Archaeological Recording Brief at High Street Farm, West Wratting, Phase II

A secondary phase of an archaeological watching brief was carried out at High street Farm, West Wratting, Cambridgeshire (TL 6066/5200), during January 1995, in the plot to the south-east of the land in which Phase I was completed. The observations and recording continued during the excavation, by the contractor, of foundation trenches for a new domestic dwelling. The trenches were 1.8metres deep, 0.6 metres wide, and covered the area of the ground plan of the house. Several features were encountered, including a 0.02 metre wide by 0.20 metre tall, brisk lined drain, a coursed and mortared pile of bricks, and a row of several loose bricks. A small pit, which was bisected by one trench, was seen to contain a lens of cinders in its fill. A large channel-like feature, which was truncated by several of the trenches, appeared to run in a north/south direction and contained a very wet, silty fill, resembling that of a pond. Its cut had very steep sides, a flat base and may possibly be a part of the former pond which stood close by until it was filled in, in 1994. A collection of large rough stones, which appeared to lie on top of each other, were removed from the trench in the north of the site, although they lay at a greater depth than the other features and were completely isolated from any other context. Any interpretation should therefore be avoided. No dating evidence was discovered in association with any features although all the bricks on the site appear to date from approximately the eighteenth or early nineteenth century.