree of cross-immunity
between the two diseases in which the latter would take
precedence (Manchester 1983, 44). A possible
alternative diagnosis would be psoriatic arthropathy, but
there is none of the bony proliferation generally
observed in such cases (Rogers and Waldron 1995,
70-77).
Infection of the periosteal membrane covering bone
may lead to the formation of periosteal new bone.
Infection may be introduced directly to the bone as a
result of trauma, develop in response to an adjacent soft
tissue infection, or spread via the blood stream from foci
elsewhere in the body. It is commonly difficult to detect
the causative factors involved in individual cases and the
lesions are frequently classified as indicative of a nonspecific infection. In addition to the cases outlined above
in association with specific infections, periosteal new
bone was recorded in the remains of two other
individuals. A small area of fme-grained new bone was
recorded over the remodelled surface of the left
mandibular condyle from 10132 (older adul t male) in
which other changes indicative of arthritis were also
obser ved. Bi-lateral lesions in the proximal medial
femoral shafts from 10125 (juvenile/su badult), just
inferior to spiral lines, corresp ond with a slightly ra ised
oval area in the bony contours on the left side; Xradiographs shows thinning of the cortical bone in tl1is
discrete area on both sides but no penetration to
medullary cavity.
Plate 4 Right 5th proximal foot phalanx from inhumation
burial 17048 (context 10148, mature adult male) showing
erosion of distal end; possible tuberculoid leprosy
Joint disease
Similar lesions - osteophytes (new bone growtl1 on joint
surface margins) and other forms of new bone
development, and micro- and macro-pitting - may be
formed as a consequence of one of several different
disease processes (Rogers and Waldron 1995). Parts of
12 spines were recovered and extra-spinal joints from 13
individuals (Table 7) .
Schmorl's nodes (a pressure defect resulting from a
rupture in the intervertebral disc; Rogers and Waldron
1995, 27; Roberts and Manchester 1997, 107),
commonly affect young adult spines. Shallow lesions of
limited extent were observed in between one and five
vertebrae from two female and four male spines; the
largest number of lesions were recorded in tl1e spine of
the young adult male (1 0287). T here were no lesions
above TS, the majority falling between T9 and T11 . The
much higher rate amongst the males is commonly
observed in archaeological populations and reflects the
different, probably occupational stresses incurred by
males and females.T he overall rate of 8. 1% is much lower
than the average of 17. 7% for the period given by
Roberts and Cox (2003, table 3.21).
Degenerative disc disease, resulting from the
breakdown of the intervertebral disc and reflecting agerelated wear-and-tear (Rogers and Waldron 1995, 27),
was recorded in one male and two females spines, in
individuals of more man 40 years. Between one and tl1ree
vertebrae were affected per spine, all but one lesion
occurring in the cervical region, with higher rates in the
female spines.
30
WEST THURROCK
Female
(all categories)
Male
(all categories)
Total
(incl. unsexed)
Tota l no.
vertebrae
Osteoarthritis
Schmorl's
n odes
Degenerative
disc disease
Lone
osteophytes
Lone
pitting
89
38% total
123
52.6% total
234
4
c.4.5%
1
c. 0. 8%
5
c. 2.6%
3
c. 3.4%
16
c. 13%
19
c. 8.1 %
5
c. 5.6%
1
c. 0.8%
6
c. 2.6%
12
c. 13 .5%
14
c. 11.3%
26
c. 11.1%
c. 1.1%
2
c. 1. 6%
3
c. 1.3%
Table 7
Human bone: summary of number and rates of spinal lesions by sex
Lesions indicative of osteoarthritis (Rogers and
Waldron 1995, 43-44) were seen in the remains of six
individuals; spinal lesions in one male and one female,
and extra-spinal lesions in two males and three females.
Between one and six joints were affected in each case and
there is evidence to indicate an age-related increase in the
number of sites affected; the highest numbers of sites
being in individuals of over 45 years. Spinal lesions were
seen in all areas of the spine (Table 7). Extra- spinal
lesions were seen in c. 0. 7% of joint surfaces; c. 1.3% of
female joints and c. 0.4% of male. Affected joints
included the shoulder (11.8%), wrist (7.1 %), hip (4.8%)
and costo-ver tebral joints (3 .5%) . Most changes were
slight to moderate, with moderate-severe changes only in
the case of the left shoulder joint fro m 303006 where the
glenoid surface was flattened and extended (marginal
osteophytes) with eburnation and macro-pitting across
the whole inferior half. The C PR for spinal lesions is
similar to the overall rate of 13% stated by Roberts and
Cox, the rate of 35.7% for the extra-spinal lesions being
con siderably higher than their mean of 11 .1 % (2003,
tables 3.20-2 1) .
L one osteophyt es often appear to be a ' normal
accompaniment of age', reflective of 'wear-and-tear'
(Rogers and Waldron 1995, 25-26). L esions were
recorded in five male and two female spines (Table 7),
three males and both females also having extra- spinal
lesions (1.7% joint surfaces); between two and 14 sites
were affected per individual (Table 4). Individuals across
the adult age range were affected - particularly in the
spinal body surface margins - the greatest number of
sites being recorded in those bet\¥een 40- 50 years of age.
Some of the lesions may be reflective of the early stages
of osteoarthritis. Lesions were also observed at three sites
in the remains from cremation burial 17047 (Table 4).
As with osteophytes, macro- and micro-pitting in the
surfaces of synovial joints may develop in response to a
number of conditions and it is not always p ossible to
ascer tain the specific cause of individual lesions, though
it is probable that they are most commonly reflective of
the early stage of osteoarthr itis. L one extra-spinal lesions
were seen in the remains of three males and fou r females,
at between one and five sites in each case (c. 1.0%).
Enthesophytes are bony growths which may develop
at tendon and ligament insertions on the bone. Causative
factors include advancing age, traumatic stress, or various
diseases (Rogers and Waldron 1995, 24-25). It is not
always possible to be conclusive with respect to the
aetiology of particular lesions, but they are commonly
seen in the anterior surface of the patella and posterior
surface of calcanea where they reflect activity related
stress. Lesions were observed at b etween one and five
sites in the remains of four males and two females (Table
4); lesions were also recorded at one site the remains from
cremation burial 1704 7.
Metabolic conditions
Cribm orbitalia (manifes t as pitting in the orbital roof) is
generally believed to result from a metabolic disorder
associated with childhood iron deficiency anaemia,
though other contributory factors are also recogn ised
(Molleson 1993; R oberts and Manchester 1997, 166-9) .
Slight/moderate porotic lesions were recorded bi-laterally
in the orbits of t\¥0 adult males (TPR 25% overall, 50%
male orbits) . Both thisTPR and the CPR of c. 14.3% are
higher than the averages for the period of 16 .9% and
9.6%, respectively (Roberts and Cox 2003, table 3.17),
though the fo rmer is taken from only two sites in th e
overall sample (due to differences in recording) and the
latter may not be, by its nature (taken fro m MNI counts
rather than percentage of affected skeletal elements), a
representative rate.
Vitamin D enables the body to absorb calcium and
phosphoru s which are needed for bone mineralization
both in the growing child and in adults (Aufderheide and
Rodriguez-Martin 1998, 306; Roberts and Manchester
1997, 173-4; Brickley et al. 2005, 390-1 ; Mays et al.
2006) . T he majority of the body's requirements are
gained fro m absorbed solar irrad iation with a smaller
proportion being supplied by dietary intake of animal
and fis h oils (R oberts and Manchester 1997, 173- 4;
M olleson and Cox 1993, 45) . Rickets, a deficiency in the
early stages of childhood, may reflect a number of facto rs
leading to porosity and deformity of the 'soft',
inadequately mineralised bone under mechanical stress,
one of the most characteristic features being 'bending' in
the weight-bearing bones (Aufderheide and RodriguezMartin 1998, 306; Roberts and Manchester 1997, 173-4;
Mays et al. 2006) . Bending lesions were observed in the
tibiae and fibula shafts of one adult male from High
H ouse ( 10 148), who was also one of the two individuals
from the site with cribm orbitalia. The bowing in the
fibula shaft of the adult female 10067 may have the same
origin, but in the absence of similar changes in the tibiae
the aetiology is likely to be different. A small proportion
of individuals from a minimum of six Rom ano-British
31
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Nauheim derivative brooch
Obj . No. 195 07 from inhumation burial 17029 (Figure
8) is of the type with a flat bow which in Britain is
confined to tl1e southern counties and commonly dated
to tl1e middle decades of the 1st century AD (Stead and
Rigby 1989, 109, 123; Bayley and Butcher 2004, 147) .
Although the catchplates in these brooches are ver y
often lost or damaged, where comparison is p ossible
Obj. No. 19507 has a rather smaller catchplate than the
average.
sites have previously been diagnosed with the condition,
with a low CRP of 0.8% (Roberts and Cox 2003, table
3.18).
Pyre technology and cremation ritual
Most of the cremated bone was white in colour indicating
a high level of oxidation (H olden et al. 199Sa and b).
Some slight colour variation - hues of grey and blue to
black (charred) - indicative of varied levels of oxidation
was observed in a few fragments of skull and lower limb
bone from burial 17047. Such minor variations are
unlikely to be indicative of any unusual aspects in the
cremation process or rite, areas of the body peripheral to
the pyre and those with dense soft tissue coverage most
commonly showing such variation (McKinley 2008).
The weights of bone recovered from the two
undisturbed burials (17046 and 17047) were 188.9 and
684.8g respectively, and this is likely to be closely
representative of the quantity initially included in the
grave though there may have been some slight postdepositional loss of trabecular bone. The quantities
represent c. 12% and c. 43% by weight of the average total
expected from an adult cremation (McKinley 1993) .
Such wide variation in bone weights is common, that
fro m 17046 lying in the lower range of weights for the
period and that from 17047 in the median range
(M cKinley 2004b, 295-8). It currently remains unclear
why such great var iations existed though the 'status' of
the individual may have been of some significance (ibid.) .
As is commonly observed, identifiable fragments
from all skeletal areas were included in the burials, the
various prop ortions from burial 1704 7 fitting within
what qualifies as a 'normal' distribution. The paucity of
skull elements from burial 17046, representing only 0.4%
of the identifiable elements, is unusual and suggests
deliberate exclusion, or possibly deliberate removal for
deposition/distribution somewhere other than within the
grave. Su ch an occurrence is rare but has been obser ved
in some other Romano-British burials (ibid. 301).
T he relatively frequent recovery of tooth roots and the
small bones of the hands and feet, particularly from burial
17047 (2 1 elements; five in 17046), is believed to be linked
with the mode of recovery employed to collect bone from
the pyre site for burial, with en masse recovery followed by
subsequent winnowing rather tl1an the hand recovery of
individual fragments (M cKinley 2004b, 300-1).
The majority of the bone in both b urials was
recovered from the 1Omm sieve fraction (c. 66%) with
maximum fragment sizes of 48mm and 70mm. It is likely
that the unurned status of the burials may have rendered
the bone susceptible to some increased fragmentation but
there is no conclusive evidence to suggest deliberate
fragmentation of the bone prior to burial.
m
Colchester one-piece brooches
H awkes and Hull Type III
With a lengti1 of81 mm Obj. No. 19549 from cremation
burial 17047 (Figure 12) is among ilie larger examples
of its type. Close parallels for its fretted catchplate and
ilie decoration of the bow can b e found in graves at
Verulamium, King H arr y L ane site (KHL), for example
graves 205 and 230 (Stead and Rigby 1989, fig. 127,
205:5; fig. 132, 230:2), and at Colchester (H awkes and
Hull1947, pl. LXXXIX, 9-11). At KHL iliese brooches
occur in graves of phases 1 to 3, spanning ilie first half of
tl1e 1st century AD (Stead and Rigby 1989, 89) . T he
patina of Obj. No. 19549 is markedly different to all other
brooches from tl1e small cemetery assemblage at High
H ouse, which suggests iliat it had been placed on ilie
pyre, eitl1er as a pyre good or dress accessory.
Furiliermore, it is distinguished by its split chord hook;
wheilier tl1is is intentional or ilie result of distortion due
to the heat of the fire remains uncertain.
Obj . Nos 195 17 and 19528 from inhumation burial
17044 (Figure 7), and Obj. Nos 19560 and 19583 from
inhumation burial 1706 1 (Figure 9), are smaller
examples of Colchester one-piece brooches, all with fairly
flat-profiled bows displaying a sharp angle between head
and bow. All have strongly grooved side wings and
perforated catchplates; that in Obj . No. 19560 has been
skilfully repaired by attaching a copper alloy sheet to ilie
broken remains of the old catch plate witi1 two iron rivets.
Equally, Obj. No. 19583 may have a replaced spr ing, as
ilie beginning of the spring is not attached to ilie head of
ilie bow, where only a small stub remains of ilie possibly
original spring. A small moulding at the foot end of Obj.
No. 19528 is a feature more commonly found on some
Colch ester two-piece brooches, where it is more
pronounced, for exam ple Richborough group s aiii and
dii (Bayley and Butcher 2004, fig. 64; fig. 68). Equally,
ilie rocker-mark on a r idge rather than in a groove on
Obj. No. 19 517 is a trait pointing towards ilie two-piece
variants (e.g. Hawkes and Hull 1947, pl. XCI, 36-38;
Bayley and Butcher 2004, fig. 63, 167; Stead and Rigby
ゥ ッセn・イョ
ゥ 。ョ@
date for the
1989, fig. 43, 69-73). A cャ。オ、
group of brooches from inhumation burials 17044 and
17061 is therefore suggested,
セ エ。ャキqイォ@
/3ro{Jches wz'th cylindTical spring cover
The only two brooches of this construction were placed
on a sa.mian platter (Obj. No. l952l) in inhumation
burial17044 (Figure 7). Aliliough boti1 brooches appear
to belong to Hawkes and Hull Type XII B, the very
by ]Om s」 ィ オウエセイ@
ET{J(J(Jhe$
Of the 13 brooches from the cemetery, 12 came from five
inhumation burials and one from a cremation burial.
32
WESTTHURROCK
different treatment of the bow allows some more detailed
typological discussion.
Obj. No. 19527 is of Riha's type 4.2.3 which is
distinguished from other variants by its niello-inlayed
bow. T hese inlays can take various forms like triangles,
wavy hook motives, thin crescent-shaped lines or, as here,
straight lines set at an angle either side of the ridge (Riha
1979, Taf. 17, 454) . T he dated examples from Augst on
the Upper Rhine provide Claudian dates, with some
extending to the Flavian period. A more elaborate
example of this type from grave 157 at KHL has a bow
with a curved-hook inlay of copper (Stead and Rigby
1989,95, fig. 11 6, 157 :4) .The grave belongs to period 2
of the cemetery, providing a date range of AD 30-55.
H awkes and Hull (1 94 7, pl. XCV, 108) show one
example of Riha's type 4. 2.3 from a period IV context,
thus givin g a Claudio-Neronian date.
Obj. No. 19529 is a variation of the Langton Down
typ e. T he straight join of the bow to the cylindrical
spring cover, combined with an outer profile of the bow
tapering towards tl1e foo t with only a ver y gentle curve,
can be found in Feugere's type 14b 1a which has a plain
bow. In contrast to the L angton Down type as a whole,
Feugere's type 14b1a is rather uncommon, botl1 on the
continent and in Britain, but British parallels exists for
the shape of the bow at Baldock (Stead and Rigby 1986,
fig . 45, 92), Colchester (Hawkes and Hull 1947, pl.
VCIV, 97), M aldon (ibid., pl. XCV, 103) and
Verulamium (Stead and Rigby 1989, fig. 99, 68:6) . In
contrast to oilier types of L angton D own brooches
which have bows with multiple parallel grooves, in Obj.
No. 19529 these take the fo rm of faint lines, only starting
after the transition from head to bow. T he few dates
Feugere (1985, 266) could find for his type 14b1a range
between the Tiberian and Claudio-Neronian periods.
Bayley and Butcher (2004, 150) suggest that Langton
D own brooches were going out of use by the time of the
Roman Conquest but some cherished sp ecimen may
have continued in use. H owever, this seems less likely for
Obj. No. 19529 as it exhibits signs of only moderate
wear.
Colchester-derivative brooches
H awkes and H ull type IV
Four brooches belong to this type which is a development
of the Colchester one-piece brooch . T he change to twopiece consu·uction has recently been linked to a change in
metal availability: Colchester one-piece brooches were
made of brass, while the two-p iece brooches were
predominantly leaded bronze (Bayley and Butcher 2004,
155). Based on the study of the Richborough assemblage
(ibid., 82-9), the u·eatment of the bow in the examples
from High House allows two variants to be distinguished.
Obj. N o. 19570 from inhumation burial 17059
(Figure 8) has a cenu·al rib down the whole lengd1 of
the bow. A zigzag line on lie rib starts behjnd tl1e plain
crest on the head of the brooch. Its length of 62 mm
places it in Bayley and Butcher's group ai. Obj. Nos
19557 and 19559 from inh umation burial 17060
(Figure 9) belong to the same group, although the rib of
the former becomes very faint towards the foot. Group a
is especially common in the south-eastern counties of
England (Bayley and Butcher 2004, 157) .
It has been suggested that the plain, arched bow as
seen in Obj. N o. 19558 from inhumation burial 17060
(Figure 9) is a western variant (B utcher 2001 , 49, 53;
Bayley and Butcher 2004, 15 7), but the transition from
bow to catchplate in this example is markedly stepped
rather than the flowing treatment of this detail seen in the
brooches from, for example, Wanborough, Wiltshire.
T he date range of the Colchester two-piece brooches
overlaps vvith the end of the on e-piece type, mainly
dating to the early second half of the 1st centur y AD as
at Colchester (c. 50-65 AD. Hawkes and H ull 1947, 3 1011 ). T he plain version can also occur slightly later
(Butcher 2001 , 53).
Repaimd brooches
Repairs as on Ob j. No. 19560, and possibly Obj . No.
19583, both from inhumation burial 1706 1 (Figure 9),
are generally very rare on Roman period brooches.
W here con sidered during analysis, tl1eir occurrence is
frequently well below 1% as, for example, at Richborough
(three of at least 445 brooches; Bayley and Butcher 2004,
34) or Augst and K aiseraugst in Switzerland (0. 07 %;
Riha 1979, 37; Riha 1994). In German ic contexts
beyond the limes, however, levels of repairs have been
reported at between 6-1 4 %, which was considered to
reflect the greater difficulty in replacing a broken piece
wiili an entirely new object (Schuster 2006, 13 1-2).
Hod Hill brooch
Hawkes and Hull type XVIII B
Obj. No. 195 18 from inhumation burial 17044 (Figure
7) has a bow with a subrectangular panel with centrally
placed knobs either side, details characteristic of
Riha's type 5.7.6. At Colchester, similar brooches were
found in Claudio-Neronian contexts (H awkes and Hull
1947, pl. XCVII, 147-149) . T he best parallels can,
however, be fo und at Augst, where som e examples even
match the beading on lie longitudinal ridges of the
central panel (e.g. Riha 1979, Taf. 33, 892-6; Riha 1994,
Taf. 25, 2406; Taf. 26, 241 0, 24 12), as does one at
Baldock (S tead and R igby 1986, 11 8 fig. 47,119) fo und
in a context with a date range of AD 90 to 120. H od
Hill type brooches are thought to have gon e out of
general use by about AD 70 (Bayley and Butcher 2004,
152-3) .
Observations regarding the placement of brooches in the
graves
Brooch Obj . No. 19570 from inhumation burial 17059
was found above the left clavicle (collarbo ne) in a
position in which it migh t have been worn as a dress
accessory by the male individual buried in that grave. In
the fo ur other inhu mation burials which contained
brooches, the function of the brooches is not always
related to the garment worn by d1e deceased. T he three
brooches from inhumation burial 17060 were found in a
line along the right tibia where they might have closed a
33
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
19591 ), an L-clamp (O bj. No. 19595) and one loophinge (Obj. No. 19592) in inhumation burial 17062
(Figure 10) . A second loop-hinge was probably fitted at
d1e north-western corner of d1e coffin or box in
inhumation burial 17062; however, only one of the
u·iangular straps (Obj. No. 19567) could be identified,
but d1e sheet fragments (Obj. Nos 19562 and 19587)
may be part of it.
shroud rather than an item of clothing. In inhumation
burial 17029, the only brooch (Obj. No. 19507) lay near
the lower left femur, and in the crouched burial 17061
one brooch lay above the pathologically deformed left
elbow, while the other was found further away from d1e
body at the edge of the grave cut. In both graves the
brooches were not closed, which may indicate that they
were not used to close a garment but were perhaps rather
included in the burial as a gift or grave good. This aspect
is certainly true for the three brooches placed on the
samian p latter (Obj. No. 19521 ) in inhumation burial
17044. All were lying with their springs and catchplates
facing more or less upwards, a position which can only be
achieved if propped up in some way. As none of the
brooches was closed, it may be that they were attached to,
or stuck into, some kind of textile which was then placed
on the platter wid1 the brooches belovv it. The other two
brooches lay in more ambivalent positions, nearer d1e
body of the male individual buried in the grave: Obj. No.
19517 - which was closed - in the lower abdomen area
and Obj. No. 19518 in the upper abdomen area.
Glass
by Lorraine Mepham
A small tubular unguent bottle (Obj. No. 19520), almost
complete, was found as a grave good accompanying
inhumation burial 17044. It survives to a height of
80mm, and has a conical body with slighdy flattened
base, and a cylindrical neck; the rim is missing (see
Figure 7). T he colour is pale blue. The type is 'lovell
known (Isings 1957, form 8; Price and Cottam 1998,
169-71), and is found in both settlement sites and
burials. They are common fmds on mid 1st century AD
sites in Britain, for example from Colchester, Essex,
where they occur in both domestic and funerary contexts
(Cool and Price 1995, 159-60), but their date range
extends to the late 2nd/early 3rd century AD. More
precise dating would be provided by the rim form if
present, rolled rims succeeding sheared rims, but in this
instance independent dating is provided by other grave
goods (pottery vessels and copper alloy brooches) from
the same grave, indicating a date in d1e mid/late 1st
century AD.
A small piece of greenish melted glass, or glass waste,
came from inhumation burial 17063. This is assumed to
be of Romano-Br itish date; fragments of melted glass,
p resumably representing pyre goods, are occasionally
found associated wid1 cremation burials of dus date. This
fragment is likely to be an incidental incorporation into
the grave backfill, perhaps a remnant from an earlier
cremation episode.
Fixtw·es and fittings
The dUn copper alloy sn-ip Obj. No. 19523, found at the
foot end of inhumation burial 17044 between a platter
(Obj. No. 19524) and a jar (Obj. No. 19522), could
perhaps be the rim reinforcement binding of an organic
or wooden vessel (Figure 7). The diameter of the object
indicated by the position of its fragments in the grave
precludes an interpretation as a bracelet or other such
personal ornament.
All but one of the 73 iron nails were found in seven
inlmmation burials in ditch 17000. T he number of nails
by grave ranged from two to 19; d1e largest groups came
from inhumation burials 17059 (16 nails), 17063 (17
nails) and 17062 (19 nails). Of the identifiable nails the
most common type (37 examples) had a square shaft and
a flat head (Manning 1985, fig. 32, Type 1b) . Obj. No.
19627 from in11umation burial 17059 is a typical example
(Figure 8). Only two nails with a domed or pyramidal
head like Manning Type 1a were found, one in
inlmmation burial 17062, the other in ditch 17002. Three
nails with a triangular head like Manning Type 2 all come
from inhumation burial 17059.
While it is likely that most, if not all, of the iron nails
were structural parts of the respective coffins, a small
copper alloy nail with a spherical head (Obj. No. 19597)
appears to have been deliberately placed wiiliin the coffin
or 'box' in inhumation burial 17062 (Figure 10).
Crummy ( 1983, 115) has suggested d1at nails of this
form could have been used for furniture upholstery, but
dlls seems less likely for a single copper alloy nail inside
a coffm or 'box' as here. The placing of a single nail or a
small number of nails in graves has been considered in
the context of ritual, magic or the warding-off of evil (e.g.
Black 1986, 223; Dungworth 1998, 153), and this might
also provide a possible explanation in this instance.
Other coffin furniture was also found in two graves:
two joiner's dogs (Obj. Nos 19561 and 1961 1) in
inhumation burial1 7057, and one joiner's dog (Obj. No.
Pottery
by L orraine Mepham
Pottery from High House dated as Late Iron Age to early
Roman amounts to 950 sherds (12,937g) . T hese sherds
have a potential date range of 1st century BC to late 1st
century AD. The assemblage includes one group of n1id
1st century AD grave goods, comprising four vessels,
which were associated with one glass vessel and five
copper alloy brooches.
Methods of analysis have been oudined above and, in
addition, Roman fab rics have been defined on the basis of
known type I source. Brief fabric descriptions and totals,
by both sherd count and weight, are given in Table 8.
Fabrics
The bulk of the Late Iron Age/Romano-British
assemblage comprises sherds in coarse shelly wares
(SH 2), which as body sherds are visually very similar to
the Late Bronze Age I Early Iron Age shelly wares (SHl ).
Shell-tempered wares appear sporadically from the Early
Iron Age in Essex, but are particularly common in the
34
WEST T HURROCK
Date range
LIA
L IA
LIA
LIA
RO
RO
RO
RO
Fabric type
G R2
QU4
SH 2
GR1
GREY
OXJD
SAM
AMPH
D escription
No. sh erds
Coarse grog-tem pered fa bric
Coarse sandy fabric
Coarse shelly fabric
Fine grog-tempered fabric, including wheelthrown examples
C oarse greyware
Coarse oxidised ware
Samian
Amphora
283
63
557
20
13
5
8
tィ
セP@
Table 8
セ@
Weight (g)
2883
1015
7599
357
430
106
526
21
12,937
Poner y: L ate Iron Age I early Romano-British fabric totals
Late Iron Age, as they are in Kent. Scientific analysis of
sherds from the Grays By-pass has shown that the shell
inclusions derive from the Woolwich Beds of the south of
the county (Hamilton 1988), with additional sources
potentially provided by the shell banks along the T hames
estuar y (Wilkinson 1988) . Shell-tempered wares were
certainly produced here in the early Roman period, when
kilns are known fro m Mucking and T ilbw-y (Jones and
Rodwell 1973; D rury and Rodwell 1973) .
Alongside these are coarse sandy and grog-tempered
fabrics (QU4, GR2), and finer grog-tempered fabrics,
some of which may be wheelthrown, in the 'Belgic'
tradition (GRI ). Sandy fabrics, as the shelly-tempered
wares, were in use throughout the Iron Age in Essex, but
the grog-tempered wares of 'Belgic' tradition mark an
intrusion into the indigenous ceramic production of the
region, appearing no earlier than c. 50 BC in the county
(Sealey 1996, 55) .
'Romanised' wares, some of which could be preconquest, occur in ver y small quantities, inclu ding a
single sherd from a Dressel 1 amphora, and a few sherds
of South Gaulish samian, and wheelthrown sandy
greywares and oxidised wares, the latter mostly whiteslipped .
securing some for m of (organic?) lid . There are also two
everted rim jars, in grog-tempered a nd shelly fabrics
respectively, and a rather cr udely made copy of a GalloBelgic Cam. 56 platter in a coarse sandy fa bric (Figure
7, Obj. No. 19524) . One jar base in a coarse sandy fabric
has multiple post-firing perforations.
As well as the single sherd from a D ressel 1 amphora,
'Romanised' vessel for ms include sarnian forms 18, 24/25
(planers) and 27 (cup), and a greyware narrovv-necked
jar.
Uzssel fonns
Bead rimmed jars and bowls dominate the assemblage;
these are found mainl y in shelly fabrics (36 examples:
Figure 13, 1, 2), with one coarse grog-tem pered
example. Bead rims are either internally thickened,
horizontally flattened, or internally !edged or grooved;
one vessel of the Iauer type has a scored graffito below
the rim (Figure 13, 2). T he internally thickened bead
rim emerged in the I st century BC, and continued in use
until the mid 1st century AD, at which time it was
superseded by the internally ledged bead rim (Going
2004, 14 1). T he Iauer fo rm, inclu ding examples with
scored graffiti, was amongst the products of the Mucking
kilns (Jones 1972), and was the dominant shell-tempered
form at C helmsford in mid to late 1st century AD
contexts (Going 1987, type G5).
T he grog-tempered fabrics occur more frequently in
necked jar for ms, frequently cordoned (23 examples;
Figure 13, 3); there is one example in a sandy fabric.
O ne grog-tempered necked jar has a series of post-firing
perforations below the rim, perhaps for the purpose of
1I
Distribution on site
L ate Iron Age/early Romano-British pottery was found in
19 features across the site: ditches, pits, graves and one
post-hole; a further nine features (all graves), assigned to
r
\\
0
lc
F igure 13
35
セ Mセ
]M M M]セG@
100mm
.......-·
Pottery: Late Iron Age I early Roman
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
this phase on stratigraphic and artefactual grounds,
contained only residual early 1st millennium BC pottery.
The largest feature group derives from ditch 17010
(702 sherds) and this contained, as well as a number of
vessels in grog-tempered, shelly and sandy fabrics, one
sherd from a Dressel 1 amphora, one sherd of South
Gaulish samian (form 27 cup) and two sherds of a fme,
wheeltlu·own, white-slipped, oxidised ware. Coarseware
vessel forms from this ditch include 20 grog-tempered
necked jars (mostly cordoned), one grog-tempered bead
rim bowl, one shell-tempered neckless, everted rim jar,
and a maximum of 19 shell-tempered bead rim jars, of
which one rim is internally !edged, six horizontally
flattened, and 12 internally thickened.
Only three other features yielded more than SO
sherds: ditch 17009 (= 17008, 76 sherds), gully 170 11
(56 sherds), and pit 17036 (52 sherds). All three
produced a similar range offabrics (largely shelly wares)
and vessel forms, although only ditch 17076 contained
'Romanised' wares, in the form of wheelthrown
greywares and oxidised wares. Of a maximum of eight
bead rim jars (all shell-tempered) from ditch 17009, all
have internal ledges or at least vestigial grooves on top of
the rim, and one has a scored graffito below the rim
(Figure 13, 2) . Sherds from gully 170 11 are almost
entirely shell-tempered and may derive from a single
vessel, with a flattenened bead rim. Pit 17036 contained
only shell-tempered wares, including two bead rim bowls,
both with internally thickened rims.
Also of interest is the group of grave goods from
inhumation burial 17044 (Figure 7), which comprise a
samian platter (form 18; Obj. No. 1952 1), a samian
rouletted bowl (form 24/25; Obj. No. 19525), a
handmade copy of a Gallo-Belgic p latter in a coarse,
sandy fabric (form Cam 56; Obj. No. 19524), and a
narrow-necked, wheelthrown greyware jar (O bj. No.
19522). The samian platter was found to contain a
broken glass unguent bottle and three copper alloy
brooches of mid 1st century AD date.
Three other graves produced pottery (17029, 17047,
17063), but only in the form of incidental, residual sherds
incorporated within the grave backfills.
provided by assemblages from north Kent (Pollard 1988,
31, fig. 12) . Within Essex comparanda may be sought,
for example, in the latest phases at Little Waltham (D rury
1978), in the important and well dated mid/late 1st
century BC assemblage from Stansted Airport, which
also produced a large group of Dressel 1 amphorae
(Going 2004), and in mid to late 1st century AD groups
from Chelmsford (Going 1987) .
Willie the WestThurrock assemblage as a whole could
be broadly dated within the period of mid 1st century
BC to mid/late 1st century AD, certain characteristics
suggest that some context groups at least can be dated
relatively late within this range. The grave group from
17044 can most obviously be dated to the mid/late 1st
century AD, on the presence of sam ian and wheelthrown
greyware vessels, contemporary with the group C
cremation burials at Stansted Airport (Havis and Brooks
2004, fig. 138; Wallace 2004);Wallace notes the potential
significance of the appearance of sam ian vessels as grave
goods at this period (ibid., 241-2).
The pottery from ditch 17010 can also be seen as
mid/late 1st century AD, containing, as well as grogtempered, sandy and shelly coarsewares and a Dressel 1
amphora, a samian form 27 cup and wheelthrown
'Romanised' sandy wares. The shell-tempered bead
rim jars include examples with internally !edged rims,
and these are also seen (including one with scored
graffito) amongst the shell-tempered wares from ditch
17009 alongside wheelthrown 'Romanised' sandy
wares.
Of the other context groups, only three produced
such chronologically distinctive material, in the for m of
t\¥0 internally !edged bead rims from pit 17051, a single
tiny sherd of sam ian from pit 17020, and a single sherd
ofwheelthrown greyware from inhumation burial l 7063.
Other features, none of which yielded more than 11
sherds, cannot be dated so closely within the overall
potential date range.
List of illustrated vessels (Figure 13; see Figure 7 for
grave-goods)
I.
2.
Discussion
The shelly, grog-tempered and sandy wares quite clearly
fall within the well documented Late Iron Age ceramic
traditions of the region, the sandy and shell-tempered
wares developing from earlier Iron Age antecedents in
the county, while the grog-tempered wares represent an
intrusive tradition, appearing no earlier than c. 50 BC.
According to Thompson (1982), south Essex lies within
zone 2 of the grog-tempered 'Belgic' tradition, an area
characterised by a predominance of non-grog-tempered
fabrics and the common use of shell for coarseware jar
forms, although Belgic pottery was invariably used for
funerary vessels (nearly all cremations), as at the nearby
site at Ardale School on the G rays By-pass (Thompson
1988).
Parallels for the WestThurrock assemblage within the
county are not numerous, and are perhaps more usefully
3.
Bead rim jar, fabric SH2. PRN 12, context I 0004, ditch 17009.
Bead rim jar, scored g raffito, fabric SH2. PRN 12, context 10004,
ditch 17009.
Cordoned jar, fabric GR2. PRN 128, context I 0 !59, ditch 170 I 0.
Fired clay and ceramic building material
by Lorraine Mepham
T here are at least two slabs or blocks, of uncertain
function. Both positively identified examples came from
ditch 17010, associated with Late Iron Age/early Roman
pottery (fragments of other possible examples came from
ditch 17007, ditch I gully 17011 , and pits 1707 1 and
27009, all dated to the Late Iron Age). They appear to
have been rectangular, although only one of the two has
any measurable dimensions (60mm wide by 50mm thick,
sur viving length 95mm); this example is slightly tapering
(Figure 4, 3). Fabrics are similar to those used for the
loomweights - poorly wedged, and generally containing
sparse organic inclusions.
36
\X!ESTTHURROCK
They may fall into the same class of object as the
rectangular 'Belgic bricks', identified elsewhere in Essex
and wid1 a possible association with ponery production.
One example is illustrated fro m Slough H ouse Farm
(Major 1998, fig. 113, 14). These are superficially similar
to the prefabricated ceramic bars seen in Late Iron Age
kilns (Swan 1984, pis. 18, 20). A group of broadly similar
objects, although seemingly thinner, and frequently
fl anged, described as 'slabs', is known from Stansted
Airport in mid 1st century AD contexts, although more
probably connected with domestic hearths d1an with
ponery production (Major 2004).
One Roman tile fragment was identified, from High
House (residual in a medieval pit) , wid1 a finger smeared
'signature'. Two other fragments from Stone House could
also be of Roman date, but are completely undiagnostic
(tentative identification on fabric grounds) .
healed. The n·auma occurred long before d1e dog died as
d1e fracture is completely healed . However, the patches of
new bone formation (inflammation) on d1e proximal part
of the shaft show that the dog was probably not too
healthy when it died.
An unusual find, from ditch 17010, is the unfused
epiphyseal plate of a probable thoracic I lumbar vertebra
from the mid-torso of a medium-sized whale. It is
possible that this young whale swam up d1eThames and
sn·anded, as happened in 2006 when a juvenile female
bonlenose whale swam up d1e river and died after a
rescue anempt. The carcass would have been valuable
and was most likely exploited by d1e people living in the
vicinity West Thurrock.
Charred plant remains
byClrris J.Stevens
Only two samples were taken and assessed from nonburial features, both from Early Romano-British ditch
17010. The two samples were similarly rich in remains
and only one (from context 10 191 ) was fully analysed
(Table 3). This sample was dominated by glumes of
hulled wheats. About t\:vo-thirds of the identifiable
glumes and spikelet forks were of spelt wheat ( Triticum
spelta), with the remaining third being identifiable as
emmer ( T dicoccum) . Grains of hulled wheats and barley
(Hordeum vulgare sl.) were also well represented with the
former predominating. While emmer does not dominate
the assemblage it still forms a significant proportion.
Spelt is certainly dominant by the Romano-British period
at North Shoebury, Stifford Clays, Chigborough,
Mucking and Slough House Farm, but small amounts of
emmer wheat are present (Murphy 1988a; 1991; 1995;
1998). This is in contrast to more Romanised senlements
to the south in Kent where only spelt is found (Stevens
2006; Smith and Davies 2006). However, it is noted that
the earlier Roman phases at Springhead in the Ebbsfleet
Valley in north Kent also contained a significant
proportion of emmer wheat (Stevens 2006; in press) .
There were also several barley rachis fragments, some
of which could be identified as coming from six-row
barley. Two of the barley grains could be seen to have
germinated and a number of germinated coleoptiles were
also recovered.
The dominance of glume bases indicates that the
assemblage came from fine-sieving of pounded spikelets
to release the grain. Although the coleoptiles could not
be identified to species, the assemblage is similar to that
from Springhead in north K ent which may relate to the
malting of barley and probably spelt wheat for beer
(Stevens 2006; forthcoming).
While seeds of larger seeded species, such as
vetches/wild pea ( Vicia/Lathyrus sp.), corn gromwell
(Lithospennwn arvense), fumitor y (Furnaria sp.),
corncockle (Agrostenzmagithago), oats (Avena sp.), ribwort
plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and brome grass (Brornus
sp.) predominated, seeds of smaller seeded species were
well represented. This Iauer group included many seeds of
orache (Atriplex sp.), although it might be noted mat seeds
of orache are released in more grain-sized persistent
Illustrated objects (Figure 4)
3.
Slab or block. Context 10 179, ditch 17010.
Animal bone
by Jessica Grimm
The majority of the small assemblage of animal bone
fro m Late Iron Age and early Romano-British contexts
(all from High House) is in good to fair condition. In
contrast to the earlier period, sheep is now dominant (see
Table 2). This fits the picture of L ate Iron Age
husbandry in Britain, where a fair proportion of the
sheep are killed young, indicating a mixed economy
based on milk, meat and wool. The proportion of carrie is
still fairly high, with pigs generally only present in small
numbers. On sites elsewhere, fewer sheep bones and
more pig generally reflect a greater degree of
Romanisation. However, the assemblage from West
Thurrock, most from early Roman contexts, is rather
small which limits its usefulness in this maner. A cut mark
on a horse calcaneus is the only evidence for skinning,
but there is no evidence from any of the periods that
horse meat was eaten.
The skeletons of two dogs were also found. The dog
from ditch 17002 was not fully recovered, but was older
than 18-24 months and, with a height of 58cm at the
withers, was quite a large dog. The od1er, from ditch
17010, was male, at least 18 - 24 months old when it
died, and a medium-sized dog with a height at me wimers
of 52cm. This dog had suffered from a limp in the left
hind leg as me femur was broken diagonally above the
articular surface and had healed at an inward angle
causing bowing and shortening. X-radiography of me
bone revealed that the fracture resembles a greenstick
fracture. Greenstick fractures occur in young individuals
where me bone does not break through, but bends. The
irregular bone structure on the distal articular surface
might be the result of this trauma or might result from a
separate inflammation. There was also some new bone
formation below the trochanter majus, indicating an
inflammation. T he proximal articular surface of the left
tibia showed some pathological change due to the
different strain put on the joint after the femur broke and
37
ESSEX ARCH AEOLOGY AND H ISTORY
!-/1.· Z N ᄋ ᄋ セ@ .
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Zone 1
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セ[R@
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Zone 4 / /
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セ Zᄋ@ ᄋ zセ 3ョ ・@
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Excavation trench
セ@ ....
Area of watching brief
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Marsh 267
Middle-Late Iron Age
Early medieval 1
Early medieval 2
Early medieval 3
Undated
50m
0
Figure 14
Stone House: plan, early medieval (and earlier) features
38
\'\!ESTTHURROCK
-(
bracteoles. Other seeds included those of common nettle
( Unica dioica), fat-hen (Chenopodium album), red bartsia
(Odontites vernus), clover (Trifolium sp.) and scentless
mayweed (Tripleurospemwm inodonmz). As with the late
prehistoric samples bulmsh/club-rush (Schoenop/ecws
lacustris/tabernaemomam) was also present, along with
seeds of spikerush (Eleocharis palustris), anotl1er wetland
species.
There is some indication of the cultivation of a fairly
wide range of soil types. As seen in tl1e Bronze Age, the
presence of bulrush/club-rush along witl1 spikerush
(Eleocharis palustris) indicates the cultivation of field s
adjacent to the marshland. The presence of vervain
( U3rbena officinalis) is of some interest as the species
grows mainly on calcareous dry soils and is generally
uncommon in charred samples. Although not confined
to drier calcareous soils, fumitory, ribwort plantain, corn
gromwell, brome grass and red bartsia are commonly
also associated witl1 such soils. Given the location of the
site upon a chalk ridge overlooking the Thames marshes,
it would appear tl1at the inhabitants probably cultivated
fields situated on drier soils close to the settlement itself,
as well as tl1ose tl1at were probably marginal to tl1e
marshland to tl1e soutl1.
\ '
Iii
0
ML セー@
.
1
.
1I
--
Figure 15
-:-.
'
100mm
Pottery: Saxon
uncertainty over tl1e attribution of some of me elements
to tl1ese phases, partly due to tl1e similarity of tl1eir ftlls,
truncation resulting from machining and me fact mat
most of me features falling wit11i n tl1e nortl1ern part of
m e site (in me area occupied by tl1e construction
compound) were not excavated. The phasing presented
here is considered to represent tl1e most likely sequence,
altl1ough om ers are possible. Pottery recovered from
features assigned to mis period (and also as residual
material in later contexts), tl1ough not large in overall
terms, accounts for 58% by weight of tl1e total medieval
assemblage, and has a date range of 11 tl1 to 13tl1 century,
but little fmer chronological distinction has been possible
(see below).
Early medieval (11th- 13th century)
(Figure 14)
Pltase 1 (1 1m - 12m century)
The earliest phase was represented by a series of often
short, sometimes discontinuous gullies or shallow ditches
between 3.5m and 15m long. T hree of these gullies I
ditches were aligned approximately norm- soum (269,
285 and 404), wim a furmer five running east- west (27
wim 28, 47, 85, 86 and 91). T hey may all have been
broadly contemporar y, but it is suggested mat it is more
likely mat tl1ey represent a sequence of perhaps mree or
four pairs of gullies forming a succession of funnelshaped arrangements on a broad, soutl1-east to
norm-west aligned axis. T he narrower opening(s) lay to
tl1e nortl1-west, and where measurable would indicate
widtl1s in tl1e order of 6- 7m. T hey may have held fences
and a likely association wim stock control can be
suggested. Perhaps contemporary wim tl1ese were gullies
I ditches 12 and 14 to tl1e norm and a similar feature,
448, to tl1e west, possibly evidence for an enclosure, but
noming further can be surmised on such slender
evidence.
Neit11er site produced any features that could be dated to
tl1e Saxon period. H owever, five pottery sherds in a hard,
sandy fa bric have been identified as early I mid-Saxon,
all probably part of a single vessel, a fairly crudely made,
hemispherical bowl (Figure 15). The sherds derived
from mree separate fills of enclosure ditch 407, a
probably 13m centur y feature at Stone H ou se (see
below). Neitl1er fabric nor form are particularly
chronologically distinctive and have a superficial
resemblance to Iron Age wares fro m me region, but have
been dated as Saxon largely on t11e grounds of me hardfired nature of tl1e fabric.
Otl1er Saxon sites are known in me vicinity of the site,
of which tl1e best known, and from which the largest
published pottery assemblage derives, is at Mu cking
(Hamerow 1993). This provides parallels for botl1 fa bric
and form of tl1e Stone H ouse vessel. While no firm
conclusions as to date should be based on a single vessel,
sandy fabrics are more common am ongst the 5tl1 and
early 6th century assemblage from Mucking, organictempered fabrics predominating later (ibid., 3 1) . T he
small assemblages from nearby sites at Stifford Clays and
Ardale School, for example, are exclusively organictempered and have been dated on m at basis to me late
6m I 7m century (Wilkinson and L ee 1988).
In addition to me single vessel discussed above, tl1e
date range of tl1e early medieval pottery (see below) does
not preclude a pre-Norman Conquest origin fo r th e
earliest medieval activity at Stone H ouse.
T hree phases of early medieval activity have been
identified at Stone House, separated on tl1e basis of
stratigraphic relationships where mese could be
established. It should be emphasised here that there is
Phase 2 (12m- 13m century)
The phase 1 system of gullies was replaced by a new
layout, perhaps representing two or more sub-phases.
The major element comprised two, shallow curvilinear
ditches which are interpreted as for ming tl1e soumern
part of an enclosure witl1 a soutl1-facing entrance. The
eastern ditch (comprising 173 and probably 274) was
approximately 40m in lengm and ran broadly parallel to
the edge of tl1e marshy ground to the soutl1. T he precise
layout of me enclosure entrance had been obscured by
later features, but it was approximately 8m wide and had
eimer a kinked arrangemen t or was slightly funnelshaped in plan, narrowing to me sout11. Ditch 166 to me
39
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Plate 5 Stone House: Manor House under excavation (view from west)
west of the entrance had a terminus at the west end, and
ditch 274 to the east also appeared to terminate, at its
eastern end. H owever, it is possible that continuations of
both ditches had b een truncated by machining.
On the southern side and approximately parallel to
the eastern arm (274) of the enclosure was gully 276,
partly cu t away by phase 3 features; this has also been
assigned to phase 2, though the relationship between
ditch 274 and gully 276 is unclear. Pit 293 further to the
south may also have belonged to this complex of features,
but the precise details of the phasing in this area are
difficult to disen tangle and an alternative possibility is
that pit 293 was later and belonged to phase 3. To tl1e
north of enclosure ditch 274 was a scatter of features
(most undated) including a lOrn long, north-south
aligned shallow ditch (41 6), and several small, shallow,
sometimes irregular scoops of uncertain function.
However, it is not certain that all were contemporaneous
or indeed belong to this phase.
likelihood, therefore, that the n orth-west part of the
enclosure was not visible or had been entirely truncated
during machining. There was a 3m wide entrance in the
south side and a narrower, staggered entrance
arrangement in the north side. No contemporary
structural remains were identified within the enclosure,
though some of the few features assigned to p hase 2 may
belong to phase 3. There were few finds, but ditch 273
produced 54 sherds of pottery, probably all from the
same shelly ware jar.
A possible well ( 450) lay ju st outside the northern
entrance to the enclosu re, with a short length of gully
( 114) extending northwards up to the edge of it. T he
interpretation as a well is equivocal for the central part
appears to have been at least partly dug-out and packed
with chalk prior to the construction of the medieval
manor house, presumably to avoid any subsidence of the
walls.
A few post-holes and slots in this area have been
assigned an early medieval date, and several ( eg slots 210,
334, 424, 460) were clearly sealed beneath the later wall
foundations or robber trench fills at the western end of
the manor house. In addition, there were the remains of
a possible hearth (452) and an adjacent spread (40),
possibly an 'occupation deposit', with a p it (1 43) to the
north-west. Although no clear pattern could be discerned
in their layout, the slots were aligned east - west and raise
the possibility of an early medieval tim ber structure
standing here before the medieval stone manor house was
built around the end of the 13th century.
Phase 3 ( 13th century)
The final phase assigned to this period was represented
by a further change in the layout of features. The phase
2 enclosure was replaced by a small U -shaped enclosure
(represented by ditches 272, 273 and 407), aligned
south-west to north-east and measuring approximately
28m by 22m, possibly open at the north-east. However,
this possibility should be tem pered by the fact that the
open end coincides ver y closely with the limit of
controlled excavation (see above) and there is a strong
40
WESTTHURROCK
Plate 6
S tone House: Manor H ouse under excavation (view from north)
Saxo-Norman and early medieval
landholding and land use
depended on manuring by communal sheep flocks
during fallow periods. Stock enclosures developed at the
same time, and enclosed meadows were also allotted to
tenant households.
T he earliest known reference to Thurrock dates to c.
1040-1042, when Wulfstan the Wild Priest, with the
consent of his lord K ing Harthacnut, granted to the
Abbey of Christchurch in Canterbury the land which he
had inherited called Thurrock. This charter appears to be
genuine, but Christchurch did not retain its property in
Thurrock, and Wulfstan's holding cannot be certainly
traced in Domesday Book. It may be identified with the
small manors of Bishop Octo of Bayeux at Thurrock,
since he had also despoiled Christchurch of its lands at
Vange (Hart 1957,22 Appendix A no II; Sawyer 1968,
452 no 1644).
Landholding across the transition of the Norman
Conquest was recorded by the Domesday Book survey of
1086. At the end of the reign of King Edward the
Confessor in 1066 the most su bstantial manor in
Thurrock was held by Earl Harold Godwineson and
assessed at thirteen hides. It is to be identified with West
Thurrock and comprised most of the parish. The other
manors in Thurrock were small landholdings held by
various freemen, including sokemen, and probably lying
in Grays Thurrock and Little Thurrock. After the
conquest H arold's manor was granted to Count Robert
of Eu, who held it in demesne, and some of the smaller
manors were taken over by followers of the Bishop of
by Christopher Phillpotts
The history of the sites and surrounding area has been
investigated from a variety of printed primary and
secondary material, manuscripts and maps. Manuscript
evidence has been accessed by references culled from the
printed material and from catalogues to the relevant
document classes and collections in the record
repositories visited. Maps, illustrations and manuscripts
have been consulted at the National Archives in Kew, the
British Library in Euston, and Essex Record Office in
Chelmsford. The collections of London Metropolitan
Archives in Clerkenwell were consulted without positive
result. Full references to the source material are set out in
the Bibliography.
Part of the upland area ofWestThurrock parish to the
north-east of the Stone House site was divided into the
cultivation strips of open-field agriculture in the medieval
and post-medieval periods (Figure 21). Field systems of
this type were formed in E ssex in the late Saxon period,
and were associated with the nucleation of settlement and
the manorialisation of the agricultural economy. They
consisted of large open fields divided into rectangular
furlongs of individual parallel cultivation strips, worked in
common by the lord and tenants, whose strips were
dispersed evenly in the fields. These strips were
orientated and designed to provide the best drainage. The
fields were planted in sequences of crop rotation, and
41
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Bayeux. The steep rise in the number of bordars (low
status manorial peasants) from 16 to 45 on the Count's
manor is probably to be associated with the reclamation
of marshland along the shores of the Thames and the
Mar D yke, as this class of manorial tenant is often
connected to the extension of the area of cultivation and
pasture. This also might account for the rise in the annual
value of the manor from £12 to £30, although this figure
also includes the rent from seven houses in London
which belonged to it. M ost of the reclaimed marshland
was used as pasture for the demesne flock of 550 sheep
recorded there, although there was also an increase in the
amount of land under the ploughs of the tenants. One
fisher y had become two since 1066; these probably
consisted of sets of fish- traps on the Thames shore.There
were also 40 acres of meadow and sufficient woodland
to feed 200 pigs (Williams and Martin 2002, 977, 987,
1016, 1038, 1045; VCHEviji 59, 64).
The use of the marsh es as sh eep pasture was a
common feature of Domesday Essex. These sheep
pastures and large flocks of demesne sheep lay in a broad
belt along the coastline of the county from WestThurrock
eastwards. They were important fo r the large-scale
production of cheeses. There was also a concentration of
fisheries along the T hames estuary shoreline (Darby
197 1, 241-2, 245-6, 257-8, 261-2). Dmuesday woodland
in Essex and other counties was generally m easured by
the number of pigs it had the capacity to support; it is
questionable whether these numbers represented real
pigs or were a notional measurement. T he round figures
of some of the larger entries indicate that they are
estimates. The number of demesne pigs recorded on a
manor was usually less than the stated capacity of its
woodland; there were sixteen at West Thurrock (Darby
1971, 232-3, 256) . However, tl1is does not take into
consideration the much larger numbers of tenants' pigs,
which were not counted by the Domesday surveyors, and
which would also have been fed in the manorial
woodlands.
In the late Saxon and early Norman period there was
a tendency by manorial lords to impose heavier burdens
on their tenants and to reduce the status of those who
were counted as free (Williamson 2004, 45). By 1086
there was little mention in Thurrock of the freemen and
sokemen who were holding manors or parts of manors in
1066, except for five sokemen surviving on W illiam
Peverel's manor at Grays Thurrock. T he others had
presumably been downgraded or had been driven from
the area. M any freemen and sokemen disappeared
between 1066 and 1086 in Essex, accounting for only 7%
of the population at the time of the Domesday survey.
Some evidence from the county suggests that they
became villeins (manorial peasants bound to pay ser vices
and dues to their lord) and lower status bordars (Darby
1971, 225-6).
There is no mention in Domesday Booh of a church
at West Thurrock, altl1ough that does not mean tl1at the
parish church did not already exist; tl1e survey only
mentioned churches as sources of revenue, and they are
seriously under-represented in Essex (Darby 197 1, 249-
51). In the 11 th and early 12th centuries manors often
built proprietary churches close to tl1eir manor houses,
and these developed into parish churches. T he limits of
their emerging parishes were based on tl1e boundaries of
the manors, and the church-manor complexes might be
expected to form the main bases of settlement. The
parish church of St Clement was built on a gravel
promontory in the marshes, well to the south of tl1e road
from Purfleet to Grays T hurrock and just over 2km to
the east of the Stone House site (Figure 1) . This
prominent location overlooking the river can be
compared to the dramatic placing of the church of St
N icholas at D eptford on a low gravel cliff dominating the
T hames marshes furtl1er up the river. It was isolated
from the later medieval settlement it served, which
implies that there was a shift in the settlement pattern in
the early medieval period.
The church certainly existed by c. 1090, when Count
Robert of Eu granted it to the College of St Mary in
Hastings Castle. The rectory thereby became a prebend
of Hastings and the duties of tl1e prebendary included
keeping the grammar school in the castle ( VCHE vilj
70). The gift of the church of Iitrock to the College was
later confirmed by Robert's grandson Count Henry of
Eu, who ilied in 1140 (CAD iii 532 no D 1073). By this
time tl1e church probably had a circular nave.
The tenancy in chief of the manor ofWestThurrock
(its direct tenure from the Crown) descended with the
honour of Hastings. In tl1e course of tl1e 12th century the
demesne tenancy of the manor descended to a branch of
the Counts of Eu which bore the family name of Brinson,
Brianzon, Briazoun or Breaunzon.The first of the family to
hold tl1e manor was T homas Brinson, nephew of Count
Henry of Eu. He was followed by Robert de Brianzon in
tl1e reigns of Henry II and Richard I, and his son
Bartholomew, who was in possession in 1198-1212.
Bartholomew was a mill or in the guardianship of John de
Bassingbourne, who received a grant of a weekly market
here in 1207, but tlUs does not appear to have developed.
Later in the 13th century the lord of the manor was another
Bartholomevv Brianzon, who held one krught's fee there in
1262, and ilied in 1286 leaving as heir his infant son
William. The family also held the adjacent manor of Aveley
(Morant 1768, i 9 1;VCHE viii 59, 66; CChR ij 42, 44) .
T he manorial rights claimed by the Brianzons in the
13th and 14th centuries included assize of bread and ale
(regulating measures and prices), view of frankpledge (a
court ensuring good conduct in the community), waifs
and strays (right to take lost or unclaimed goods), the
keeping of a gallows, the right to shipwrecks on the
Thames shore, and a ferry across the river. Labour was
also provided on their demesne lands by the unfree
customary tenants. These rights were administered in the
manorial cour ts held in their manor house. A number of
sub-manors developed in the parish ofWestThurrock in
the 12th and 13th centu ry, including Bayhouse,
Michelsland, Purfleet, Tendrings and Torre lis Hall, which
were all tenurially dependent on the main manor ( VCHE
viii 6 1-4, 69) . Manorial lords appear to have created submanors by sub-infeudation to pass on the burdens of
42
WESTTHURROCK
uplands and the reclaimed marshes. In 1375 there was
conveyance of a farmstead called Goodgroynestenement to
the south of the main road in WestThurrock with a strip
of upland to its north (BL Eger ton Charter 2905) .
Similarly in Barking parish to the west, farmsteads were
strung along the south edge of the gravel terrace on the
south side of Ripple Road. Each farm had a narrow piece
of marshland pasture running to the Thames on the
south side, and strips of arable land in the open fields of
the upland zone on the north side (L ockwood 2006, 87).
Some of these developed into estate centres.
T he medieval and post-medieval village of West
Thurrock grew up along the line of the road from
Purfleet to Grays Thurrock (now London Road; Figure
1), which ran at the foot of the south slope of the chalk
ridge and along th e north side of the marshes at about
4m aOD. Stonehouse Lane ran northwards from this
road as far as Causeway Bridge, and was the main route
from the parish through Aveley to London until the late
19th century. Southwards from the Purfleet to Grays
T hurrock road two manorways led into the marshes, a
third led to the Greenhithe ferr y at the southernmost
point of the parish, and a fourth led to the parish church
(Hunter 1999, 2 1; VCHE viii 57-8). As late as 1777 the
sale of Stonehouse Farm included the obligation to
maintain Stonehouse Manorway as an access route into
the Middle L evel of the marshes (ERO D /DU 453/3
bundle 1).
military tenure. They also added to their local political
support and most immediately produced money fines
(Williamson 2004, 46). Some of these so-called manors
may never have h eld courts of their own, and were
therefore not true manors in the legal sense. The parish
church also expanded at this time, with added aisles,
chancel and chapels, acting as a staging post for pilgrims
to Canterbury, who crossed the river by the manorial
ferry to Greenhithe.
The funda mental feature of the history of all the
manors and parishes along the banks of the Thames
below London in the medieval and early modern periods
was the struggle to reclaim or inn the marshes from the
r iver. Earthen banks or walls were constructed along the
riverside, and the land behind was drained by ditches.
This was enclosed and drained in series of parcels divided
by cross-walls or counter walls, which were built out from
the chalk and gravel uplands and ran perpendicularly to
the river, advanci ng the river front over a period of time.
Along some of the counterwalls roads called manorways
provided access into the marshes. The reclaimed land
behind the walls was utilised for meadow and pasture,
and also for sowing corn. T he unenclosed salt marshes
in front of the walls were used for fishing and fowling
(Phillpotts 1999, 63).
It is not known at what date the lower Thames was
em banked but it may have been as early as the late Saxon
period. It is possible that the reclamation of Essex
marshland from th e T hames did not require the
construction of embankments before the 11th centur y
because of a lower sea level. By the early 13th century
this was rising, and embankments were certainly in place.
A law of the marsh in Essex in 1210 required landowners
to maintain their sections of the river walls. From 1280
onwards periodic royal commissions reviewed the state
of the shoreline defences and compelled their upkeep.
Nevertheless storms and tides overwhelmed the defences
from time to time, as in 1251 and 1296 (Hunter 1999,
18, 76) .
The excavations recovered evidence of a sequence of
three phases of possible stock fu nnels and enclosures on
the Stone House site, and also evidence for crop
processing, dated to the 11th to 13th centuries. There is
some evidence for a timber building on the site, but there
is no certainty that this was the site of the manor house
at this period, which might be expected to have been
adjacent to the parish church and controlling the route
to the Greenhithe ferry. H owever, the various remains
are indicative of a settlement controlling access to the
marshland pastures, and there may have been a droveway
running north-south through the site linking Stonehouse
Lane to the north with a manorway leading into the
marshes (see below) .
The Stone House stock funnels and enclosure(s), and
the possible timber building, were located immediately to
the south of the junction of Stonehouse Lane with the
Purfleet to Grays road, on a small brickearth promontory
extending into the marshes, lying above the level of flood
waters. This was a typical location for m edieval
farmsteads exploiting the landscape of both the chalk
Medieval (late 13th -15th century) (Figure
16; Plates 5 and 6)
Two principal phases have been identified, clearly
separated within the structural sequence established for
the medieval manor house. Phase 1 of the manor house,
probably constructed between c. 129 1 and 1305 (see
below), includes all of the surviving remains other than
the rooms added to the west end. These rooms, built
before 1339, have been collectively assigned to phase 2,
and appear to have continued in use later, following
demolition and robbing of the earlier (and larger) part of
the manor house. Other phases may not have been
recognised, particularly becau se of the very limited
investigation undertaken on the north-east part of the
building.
It should be noted here that the quantities of finds
associated with b oth the medieval and post-medieval
phases of the manor house are very low, hampering
dating and restricting conclusions that can be made
about its changing economic and social status. This
paucity is likely to be a reflection of the small number of
pits recorded (no garderobes or cess pits were identified),
the lack of midden deposits and the general cleanliness of
the extensively robbed building where few floor levels
and associated deposits survived. Apart from very
moderate assemblages of pottery and ceramic building
material, and a small quantity of animal bone, there were
few metal finds, virtually no glass, two elephan t ivory
knife handles (both post-medieval) and only a single coin
(a silver farthing of Edward I minted AD 1302- 13 10).
In terms of surviving remains and the paucity of finds,
43
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
· ·· .
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....·····•········
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Manor House
...·········
セM
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MM
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Marsh 267
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Robber trench/
Excavation trench
Salvage excavation area
Area of watching brief
foundattons
Courtyard
-
Medieval1
-
Medieval2
Undated
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50m
Figure 16 Stone House: plan, medieval manor house and associated features
44
WESTTHURROCK
Stone H ouse is similar to L ow H alJ, Waltham stow, o f
which little other than the foo tings survived and where
d1ere was a notable lack of m edieval finds (Blair 2002) .
As in the preceding, earlier m edieval sequence, d1e
structural remains and associated features were largely
confined to a sm all 'tongue' of slightly higher ground
which projected southwards into the marshes. It is
possible that the constru ction of the m anor ho use
blocked a pre-existing trackway which continued sou th
from what later becam e Sto neho use Lane, forcing its
d iversion to the east, along the Purfleet to Grays
Thurrock road (now L ondon R oad), to form a dog-leg
around ilie m anor hou se. The m anor ho use m ay thus
have occupied an important positio n, on an east-west
land ro u te along the n orth side of d1e Thames, with a
road (now Stonehouse L ane) leading to d1e north and a
trackway (manonuay) providing access to the land
reclaimed from the m arshes to the souili (see below) .
rubble that for med m e core of the walls. T he footings
were su bstantially deeper where d1ey had been built
across me top of an earlier well ( 450) benead1 the soud1
wall, and what appears to have been a small buttress had
been built in to the north side wall her e, perhaps to
restrict any m ovemen t or subsidence; p ossibly d1ere was
an entrance from me courtyard at mis point.
Only the western half of the hall could be in vestigated
in detail, but this showed it to be approxin1ately 12m long
by 9m wid e internally, wim m e high end p erhaps to the
west. There were no su rviving floor levels, hearths or
other such internal features and it is likely that these had
been robbed-ou t, possibly as early as the 16th century
when it was leased out to farmer s. H owever, fragments
of plain and decorated floo r tiles from various contexts,
m ost notably pit 329 to the west (b elow the phase 2
extensio n), indicate the p resence of at least one high
qu ality floor within the manor house, possibly in me hall
or the chapel. There is likely to have been a cen tral hear m,
but no trace of this survived, u nless undated scoop 115
represents me robbed remains of such a feature. Several
post-holes lay within the area of the hall and m ay have
been contemporary with it, but no pattern was
d iscernible. H owever, it seems clear that the hall was not
aisled. The location of en trances and d oor ways m ust
rem ain entirely conjectural, but it is reasonable to assume
external access to d1e hall from the north and sou m, and
in ternal access to the solar at d1e west end and perhaps to
the kitchen I service room (s) at d1e east end. The
presence of the kitchen in this location is suggested on
the basis of the documentary evidence, specifically the
document of 1339 (see below), and the excavation d id
reveal one or more room s at ground floor level to me east
of m e hall. T hese perhaps formed part of an original solar
block, d1e function changing with the construction of a
new block at ilie west end in phase 2. U nfortu nately the
layou t and arrangem ents here are far from clear, though
the room s appear to have occupied an area measuring at
least 9m by 6m.
T o the sou th of the east end of the house was a
com plex of p ossibly dtree or more sm aller rooms, though
their layout and phasing r em ain particularly conjectural
as no detailed investigation of this area was possible. T his
m ight seem a mor e likely location for a (?d etached)
kitchen, rather than to th e east of the hall as the
documentary evidence appear s to suggest, bu t it seem s
m ore p robable that they rep resent a separate suite of
service rooms or ancilJary structures (including possibly
a bakehouse), which d ocumentary sources indicate lay to
the south of the kitchen (see below).
W hem er m ere wer e ever an y rooms or structures
wiiliin the north-east angle between me hall I kitchen and
this possibly detached suite of rooms I ancillary
structures to me sou th is u nknown. No wall footings or
robber trenches were recorded here, and the presence of
pit 29 of p robable late medieval date m ight suggest that
this area d id remain open.
T he ephemeral remains of two less substantial walls in
the external angle between the halJ I kitchen and the
possible service range enclosed a courtyar d m easuring
Phase 1
The precise layout of the no rth-eastern p art of the
m edieval m anor house is unknown. T he overall plan iliat
has been established o n the basis of the survey d etails
incorpor ates a certain am ount of r econst ruction of
elem ents that appear to be ' missing'. This is likely to be
largely explained by parts of iliem having been
extensively robbed and the robber I foundation trenches
not being readily visible and, therefore, not surveyed.
Because of d1e uncertainty about the layout and extent
of this part of the building, som e aspects of the plan
presented here are always likely to rem ain conjectural.
The reconstructed ground plan of me manor house
indicates an orig inally rectangular or perhaps L-shaped
build ing, aligned east-west, m easu ring a m aximum of
ap p r oximately 24m long and 11. 5m wide (externally) .
G iven m e ground plan and location, it is perhaps m ost
likely that the house faced northwards, away from m e
marshes and river, w ith the hall in the centre and m e
(later) solar block at the west end, an arrangem ent
confir m ed in a documen t of 1339 (see below) . W hether
m er e was an original solar block at the east end is not
known, but it is possible that som e of m e wall foundations
and robber trenches recorded in that area do represent
such a structure. The d ocument of 1339 also m entions a
chapel, gardens to the south, and a kitchen and sm all
b uildings to d1e east and south-east of the hall
respectively.The location of the chapel is u nknown; it
m ay have been within the m anor house or detached,
perhaps to the north or norm -west in a part of the site
subject to m inimal investigation
The walls where not robbed -out were approximately
1. 2m wide and generally survived to a maximum height
of mree courses, essentially repr esenting the footings and
part of the core ramer m an the walls memselves. The west
wall of the hall was much better preser ved because it was
retained d uring a post-medieval stage of rebuild ing when
most of the remainder was demolished and robbed. T he
footings were set in shalJow fou ndation trenches and
comp rised flint and chalk rubble bonded with a sandy
mortar, with some evidence for Greensand ashlars on the
45
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
rooms, and a solar and chambers above at first floor level.
T ogether tl1is addition was 11.5m wide, the same
width as the house, and extended its lengtl1 by a fu rther
1Om . All of the walls belonging to this p hase of
construction survived to a far better degree than those
in tl1e main, phase 1 part of the h ouse, and had not
been so extensively robbed. T he reason for this, it is
suggested below, is that this later element of tl1e manor
house was retained after the remainder had been
demolished in probably tl1e late 17tl1 or early 18th
century.
The external walls were con so·ucted in ver y similar
fashion to tl1e earlier, phase 1 vvalls, witl1 buttresses at the
north-east corner (at the junction with the corner of th e
phase 1 building) , at the south-west corner, and probably
also at the north-west corner, though little evidence of
the latter survived. A projection midway along tl1e north
wall represented a stack which appears to have been an
original feature; there is likely to have been a fireplace on
the first floor heating tl1e solar, and anotl1er on the
grou nd floor. T he 1:\¥0 internal walls on tl1e ground floor
were slightly narrower, and like the external walls had
been built across the top of the earlier pits of phase 1;
here the foundation n·enches had been dug deeper in
order to create more substantial wall footings . The
northernmost of the two internal walls may have been
subsequently modified or rebuilt, but when was not clear
from the surviving remains.
T he three additional grou nd floor rooms were all
aligned east-west, with the lar gest room to the north
measuring c. 9.5m by 2.8m, the central room 4.5m by
2. 1m and tl1e southern room 4.3m by 3.3m. As noted
above, only the northern room contained evidence for
having been heated, witl1 the remains of a recessed
fireplace centrally placed witl1in the n orth wall, a slab of
greensand forming the base of the heartl1 . T here may
have been a doorway to the exterior at the west end of
the north wall, and possibly others bel:\¥een the northern
and central rooms and bel:\;veen the ceno·al room and the
hall, but the surviving evidence was insu fficient to be
certain. No evidence of any contemporary floor levels or
access to the upper floor solar and chambers was
identified, and no trace of any internal decoration
survived.
Outside, at least one new ditch was dug in the vicinity
of the phase 2 extension to the manor house. To the north
lay a curvilinear ditch (142) running approximately eastwest and some 17m in length. This ran from the junction
of the phase 1 and 2 elements of the house, terminated to
the west, and was probably a drain . A longer ditch (163;
Figure 18) to d1e south is also likely to have been a drain,
but was perhaps not dug until the post-medieval period
(see below).
To tl1e south-west of the manor house was a well
( 192), 1.80m deep, the m ortared flint lining set within a
larger, su b-oval construction pit c. 4.5m across. T he
stone lining did not extend to the bottom of the shaft,
which was cut into the underlying chalk, and it is
probable that the lower part had a timber lining or
framework that supported the upper, stone lining. The
approximately 14m square, with a probable entrance at
th e south-west corner, though this area had suffered
some disturbance. Dating the construction of these walls
is problematic and no surfaces sur vived within the
courtyard, but a small pit (430) did contain medieval
potter y. A short distance to the south of the courtyard
was a well (263), probably one of those mentioned in
documentary sources (see below). T his was sub-square
in plan and there was evidence for a square, timber-lin ed
shaft, although no timber or other waterlogged remains
survived as a result of a lowered water table.
A relatively substantial north-south aligned ditch
(179), approximately 1.5m wide and 1m deep with aUshaped profile, ran fo r 30m from the south wall of the
manor house before terminating. A further ditch (53), of
similar dimensions and profile, continued to the north of
the manor house for at least 15m, the northern extent
obscured by a spread of post-medieval demolition debris.
The north terminus of ditch 179 underlay the southern
edge of the foundations for the south wall of the manor
house, and the southern terminus of ditch 53 lay
immediately to the north of the projected line of the
north wall. The deposits filling the ditches were of
medieval date and it is likely that these two features were
drai nage ditches associated with the manor house. Ditch
124 was shallower than the others but may also have been
a dra inage ditch, of late medieval or possibly postmedieval date. A short length of gully (260) to the east
may have been a part of a fence line along the edge of
the marsh, perhaps enclosing an outer yard or garden to
the north.
Immediately to the west of the manor house were
several pits ( 147, 328, 329, 330 and 49 1) - some
intercutting, and a further pit (518) lay to the south. The
pits adjacent to the manor house formed a clu ster and all
were cut by the foundation trenches for the walls of the
phase 2 extension in this area. The pits were mostly oval
in plan, less than 1m deep, and the 1:\¥0 largest examples
(328 and 329), which lay adjacent to each other and
intercut, each measured c. 6.6m by 4.6m; the smallest was
only 1.5m in diameter. The purpose of th ese pits is
unclear, but it might be noted that in addition to some
pottery and animal bone they (particularly 329) also
contained fragments of plain and decorated floor tiles,
assigned a late 13th century date (see below), probably
representing paviour's waste left over from the laying of
a floor in the manor house. Pottery recovered from pit
328, which produced most finds overall, amounted to
130 sherds and included Mill Green slip-decorated jugs.
Phase 2
This phase was marked by the add ition of a further, Lshaped suite of rooms at tl1e west end of the phase 1
manor house. While it is possible that the three rooms
were constructed at different times, it is more likely that
they represent a single building campaign, probably
dating to before 1339 accord ing to documentary
evidence, which saw the addition of a solar block.
They comprised a cellar- perhaps a ground floor space
or sub-basement, apparently divided into three
46
WESTTHURROCK
Otfter roof tiles
Three oilier types of roof tile were recorded - hip tiles,
pantiles and oilier curved tiles which may be ridge tiles.
O ne complete hip tile vvas recovered, and me bottom
edge of a second example. There are two pantiles, a form
inu-oduced in me later 1 7d1 century. Seven od1er curved
fragments include five glazed examples, one wiili a
cenu-ally placed nail hole on one end, which probably
derive from ridge tiles, while two unglazed fragme nts
could represent either hip or ridge tiles. T here are no
examples of more elaborate roof furniture such as louvers
or finials.
bottom of the well was dry and contained no preserved
timber or organic remains and few finds. T he upper fill
contained rather more finds, including two elephant
ivory knife handles of probable 16th century date, which
confirmed that the well probably remained in use into
d1e early post-medieval period. However, a late medieval
origin is quite likely, probably succeeding well 263 to me
east, me evidence provided by 48 sherds of medieval
pottery from me consu-uction cut for me well. A shallow
ditch (169) to the south -west may have been an
associated feature.
High House
At High House, iliree relatively large pits (1 7020, 17023
and 17038) have been assigned to m e later medieval
period, all lying to me norm of High House Farm and
providing archaeological evidence for me probable
existence of a farm stead here at iliis time (Figure 19).
Pit 17020 was sub-rectangular, 4.5m long by 2.6m wide
and 0.65m deep, pit 17023 was c. 3m square and lm
deep, and pit 17038 sub-rectangular measuring 2.5m by
1m and 1.1 m deep. All iliree produced small quantities of
13m I 14m centur y pottery but no other finds, and
whether any had a specific function is unclear. Two
further, intercutting p its of broadly me same size, but
perhaps slightly later in date, were fo und to me souili
during excavations in 2008. In addition, a shallow normsoud1 aligned ditch, 17003, 15m to me west of pits 17020
and 17038, may have been a medieval or later feature and
appears to continue me line of an existing field boundary
to tl1e souili. It cut two Roman ditches and contained one
Roman and two medieval pottery sherds.
Bricl?s
All standard bricks recovered are handmade, unfrogged
types. Only iliree are complete (235 x 120 x 55mm;
230 x 11 0 x 60mm and 220 x 105 x 50mm); oilier widilis
range from 100-130mm and d1icknesses from 5560mm. Fabrics vary, distinctive types including a
pale-firing (cream/buff) fabric, dense but soft-fired; and
a fairly hard fired but friable fabric, dark red/brown and
wid1 an 'open' texture and prominent inclusions/
impurities. Two bricks have vitrified surfaces; d1ese may
have been deliberately selected to form decorative
patterns in brickwork. Only one complete example came
from an in situ context, from a later internal wall (503)
wimin me west extension to d1e manor house. Bricks are
notoriously difficult to date (and are frequendy reused)
bu t iliis group appears to fall wiiliin an early postmedieval date range (16m/ 17m century?) on me grounds
of size, fabric and manufacture.
As well as me standard bricks, mere are mree 'specials'
(all fro m one context), two wiili ovolo mouldings,
perhaps from a wi ndow mullion, and the iliird wiili
chamfered long edge and drip, perhaps from a string
course. All of iliese came from me backfill of well 192.
As for me standard bricks, iliese are not particularly
closely datable, but a similar early post-medieval date
range ( 16m/ 17m century) seems likely.
Ceramic building material
by Lorraine Mepham with Paul Drury
The total assemblage from West Thurrock comprises
1294 fragments (149,808g), 94 fragments (8 175g) from
High House and 1200 fragments (14 1,633g) from Stone
House. The majority of me assemblage comprises
fragments of flat roof (peg) tiles and bricks, wiili oilier
types less frequendy represented . All of me High H ouse
material was redeposited in later features and most of me
larger assemblage from Stone House came from robbing
or demolition contexts associated wiili me manor house
and its successor. Differentiating between late medieval
and early post-medieval C BM is difficult and, for iliis
reason, me entire assemblage is considered togemer here.
Floor tiles, by Paul Dnny
Botl1 plain and decorated floor tiles were recovered, in
small quantities. As well as plain tile fragments, d1ere is a
small group of tiles, all from Stone House, including
decorated tiles and plain, glazed tiles. T hese tiles belong
to a group oilierwise only known from St Clement's
church, West Thurrock, and defined as 'Late Wessex'
(LW) types. T he decorated tiles are of two designs (LW 1,
LW2), and the plain tiles comprise scored segmented
quarters (LW 15), u·iangular eighilis (LW 16) (Figure 17,
1, 2) and one rectangular border (LW 14). T he triangular
segments are white-slipped wiili a yellow glaze; oiliers are
green glazed. The plain tiles of types LW 15 and LW16
occur only at Stone House, while LW14 and me
decorated tiles occur also at St Clement's.
The tiles belong to the ' Wessex School', which
originated at Clarendon Palace in Wiltshire c. 1250, and
later focused on W iltshire and Hampshire, aliliough me
use of slip decoration rather man inlay places d1em in a
London/souili-east/East Anglian tradition. The Thurrock
Peg tiles
Peg tiles make up me bulk of d1e C BM assemblage. No
complete tiles were recovered, but me few surviving
widms range from 145mm to 160mm . A small proportion
of tiles (52 pieces) are glazed; iliis glaze is generally
confined to me lower part of me upper surface (me visible
part once me roof was laid), almough a few tiles wim glaze
spots on me underside were obser ved. Fabric types do not
show a great deal of variation in eid1er colour or
coarseness; most are relatively fme wiili few prominent
inclusions, almough some pieces are from tiles which are
obviously less carefully formed and softer fired.
47
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HIST ORY
0
post-medjeval periods from the 11th to the 17th century,
with small quantities of Saxon (see above) and later postmedieval material. In general the condition of the pottery
is fair to good; overall mean sherd weight is 11.2g for the
medieval assemblage, and 14.6g for the harder fired postmedieval wares.
The pottery was recorded using the standard Wessex
Archaeology pottery recording system (Morris 1994),
focusing on analysis of fabric and form. Fabric types have
been correlated with tl1e regional fabric type series for
post-Roman pottery in Essex (Cunningham 1985). A
type series was created for rim, base and handle forms,
and this was linked where possible to vessel form s
whose definition follows nationally recommended
nomenclature (MPRG 1998), but also using the Essex
type series fo r rim forms (Cunningham 1985; Drury
1993) . Details of decoration, surface treatment, and
manufacture were also recorded. Quantification in all
cases is by both number and weight of sherds. All data
are held in the project archive (Excel spreadsheet) .
Omitting modern wares from the analysis, sixteen
fabric types were identified: one Saxon, nine medieval
and six post-medieval. Apart from the Saxon sandy ware,
all are well known types within tl1e Essex type series.
Quantities by type are presented in Table 9, and tl1e
post-medieval pottery is discussed in tl1e appropriate
section below.
-- I
50mm
M edievalfabric types
Fabric 12: Shelly and sandy/shelly wares (50.3 % of total by
weight)
The earliest fabrics represented are the early medieval
shelly and sandy/shelly wares ( 12A, 12B and 12C), which
make up just over half of the total medieval assemblage
by weight. The three wares are obviously related, and vary
only in tl1e relative proportions of crushed oyster shell
and sand inclusions. All tl1ree wares are conventionally
dated as ?early 11th century to tl1e later 12tl1 century
(Drury 1993, 78- 80) . T here is, however, some
suggestion tl1at they continued in use into tl1e early 13th
century, occurrin g on such sites as King John's Hunting
L odge at Writtle, near C helmsford (Rahtz 1969, 106),
but in general tl1ese wares were in decline by tl1e later
12tl1 century.
Vessel forms appear to be confined to jars, of which
tl1e most common rim form is tl1e simple, slightly
developed, everted type (Drury 1993, type B2: 15
examples) . T wo of these are finger-impressed. There are
only two examples of tl1e squared rim above necked
proftle, characteristic oftl1e 13tl1 century (ibid., type Hl),
which tends to confirm the date range suggested above.
Apart from tl1e ヲゥョァ
・イ Mゥュ
ーイ・ウZセ、@
rims, the only evidence
for deconnion ゥセ@ in the form of applied1 thumbed strips,
seen on Mo vessels,
2
Figure 17
Stone House: medieval floor tiles
design s derive directly from those of the Wessex School
of c. 1260- 80, and may have been products of a small
and probably short-lived tiler y to the east of L ondon.
The tiles provide important evidence in suppor t of
the likely date of construction of the manor house at
around the end of the 13th century, with the likelihood
that at least some with little or no mor tar adhering
represent waste left over fro m the laying of a floor,
perhaps within the hall or chapel. The tiles came from a
variety of contexts, but none was found in situ, perhaps
the most significant group being from pit 329 beneath
the phase 2 western extension to the manor house.
Pottery
by L orraine Mepham
The post-Roman assemblage recovered from w・ャ
セ@
Thurrock amou nts to 930 sherd!i (1 1,682g), of which thtl
overwhelming majority (868 aherd!i;l0,8 17g) セᆪ|ュ・@
from
contexts at Stone Bouse1 ltle remaining 62 shercts
deriving from High Hou se. The assemblage has a
potential date range spanning the m edieval and early
Fabric 13; Early rn(Jdieval £Clndy ware (1, 1% CJj total)
Given the predominance of the early medieval shelly and
sancly/slwUy wares, the relative scarcity of early medieval
sandy ware amongst the assemblage is surprising. This has
a very similar date range, of ?early 11th century to c. 1200
48
WEST T HURROCK
Fabric
No. sherds
Weight (g)
5
186
Q400
Saxon sandy ware
12A
12B
12C
13
20
21
23A
35
36
Early medieval shelly ware
Early medieval shelly/sandy ware
Early medieval sandy/shelly ware
Early medieval ware
Medieval coarse ware
Medieval sandy orange ware
Surrey whitewares
M ill Green fineware
London-type wares
sub-total medieval
174
96
23
6
32
109
5
41
112
598
1945
1310
118
75
418
1176
49
189
1432
6712
40
42
45C
45D/E
46
48B
Coarse redwares
Border ware
Raeren stoneware
Cologne/Frechen stoneware
Tinglazed earthenware
Creamware
Modern stonewares
Modern refined whitewares
sub-total post-medieval
Overall total
234
4
6
4
339 1
37
143
42
8
8
505
650
4784
11,682
7
70
327
930
Table 9. Pottery: Saxon, medieval and post-medieval fa bric totals
(Drury 1993, 80), although more recent excavations at
Stansted yielded early medieval ware in association with
early to mid 13th century fine wares (Walker 2004).This
would fit with the evidence of the only diagnostic vessel
form here- a necked, squared rim jar (type H1).
a date range of 13th century or later. There is one jar
rin1.
Fabric 35: Mill Green fine ware (2.8% of total)
Mill Green fine ware is dated in London to the late 13th
to mid 14th centuries (Pearce et al. 1982), but is present
by the mid 13th century at some sites in Essex, e.g. North
Shoebury. Its distribution covers south Essex. The
examples seen at West Thurrock are generally whiteslipped, and often glazed with an even, slightly mottled
green glaze; two sherds bear slipped decoration. Most if
not all sherds are likely to derive from jug forms, although
none are of known overall proftle.
Fabric 20: Medieval com·seware (6.2% of total)
T his ware encompasses all grey sandy coarse wares not
assigned to specific types, and as such could represent
the products of several different sources. Greywares were
produced, for example, at several centres within Essex as
well as across neighbouring Hertfordshire. Some defmite
examples of Hedingham coarseware are included here,
but have not been separately quantified. The ware has a
broad date range of 12th to 14th century. There are three
diagnostic forms here, two necked, squared rim jars of
13th century type, and a jug neck with curvilinear
combed decoration.
Fabric 36: London-type ware (2 1.3% of total)
Finewares were also supplied by the London industry
(Pearce et al. 1 985) . The relatively high proportion of
London-type ware here, however, is biased by a group of
62 sherds from one context (pit 328) which probably
represent just two jugs, both white-slipped and glazed,
one with applied decoration, probably from a design in
the North French or highly decorated style of the 13th
or early 14th century. Other sherds probably also come
from decorated jugs with applied or slipped decoration,
although no profiles were reconstructable. Included in
this category are two sherds of London-type coarseware
(LCOAR), one from a jug rim.
Fabric 21: Sandy orange waTe (17.5% of total)
Sandy orange ware, described by Cunningham ( 1982,
359), comprises all oxidised sandy wares not otherwise
assigned to specific types. It has a broad date range of
13th to 16th century, and can be difficult to distinguish
from the later redwares (fabric 40, see below). As well as
jars, all examples of which have developed, squared rims
of 13th century or later type, vessel forms include jugs
and one flanged dish of later medieval type.
Ceramic sequence
The ceramic sequence potentially ranges from the 11th
century, through the medieval period and at least until
the end of the 17th century, with sporadic activity
Fabric 23A: Surrey whitewares (0. 7% of total)
The five sherds of Surrey whiteware identified include
examples of Kingston and Ch eam types, which have
49
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
forming and a slight bend forwards, and X-radjography
of the bones revealed a mid-shaft fracture. Extra bone
nodules around the proximal articular surface of the
metatarsus III indicates the change of stress on this bone
due to the forward bending.
The foot of a dog found in early medieval pit 293
belonged to a large dog with a height at tl1e witl1ers of
0.55m. Several partial cat skeletons, mainly adults, two
from well 192, might represent pets from the manor
house.
All domestic fowl bones came from medieval and
post-medieval contexts, and as 28% of the bones
belonged to juvenile birds, it is clear tl1at fowl were kept
on site. Although it is impossible on t11e basis of
morphological characteristics to tell greylag goose from
domestic goose, and mallard from domestic duck, the
size of the bones make it likely that they belong to
domestic goose and mallard respectively. The nearby
river marshes would have been an ideal place to go
wildfowling and capture ducks such as mallard and teal.
The caudal ver tebra of a probable very large tub
gurnard indicates that thjs marine species was eaten, but
virtually no other fish bones were recovered.
thereafter. Phasing of features on the site has relied partly
on ceramic evidence, and partly on stratigraphic
relationships - phasing on ceramic grounds alone is
hampered by the small quantities of pottery involved,
since only three features produced more than 25 sherds.
Pottery from early medieval phases 1-3 (pre-manor
house activity) is on the whole limited to shelly wares
(fabric 12) of 11th I 12t11 century date. Early medieval
phase 3, however, did produce a few sherds of sandy
fabrics 20 and 21 (pit 2 10, ditch 272), of which t11e latter
ought to be no earlier in date than 13tl1 century.
Features attributed to medieval phase 1, tl1e first
phase of t11e manor house, produced an assemblage
including a significant proportion of fine glazed wares,
predominantly London-type wares but also including
Mill Green wares. Although the earliest date for these
wares is 13th century, tl1ere is nothing here to conu·adict
t11e suggestion, based on the documentary sources, that
the manor house was built between 1291 and c. 1305.
The largest feature group came from pit 328 (140
sherds), which also produced a small group of postmedieval sherds, considered to be intrusive as tl1e pit was
well stratified below the phase 2 extension to the manor
house.
Only three features containing pottery belong to
medieval phase 2, and of these well 192 yielded a
chronologically mixed assemblage (including postmedieval wares), largely from the upper fills of tl1e shaft.
Only minimal quantities were otherwise recovered, which
do not in any way aid the close dating of tl1is phase,
suggested by documentary evidence to date to after 1339.
Marine shell
by Sarah F Wyles
The marine shell assemblage consists of 520 shells,
representing a minimum number of 341 individuals
(MNI), and was retrieved from 73 medieval and postmedieval deposits at Stone House. The predominant
species is oyster (Ostrea edulis), with the remaining 10%
(by MNI) of the assemblage comprising, in descending
frequency, whelks (Buccimmtwtdatwu), mussels (J\!Iytilus
edulis), cockles (Cerostoderma edule), carpet shells
( Veneridae), saddle oysters (Ano111ia ephippium) and
periwinkles (Liuorina sp.). These other species were all
mainly recovered from medieval and post-medieval
contexts, and this was also tl1e case for the oysters, with
87% of the shells coming from deposits assigned to these
two periods.
T here were no apparent differences between the
disposal of the 249 right oyster valves and the 233 left
valves, and so no indications of areas of preparation or
consumption can be detected for any period of the site.
In general the oyster shells represent an addition to the
basic diet rather than a significant part of it.
The oyster shell from two deposits was analysed in
more detail, from shallow pit 430 of medieval date and
from pit 178 of late post-medieval date.
Within pit 430, shells of small size were ge nerally
absent, possibly indicating some form of selection before
they were brought to site, and most of the shell had a
maximum width of between 50mm and 95mm.
Approximately 10% of the shells had traces of a small
amount of infestation by the polychaetic worm Pol:ydora
ciliata and 30% of the shells were flaky or worn.
The oyster shells from pit 178 were a little smaller
than tl10se from 430, witl1 tl1e majority of t11e shell having
a maximum width of between 40mm and 85mm. Traces
of mild infestation on 32% of them was again caused by
Animal bone
by Jessica Grimm
Virtually all of the animal bone from medieval I early
post-medjeval contexts was in good to fair condition, and
represents well over half (>60%) of the total assemblage
from all periods (Table 2), with most coming from Stone
House. In general, the medieval - post medieval
assemblage has slightly higher species richness, perhaps
reflecting better preservation conditions and I or the
higher status of the site. However, tl1ere is no clear
evidence for tl1e latter, though this might be attributed to
the relatively small size of the animal bone assemblage
and the likelihood that waste material was disposed of
away from the site, rather than in nearby pits and
middens.
Sheep/goat remains dominate, probably more so than
in earlier periods, followed by cattle. The cattle and
sheep/goat were slaughtered at an older age than in the
earlier periods, reflecting a rise in sheep keeping for wool
production, with milk and meat being of secondary
importance. Cattle became more important as draught
animals and for supplying milk and, as a result, the meat
would have been older, tougher and tl1erefore of lower
quality. Cattle heights at the withers of 1.11 and I. 12m
respectively, calculated from two metacarpi, indicate
small medieval animals.
Pit 128 contained the un-butchered skeleton of a 6-7
month old pig. Its left metatarsi III and IV show callus
50
WESTTHURROCK
Polydora ciliata and also by the sea mat Polyzoa. Over half
of the shells were misshapen and/or had other oysters
attached, possibly an indication of competition for space
in a less well managed oyster bed.
The proportion of unmeasurable to measurable shells
is an indication of the degree of p ost-depositional
damage and wear. In this case a relatively high degree is
indicated, with just over half of the shells from the
selected deposits unmeasurable and a number worn and
flaky.
The oyster shells examined in more detail were
mainly healthy with only low levels of infestation cau sed
by Polydora ciliata and Polyzoa. The polychaetic worm,
Polydom ciliata, is widespread and is most prevalent on
hard, sandy or clay grounds (particularly in warm
shallow water). The sea mat Polyzoa may be found on all
types of hard substrate and generally favours shallow
water. The oyster shells themselves were slightly
elongated, indicative of softer subsu·ates, and it is likely
that they came from a nearby estuarine or east coast
source.
There were few changes bel:\veen the examined shells
over time. However, the assemblage is small, and there is
an indication that the oyster beds, although still being
managed, were relatively more cramped during the postmedieval period. Furthermore, a less rigorous selection
procedure may be reflected in the fact that slightly
smaller shells were exploited during this period.
several samples from the early medieval period onwards.
Grains dominated all the samples, and weed seeds
were scarce in all but tl10se from tl1e lower fill of th e
medieval well (263). In all the samples the same largeseeded weed species as seen in the Roman sample from
High H ouse dominated the assemblages. More unusual
elements included numerous seeds of corn gromwell
(Lithospermwn arvense) in well 263.
Seeds of elder (Sambucus nigra) and fragments of
hazelnut (Corylus ave/lana) were present in several of the
samples, and generally commoner in the later samples.
Discussion
The samples indicate the cultivation of free-threshing
wheat, rye and hulled barley, along with pea and bean,
for some 700-800 years from tl1e 11th to tl1e 18tl1/19th
century. From tl1e range of weed species it vvould appear
that tl1ese crops were grown on a wide range of soils,
including drier chalk soils, clay soils, wetter soils close to
tl1e marsh, as well as drier, acidic soils, the latter on the
evidence of a single seed of corn-spurrey (Spe1gula
arvensis) . Given the status of the site during much of the
medieval period it is possible tl1at some of these crops
were brought from further afield. H owever, as tl1is range
of species is also seen in tl1e samples from the period after
Stone House ceased to be tl1e m anor house tl1ere is n o
reason to suspect tl1at tl1e full suite of soils in tl1e area was
not utilised throughout the entire period of occupation.
T he composition of the sam ples is curious in that they
are dominated by grain and large weed seeds, suggesting
tl1at tl1ey derived from waste generated during the final
stages of processing (Hillman 1984, fig. 4, stages 13-14).
Yet it is noticeable tl1at all the samples still contain more
rachis fragments tl1an might be expected if just the fmal
stages of crop-processing were represented.
In the harvested ear the number of grains to each
rachis fragment varies for each of the free-threshing
cereals. For free-threshing wheat the ratio of grain to
rachis fragments is beween 2:1 to 6:1 , for rye it is 2: 1 to
3:1 and for barley it is 3: 1 (van der Veen 1992, 82). Rachis
fragments rarely survive charring compared to grain
(Boardman and Jones 1990), and the majority of rachises
are u sually removed in the earlier processing stages
(Hillman 1984, fig. 2, stages 3- 6) . For many of tl1e
samples for rye and free-threshing wheat the ratio of grain
to rachises was higher than expected in tl1e ear and this
suggests the burning of waste rather than the burning of
sheaves, although this was not the case for barley. Rachises
not removed during threshing are usually subsequently
removed along with small weed seeds by fine-sieving
(Hillman 1984, fig. 2, stage 7), yet tl1e general absence of
smaller weed seeds in tl1e samples precludes removal of
tl1e rachises during tl1is stage.
One explanation is that tl1e assem blages derive from
the harvesting of wheat and r ye ears. These may have
been fme-sieved removing any smaller weed seeds prior
to being stored as ears. However, given the obvious
mi xing of different crops grown on different soils it is
possible that the larger weed seeds arr ived witl1 crops
stored as relatively clean grain, while tl1e rachises come
Charred plant remains
by Chris]. Stevens
Fifty-eight bulk samples were taken and processed from
early medieval, medieval and p ost-medieval deposits at
Stone House, and 12 of tl1ese subsequently chosen for
analysis (Table 10). Two came from early medieval
features, four from medieval deposits and four from early
post-medieval deposits. The final 1:\vo came from postmedieval features of 18tl1 to 19tl1 century date, long after
the manor house b ecame a tenanted farm, and are
discussed further below.
The main cereal represented was free-threshing wheat
(Triticum aestivum turgidwn). Along witl1 grains, chaff
was recovered from several deposits, and three rachises
of tetraploid wheat (Triticum twgidum) were identified
from the late medieval/early post-medieval well (192) .
Both grain and chaff of rye (Secale cereale) were well
represented across all periods, while grains of barley were
less common.
Emmer glumes were present in an early medieval
feature (pit 307965 I 273), although generally hulled
wheats are seen to be replaced by free-threshing wheats
and rye in the Saxon period, while the cultivation of sixrow hulled barley continued throughout. E mmer wheat
radiocarbon-dated to tl1e Saxon period is known fro m
several sites in the Thames Valley (Pelling and Robinson
2000), although such remains are usually interpreted as
having been reworked from earlier deposits (Greig
199 1).
Other crops included both garden pea (Piswn
sativum) and broad bean ( Vicia faba), represented in
51
Period
Feature type
Feature no.
S a mple size
Early medieval
Medieval
ditch
273
10
layer
452
5
well
263
20
5
8
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5
1
-
-
-
25
9
-
19
Med+
Post-medieval
pit
430
8
F-T
479
20
well
192
20
pit
128
20
layer
495
10
2
19
cf.l
cf.1
1
-
-
-
18
Post-medieval
C1 8- 19
pit
pit
slot
178
190
99
10
20
20
Cereals
V1
N
H ordeum vulgare si (hulled grain)
H ordeum vulgare sl (grain)
Hordeum sp. (tail/wild)
H. vulgare sl (rachis fragm ent)
Triticum sp. (grains)
Triticum dicoccum (glume base)
T dicoccwn (spikelet fo rk)
T dicoccwn/spelta (spikelet fork)
T dicoccum/spelta (glume bases)
T cf. aestivum turgidum (grain)
T cf. aestivurn ungidwn
(r achis fragm ent)
T aestivwn (hexaplo id rachis)
T durwn/twgidum (tetraploid rachis)
Secale cereale (grains)
Secale cereale (rachis )
Cereal indet. (grains)
Cereal frag. indet. (est. whole grains)
Cereal indet. (basal rachis fragmen t)
Cereal indet. (culm node)
Cereal indet. (basal culm node)
barley
barley
barley
barley
wheat
emmer wheat
emmer w heat
emmer/spelt wheat
emmer/spelt wheat
free-threshing wheat
free-threshing wheat
bread wheat (type)
durum/rivet wheat
rye
rye rachis
cereal
cereal
cer eal base of ear
cereal straw node
cer eal rootlets
2
2
14
10
-
-
-
-
21
10
-
1
5
1
-
98
47
-
-
123
14
-
12
9
40
30
33
27
123
95
-
-
2
7
-
-
10
3
14
15
6
-
2
-
-
-
-
7
6
43
19
1
8
11
8
-
3
10
4
-
-
-
20
50
-
3
3
8
5
-
-
-
-
1
-
cf.4
16
6
-
cf.1
3
4
3
1
-
pea
broad bean
-
2
1
- 3+cf.3
-
cf.2
1
-
-
-
buttercu p
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
cf.l
-
-
-
-
-
-
60
100
-
est.8
-
-
-
1
1
2 1900
1est.3432
-
3
-
28
-
est.20
est.2584
est.80
2
12
1
1
44
cst.604
est.800
est.320
est.32
est.1 64
est.16
est. 59
29
est.114
est.84
est.88
2
33
3
3
2
9
-
Other crop species
Pisum sativum
Viciafaba
Species
Ranunculus type
-
1
)>
:;o
(")
::r:
5:;
0
l'
0
C)
セ@
-<
tl
::r:
-
-
m
m
><
(/)
(/)
r:/l
....,
0
セ@
Vl
w
Papaver dubiwn (capsule tops)
Urtica urens
Corylus ave/lana (fragments)
Chenopodium album
Atriplex sp.
Silene sp.
Agrostemrna githago
Spergula arvensis
Polygonum aviculare
Fallopia convolvulus
Rumex sp.
M alva sp. type large
Brassica sp.
Prunus spinosa
Ulex/ Genis ta
Vicia /Lathyrus sp.
Lithospennurn arvense
Odontities vernus
Galiwn aparine
R ubia peregrina
Sambucus niger
Centaurea sp.
Cenaturea cyannus (seedhead)
Th pleurospermum inodorum
Chrysantheum segetum
Anthemis cowla
Carex sp.
Schoenoplectus sp.
Poaceae (indet.)
Poaceae (culm node+basal culm)
Avena sp. (grain)
B mmus sp.
Lolium cf. perenne
Indet. seed
poppy seedhead
small nettle
hazel
fat-hen
oraches
campion
corn cockle
corn spurrey
knot grass
black bindweed
docks
mallow
wild mustard?
sloe
gorse/broom
vetch/pea
corn gromwell
red bartsia
cleavers
wild madder
elder
knapweed
seedhead
scentless mayweed
corn marigold
stinking mayweed
sedge flat
bulrush/grey club rush
grass seed
grass culm node
oat grain
brome
perennial r ye-grass
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
-
1
cf. 1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
2
1
-
-
-
-
6
-
2
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
cf. 1f
1
2
-
-
-
-
1
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
est.23
9
-
-
8
1
1
-
25
est.8
6
-
-
est.20
1
2
-
-
- est.16
-
-
-
cf.l
- est.40
- est.4
-
-
-
8
2
-
1
-
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
1min
2
5
1m
5
32
1
1
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
1
-
-
-
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
1
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
est.20
5
2
7
- est.130
- est.8
22
4
セ@
-
-
(/)
1
est.4
est.28
est. 5
-
:r;
est.8
-
tTl
>--3
>--3
セ@
:;o
0
-
est.4
()
-
/":
-
-
1
-
-
est.4
est.92
est.1 2
est.l6
est. 17
est.8
est.82
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5
2
3
4
17
1
4
1
7
- est. 16
3 est. 107
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
-
Table 10 Charred plant remains: medieval and post-medieval
est.5
est.2
est.33
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
previous arrangement made by Joanna's grandfather in
1314, whilst Aveley was separated fro m it (Morant 1768,
i 91; VCHEviii 59-60; CIPM viii 17 1-3; NA C135/60/7
and 8; C 143/97/ 19; C I43/240/10).
William Wauton was followed at WestThurrock by his
son William in 1346, and his grandson W illiam, who sold
the manor to E dward fitzSymonds in 1390. W ithin a few
years it had been purchased by Richard II's uncle
Thomas of Wood stock, duke of G loucester, who was
building a power base in Essex cenu·ed on his castle at
Pleshey. T he manor was in tl1e hands of his feofees by
M arch 1394, when tl1ey used its income to guarantee a
grant by tl1e duke of two m anors in K ent and a manor in
Hertfordshire to the College at Pleshey (NA DL25/753) .
T hey passed the manor onto the duke in October 1395
(ERO D /DAc 247; D /D U 264/1; NA C 143/426/35).
After the murder of Gloucester at Calais in 1397, the
manor passed to his widow Eleanor until 1399, and then
to his daughter and heiress Anne. She married
successively Edmund earl of Stafford (died 1403) and
W illiam Bourchier count of Eu (died 1420) (M orant
1768, i 9 1; VCHEviii 60).
In about 1428 Anne sold the manor ofWestThurrock
to H enry VI's uncle John duke of Bedfo rd . On his death
in 1435 he left it for life to his widow Jacquette of
Luxembourg, who remarried to Richard Wydeville, Earl
Rivers. The manor was due to revert to the Crown on
Jacquette's death, but in 1448 H enry VI granted the
reversion to Rivers and his descendants in the male line.
Earl Rivers and Jacquette had to petition C hancer y to
recover rents received from tl1e manor by the Duke of
Bedford's panel of feofees, which was headed by Sir John
Fastolf (NA C 1/31/365). Jacquette d ied in 1472, and tl1e
manor was seized by the Crown; in 1478 her son
Anthony Earl Rivers was making a claim to the manor in
the court of Exchequer. By tl1is time the manor was
alternatively known as West H all (ERO D /DAc 248).
Anthony died in possession in 1483 and was followed by
his son Richard Earl Rivers, who died without direct male
heirs in 149l.The manor was in the hands of H enry VII
from at least 149 1 to 1505. It was acquired from the
C rown in 15 11 by the descendant of Anthony and
Richard 's sister Elizabeth (Edward IV's queen and
Henr y VII's mother-in-law) by her firs t marriage, her
grandson Thomas marquis of D orset (Morant 1768, i
9 1-2; VCHE viii 60; BL H arley Roll N 12; N A
SC6/HENVII/ 157 and 158).
From the early 1390s, therefore, the manor of West
T hur rock was held by prom inent aristocrats as one
component of large landholdings. T hey would not have
been resident here and visited seldom, if at all . Their
interest was in revenue derived fro m tl1e manor, collected
by tl1eir local officers. The bailiff of the manor in 149 11505 was John Frensshe, who was appointed to tl1e office
by H enry VII in 149 1 under the same terms as he had
held it under Jacquette, Countess Rivers (BL H arley Roll
N 12; NA S C6/HEN VII/1 57 and 158). H e had tl1erefore
been in post since at least 1472. H e is the most likely
occupant of tl1e manor house at the Stone H ouse site in
this period .
from the processing of crops stored in the ear. Fitzherbert
(c. 1523) in his Bolw of H usbandrie implies different
practices around the counu·y for har vesting rye and
wheat including the separate cutting of the ears, and the
cutting of the crop low to the ground then the cutting off
of the ears rather than threshing in order to utilise the
su·aw. Perhaps significantly, he makes no mention of such
harvesting practices for oats or barley.
It is possible that these practices are responsible fo r
tl1e nature of tl1e assemblages seen at Stone House. Such
practices appear to have continued for tl1e entire span of
medieval and later occupation at the site, from tl1e period
prior to the construction of the manor house c. 1300 until
after its demise in the 17th century and its later use as a
farm .
The medieval manor h ouse, its occupiers
and its setting
by C hristopher Phillpotts
The programme of documentary research has not been
exhaustive, but sufficient work has been done to trace
the ownership and main development phases of the two
manor houses at Stone H ouse and High H ou se. T here
are a large number of deeds in Essex Record Office
relating to the manor of West T hurrock and the two
hou ses in the post-medieval centuries, includ ing two
maps of 1646 and 1777. H owever, the medieval
documentation of tl1e manor is rather more sparse. An
inquisition post mortem gives some indication of the
layout of tl1e buildings at Stone Hou se, but there are no
manorial accounts extant which record episodes of
construction and repair. Nor are there any records of the
manorial courts which were undoubtedly held in the two
houses. T he construction of the High H ouse complex
did not begin un til the 1550s. The two manor houses
form a coherent group with Low H ouse further to the
east, a site subject to an earlier desk-based assessment
(WA 2003b).
At the end of the 13th century the demesne tenancy
of the manor ofWestThurrock was held by the Brianzon
family. T he heir in 1286 was William Brianzon, a minor
who was placed in the wardship of his feudal superior. In
129 1 his wardship was acquired by Walter Langton, tl1e
rector of West T hurrock who later became Treasurer of
England and Bishop of Lichfield. L angton was closely
associated with the Brianzon family in both Aveley and
WestThurrock. William came of age in c. 1305, but died
in 13 10 and was followed as lord of the manor by his
brotl1er John. John died in 13 15 and was succeeded by
his son Sir John Brianzon. They held the manor as one
knight's fee from the H onour of Richmond. Sir John died
in Ap ril 1339 leaving a widow Marger y, who was
pregnant. She gave birth to an heir called Joanna, but the
child died in August 1339. Two-thirds of the manor
belonged to Joanna, and the remaining third had been
assigned to Margery in dower, including a th ird share of
the profits of the ferry to Greenhithe. A custom called
Londonfares was attached to the manor, perhaps a toll for
passage along the Thames. The reversion of West
Thurrock then passed to Sir W illiam Wauto n under a
54
\X/EST T H URROCK
manor house. Chapels were generally placed close to the
hall and solar, normally on the first floor, but d1e door at
the west end makes it d ifficult to see how d1is could have
been accommodated within d1e plan, as far as is known,
at Stone House. The chapel may, therefore, have been
detached, built at ground level and standing to d1e north
of d1e hall and solar block, perhaps on d1e site of the postm edieval Stone House and its demolition spreads, or
further to d1e north beyond the edge of excavation. No
archaeological evidence for a detached chapel was found,
d1ough little investigation was possible in tl1is area, and it
might be significant that later documents make no
reference to a detached chapel. Its location is not easily
resolved. Also assigned to Margery were the part of the
m anor garden to the south of the path that ran through
it, the area of the gard en on the south side of the
bakehouse (which vvas to remain to the king as guardian
of Joanna), and the dovecote and the remainder of the
garden around it. The second of these may refer to the
area to the south of the hall range delimited by the edge
of the marshes to the south and the excavated ditch (179)
to the west, the others perhaps to areas immediately
north and east of the manor house. She also received a
croft of enclosed land called Havekynes Croft on the west
side of tl1e manor house, and a third share of tl1e bercary
(sheep-house) which lay on the east side.T his must have
been beyond the excavated area (NA C 135/60/7 and 8).
The medieval phase 1 of tl1e manor house therefore
most probably dates to c. 129 1-1 305, and the extensions
of phase 2 were in place before 1339. The period in
which the three William Wautons held the manor fro m
1339 to 1390 coincided with widespread agricultural
decline, the Black Death and later visitations of the
plague. These were times of difficulty for small-scale
landowners like the Wautons, because of falling rental
incomes and the general shortage of labour, and it is less
likely that further investment was made in the manorial
buildings at this period. It is also m ost unlikely that
further major works were done at the manor house after
it came into the hands of absentee landlords in the 1390s;
only routine maintenance work can be expected from tl1e
15th century.
The layout of the manorial buildings can be
compared to the excavated moated manor house site at
Low H all in Walthamstow, built by the Bedyk family in
tl1e early 14th century. H ere also a rather smaller hall was
flanked by a solar and a ser vice wing projecting to the
rear, but tl1e kitchen was a detached su·ucture with an
external oven. Further room s and a cellar were later
added to the solar end, and a gatehouse was built at the
end of the bridge across the moat, probably in the 1350s
by the new owner, the London merchant Simon
Fraunceys (Blair 2002, 192-3, 195, 198-200). Fraunceys
also acquired another moated manor house which has
been excavated, at Northolt in Middlesex. Here a manor
house of the late 13th century had a hall range, a
chamber block and a detached kitchen with an external
oven, all based on stone and flint fou ndation walls with
timber superstructures. In the mid 14th century Simon
Fraunceys rebuilt the hall in stone with two-storey solar
The excavations at the Stone H ouse site recovered
part of the plan of the stone-built medieval manor house,
including the hall with rooms at the east end and in what
is interpreted as a southern service wing; later rooms
added at the west end with a chimney stack on the north
side; and a courtyard, a well and enclosures to the south
on the edge of the marshes. The initial phase of the stone
hall is probably to be associated with an assemblage of
glazed and decorated floor-tiles, dated to the last quarter
of the 13th century and with close parallels to a group in
WestThurrock church. The pottery assemblage included
a significant proportion of fine glazed wares, the earliest
date for which is 13d1 centur y.
It is likely that the tiled floor was laid at the time Walter
Langton held the wardship ofWilliam Brianzon as lord of
d1e manor between 129 1 and c. 1305, when he was also
rector of the parish church, and he may d1erefore also
have been the builder of d1e first phase of d1e stone hall.
The chosen site was at the junction of d1e main road
dividing the marshes from the uplands and d1e route to
Aveley, also in the Brianzons' lordship and Langton's
wardship.
The inquisitions post mortem of Sir John Brianzon
and his daughter Joanna in May and August 1339 state
that the manor house was "worth nod1ing beyond
reprises", indicating that it was occupied by the family
and not leased out. Joanna's inquisition also states that
there was a ruined dovecote, worth nod1ing. The
assignment of dower to Margery Brianzon in May 1339
gives some indication of the layout of buildings in the
manorial complex. She was assigned the use of the solar
wid1 chambers, and the cellar under it, at the west end of
th e hall. These must be the structures of d1e second
phase, the chimney stack providing the heating for the
first-floor solar, wid1 d1e two chambers adjoining. The
cellar beneath need not have been a sub-surface room,
but may have been a ground-floor space or sub-basement
accessed from above. Margery was also to have the
kitchen near the hall and two other small buildings nearby
on the south side of the kitchen, with access to well water
d1ere.This appears to indicate the room(s) at me east end
of the hall range and the (?detached) service rooms I
ancillar y structures in the 'southern wing', with access
d1rough the cour tyard to the well to its south. She was
also to have an area enclosed with a tiled wall on the
north side of the solar (not present in the archaeological
record), a grange called Lilleberne and part of an oxhouse on the soud1 side of it as divided by a partition,
with a small stable for two cart-horses, with certain
marked-out areas adjacent to the chamber, the grange,
her part of the ox-house and the stable, wim access to the
well water there. This description suggests that these
agricultural buildings lay to the west of the manor house,
beyond the area of controlled excavation, and were
perhaps served by the western of the two excavated wells
(well 192). Margery was also to have free entry and exit
through the great door of th e manor and access to the
chapel through the door at its west end. The position of
d1e great door and chapel are not stated, but it may be
surmised that the former lay on the north side of the
55
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
at Purfleet until the early 14th century, when John le
Vynter was holding land there, but it was inactive by
1324 (VCHEviii 64-5; CIPMviii 171). By the late 15th
centur y all the demesne lands ofWestThurrock manor
were leased out (NA SC6/HENVII/157) .
blocks rising over cellars at each end, and the kitchen was
extended into a long range which probably included a
bakehouse and a brewhouse. The main buildings were
linked by pentices and continuous ranges of outbuildings
around the courtyards (Hurst 1961; L ancaster 1975;
Phillpotts et al. 2002).
The establishment of the WestThurrock manor house
complex on the Stone House site entailed the diversion of
the putative drove road into the marshes around its
eastern and south-eastern sides to link to its former
course (Figure 21) . Throughout the 14th and 15th
centuries the embankments of the marshes required
increasing levels of maintenance to defend them against
the rising sea levels in the lower Thames, and low-lying
land became too wet for arable cultivation (Hunter 1999,
18; Phil!potts 1999, 64). The responsibility for
maintenance lay with the landowners of the various
sections of river wall; it was overseen in the parish by
wall-reeves and occasionally by royal commissioners
( VCHE viii 68). An agreement for the upkeep of the river
walls at West Thurrock was made as early as 1322
(Grieve 1959, 20). The embankments were breached
with increasing frequency and areas of farmland were lost
to the waters. In 1339 the pastures of the manor of Aveley
called les Fennis or Fannis could not be measured because
they were under the floodwaters; the manor of West
Thurrock included 41 acres of salt marsh in front of the
embankments (CIPM viii 172; NA C135/60/7) . In 1462
a dispute between John Torrell and Philip Lowes about
repairs to the Temmys Walles at West Thurrock led to the
written record of the accustomed procedure, by which
landowners were to provide workmen and earth to repair
the walls whenever needed, without contradiction. One
copy of the agreement remained with the churchwardens
of the parish, and another with the wall-reeves (ERO
D /DP/01 5/1). In c. 1475 a list was drawn up of about
forty landowners responsible for specified lengths of river
wall in the parish. The document mentions fish-traps on
the Thames shore and a sluice-gate of Earl Rivers called
Westhallthrough (ERO D/P 015/2) . In 1491-5 the manor
bailiff]ohn Frensshe spent £23 11sh T セ 、 L@ and in 1503/4
£ 13 3sh 1セ 、L@ on repairs to defective parts of the Thames
walls; the meadow called Fannes was still drowned by
the river at this time (BL Harley R oll N12; NA
SC6/HENVII/157). The method of constructing the river
walls is not known with any certainty, but they are likely
to have consisted of simple earthen banks, perhaps
founded on hurdles. By the 14th centur y embankments
up to a height of 2.75m aOD were required. By the 16th
century timber groynes probably formed the foundation,
and the earth may have been mixed with reeds taken
from the marshes in front of the wall (Phillpotts 1999,
63).
Between the 13th and the 16th centuries arable and
pasture land were equally as valuable in the parish of
WestThurrock. There were arable strips belonging to the
main manor and the sub- manors mingled in the open
fields. Strips or doles of common meadow may have lain
in the marshes at Purfleet. Sheep were pastured in the
marshes and on the chalk uplands. T here was a vineyard
Post-medieval and modern (1500 onwards)
(Figure 18)
The 1646 estate map (Figure 21) shows the buildings at
Stone House in elevation at a small scale in a somewhat
schematic fashion, but the medieval manor house is still
clearly extant, and several elements can be reconciled
with the archaeological evidence. The hall lies centrally
with a range to the north-west which is likely to be the
solar block. Perhaps the latter is shown as a distinct
structure as it was by now leased out separately. An
apparent change in the roofline at the east end of the hall
may reflect the location of the kitchen and service
room(s), while the southern extension to this can be
equated with the ?detached service rooms I ancillary
structures in this area. A smaller southern extension at
the west end of the hall has not been accounted for in the
archaeological record. Further to the west lies a
substantial barn, but no other structures are depicted. A
document of 1561 (see below) mentions a dovecote (one
is shown at High House) and a sheephouse, the latter to
the west of the barn, but perhaps these had gone by 1646.
The archaeological sequence for the post-medieval
period Stone House is less clear than in the preceding
period, though documentary evidence suggests that the
manor house remained in use (as part of a farm
complex) until p erhaps the late 17th or early 18th
century, and following this all but the solar block was
demolished. This might account for the relative paucity of
structural remains, other than those of the manor house
itself, prior to the construction of a new house (Stone
House) approximately 20m to the north in 1683. Indeed,
many of the post-medieval and undated features might
be assigned to the late 17th century or later, and given
that these have survived it is considered unlikely that any
significant post-medieval evidence has been lost, at least
within the southern part of the site . Probably all of the
features recorded in the watching brief to the east and
the west of the central part of the site are likely to be of
post-medieval or modern date and are briefly described
below.
Within the manor house solar block there is some
indication of modifications in the post-medieval period.
In the northern room were traces of a brick partition
running north - south and dividing the space into two
equal-sized and smaller rooms. Associated with this
partition were remnants of a beaten chalk floor. Several
bricks were built into the fireplace and suggest that this
was modified at the same time and subsequently served
to heat only the westernmost of the two newly created
rooms in what may have been a cottage created out of
the former solar block. Around the west end were several
deposits (e.g. 494) of building debris derived from the
demolition of this cottage which probably survived until
around the middle of the 19th century, perhaps 150 years
56
WESTTHURROCK
·-: }:_·····
s 835
0
50
100m
t=..-==--="'- - Zone 1
·-.Ji}
.r---·-
1
.. .... .. ... .... ....
I
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/·
/
/
:
--·--
Zone 4
/
204
Zone
3
0
Spread
136
0
0
0
84
s 804 8
=
125
/
Spread
61
60
)
/
41
0
0
/
0
セ@
494i
/
/
163-.
._175
D
Cl
Salvage excavation area
· ---- ·
Area of watching brief
D
D
Post-medieval/Modern
-
Excavation trench
.........······
....
Marsh 267
Remaining medieval house
0
Undated
Figure 18
Stone House: plan, post-medieval features
57
SOm
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
after the remainder of the manor house had been
demolished. Of relevance here is a lease of 1574 which
refers specifically to the western par t of the ma nor house
(see below), implying that this part of the house- the
solar block - was by this time regarded as a separate
entity fro m d1e remainder. It may also be noted here that
a document of 156 1 refers to a building called the
'Westhall Kytchyn' in addition to the manor house (see
below), implying a separate structure, perhaps the
?detached suite of ser vice rooms I ancillar y su·uctu res
(including possibly a bakehouse) to me south of the east
end of the manor house.
Aligned with the west end of the earliest part of d1e
manor house, and running north- south, was ditch 175,
a relatively shallow feature which extended just over 45m
to the south as far as the edge of the marsh. This cu t
across the top of the southern end of medieval ditch 179,
interpreted as a drain, and is likely to represent a late
medieval or more probably early post-medieval boundar y
feature. A gap of 6.5m between the south-west corner of
the manor house and me northern terminus of ditch 175
would have provided access to what, initially at least, may
have been an enclosed area to the rear of the house,
perhaps an ou ter service yard . A fu rther ditch, 163, at
least 50m in length and up to 2.5m wide, ran southwards
from the soud1-west corner of the northern of d1e d1ree
rooms in d1e western extension to the manor house and
probably served as a drain.This has been assigned a postmedieval date but may have originated in the late
medieval period .
F urmer to d1e west, the watching brief on the
relatively large area at me west end of me site revealed, in
section, two parallel brick footings approximately 1Om
apart and aligned norm-south (structure 835) which it
is suggested belonged to the large barn shown on the
1646 Estate map (see above).
W iiliin me normern part of me site lay me fragmentar y
remains of me later Stone House (structure 804), built in
1683 and demolished sometime afte r 1920 (demolition
debris 9, 60 and 136). These remains were surveyed
mough not furd1er investigated, and comprised parts
of at least du·ee brick walls (8 and 11, wid1 84 furd1er to
d1e west). In addition to d1ese walls were approximately
half a dozen circular or square pits, at least two of which
were brick-lined wells and one a brick-lined probable
cess pit.
Across me remainder of the site were at least two
concentrations of post-holes of varying sizes, probably
representing fence lines though conceivably more
substantial structu res. At least one east-west alignment
could be identified wimin the soumern group (structure
8 10), whereas the northern group (str ucture 807)
appeared to form a right-angled arrangement. Between
these two groups were several shallow gullies aligned
east-west, with a north/south line of possibly associated
post-holes at d1e east end, providing evidence for a
str ucture c. 6m wide and at least 12m long (strucn1re
8 13).
A plan of Stone House Farm in 1777 (Figure 23)
appears to show d1at all bu t the solar of the medieval
manor house had been demolished by this date, wim a
barn (possibly structure 813) now occupying the site just
to the south of the former hall and the solar block,
retained as a cottage, standing on its own a short distance
to d1e west. The new Stone House building of 1683 lies
to me north, and probable ancillary buildings to me
north-east and south-west, no evidence of which vvas
identified in the excavation. The large barn at the west
end of the plot had also disappeared by this date. The
1838 time map (Figure 24) shows a ver y similar
arrangement except th at the ancillar y building to the
norm-east no longer ap pears.
The watching brief to d1c east of the main area
excavation (Zones 1 - 4) exposed a number of pits,
ditches and spread s, most if not all of post-medieval or
modern date, and map s of d1e area from the mid-1 7m
century onwards demonstrate a high degree of
correlation with the archaeological rem ains. T he 1646
Estate Map (Figure 21) also clearly indicates feature 220
as a major property boundary extending from the road
between Thurrock and P urfleet (L ondon Road) towards
me T hames foreshore; d1e map o f 1777 (Figure 23)
shows mis ditch as the boundar y between prop erty
assigned to i\!Ir Homcastle to d1e west and i\lfr Winters to
d1e east, with rear boundaries to mese plots which can be
correlated wid1 ditches 218 and 204 respectively. The
1838 Tithe M ap (Figure 24) again dem onstrates d1e
principal proper ty boundaries oudined above, togemer
with a building indicated at me approximate location of
rubble spread 252.
There were few post-medieval features at High H ouse
(Figure 19). At me east end of Area 2 was a large oval pit
(27008), most probably a small chalk quarry d ug for
agricultural purposes, and in me south-west corner of
mis area was a group of three ditches defining the
northern part of a small enclosure (270 11 ) which
extended outside me limit of excavation. T here was a gap
between me ditches at me nord1-east corner, and within
me enclosure were several p its containing post-medieval
and modern potter y and several animal burials. It is clear
from cartographic evidence that d1is enclosure belonged
to an extant cottage to me soud1 which forms part of the
High House Farm complex, and is of relatively recent
date.
Metalwork
by Jorn Schuster
All of me objects d escribed below are fro m Stone Hou se;
only me buckles are illustrated.
Personal items
T hree pins were fo und in well 192: Obj . No. 124 is a
plain 16mm-long shaft. Obj. No. 29 with wire-wound
spherical head can be classed as Margeson T ype 1. These
pins were in widespread use from d1e 15th to me late
17m century (M argeson 1993, fig. 5, esp. 32 and 34).
Almough slighdy corroded, Obj. No. 25 probably belongs
to this type too, while Obj. No. 56, found in wall
fo undation 34, has a cast double-conical head wim a
central moulding reminiscent of a wound wire.
58
WEST THURROCK
1
Area 1
t
Area 3
''
Area 2
27005
High House
-
f。イュ
セ@
M
Medieval
Post-medieval/Modern
cr-------- -
-
Undated
/
/
/
/
M
----Mセ[L、ッョ@
--
---
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Figure 19
Dovecote
セ@ -
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50
100m
H igh House: Plan, medieval and later featu res
An unstratified cast copper alloy hooked tag (Obj. No.
9) has an exact parallel fro m a context dated c. 1530 1550 at Rosary Moat, London (Egan 2005, fig. 25, 155).
Of the five buckles, only the small buckle Obj. No. 144
(Figure 20, 1) was retrieved from a secure context:
medieval well 263 . A simiJar buckle was found at Swan
L ane, London in a context dated c. 1270 to c. 1350 (Egan
and Pritchard 1991, 68, fig. 42, 274) . Sma!J double-oval
buckles like Obj. No. 12 (Figure 20, 2) are frequent finds
on late medieval and early post-medieval sites. Parallels
are known from T rig Lane, London (Egan and P ritchard
1991, fig. 50, 337 and 339), Canterbury (Blockley et al.
1995, fig. 455, 620) and Nonvich (Margeson 1993, fig.
16, 163- 5) . Obj. No. 146 (Figure 20, 3) is of a well
known 16th - early 17th century type. S imilar buckles
with double-looped frames have been fo und at
Canterbur y (Blockley et al. 1995, fig. 455, 616), Norwich
(Margeson 1993, fig. 17, 174) and on the Mary Rose
(Klein 2005, fig. 2. 83, 82A5069). No comparison is
known for belt buckle Obj. No. 4 (Figure 20, 4) which is
probably of late medieval or early post-medieval date. T he
shoe buckle Obj. No. 14 (Figure 20, 5) is of an - often
tinned - late Jacobean fo rm with separate bar and framelike plate with a single internal spike (e.g.W hitehead 1996,
103, no. 662). T his example has a maker's mark which
reads illESSON, but it was not possible to link it to a
known buckle maker. These buckles, which were quite
common both in England and on the continent
(Opgravingen in Amsterdam 1977, Afb. 229-230), couJd
easily be swapped from one shoe to the next (Goub itz
1987,fig. 33;Goubitz 1993,531-32, fig.11 ).
Text£le work£ng
A machine-made copper alloy thimble (Obj. No. 30) with
two bands of square indentations, a heart-shaped stamp
below the shouJder and a bare crown was found in the
upper fill of welJ 192. T he indentations and bare crown
suggest a date in the first half of the 17th centur y
(H olmes nd, 3). An unmarked lead cloth seal (Obj . No.
11) and a sewing pin (Obj. No. 23) were fo und
unstratified.
A u· iangular iron blade (Obj. No. 128), with a
fragmented, rectanguJar-sectioned arm continuing along
the line of the back, was fo und in medieval layer 328. It
is likely to be part of a pair of shears. Shears with blades
of similar shape are known fro m 12th - 13th cen tury
contexts from London (e.g. Egan and Pritchard 199 1,
fig. 70, 311, 315-7), although with more rectangular arm
sections. A blade of a pair of shears fro m Norwich, dated
to the first half of the 17th century p rovides a better
parallel, both for th e shape of the blade and the arm
(Margeson 1993, fig. 99, 901) .
59
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Structuml and other fillings
Illustrated objects (Figure 20)
Two iron keys were retrieved from post-medieval
ditch/pit 129. Obj. No. 112 is a very simple L-shaped
slide key and Obj. N o. 113 is a rotary key with an oval
bow and subcircular-sectioned shank. Comparable keys
have been found elsewhere in both late medieval (e.g.
Egan 1998, fig. 9 1, 327-9) and post-medieval contexts
(e.g. Margeson 1993, fig.l19, 1294-6).
Other objects, almost all from post-medieval conteA1:S,
include an iron hinge pivot (Obj. No. 13 1), part of an
iron chain (Obj. No. 76) and 83 nails. There are several
unstratified lead strips, of which Obj. Nos 19 and 135 are
certainly lengths of window came with H-shaped sections
where the lateral flanges are relatively wide and malleable.
Faint striations along their length suggest they were
milled using a vice as described by Egan ( 1998, 5 1), and
therefore of likely mid- 16th century or later date.
I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Other
A small number of other objects included complete or
fragments of at least four horse shoes and one ox shoe,
and what may be a rake prong, all from medieval and
post-medieval contexts.
Two unstratified lead objects are likely to have been
used for some kind of measurement activity. Obj. No. 10
is a 33mm-long cone with a hole through the centre and
weighs 112 g. It could have been used either as a plumb
bob or a steel yard weight. Obj. No. 36 is a roughly
circular disc with an uneven surface but no obvious
marks on either side, weighing 4 7g. Such discs have been
in use at least since Roman times (e.g. Crummy 1983,
fig. 105, 2512), but continued in use in the Saxon and
medieval periods (e.g. Egan 1998, fig. 234, 100 1; fig. 235,
1010).
.
Small, oval buckle frame, bar offset and narrowed. Oval
cross-section. Pin m issing. Copper alloy, Obj. No. 144,
context 307989, well 263.
Buckle. Double-looped oval frame, D-shaped cross-section.
Iron corrosion anached to central bar (remains of pin).
Copper alloy, Obj. No. 12, unstratified.
Buckle. Double-looped oval frame. 0-shaped cross-section.
Central bar, cast with frame, extends beyond sides,
petal/rose-like motifs on both edges. Copper alloy, Obj. No.
146, context 307969.
Buckle. D-shaped single loop frame with sym metrical
decorative transverse mouldings, narrow bar, pin missing.
Part of folded sheet plate survives with single rivet still intact.
All slightly bent. Copper alloy, Obj. No. 4, unstratified.
Buckle. Rectangular-shaped angled frame with rounded
corners, outside and inside edges are slightly swollen,
D-shaped cross-section. Triangular-shaped, rectangularsectioned pin. Secondary frame is almost D-shaped with
triangular spike faci ng inwards; on the base of tl1e second
frame is a makers stamp: mESSON, in a rectangular fi eld, its
lower base following t11e curve of the frame. Copper alloy,
Obj. No. 14, unstratified.
Pottery
by L orraine Mepham
The post-medieval assemblage, almost all fro m Stone
H ouse, is dominated by coarse earthenwares, mainly
redwares (including a few slipwares), with a few sherds of
Border Wares from the Surrey/Hampshire industry
(Table 9) . Redwares in Essex (fabric 40), representing
the products of several sources, mark a development
from the later medieval sandy orange wares (fabric 21 ),
and the distinction between the two is not always clearcut,
as already mention ed. Redware forms here are strictly
utilitarian - jars, bowls, dishes and jugs. The date
range potentially extends at least to the 18th century.
⦅ ョッNᄋセ ᄋ @ ..._),- ·
y 1
0
50mm
Figure 20
Copper alloy and iron objects
60
WESTTHURROCK
Other early post-medieval wares include imported
Raeren and Cologne/Frechen stonewares, and one sherd
of tinglazed earthenware, but later post-medieval wares
(post c. 1700) are notable by their absence - just a
single sherd of creamware, and a handful of modern
stonewares and industrial wares. This is likely to be partly
a result of tl1e pits around the 1683 Stone House, in the
northern part of the site, not being excavated. The postmedieval wares from High House comprise coarse
redwares, modern stonewares and industrial wares, all of
which could fit within a date range of 18th to 20th
century.
Quantities of pottery recovered from post-medieval
features are low; about one-third of the post-medieval
assemblage derived from the upper fills of well 192.
Coarse redwares are most common, and cannot in
general be more closely dated, although the presence can
be noted of a black-glazed jar of 17th or early 18th
century date in pit 61. Other datable wares (German
stonewares and tinglazed earthenwares) are very scarce,
occurring only in pits 61, 128 and 129, and post-hole 77.
Some modern sherds are also present, confirming a
continuation of activity at Stone House into the 19th
century, as is also the case at High H ouse.
rocky scrubland often close to the coast. A furtl1er
interesting find were seeds of probable gorse or broom
(Ulex/Genista), though a single seed was also recovered
from a medieval sample. Bolli species are still found today
on local patches of well-drained soils, and probably came
to the site witl1 scrub collected for fuel from such areas.
Discussion
The two samples from the 18th/ 19tl1 century occupation
of the site, while similar in many respects to the earlier
samples, are different in that they are much richer and
contain culm nodes, basal culm nodes (the root
fragment) and straw waste suggesting iliat crops were
harvested close to the ground by scyilie iliat may bring
with it the basal rachis. In addition they are ver y high in
rachis fragments compared to grain. The assemblages are
highly suggestive of waste from the coarse sieving stage
conducted just after threshing (Hillman 1984, fig. 2, stage
6), in that there are few smaller weed seeds that pass witl1
threshed grain through the sieve. It is possible such waste
was kept for winter-fodder and became burnt, either by
accident, or after stored fodder was cleaned.
The eclipse of Stone House and the
development of High House
by Christoper Phillpotts
(Figures 21-24)
Charred plant remains
by Chris ]. Stevens
Two samples were analysed from post-medieval features
of 18th to 19th century date at Stone House (pit 178 and
pit 190; Table 10), by which time the manor house had
become a tenanted farm.
As in the medieval features, the main cereal
represented was free-threshing wheat (Triticum aestivum
sensu lato), but in the later period grains and chaff of tl1is
crop dominated the assemblages, and it was possible in
these to identify the hexaploid bread wheat type (Triticum
aes tivwn) .
Both grain and chaff of rye (Secale cereale) were
present and r ye rachis fragments were particularly
abundant, along with high numbers of straw nodes and
internodes. Grains of barley were less well represented.
Other crops included both garden pea (Pisum sativum)
and broad bean (Viciajaba).
Weed seeds were more common than in the earlier
features, with large-seeded weed species dominating the
assemblages. More unusual elements included capsule
tops of poppy. The number of rays was on average five to
eight, suggesting long-headed poppy (Papaver dubium),
although capsules of prickly poppy (Papave1· argemone)
or common poppy (Papaver rhoeas) might also be
represented. The two samples also contained seeds of
knapweed/cornflower ( Centaurea sp.), stinking mayweed
(Anthemis cottda), and corn marigold (Chrysanthemum
segetum) . It is also notable that seeds of bulrush/grey club
rush were only recovered from these two late deposits.
Seeds of elder (Sambucus nigra) and fragm ents of
hazelnut ( C01ylus avellana) were generally commoner in
the later samples, and a single seed of wild madder (Rubia
peregrina) was recovered from one of these. This plant
whose root provides a red dye is usually found on drier,
The sixteenth centU1y
In 15 17 ilie Marquis of Dorset sold the manor ofWest
Thurrock to Sir John Spencer. On Spencer's death in
1523, it passed to his widow Isabel for life. His son
William Spencer sold the reversion in May 1530 to Sir
William Hollis, alderman of London, but Hollis was soon
holding the manor on lease. He died in November 1542
and his son Thom as Hollis sold the manor in 1547 to
Henry Herdeson. By now the manor was called "West
Thurrock or West Hall or the Vineyard", having
apparently absorbed the vineyard at Purfleet which had
previously belonged to ilie manor of the Knights
Hospitaller there, prior to the dissolution of the
monasteries. Herdeson sold it on to Robert L ong, mercer
of London, and his wife Cicely in November 1548 . After
Robert's death in January 1552, Cicely continued to hold
the manor until her death in October 1559 (M orant
1768, i 92; VCHEviii 60, 62; ERO D/DAc 247,249, 250;
D/DWh/ 1; NA C142/68/20) . An inventory of the house
and its contents made at iliis time (Shropshire Archives
6000/94 79) is presented in Appendix 1.
The family property was then divided between
Robert and Ciceley's three daughters and their husbands
by an agreement in February 156 1. Mary and Henry
Vyner took the lands and property in Shropshire, Surrey
and London; Magdalene and Roger Sadler took half of
the manor ofWestThurrock, including the manor house
called the Stone H ouse, and a half share of Ciceley's new
house called the New Place and its grounds; M artha and
William Meredith took the other half of the manor and
the other half of the New Place (ERO D/DWh/2).
M agdalene died in 1575, leaving her lands to her son
61
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
The village of West Thurrock appears on the earliest
map of Essex in 1594 by John Norden. By the second
half of the 16th century the West Thurrock m arshes were
subject to the jurisdiction of a court of sewers which
oversaw the coast from West H am to Mucking. In 1563
the largest landowners were the Sadlers and the
Merediths, who between them held 300 acres of
marshland as parts of the manor of Westhall, and
maintained 506Y:z rods (2.55km) of river wall. They also
maintained two sluices and two flood ditches (VCHEviii
68; ERO D /SH7, 103-4, 117) . Leases of marshland at
WestThurrock in 1564 and 1576 allovved the tenants to
dig out the ear th needed to maintain the r iver walls, but
in 1586 another tenant was prosecuted and deprived of
his land for digging out 40,000 cartloads of clay and
selling it, whilst allowing the river walls to fall into
disrepair. L eases of chalk cliffs at Purfleet in 1574 and
1594 included the obligation to deliver chalk between
April and June each year for the repair of the river walls
ofWestThurrock "according to th'olde custome" (Grieve
1959, 20-1) . Similarly in Thomas Owen's lease to
Thomas Gyles in 1589 he was obliged to make an annu al
payment of 12 faTes of chalk (at ten cartloads in each fare)
at the farmhouse of Harmans, for the repair of the r iver
walls (ERO D/DAc 252) .
The marshlands were still pr incipally used for sheep
pastures and meadow lands (Grieve 1959, 21). Roger
Sadler's lease of part ofWest11all to Joh n Steven in 157 4
obliged him to p lant 200 willow trees on the marshes
(ERO D /DAc 295) . In Barking in the 1580s the local
farmers had increased their hay crop s by "floating" their
marsh meadows as water meadows (L ockwood 2006,
89).
John Sadler. John conveyed his half of the manor in
February 1584 to Thomas Owen, the prominent
Shropshire and L ondon lawyer, who also acquired the
Merediths' half of the manor in 1589 . H owever, this
appears to have been a trust or mortgage arrangement,
since Thomas Owen leased half ofThe Place back to the
Merediths in September 1589, and his sons conveyed the
whole manor in 1607 to Martha Meredith's daughter
Mary and her husband Christopher H olford of West
Thurrock. The Holfords were already in possession in
May 1601 (Morant 1768, i 93; VCHE viii 60; ERO
D/DAc 250, 25 1, 253-6, 304; D/DWh/ 10, 11, 13, 14, 17,
18,22,23,29,30,47,5 1) .
By the early 16th century the manor house at the
Stone H ouse site and its lands had been leased out to
farmers. It was leased as "the fa rm called Westhall" by
William H ollis to Robert Mason, husbandman, in 1533
for 25 years, in succession to his father John Mason,
yeoman. Mason was to do the repairs (ERO D/DAc 291;
D/DU 264/2). It was therefore no longer ser ving as the
manor house of West Thurrock. In 1561 the Sadlers'
share of the manor included "the tenement called the
Westhall alias the Stonehouse, whereat the site of the
manor heretofore has been situate", the building there
called the Westhall K ytchyn, the barn, the sheephouse to
the west of the barn, and a yard adj oining these buildings
which measured 6 acres 1 rood in extent. T he yard was
separated from the yards of tenements called H armans
and Newhouse (par t of the share of the Merediths) by a
large elm tree, which stood about two poles (10.06m) to
the west of the sheephouse (ERO D/DWh/2). Since 1339
therefore, the kitchen had become a separate structure
and the sheephouse had been moved from the east side
of the complex to the west side, close to the western
boundary. In D ecem ber 1574 Roger Sadler made a lease
for 2 1 years to John Steven of D agen ham, husbandman,
of the western part of the "manor house or capital
messuage ofWesthall", as it was then enclosed with a
stone wall and in the occupation of John Doe, with the
northern half of the barn, and various p ieces of
marshland and salt m arsh. Steven was to be responsible
for the repairs, except for the "principalls and pr incipal
timber only", indicating that part of the structure was of
wood (ERO D/DAc 295) .
During Cicely L ong's tenure of the manor in 1552-9
a new house called the New Place was built on a plot of
demesne land measuring 2 acres 1 rood. Both the house
and its grounds were divided between the Merediths and
the Sadlers in 156 1 (ERO D/DWh/2) . In mortgages of
the Meredith's half of the manor in 158 1, and the Sadlers'
half in 1580 and 1583, and in conveyances of 1589- 93,
it is called The Place. George Harriot was occupying the
Sadlers' half of the house at this time (ERO D /DAc 253,
304, 309; D/DWh/ 11 , 22, 23) . T homas Owen leased the
M eredith's half of the manor to Thomas Gyles, yeoman,
in 1589 for 21 years, presumably including half of this
house (ERO D /DAc 252) . Cicely Long's new house is to
be identified with the site of High House, which stands
on the southern slope of the chalk ridge, overlooking the
marshes and the T hames.
The seventeenth century
Christopher Holford was lord of the manor of West
Thurrock until his death in 1608. He was followed by his
eldest son Christopher, who died in c. 1612 leaving an
infant daughter and a widow, both called Mary. The
widow remarried to Sir Peter Heyman of Canterbury,
who held the man or as the guardian of the child while
she lived, and then part of it as the jointure of Holford's
widow. The jointure lands included Stone House, as
noted on the manorial map of 1646 (see Figure 21). The
rest of the manor passed to the second Christopher's
brother Daniel until his death in 1630. T he manor was
then divided again between his two daughters and coheiresses, Martha the wife of Sir Cranmer Harris of
Creeksea, and Mary, who later married Sir Henry
H eyman of Selling in Kent, the son of Sir Peter. T he
H arrisses and the Heymans agreed a new allocation of
the manor lands and rents. The first half of the manor,
including the house now called the Great Place, passed to
Martha's daughter Anne, the wife of Charles Mildmay;
the second half descended to Mary's son the second Sir
Peter H eyman (Morant 1768, i 93; VCHE viii 60; ERO
D/DAc 258-9, 313-314, 320- 1, 345- 6, 355- 6;
D/DWh/59, 180).
The manor was again reunited by purchase. Robert
C layton bought Sir Peter's half share in 1670, of which he
62
WESTTHURROCK
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Figure 21
Map of the manor ofWestThurrock 1646 (exu. act, from ERO 0/DU 15)
1646 a map was drawn of the whole manor (Figure 21) .
This shows the buildings at Stone House in elevation,
consisting of the medieval hall range wi th two southward
extensions, a range to its north-west, and a barn or other
agricultural building lying towards the west side of the
plot . It is noted as part of the jointure lands, and in the
tena ncy of John Swallow.
When the Harrises and the Heymans redivided the
manor, "Stone H ouse Farm" was in the Harrises' part,
comprising a house, yards, orchards and "backsides" in
an enclosure measuring 4 acres 2 roods 2 perches. John
Swallow had been followed as tenant by John T ibballs
(ERO D/DAc 354). Tibballs paid Hearth Tax on four
hearths in the house in 167 1 (ERO Q/RThS f2) .
Stone H ouse was rebuilt in brick and flint in 1683,
according to a date stone on its front, approxim ately 20m
to the north of its predecessor, the fo rmer manor house
(Thorne 1876, 18) . The building work cost £500 .
Shortly afterwards Ralph Everard junior was the tenant
of the "Stone H ouse farm house, new built upon the last
division", in succession to John T ibballs (ERO D/DAc
355). The sales to Robert Clayton in May 1684, Sarah
Vandenanker in September 1684 and Caleb G rantham
in 1697 specifically included the Stone House with its
barns, stables, yards and gardens (ERO D/DAc 269;
D /DU 435/2 bundle 1; D/DWh/70, 72-4). The
reconstruction at Stone H ouse can be compared to the
development of Low Hall manor house in Waltham stow,
where a new cross wing was added to the solar end in the
16th century, and was extended to become a new smaller
manor house in the 17th century, after the demolition of
the medieval structures (Blair 2002, 202, 204- 5, 207-9).
To the east of Stone House, and also on the south side
of the Purfleet/Grays road, there was another house
already held the mortgage, and Anne Mildmay's half
share in May 1684. In 1683 he agreed to sell the whole
manor to the London merchant Cornelius Vandenanker,
but he died before the transaction could take place. The
purchase was therefore completed by Vandenanker's
widow Sarah in September 1684. She was remarried to
Colonel Benjamin Desborough by 1685, and their
children Cornelia Vandenanker and Cromwell
Desborough also married. Desborough got into financial
difficulties over the draining of the marshlands of the
manor (see below), and sold the uplands to Captain
Caleb Grantham in 1697 (Morant 1768, i 93; VCHE viii
60; ERO D/DAc 267-9, 353; D/DFa/T28; D/DU 435/2
bundle 1; D/DWh/59, 68, 70, 72, 73, 76, 86, 87, 94, 94) .
Sir Peter and Mary Heyman made a lease of the
Stone H ouse and its lands at an unknown date in the
reign of Charles I (the date is blank in the indenture) to
John Broman of South Ockenden, yeoman, for 2 1 years
at an annual rent of £57 15sh. The property included
barns, stables, outhouses, a dovehouse, three ya rds
adjoining the house, orchards and gardens, six acres of
upland, and various pieces of marshland totalling 102
acres. The lease may never have come into effect (ERO
D/DAc 320). There was a dispute in 163 1 between the
H arrisses and the Heymans over the repair of some of
the manorial property, including Stone H ouse and its
ancillary buildings. Sir Peter Heyman agreed to do the
repairs, using timber taken from the demesne lands of
the manor (ERO D/DAc 346) . In July 1639 Sir Peter
H eyman made a conveyance in trust of " the capital
messuage called Westhall alias Stonehouse", which was
then in the occupation of John Swallow (ERO D/DAc
321). When the manor ofWestThurrock belonged to Sir
Cranmer Harris and S ir Henry Heyman in February
63
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
belonging to the manor by the 17th century. This was
later known as Low House, but its earlier name has not
been identified (Wessex Archaeology 2003b, ii). The
house also appears on the map of February 1646 in a
large enclosure, without a tenant's name.
In 1610 half of the house called The Place, its rooms
and half its two-acre plot were leased by Christopher
Holford to his mother, and back to him, in a family
settlement (ERO D/DAc 3 13 and 3 14). In December
16 15 Sir Peter Heyman and his wife Mary leased the
house, then called New Place, to John Murfitt of
Wenington, gentleman, for ten years at annual rent of
£68 16sh. The property included barns, stables,
outl1ouses, a dovehouse, yards, gardens and orchards. A
schedule sewn into the lease details the rooms of tl1e twostorey house as the kitchen (with a chimney), the pantry,
the wet larder, tl1e dry larder, the spicery, the parlour, the
buttery, the cellar, the larder chamber, the maid's
chamber, the maid's gallery, the dining room, the spicery
chamber, the chamber over the parlour and buttery, the
long gallery, the little gallery, the court, the still-house,
the wash-house, the dairy, the brewhouse, the chamber
over the brewhouse, the wood house and tl1e iron house.
There were glass windows, and locks and keys, and a lead
water pipe descending from the eaves in the court by the
kitchen door (ERO D/DAc 3 15). After the division of the
manor between tl1e Harrises and the H eymans, it lay in
Sir Peter Heyman's part of the manor (ERO D/DAc
353). In 1671 Ralph Everard paid Hearth Tax on houses
containing six hearths and four hearths here (ERO
QIRTh5 f2). In a mortgage of 1677 the house was known
as the Great Place, and was still tenanted by Ralph
Everard (ERO D/DAc 323; D/DWh/68) . It was rebuilt
in brick at about this date at a cost of£ 1000; in the 1680s
it was still held by Everard as a " capital messuage or farm
house with a malting and dove house" (ERO D /DAc
355). It was later rendered in stucco. From 1684 it was
known as Little Place or High House, a name transferred
from an adjacent house ( VCHE viii 61 ). Under these
names it was occupied by Elizabeth Swinnerton in 1684
and 1697 (ERO D/DU 435/2 bundle 1; D /DWh/70).
A smaller adjacent house was built by 160 1, when it
was described as a "new messuage ... lately erected" with
a dovehouse, held by Christopher and Mary Holford
along with The Place built by Cicely Long (ERO
D/DWh/47). Mary Holford still held both these houses in
1611 (ERO D/DWh/180).The new house was known as
Little Place by 1631, when three-quarters of it was held
by Anthony Sadler (ERO D/DAc 345). It was later called
High House, tenanted by Francis Read in the 1680s
(ERO D/DAc 355). It is not clear what became of this
house; it may have been removed by 1684 ( VCHE viii
61). The map of February 1646 shows two structures (as
well as the dovecote) in the High House plot, a large
house to the wes t and a small house to the east (see
Figure 21). These presumably represented Great Place
and Little Place respectively.
In Sir Peter Heyman's leases of New Place to John
Murfitt in 1615, and of Stone House to John Broman in
the reign of Charles I, Heyman undertook to maintain
the river walls of the properties (ERO D/DAc 3 15, 320).
It was still important to keep these in repair in the 17th
century. In December 1690 during high winds and tides
there was a disastrous breach in the WestThurrock river
walls on the land of Francis Moore of Bayhouse, causing
extensive flooding of the marshlands to the south-east of
Stone House. Morant states that subterranean u·ees were
washed out by the action of the river, presumably from
layers of peat (Morant 1768, i 93). The breach grew to
100 yards wide and 24 feet deep at high tide, and
deposited a sandbank in the Thames. The remnants of
this intrusion by the Thames can still be seen in a map of
1749 in the stretch of water called The Breach (Figure
22).There was a similar flood lake in the Ripple Marshes
in Barking parish, called the Rant (Lockwood 2006, 889). A special commission of sewers, promoted by me City
ofLondon, was appointed to deal with meWestThurrock
breach. Benjamin Desborough spent £1,500 on building
counter walls to reclaim his part of me marshes, which
totalled 309 acres. However, it proved impossible to
collect a rate for the necessary repairs from any of me
oilier local landowners except Sir R obert C layton. A
consortium of London merchants and sea captains
offered to undertake me reclamation work, and in 1694
me marshlands were confiscated by the commission and
granted to tl1e consortium, which closed up me breach
by 1696. Colonel Desborough contended that me
confiscation was illegal, and fought a series of court cases
against me consortium's title to the land until his deam in
c. 1708. His financial difficulties forced him to sell the
upland parts of the manor in 1697; the marshlands he
had previously mortgaged to Slingsby Bemell. The heirs
of me members of me consortium also fell out, and
litigation between them continued until 17 50 ( VCHE vili
60, 61, 68; Grieve 1959, 24; ERO D/DFa/T28;
D/DHt/T270/9; NA C225/2/60) .
The eighteenth century
Caleb Graniliam died in 1699 and was succeeded as lord
of me manor ofWestThurrock by his brother Namaniel,
who died in 1723. He was followed by his widow Mary,
and in 1738 by his son, me second Caleb Granmam. All
iliree of me Graniliams were sailing captains in the East
India Company. The second Caleb bought back the
marshlands of the manor from me heirs of the
consortium in 1750, forming the land-units of
Stonehouse Farm and Tunnel House Farm. His will of
1762 left his manors to his daughter Mary, the wife of
John Seare ofTring in Hertfordshire. In 1777 me Seares
sold me manor to Samuel Whitbread, me brewer of
Cardington in Bedfordshire, and also sold Stonehouse
Farm and Tunnel House separately to John Button of
Grays Thurrock. The Whitbread family were lords of me
manor until its estate was broken up in 1920 ( VCHE viii
60-1; Morant 1768, i 93; ERO D/DU 435/2 bundle 1;
D /DWh/103-4, 108-110, 2 12).
By the 18th century High House was regarded as the
main house of West Thurrock manor. It was also
sometimes called West Hall or Le Vyneyard, names
transferred from me alternative names of the manor
64
WESTTHURROCK
(TIGH E viii 61). Nathaniel Grantham and the second
Stonehouse and Tunnel H ouse farms to him. Stonehouse
Farm is noted as having one barn, a stable and a
cowhouse. A plan shows the layout as slightly different
to that of 1777 and more like the layout depicted on the
later tithe map (ERO D/DU 453/3 bundle 2).
By this time Stone H ouse was no longer used as the
farmhouse. John Button leased it to the parish of\Vest
Thurrock to be used as the workhouse in 1778 . It was
shared with the parishes of Stifford from 1788 and Aveley
from 1792. T he parishes were responsible for the repairs,
including tl1e windows and fences around the garden. In
June 1791 an inventory of goods in me house mentions
me brewhouse, the kitchen, tl1e lower room, the pantry,
me cellar, Kate's room, two back rooms, Mrs Drabble's
room, two front garrets and two back garrets. This
suggests a square-built two-storey house with attics. In
1802 it contained 15 paupers fro m WestThurrock, mostly
children. It continued in this usage until me lease expired
in 1802, when the frequent repairs required to me building
made me scheme uneconomic and it was terminated
( VCHEviii 61, 70; ERO DIP 330/8/2 ff88v, 161 ).
By the 18th century tl1e majority of me farmland in
me parish was arable. The farms on me uplands still had
plots of pasture on the marshlands ( VCHE viii 64;
L ockwood 2006, 87; Figure 22). A lease of Stonehouse
Farm and Tunnells Farm from John Button to his son in
1798 specified that every tl1ree years tl1e fields were to
be left fallow and planted witl1 rye grass and clover (ERO
D /DU 453/3 bundle 2).
Caleb Grantham lived there after the occupancy of
Elizabeth Swinnerton (ERO D/DU 435/2 bundle 1) . In
1738 it was noted as having barns, outbuildings and
backsides (ERO D /DWh/ 103) . The eight-bay timberframed weather-boarded barn which survives on the site
is of an early 18th century date. The late 17th century
house appears on a map of\VestThurrock Level in 1749
as a two-storey stru cture of two wings, occupied by
Captain Grantham. After Caleb Grantham's death in
1762 it was occupied by Edward Percivall and Gerard
Lake. In May 1766 John and Mary Seare leased it to John
James, L ord Percivall, for eleven years. A schedule of
contents mentions the kitchen, the larder, the pantry, the
rooms over the kitchen and drawing room (which both
had chimneys), the room over the best parlour, the back
stairs, the garret over the best room (with steps up the
lead roof), the brewhouse with a room over it, the dairy,
the yard, the stables, the garden and the vineyard. There
was a drawing of High H ouse in a black frame in the
room over the best parlour. There was a pump in the
brewhouse, a lead cistern in the yard, and a sundial and
three seats in the garden. Percivall assigned the remainder
of his lease to Zachariah Button in June 1769 (ERO
D /DWh/ 108). The house is named on Chapman and
Andre's map of Essex in 1777. In this year John and
Mary Seare sold it with the manor to Samuel Whitbread,
with its courtyards, backsides, stables, coach houses,
carthouses, brewhou se, barns, granary, pigeon house,
gardens and orchards. The most recent tenant was called
Tibbald (ERO D /DWh/ 109). Two effigies of a knight in
armour and his wife were removed from the parish
church to form supporters of a gateway at High House.
They were supposed to be of the Desborough family, but
as the costumes were of the 16th century they
presumably represented earlier lords of the manor. The
effigies were returned to the church in the 19th century
(Thorne 1876, 611).
The rebuilt Stone House of 1683 is conventionally
represented on a map of 1749 as a single-storey building
with a gabled roof (Figure 22). In a trust document of
1767 it is described as having barns, stables, yards, a
garden and orchards. Since the tenancy of Ralph Everard
junior it had been in the hands of Nathaniel Grantham
(ERO D/DU 435/2 bundle 1) . The house is named on
Chapman and Andre's map of Essex in 1777, which also
shows Low H ouse but does not name it. In January of
the same year John and Mary Seare sold Stonehouse
Farm to John Button for £9,550, with its outhouses,
barns, stables, granaries, sheds, yards, gardens and
orchards (ERO D/DU 435/3 bundle 1; D/DWh/220) .
The farm totalled 370 acres and a map of it is attached
to the sale (Figure 23). It shows the main house close to
the road junction, with four agricultural buildings and a
complex of yards to the south, and a long pond lying
alongside the driftway into the marshes. One of the
buildings may represent the medieval manor house, or a
barn built close to its site. The western barn of 1646 was
no longer present. In March 1798 John Button's son John
married Francis Freeman, and his fath er leased
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries
The Ordnance Survey map of 1805 shows both High
House and Stone House, the latter as a complex of tl1ree
buildings. John Button mortgaged Stonehouse Farm and
Tunnel H ouse Farm in January 1805 and March 1809
(ERO D /DU 4 53/4). There was a scheme in 18 11 to
extend the marsh pastures of Stonehouse Farm, which
was restricted by a lack of fresh water for cattle (VCHE
viii 65).
On the tithe map of \Vest Thurrock parish in 1838
mere are four buildings at Stone House (Figure 24), the
easternmost building of 1777 having been removed. The
pattern of yard and garden boundaries has also been
altered, but the long pond is still shown. John Freeman of
Stifford L odge was the owner and occupier. Low H ouse
is shown as three buildings and a pond at the head of
short driftway leading into the marshes (ERO D /CT
357A no 122;\VA 2003b, 13-14. In 1845 Freeman leased
Stone H ouse and Tunnel House farms to Robert T homas
Barry of\Voolwich. Stone House had been converted into
mree cottages, the granary was converted into another,
and there were four omer cottages on me plot. A lease of
1857 repeats the same description (ERO D /DU 435/4) .
Part of the L ow House complex was similarly divided
into dwelling houses in the later 19th century (Wessex
Archaeology 2003b, 14) . According to me date stone on
me front of Stone House it was repaired in 1856 (Thorne
1876, 18). It was demolished in the 1920s when me
junction of Stonehouse Lane and London Road was
realigned (VCHE viii 59).
65
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
/ Stone House
' -
セM
I
,
; ... r
)
L.
...
Figure 22
Map ofWcstThurrock Level 1749 (extract, from NA MR 1/639)
66
I
I
.. ,.....
WESTTHURROCK
l
Figure 23
Plan of Stonehouse Farm 1777 (extract, from ERO D/DWh/220)
In 1835 High H ou se belonged to John Freeman
(Wright 1835, ii 519) . The High House plot had
developed into a complex of seven buildings by 1838
(Figure 24) . The owner and occupier was William
HenryWhitbread (ERO DICT 357A no 94). By 1954 it
had been divided into flats and it still stands, along with
the dovecote and early 18th century barn (VCHE viii 58,
6 1).
belonged to such a system, possibly part of a droveway
T here is more substantial evidence for Late Bronze
Age I Early Iron Age (the pottery hints towards Early Iron
Age) settlement, confmed to the highest point of the site
at H igh H ouse and overlooking the T hames to the south.
This settlement appears to have been unenclosed, one of
a variety of such settlements which are known in Essex
including, fo r example, North Shoebury (Wymer and
Brown 1995) and Whitehall Wood, U pmin ster
(Greenwood 1986), the latter less than 1Okm to the northwest of High House. Although ditch 17000 at High H ouse
appears not to have been part of an enclosure, it certainly
formed a boundary of some sort, with a concentration of
irregular pits to the west. A Late Bronze Age I Early Iron
Age ditch of broadly similar size (and possibly similarly
aligned) recorded approximately 300m to the nor th-west
of ditch 17000 in an earlier evaluation (OAU 1995) may
also have been part of a linear boundary rather than an
enclosure. No structural remains were identified in the
H igh H ouse excavation, probably not a reflection of poor
survival as L ate Iron Age post-holes were found in this
area. Nevertheless, the relatively large quantities of pottery
and loom weights (but no spindle-whorls or perforated
clay tablets) do suggest that there were structures nearby
and subsequent excavation (in 2008) has revealed a
scatter of small pits and post-holes, including at least one
four-post structure, less than 1OOm to the south. T he
fau nal and charred plant remains attest to agricultural
intensification in the Late Bronze Age I Early Iron Age, in
common with the evidence from other sites in Essex and
further afield, and indicate the exploitation of a variety of
soils and habitats in the vicinity of H igh Hou se. In this
respect, the briquetage from one Middle I Late Bronze
DISCUSSION
•
Previous investigations between Purfleet and West
T hurrock have focussed almost exclusively on the
nationally important P leistocene deposits exposed in the
surrounding chalk quarries, but little was known of the
later settlement histor y.This situation has been redressed
to some degree by the recent HS 1 excavations which
have investigated a transect across the landscape, from
the higher ground on the chalk ridge at High H ouse to
the lower lying marsh at Stone Hou se.
L ittle can be deduced from the small assemblage of
worked flint of probable Neolithic and later date and the
two sherds of Beaker potter y from High H ouse, although
the latter are likely to attest to settlement in the vicinity at
this time. The scatter of small Middle Bronze Age pits at
H igh H ouse reflects the picture elsewhere in Essex where
'settlement sites [of this period] ... remain elusive and are
still largely confined to sites with occasional pits' (Brown
1996, 25). Structural evidence has proved difficult to fmd,
but probable Middle Bronze Age field systems have been
recorded at Mucking (Bond 1988) as well as at North
Shoebur y (Wymer and Brown 1995), both to the east of
H igh House on the north side of the T hames estuary
(Figure 1). Perhap s the two gullies at High House
67
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
-------
---------
--"--- -----セ ᄋ@
Figure 24 Tithe map ofWest T hurrock parish 1838 (extract, from ERO D/CT 357B)
Age I Early Iron Age ditch 17000 for burial, creating a
linear cemetery immediately to the east of the postulated
trackway. Although no settlement evidence of this date
was recovered in the excavation, the cemetery is likely to
have served a small r ural settlement within close
proximity; the burial grounds associated with su ch
settlements were often located close to boundaries
(Esmonde Cleary 2000, 132-1 33, 137- 8) . In addition,
one might note the relatively large quantity of ponery
fro m ditch 17010, perhaps an indicator of a settlement
nearby; the charred plant remains which, as in the late
prehistoric period, reflect the utilisation of a fairly wide
range of soil types; and the dominance of sheep in the
faunal assemblage. Ditch 170 10 may have been a
significant boundary feature, as may ditch 29302
recorded further to the west in th e watching brief.
U nfortunately, the absence of any known settlement
nucleus in the vicinity prevents a coherent picture of the
local rural landscape being developed, as has been
possible on a large-scale at Mucking, and the extent of
chalk quarrying m eans that much evidence will have
been lost. Nevertheless, the evidence from High House
does confirm the picture of continuity from the Late Iron
Age to the Early Roman period seen elsewhere in the
region (Brown and Glazebrook 2000, 31).
The mixed-rite cemetery represents a significant
discovery and it might partly reflect an impetus in rural
development in the area which appears to have occurred
in the Flavian period (Going 1996, 103), though several
of the brooches appear to indicate a slightly earlier,
Claudian I Neronian date. Burial in ditches is not a
common feature of Early Roman rural cemeteries and
Age pit should also be noted as it reflects salt production
in the nearby marshes.
N o Middle Iron Age features or finds were present at
High House and there was only one feature of possible
Middle I Late Iron Age date at Stone House, in addition
to an unstratified 4th century BC brooch, supporting the
current perception in the region of discontinuity in
settlement sites between the Early Iron Age and the Late
Iron Age, with a localised shifting of settlement foci
(Brown and Glazebrook 2000, 3 1) .
In contrast to the lack of evidence for Middle Iron
Age settlement, Late Iron Age features were found at
both High H ouse and Stone H ouse. The function of the
cluster of shallow pits at Stone H ouse is difficult to
ascertain, particularly in the absence of any structu ral
evidence, but tl1e small enclosure, ditches, pits and postholes at High H ouse probably represent part of a more
extensive complex, possibly a farmstead, of at least tvvo
phases. The enclosure may have contained a four-post
structure, perhaps a granary, but no round-houses were
identified within the excavated area and it must be
assumed that such structures lay elsewhere. It should be
emphasised that the excavation exposed only a small part
of a much larger landscape, such as has been revealed at
Mucking about 1Okm to the east.
T he Late Iron Age settlement at High H ouse was
su cceeded within a decade or so of the Conquest by a
new layout of features representing what is interpreted as
a trackway with a relatively substantial boundary ditch to
the west. It is possible that the Roman layout utilised
various elements of the pre-Conquest landscape, and this
is most clearly demonstrated by the use of Late Bronze
68
WESTTHURROCK
Philpott (1991, 137) notes occasional examples in the
South-East of probable 1st century burials accompanied
by brooches only, the most commonly occurring type of
personal ornament. Against this background, the five
burials (>40% of the fully excavated examples) at High
H ouse with one or more brooches must represent an
unusual group, particularly inhumation burial 17044 with
five brooches. This was the only grave to contain other
grave goods, comprising four pots, possibly one wooden
vessel with a copper alloy binding strip and one glass
unguent bottle, and these appear to make it a uniquely
well-furnished mid-late 1st century inhumation burial in
the South-East. The range of vessels is likely to represent
a 'table set', though no food remains were present or
survived. Single potter y vessels occur with three early
inhumation burials at Guilden Morden, Cambridgeshire,
and there were two vessels in each of two graves at
Julliberries Grave, Chilham, Kent, but it is only at the latter
site that pottery (a beaker and a dish) occur alongside a
brooch (and also a bracelet) in a single grave, this example
being dated to c. AD 50 (Philpott 1991, 137). It might be
noted here that in addition to the two inhumation burials
atJulliberries Grave there were also two cremation burials,
another sinlliarity that might be drawn with High House.
Philpott (1991) records no examples of surviving evidence
fo r wooden vessels (otl1er tl1an caskets), and altl1ough
unguent bottles are present in cremation burials he does
not cite any as early as the 1st century AD in inhumation
burials. T he deposition of t11e broken example at High
House may reflect an amuletic property.
The burials from High H ouse provide a useful
addition- particularly given the earl y prominence of the
inhumation rite- to the known burials of this date from
the South-East. D espite the numbers recovered over the
last decade from rural contexts, for example, excavations
along the route of the A120 (Timby et al. 2007) and
from Stansted (Cooke el al. 2008) both in Essex, the
majority of the burials derive from urban cemeteries
(Going 1997; Going and Plouviez 2000). Overall,
tl1erefore, the mixed-rite cemetery at High H ouse, which
might have been established around the time of the
Conquest and remained in use for p erhaps two or tl1ree
decades, represents an unusual rural and relatively
richly-furnished example, with few parallels in the
South-East.
O steological
analysis
has
demonstrated
comparatively low levels of dental hypoplasia which
suggest relatively well-nourished children, though the
occurrence of cribm orbitalia and at least one case of
rickets suggest potential dietary problems for som e
individuals. The generally fairly slight calculus deposits
suggest a moderate self-cleaning diet, potentially
reasonably high in meat protein, though the high caries
rate implies a carbohydrate-rich diet. It is interesting to
note tl1e apparent predominance of occlusal caries which
are generally considered more characteristic of later
periods (medieval/post-medieval) where the diet
contained more refined foods and a high er sugar
content. Trauma rates are very low and this, together
with the levels of joint disease suggests the general
this example, apparently extending over a distance of at
least 1OOm, exhibits a number of unusual characteristics
which make it of considerable interest . Cremation was
the predominant rite in the late pre-Roman Iron Age in
South-East England but there is growing evidence,
mostly from rural sites, that inhumation was occasionally
practiced before and after the Conquest, following which
cremation was again the usual funerary rite in the early
Roman period . The inhumations at High H ouse were
perhaps part of a localised, minority rite which may also
be represented at Ardale, near Grays, approximately
7.5krn to the north-east, where eight Late Iron Age
inhumation burials were identified (Wilkinson 1988, 278, 58), and a little further away at Mucking where another
group of eight inhumation burials have been assigned to
this period (Going 1993, 19; Clark 1993, site atlas plan
12; Jones and Jones 197 5). No human bone survived at
Ardale and only two graves contained possible grave
goods- one a pot and a La Tene 3 brooch, the other a
pot (Wilkinson 1988, 58), while at Mucking the
silhouettes of fl exed inhumations in coffins were
recorded, and one grave contained a pot Gones and Jones
197 5). The disposition of the bodies and the presence of
coffins at Mucking provide further parallels with the
inhumations at High House (see below) .
At High House, the brooch from cremation burial
1704 7 may be the earliest from the cemetery and a preConquest date for this and, therefore, the beginning of
burial there is possible. However, all of the burials could
b e R omano-Rriti!;h. Tf the two c rem ation huria]!; did pre-
date the inhumation burials then it seems that it cannot
have been by long, and it is likely that the two rites were
broadly contemporaneou s. Being unurned, they do not
follow what is usually thought of as the usual Iron Age
tradition of urned burial, though in the mid and later 1st
century AD this quite often saw the deposition of a single
brooch as part of the rite (Philpott 1991, 47, 129).
In the earliest Romano-British cemetery at Mucking
(cemetery 3; Clark 1993, site atlas plan 17), fo ur of the
eleven cremation burials were unurned, and of probably
similar Conquest-period date were several extended,
uncoffined and unaccompanied inhumation burials
(cited in Philpott 1991, 4 5) . This may also provide a
parallel for the cemetery at High H ouse, though here only
one body was extended and the majority were flexed,
with two being crouched or loosely crouched. The
inhumation burials at High H ouse are also distinguished
by the presence of coffins in at least six of the graves, as
well as brooches in five - in one case (inhumation burial
17044) along with pottery vessels a nd possibly one
\VOoden vessel. The use of coffin s was not unknown in
the early Roman period (Philpott 199 1, 53), but the
number identified at High H ouse does appear to be
unusual, as does the number of early inhumation burials
recorded. The coffins include what appears to have been
a more elaborate, hinged box (inhumation burial 17062),
box burial being an early R oman introduction in tl1e
Soutl1-East, tl1ough other recorded examples are all
associated witl1 cremation rather than inhumation burials
(Philpott 199 1, 17) .
69
ESSEX ARCH AEOLOGY AND HIST ORY
lifestyle was n ot markedly ph ysically strenuous. The
possible occurrence of either tuberculosis or brucellosis
may be indicative of lives lived in close proximity to
cattle. The possible case of leprosy, if a correct diagnosis,
would render this potentially the earliest recorded case of
the disease from the country.
There is no evidence for the R om an activity at H igh
House continuing beyond the end ofthe 1st centur y AD ,
and the only indication of a Saxon p resence were sherds
of a bowl of probable 5th I 6th century date found
redeposited in a later ditch at Ston e Hou se. If the
suggested dating is correct, then the vessel could be
broadly contem porar y with the earliest phases of AngloSaxon settlement at M ucking.
Probably the most significant discovery of H S 1
excavations at West Thurrock was the medieval manor
house at Stone H ouse. This was not the first, and there
was a sequence of manor houses in West T hurrock which
reflect the ch anging relationship of the manor to its
landscape dominated by the chalk r idge of the Purfleet
anticline and the marshes of the Thames shore. The fir st
manor house of the 11th centur y was probably located
close to St Clement's church on a p romontory in the
m arshes, controlling its valuable asset of the route by
ferry across the T hames to Greenhithe. T he grazing of
sheep on the marshes was already a significant part of
the ma norial economy, and it was early in the 12th
century that the circular nave of St Clement's church was
constructed (Harrold 1998, 4-6). T he ferry became
increasingly important in the late 12th century when it
became the route of pilgrimages to Canterbury.
Around the end of the 13th century the Brianzon
lords of the manor probably relocated their manorial
centre to a place previously occupied by stock enclosures
at the Stone House site. Here they built a new stone
m anor house, one of a ver y small number of medieval,
r ural, domestic stone buildings known from Essex
(Figure 25) .The site, on the south side of the road from
Purfleet to Grays Thurrock which ran along the edge of
the marshes, reflected the balance of value of the uplands
and marshlands in the agricultural economy. It controlled
a manorway stock route into the marshes, but was
sufficiently high above them to avoid flooding by the
rising waters of the T hames, which now had to be held
back by embankments along the r iver shore. Immediately
to the north was tl1e junction of the marsh-edge road with
the route (Stonehouse L ane) to the otl1er Brianzon
manor at Aveley, and on to London. T he manor house
was extended in the early 14th century and served as the
central point of tl1e manor until the 16th century.
F inds as well as faunal and plant remains from this
p eriod were very sparse, but a reasonably coherent
!'t l'"
,..-
Figure 25
Reconsn·uction drawing of Stone House, viewed from the north-west (by M ark G ridley)
70
,,
WESTTHURROCK
ground plan of the manor house was obtained, despite
th e entire building not being available for detailed
excavation and it having been extensively robbed . This
has allowed comparisons with other manor houses of this
period in Essex, for example Southchurch Hall Gackson
1987, 34-8) and, in particular, Low Hall, Walthamstow
(Blair 2002) . Furthermore, documentary research has
enabled many details of the ownership, layout and use of
the houses at Stone H ou se and High H ouse to be
established, particularly in the p ost-medieval period, as
well as providing useful background information on the
environment and economy of the area, and the
continuing efforts to reclaim land along the edge of the
Thames estuary (cf. G lazebrook 1997, 52-3; Brown and
G lazebrook 2000, 49).
The opportunities for excavation and documentary
research at Stone House have a wider importance as
there has been a generally low level of excavation of rural
medieval sites in the region, and a need has been
identified to research and date settlement patterns
(Glazebrook 1997, 52- 3) .The evolution of the medieval
house and farmstead is also an important research topic
(Brown and Glazebrook 2000, 48), with few recorded
rural medieval house plans and, as noted above, stonebuilt rural medieval buildings are almost unknown.
In the 1550s the Stone H ouse was superseded by the
construction of a new house by C icely Long at the Nevv
Place, later known as H igh H ouse. Its more elevated
position to the north of tl1e road to Purfleet (L ondon
rッ
Zセ 、 I@ reflects the increasing importance of arable land in
the agriculture of the period. Stone H ouse became a
tenanted farm from the 16th century onwards, whilst
High H ou se was regarded as the m ain house of the
manor when it was held by Cicely's descendants and their
successors until the 19tl1 century. During the divisions
of the manor between absentee landlords in tl1e mid 17th
century and the 1760s it was often in the hands of
tenants. It is not known where the courts of the manor
were held at any period in its history, and it is tl1erefore
difficult to say which house functioned as the manorial
centre. Stone H ouse was rebuilt in 1683 and most of the
medieval manor house was demolished at the same time
or shortly after, the solar block probably being converted
to a cottage which may have survived for another 150
years. Stone H ouse continued as a tenanted farm, except
for a short period at the end of the 18th century when it
was used as the parish workhouse. All buildings at Stone
House had gone by the 1920s but the High H ouse
complex remains, tl1e sole survivor, along witl1 St
Clement's church, of old WestThurrock.
Thanks are also extended to the Section 2 RLE
design and construction teams and also to the Hochtief I
Norwest H olst joint ve nture, the principal contractors,
for their co-operation, particularly at Stone House.
The archaeology programme has been moni tored by
archaeologists from Essex County Council and English
Heritage and, in particular, we would like to acknowledge
Richard Havis and Deborah Priddy for their continued
support and advice.
Christopher Phillpotts would like to thank the staff at
the National Archives in Kew, the British Library, the
Essex Record Office and the London Metropolitan
Archives for meir assistance during m e documentary
research.
T he programme of fieldwork and initial postexcavation was managed for Wessex Archaeology by
Andrew Crockett. The fieldwork at High H ouse was
directed by Phil H arding, assisted by Mike Dinwiddy,
and Mike Dinwiddy undertook me watching brief at
Stone H ouse which Jed to tl1e discovery of the medieval
manor house. The subsequent excavation was directed
by James Wright, assisted by Hannah Marriot. We are
grateful to the archaeological teams at both sites, and in
particular to mose individuals who worked long hours at
Stone H ouse to ensure that tl1e excavation was completed
within a tight timescale. Preliminary post- excavation
work was undertaken by Mike Dinwiddy and Hannah
Marriot, and interim reports on both sites were produced
by Phil Andrews.
The main phase of post-excavation assessment,
analysis and publication was managed on behalf of the
Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture by Andrew
Crockett. Bruno Barber co-ordinated the preparation of
tl1e post-excavation project design, with in put from
Lorraine Mepham (finds) and Camerine Barnett
(environmental). In addition to those listed amongst me
contributors to this report, the following specialists have
also provided information: Matt Leivers (worked flint),
Nicholas Cooke (coin s), Rachael Seager Smith and Kayt
Brown (potter y), Ruth Shaffrey (stone) and Catherine
Barnett (charcoal). The finds were dealt witl1 by Angi
Britten, tl1e soil samples processed by Hayley Clark and
the residues sorted by Sarah Wyles. S imon Skittrell
undertook the preparation of the digital archive for the
two sites and has also digitised the field drawings for
publication here. Elaine Wakefield took me photographs
used in tl1is report and all of the illustrations are by S.E.
Jam es, with the exception of the Stone H ouse
reconstruction which was drawn by Mark Gridley.
Andrew Fitzpatrick and Andrew Powell read and
provided constructive criticism on an earlier draft of this
report, with external comments provided by Richard
Havis (on behalf of Essex County Council) and Jane
Sidell (on behalf of RLE). We would also like to thank
Owen Bedwin for his editorial advice during tl1e latter
stages of tl1e publication programme.
Acknowledgements
Rail L ink Engineering's (RLE) in-house archaeology
team which, for WestThurrock, com prised Helen G lass,
Jay Carver, Steve H aynes and Brigitte Buss, projectmanaged all aspects of tl1e work on behalf of (tl1en)
U nion Railways (Nortl1) Limited (now High Speed 1
L td). We would like to acknowledge their assistance and
support throughout all phases of me programme of
archaeological work.
71
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
APPENDIX 1: HIGH HOUSE, INVENTORY
OF OCTOBER 1559
Item j bolster of fethers with the bed &
Item j bolster of flock with the flockbed &
Item ij pillowes of downe
lllJS
Item j cubborde of wayneskott
xs
Item j smale quysshen of white silk
xijd
Item j smale __ of blewe and yelowe with a
fringe for a bedd
IJS
Item j smale pece of grene and redd saye for
iiijs vjd
a bedd
Item j cheste of oke
xvd
viijd
Item j smale stole of waynskott
Item j bound close chayre of wood
IJ S
ijs
Item j paier of andyrons of yron
Item j curtayne in the wyndowe of grene and
redd buckeram
ijs
Item tl1e hangings of tl1e chamber of paynted
xiijs iiijd
clothe
Item vj bedstaves, a white brushe of hare and
a come
iijs
vijl iiijs iiijd
Summa
Transcribed by Christopher Phillpotts (S hropshire
Archives 6000/94 79)
Herafter ensuythe the inventorye indented of all the
goods, cattails, debts, household stuff, p late, jewells and
redye money which late were of Cycely Long wedowe
deceassed, viewed and preysed by Richard P ype
leatherseller, Mathewe Colclough draper, Christofer
Dymitesey mercer, Citezenes of London, and John
Gilman of Weste Thurrock in the countie of Essex
yo man, the furste daie of October 15 59 ...
Att her howsse in E ssex
In the Parlor
Item j square table of wayneskott
Item j forme of wayneskott
Item vj stoles of wayneskott
Item j carpett of dorney old
Item vij cusshens
Item ij smale chayres with yelowe fustyan
Item j chaire of walnutte tree
Item j old turned chayre
Item j cub borde of waynskott
Item j dorney carpett to the same cuborde
Item j Iitle tabull of wayneskott
Item j corte coberd for a paier of virginalls
Item ij Iitle dorney carpetts to the same
Item j jack of wood for a bason
Item j skerne of wyker sett in wayneskotte
Item j paier of andirons of yron
Item j paier of tongs of yron
Item j back of yron in the chymney
Item vj fote stoles
Item j paier of tabulls
Item the hanging of paynted clothe
Item a portall with other drawing wyndowes
Summa
viijs
viijd
vijs
xijd
vijs
In MrVyners Chamber
Item a bedsted of waynescott
xiijsiiijd
Item iiij curtaynes of green and redd buckeram
vs
Item a settell of wayneskott
lliJS
Item vj bedstaves
vjd
Item j flock bedd
VHJS
Item j bolster of flock &
ijs vjd
Item j bolster of fethers
ijs viijd
Item j white blankett
vjs viijd
Item j redd coverlett
Item j olde cheste of oke
xxd
Item j cubborde
iijs iiijd
iijs iiijd
Item j smale presse for glasses
Item vij drinken glasses in the same presse
VIJS
xvjd
Item j owre glasse
Item j do sen of rownde trenchers with a case
xijd
Item ij urrenalls
iijd
xijd
Item iij glasses for Rose Water
xvs
Item the paynted clothes of canvas
Item iij curtayne rodds
IJS
Summa
iijl xviijs vijd
lllJS
iiijs
vijs
XS
xiiijd
vs vjd
iiijs iiijd
ijs viijd
xd
xvjd
iiijs viijd
viijd
iiij s
xviijd
ijs
xvjs viijd
xxvs
vjli
In the Hall
xiijs iiijd
Item the hangings of paynted clothe
Item j tabull with a frame of wayneskotte
vjs viijd
vijs
Item vj stoles of wayneskott
Item iij formes of oke
ijs viijd
Item j cub borde of wayneskott
XS
Item j paier of playeing tabulls
xxd
xvjd
Item ij brusshes
Summa
xlijs viijd
In her owen Chamber
Item j beds ted of wayneskott
xiijs iiijd
Item v curtaynes of yelowe and blewe say
and frynge to the same about the bedd
xxs
Item iij curtayne roodds
ijs viijd
Item j Iitle settell of wayneskott at the bedds fote
iijs
Item j fetherbedd
xis
Item j flock bedd
viijs
Item j paier of white blanketts
vs
Item j redd coverlett
viijs iiijd
In the C hamber next the Servants
Item j bedsted of wayneskott
Item v curtaynes of grene and redd buckeram
Item j settell att the bedds fote
Item fringe abowte the bedd of grene and
redd crewell &
Item iij cur tayne rodds
Item j flock bedd
Item j white blankett
Item j closse chaire of wayneskott
Item the paynted hangings about the Chamber
Summa
In the M ylke House
Item ij bolting tubbes, j mele tubbe, j kneding
troughe
Summa patet
72
xs
vs
iiijd
xxd
iiijs
IJ S
xxd
xs
xis
vs vjd
WESTTHURROCK
The Pewter
Item iij pewter candelsticks
Item ij porringers of pewter
Item j pewter bole for a possett
Item vj planers
Item iij chargers
Item ij bason, a grete and a Iitle
Item v rownd disshes
Item iij square dysshes
Item x rownde sawcers
Item vj square sawcers
Item j custerd me lle
Item j plate for a tar te
Item v chamber potts
Item j quarte pon and j pone!! pott
Item iij pewter potts for vergis, vynegar and
musterd
Item x pewter spones
Item v pon s of stone with p ewter covers
Item j salte of pewter
The bucken of the well
I tem ij flower potts
Summa
The Brasse
Item iij brasse potts
Item iij pannes and j kenai
Item j dripping pann
Item j fryeng pann
Item j chafer of brasse
Item j brasse skumer
Item v candelsticks
Item j fote for a chafing dysshe
Item j Iitle skellen
Item j olde kettell
Summa
T he Lynnen
Item iiij paier of fyne shetes
Item j corse canvas shete
I tem iij long tabull clothes
Item v shorte tabull clothes
Item vj long towells
Item iiij coberd panes wrought with blewe
Item j coberd paine corse
Item v pillowkeces
Item iij shorte towells
Item iiij dosen and v napkins
Item ij pillowes of downe
Summa
Mr Meredethes Chamber
Item j flock bedd
Item a bolster of fethers
Item a covering lyned olde
Item a dorney covering
Item other lumber about the howse
Summa
In the Mayds Chamber
Item j bedsted of wayneskon, j trundell bedd, j testerne
of redd and grene buckeram,
iij curtayn rodds, v curtaynes of redd and grene
buckeram, j old smale trundell bedd,
j old senell, j greate bell for a howse
XS
vjs viijd
Item the hangings of paynted clothe
xvjd
Item j paier of tressells and a Iitle long senell
Summ a
XVllJS
vs iiijd
vijs iiijd
iijs iiijd
xiijs iiijd
vijs
ll}S
vjs viijd
ijs iijd
iijs iiijd
iijs
ijs iiijd
vjd
iiijs ijd
ijs
In the Buttrye
Item j smale cubborde
Item j byn and iij bottells
Summa patet
ijs vjd
xxd
In the Kytchen
Item j jack of yron with a !eden waight
xiijs iiijd
Item j chopping knyfe of yron
viijd
Item j pele to sett pies on
ijd
Item j grate for brede
vjd
Item j chopping borde for erbes
vjd
Item j wasshing bole
xxd
Item j bucking tubbe, j rynsing tubbe and j ley
tub be
ll)S
iiijd
Item j paier of bellowes
Item ij grete racks for spyns
vjs viijd
Item ij crepers
ijs
Item j gridyron and a fleshe hoke
viijd
Item j paier of pothoks
vjd
I tem ij trevetts of yron wherof j smale and j grete xxd
xxd
Item ij paier of tongs and a tier shovelle
Item j spyn
xd
Item ij racks to hang potts and j long barre of yron
which they hang on
VS
Item a cope for capons
viijd
iiijd
Item ij smale stoles
viijd
Item a rack for cheses
Summa
xis xd
xxd
xiiijd
xviijd
xd
xiiijd
xd
iijl xjs
xs
XS
xijd
xijd
iiijs iiijd
vjd
vs
l JS
viijd
xijd
xxxvs vjd
Ls
iijs iiijd
viijs iiijd
In the Cham ber over the Kytchen
Item j bedsted of wayneskott
xiijs iiijd
Item v curtaynes of yelowe and blewe say,
fringe of the same
XVl JS
Item iij curtayn rodds
ijs
Item j fetherbedd and j bolster of fethers
xxxvjs viijd
Item ij white blankens
iiijs
Item j coverlett of tapistry, lyned with canvas vjs viijd
Item j settell an the bedds foote and vj
iiijs vjd
bedstaves
Item j courte cubborde of oke
ijs
xiiijd
Item ij crepers of yron in the chymney
Item j smale wayneskon stole
vjd
Item j smale iij foted stole
ijd
Item the hangings of paynted clothe
xvs
Summa
vl iijs
VS
vs
xiijs iiijd
xd
VS xd
xd
XXS
lll}S
vi xvjs vjd
vs
ijs vjd
l JS
ijs iiijd
In Mr Meredethe Chamber
Item j bedd of wayneskott
Item v curteyns of blewe and yelowe say
Item j senell of wayneskott with vj bedstaves
VS
xiiijs xd
73
xiijs iiijd
xvijs
iiijs vjd
ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
Item j courte cubborde of oke
Item the hangings of paynted clothe
Item j cheste of wayneskott wherin is certeyn
lynn en
Summa
In the Ser vaunts Chamber
Item ij old bedstaves of oke or elme
Item j flock bedd
Item ij bolsters of flock
Item ij old formes
Item j old shorter Iader
Summa
In the Brusshing C hamber
Item j presse of wayneskott
Item iij Iitle quisshens for wemen peynes
Item ij quysshens
Item j curteyn of yellowe and blewe saye
Item Plaskett
Item j testor which is old for a bedd
Item j tabull with ij tressells, ij driffatts and
j greate cheste
Item j olde chest of bords
Summa
ijs
xiijs iiijd
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ijs
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