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| HER Number | MWB20016 |
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| Record Type | Monument |
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| Name | Shaw House - possible Civil War ditch, or garden feature |
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Summary
Substantial east-west ditch excavated and interpreted as a defensive feature associated with the earthwork bank in the gardens, perhaps used during the Second Battle of Newbury
Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status
- Conservation Area: Shaw House and St Mary's Church, Shaw
- Registered Park or Garden (II) 1001446: Shaw House
Monument Type(s):
- DITCH (Elizabethan to 17th century - 1581 AD? to 1644 AD?)
Full Description
An archaeological evaluation trench excavated in April 1999 located the southern side of a substantial east-west aligned ditch. It was 1.20m deep with a flattish base and was filled with a dark brown silty clay containing frequent chalk pieces and moderate amounts of red brick fragments. Lenses of lighter material may indicate tip lines and there was some evidence of silting at the base of the ditch. The feature is located on an alignment immediately outside the existing garden terrace tat Shaw House.
Although no dating evidence was recovered, the report suggested that the ditch could have had a defensive purpose, associated with the adjacent bank reputed to have been constructed during the Civil War <1>. However later research on the bank indicates that it was a Tudor garden feature, although the earthwork seems to have been used during the Second Battle of Newbury.
Sources and further reading
| <01> | Northamptonshire Archaeology. 1999. Shaw House, Donnington. Geophysical and evaluation trenching phases 1 and 2.. 2018 Digitisation Project. [Unpublished document / SWB12704] |
Related Monuments
| MWB15775 | Newbury II Battlefield, 1644 (Landscape) |
| MWB15774 | Shaw House (Park) (Landscape) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
| EWB114 | Shaw House (Temporary classrooms) 1999 (Ref: SHS99) |
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