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Summary

Berry Meadow is located in the centre of Kingsteignton, a settlement whose distinctive circular plan is thought to have been laid out by the beginning of the 10th century. Excavations on Berry Meadow found evidence for a sequence of ditches and gullies relating to enclosures and trackways, the earliest of which is dated to the 7th-10th centuries. The earliest reference to Kingsteignton is as Tegntun in the 11th century, the King element being added by the 13th century.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX87SE/10

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BURH (VIII to Late Medieval - 701 AD to 1539 AD) + Sci.Date

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Map object based on this Source.

Gover, J. E. B. + Mawer, A. + Stenton, F. M., 1932, The Place-Names of Devon: Part Two, 478 (Monograph). SDV337894.

The earliest reference to Kingsteignton is as Tegntun in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles, circa 1050. It is referred to as Teintona in Domesday Book as which time the manor was held by the king. The 'King' part of the name is first documented in 1259, Teintone Regis and in 1274 it is referred to as Kingestentone or Kings Teyntune. It is suggested that the name means Farm on the River Teign.

Harris, R., 1977, King's Teignton, 5 (Monograph). SDV284175.

Berry Meadow is believed to be the centre of the Saxon burgh at Kingsteignton.

Unknown, 1982, Historic Field Goes to Housing (Article in Serial). SDV348909.

Planning permission given for the partial development of Berry Meadow with the rest to be reserved as a public open space.

Haslam, J., 1984, The Towns of Devon, 275-6 (Article in Monograph). SDV348830.

Devon County Council, 1984, Untitled Source, 3637-3641 (Aerial Photograph). SDV348910.

Other details: Filed in HER under Kingsteignton (not parish file).

Griffith, F. M., 1985, DAP/ES, 9, 9A, 10 (Aerial Photograph). SDV337671.

Weddell, P. J. + Henderson, C. G., 1985, Excavations at Berry Meadow, Kingsteignton, 1985, 69-74 (Article in Serial). SDV354914.

Excavations undertaken at Berry Meadow in 1985 in advance of a bowling green. The earliest features located were two small pits one of which (148) contained an assembalge of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age flints. A handful of residual prehistoric and Roman pottery was recovered from a medieval pit (197). Three straight regular ditches with deep V-shaped profiles cut through earlier features. Ditches 46 and 14 may define the sites of a trackway leading towards the area to the west of the church. They produced no finds other than charcoal from which it is hoped to obtain radiocarbon dates in due course. However, a Saxon or early Norman date would seem most likely as their alignments are the same as those followed by a later group of features which seem to belong to the period immediately prior to the later 13th century. The latter group comprised ditches and shallow post or plant holes relating to several phases of activity. The later medieval period saw the digging of successive ditches along the edge of Berry Lane on a new alignment. These ditches contained pottery dating between the late 13th and 15th centuries suggesting that the leat and the path now called Berry Lane are likely to have been created in the 13th century.

Unknown, 1985, Trial 'Dig' For History (Article in Serial). SDV348908.

Youngs, S. M. + Clark, J. + Barry, T., 1986, Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1985, 114-198 (Article in Serial). SDV24583.

An area of 1200 square metres was excavated in 1985. Four phases of Saxon and Medieval boundary ditches were found predating Berry Lane, which is thought to have originated as a field path next to Fairwater Mill Leat, which was probably cut in the late 13th-14th century. A watching brief on a trench cutting across the east perimeter of the subcircular enclosure defined by streets to the south of Fore Street demonstrated the absence of a defensive ditch beneath Greenhill Road.

Weddell, P. J., 1987, Excavations within the Anglo Saxon Enclosure at Berry Meadow, Kingsteignton, in 1985, 75-96 (Article in Serial). SDV298084.

Excavations were carried out on Berry Meadow, a site in the centre of Kingsteignton, a settlement whose distinctive circular plan is believed to have been laid out by the beginning of the 10th century. No buildings were found but a sequence of ditches and gullies relating to enclosures and trackways was recorded. The earliest of these is dated to the 7th-10th centuries. The final phase in the 13th or 14th century coincided with the construction of the Fairwater Leat. A Roman feature was also found and some Roman finds and prehistoric flints were recovered.
The three main phases recorded are as follows:
1. Saxon: 3 contemporary ditches, presumably associated with enclosure hedges. One ditch traced for 30 metres and was 1.75-2.0 metres wide and up to 1.2 metres deep. Others shallower, one has cleaning slot. No datable finds but charcoal in fill gives date range cal AD550-890. The absence of pottery of this period is of note as it is suspected that Devon was virtually aceramic at this time.
2. 12th-13th century: 3 parallel gullies on east-west alignment with two parallel lines of irregularly spaced and sized pits. Gullies less than 1 metres wide and slightly discontinuous. Probably more than one phase, reflecting a track alignment with adjacent shrub-hedgeline.
3. 3 shallow and discontinuous gullies, following north-southroute of Berry Lane and associated with leat. Probably define a path adjacent to the leat, which has subsequently evolved as Berry Lane. Pottery from the gullies belonged to circa AD 1250-1400. No structural features or building debris was recorded, nor any features above the subsoil. Various other features, pits and gullies, of uncertain date, were recorded. No certain Saxon pottery was recovered, but 18 oxidised chert-tempered pieces are of the 11th or 12th century. A further 58 medieval sherds were recovered, largely Totnes-type coarseware. Post-medieval pottery was also recovered, solely from the topsoil which showed signs of having been cultivated during the last century. That Fairwater Leat and Berry Land bisect the earlier medieval gully alignments suggests that they are secondary features dating after circa 1300. Some of the property boundaries alongside Berry Lane do still retain the Saxon alignment such as the principal boundary wall at the south end of Berry Meadow.
The status and character of the Saxon settlement at Kingsteignton are uncertain. It has been suggested that the name Berry might be derived from the Old English burgh meaning a fortified place but it has now been established that no defensive ditch existed on the east side of Kingsteignton, under Greenhill Road which defines the circuit on that side. However, it appears to have been important enough to be attacked by the Danes in 1001 and evidence suggests that it was the centre of a late Saxon royal estate and the head of a hundred and possible site of a minster. It is referred to as Teintone in Domesday, the suffix Regis being added by the 14th century.

Unknown, 1988 - 2011, Historic Kingsteignton (Un-published). SDV348907.

Weddell, P. J., 1991, The Origins of Newton Abbot, 19-22 (Article in Serial). SDV348915.

Horner, B., 1996, Negative Observation (Worksheet). SDV348917.

No archaeological features were observed during a watching brief on the excavation of foundations for a bungalow near Berry Meadow. The absence of a band of gravel and pebbles was noted in some of the sections.

Exeter Archaeology, 2006, Archaeological Assessment of Land Adjacent to Church Street, Kingsteignton, 2 (Report - Assessment). SDV351199.

Allum, C., 2009, Proposed Re-Development of Land at Newton Road, Kingsteignton, Devon, 4 (Report - Evaluation). SDV347972.

Ordnance Survey, 2012, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV348725.

Distinctive sub-circular street pattern around Berry Meadow visible on modern mapping. Map object based on this Source.

Nowell, J., 2012, Penns Mount, Kingsteignton, Devon: Archaeological Desk Based Assessment, 10 (Report - Assessment). SDV351968.

English Heritage, 2012, Radiocarbon Dates from Samples Funded by English Heritage Between 1981 and 1988, 174 (Report - Scientific). SDV351471.

Radiocarbon dating of charcoal samples from ditch 46 and pit 49 (see Weddell + Henderson) produced dates between 6th and 12th centuries AD.

Pink, F., 2014, Devon Extensive Urban Survey Project. Rapid Assessment of Archaeological Interventions, 16 (Report - non-specific). SDV357343.

Kingsteignton is located to the north of Newton Abbot, and is now incorporated within the modern town. It is first mentioned circa 1050 as Tegntun. Although recent archaeological work in Kingsteignton has revealed no deposits of interest, earlier investigations highlight the potential for the town centre to contain buried archaeological deposits.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds

• FDV1974 - POT (XIII to XV - 1250 AD to 1500 AD)

Associated Events

• EDV736 - Excavations within the Anglo-Saxon Enclosure at the Bowling Green Berry Meadows

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