Archaeological Investigations at Elms Farm, Folksworth

In August and September 1996, and January 1997, the Archaeological Field Unit of Cambridgeshire County Council undertook an investigation of land at Elms Farm, Folksworth (TL 144 897). The work was carried out before and during the construction of 13 dwellings, access road, services and landscaping, on behalf of Homes by Marshall Ltd. A ditch of post-medieval date was revealed at the north end of the development area, where it was cut by a modern pond infilled in the 1970s. It has been suggested that Elms Farm was once surrounded by a moat, which had been largely obliterated by 1926. This ditch may have been part of a moat, but no other evidence for a moat was revealed within the development area. Therefore, the results of this investigation do not provide any evidence to support the presence of a moat at Elms Farm. A barn which was to be demolished as part of the development, was recorded before and during demolition. The barn was largely built of brick and constructed during the later-half of the 19th century, however the later building was erected on earlier stone foundations. It is possible that these could have been contemporary with the initial construction of the farm house c. 1570 to 1600, but there was no associated dating evidence to confirm this.