Ashleigh Farm
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Slag

Fieldwalking at Ashleigh Farm, Windlesham, Surrey by the Surrey Heath Archaeology & Heritage Trust - October 2002.

Objectives

  • To study the medieval common fields 
  • To provide members of the Trust with experience of various field walking techniques
  • To provide practical fieldwork experience for the local Young Archaeologists Club

Location and Context

Location

Windlesham,  NW Surrey.   Close by the Windle Brook. Site centred on map reference SU931633

Arable land on a gentle slope down from a low ridge.  Highest point of field 60m; lowest 50m.

 

North West Surrey

The Windle Brook flows from the sand hills of the Easthampstead plain, through Bagshot and Windlesham, into the Chobham Bourne which flows down to the Thames near Weybridge.

The sand hills are very dry and have poor soil.  The valleys are peat filled at their heads; alluvial lower down.  The alluvial makes excellent meadows; but the peat is probably only good for alder crop.

Map: David Stokes

Geology

On Bracklesham (sand) Beds. South facing site sloping down to the valley bottom peat around the Windle Brook.  There appears to be a little clay mixed in with the sand.

Area below 50m is valley peat.

Underlying Bagshot Beds approximately 45 m.  Throughout this area the division between the Bracklesham Beds and the underlying Bagshot Sands is often rich in deposited iron oxide.

The Windle Brook is at the 45 metre height, co-incides with expected iron oxide deposits; the stream bottom is rust red due to iron fixing algae.

Historical Context

Prehistoric

No lithics have been found in the valley.

Bronze-age spear heads have been found on the ridges which enclose the valley.

Socketed iron spear head.

Photo courtesy of the Surrey Heath Archaeological Centre

A spear head (identified by the British Museum as Iron Age) was found on the north side of the Windle Brook. Precise location of this find in the field was not possible as it was found attached to a plough at the end of working. The farmer reports that it was bent in half; but not known if dragged from soil in this condition or was bent by the plough. When the M3 was dug a considerable amount of soil was dumped at the SW edge of the field; the spear could even have come from this.

 

Romano-British, Saxon

Surrey Heath Archaeological & Heritage Trust carried out excavations in the 1980s on the opposite side of the Windle Brook at the Arboretum on Major Spower's land in the vicinity of Harrishaws Cottages. The site produced evidence of Iron Age and Romano-British activities.2

 

OS Map 1882.

Ashleigh Farm once called Astagehill Farm. Oldhouse Lane borders the western and southern side of the former Estersh common field. The Windle Brook is shown bottom left.

Medieval

Marie Eedle states that this area was part of Windlesham's  common arable field system, specifically Estersh (eastern field) 1 p10-11. As such it was been a continuously cultivated field right to the end of the 20th century. Ersh derives from O.E. ersc meaning ploughed field. It is shown quite clearly on John Rocques Map c1768.

Modern

Estersh seems to have become Astage.  The 1882 OS map shows an Astagehill Farm on the site of the present day Ashleigh Farm.

In 1895 this area became  Fromow's Nurseries. It is said that Astagehill field (Estersh) was particularly good for roses because of the clay mixed with the sand. The lower parts of the field, in the peat, were excellent for rhododendron.

Since the end of the second world war it has been farmed by the Bagg family.

 

Methodology

Conditions

Cloudy day in October, after heavy rain the night before. Recently ploughed.

Intensive Cell Walking

Surveyed 3000 square metres divided into 10 metre squares. Fieldwalking performed by YAC members - novice field walkers.

Finds of each cell taken to finds officers and recorded – see form; results input into Geoplot software

Sampling using Line Walking

Area Covered: Approx 11 hectares.

Sampling rate: Walkers spaced 25 metres apart so sample covered approximately 4%

GPS used to determine start of each traverse; direction indicated to walker by compass

‘Rolling line’ used; as each walker finished their traverse they were asked to rejoin new end of line each walker was asked to collect any pre-modern material in a plastic bag and hand in at end of traverse

Reasonably experienced field walkers 

Results

Lines walked. The darker the grey the more slag found.

Map: David Stokes

Iron Working Debris

Much slag and one piece of possible tap slag. No vitreous clay which might have indicated a furnace.  It seems unlikely that the slag was redeposited from the motorway construction since the frequency increased with distance from the motorway. The main concentration was along the NG 63175 line.  Since the slag did not show up on adjacent lines it is likely that the slag was from a spot feature. 

Geology drift maps indicate that the interface of the Bagshot and Bracklesham beds are approximately 5m lower than where iron working slag was found.

Photographs of the slag can be seen by clicking on 'slag' in the top left margin.

 

Worked Flints

None

Medieval

None

Post Medieval

bottles, flatware, tile, brick and slate.

Archives

All archives and samples held at the Surrey Heath Archaeology & Heritage Centre, Bagshot.

Interpretation

Evidence of iron working has been found all along the Windle Brook. It has never been precisely dated but at the Windlesham Arboretum excavations it was found within an Iron Age to late Romano-British context. Cross sections of the slag show large areas of pure iron. This suggests an early inefficient smelting process, probably Iron Age; whilst the presence of tap slag suggest 2nd century AD onwards.

  The map shows Romano-British period archaeology in the area. It includes the London-Silchester road passing close by Wickham Bushes and a possible Farley Heath-Bagshot road. Buildings found at excavations at Bagshot and Windlesham.

Iron working might have been popular in this area because the although the peat-filled valley bottom cannot be used for meadow it can provide a useful crop of coppiced alder.  Alder is often regarded as only second to oak for charcoal making.

References:

1    Marie Eedle. A History of Bagshot and Windlesham. Pub 1977

2    Reading the Earth at Lightwater.  Geoff Cole,  Surrey Heath Archaeological & Heritage Trust, 1989.