Stowe House, Stowe, Buckinghamshire

Between the 3rd and 17th July 2003, Oxford Archaeology (OA) carried out a combined excavation, watching brief and geophysical survey at Stowe House, Stowe, Buckinghamshire (NGR SP 6700 3750). This work was commissioned by Purcell Miller Tritton acting on behalf of the Stowe House Preservation Trust in advance of the excavation of ten scaffolding anchor pits located immediately south and north of the school building.
The excavations in the North Front revealed an alignment of three stone plinths on either side of the North Portico roughly respecting the present arcade. These structures may have been built during or after the construction of the North Front by the first Lord Cobham in the mid to
late 17th century, or later under the direction of Earl Temple in the 18th century, and represent a possible colonnade or arched arcade. A modern and earlier l9th century system of brick and stone culverts was found
under the cobbled walkway behind the arcade.

In the South Front the excavations revealed a clay lined tank possibly associated with the construction of Stowe House. This structure was built over and within substantial deposits of made ground forming the South
Front terrace constructed in the late I9th century by Earl Temple. Garden features in the form of paths and possible hedge trenches were also identified, though these were recent modern additions to the South Front.