Orchard End Farm, Garstang, Lancashire. Archaeological Assessment

Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) were commissioned by National Wind Power Ltd
to undertake an archaeological assessment to inform a planning application for a small
wind power scheme at Orchard End Farm, near Garstang, Lancashire (centred on NGR SD
445 449). The work involved a desk-based assessment in conjunction with a walk-over
survey, and was undertaken in the week beginning August 18th 2003. The survey recorded
48 sites, of which 37 were identified by the desk-based study and 11 by the walk-over
survey.
The desk-based assessment demonstrated that the proposed development site had been part
of Pilling Moss until at least the late eighteenth century, with the closest medieval
enclosure lying to the south at Eskham House. Moss land was gradually improved during
the nineteenth century, leading to the creation of many rectangular straight-sided fields in
the area.