Post-medieval occupation at Meesdenbury Farm, Meesdenbury, Meesden, Hertfordshire: An Archaeological Watching Brief

Between December 2001 and May 2002 staff of the Archaeological Field Unit of Cambridge County Council conducted an archaeological watching brief at Farmhouse Manor, Messdenbury, Meesden, Hertfordshire (NGR TL 4398/32901), as part of the planning requirements in advance of construction affecting an historical Grade II Listed Building. The work was commissioned by Mr. W. T. Dimsdale who also submitted the planning application.

The watching brief consisted of two phases, groundwork monitoring (Phase 1) and building recording (Phase 2).

Groundwork entailed the excavation of service and foundation trenches for the proposed kitchen extension. The excavated trenches produced evidence for clay and gravel deposits, the earliest of which pre-dated the Manor House and could seal earlier medieval buildings/features. Late activity on site was represented by a nineteenth century brick-foundation building. Uncertainty rests over the original function of this building that appears to have been used as a brewery.

Building recording consisted of the investigation of the rear wall of the present kitchen, in advance of the proposed extension. This consisted of a post-medieval timber frame on a brick plinth. The timber was found to be in a good state of preservation, despite modern interventions, namely the insertion of a window and service pipes. The wall appeared to belong to one phase on construction, with the kitchen and the adjacent room probably representing (part of) the original nucleus of the house. Unstratified pottery dating to the seventeenth century confirms a relatively late date for this part of the Manor House.