Abbey Farm, Hinton Charterhouse, Bath & North East Somerset
Agent: Killens
Proposal: Construction of new agricultural buildings and access
Abbey Farm, Hinton Charterhouse dates to the later 19th century and saw much expansion during the 20th century. Armour Heritage were contacted with regard to a planning application for two further agricultural buildings to the east of the existing farmyard. Initially an historic environment desk based assessment was completed due to the proximity of a number of designated sites and monuments.
Possible impacts on the setting of Hinton Priory, a Scheduled Monument comprising three Grade I and one Grade II Listed Buildings was raised by English Heritage (now Historic England), along with issues of the proximity of a Scheduled Bronze Age round barrow and a well-preserved section of Roman road, also Scheduled. The initial assessment found no significant impacts on the setting of Hinton Priory or the two earlier monuments.
Beyond issues of setting, archaeological concerns were also investigated. The projected line of the Scheduled section of Roman road, which originally ran from Bath to Kingston Deverill, appeared to pass through the western part of the proposed development area. However, closer study of its projected course, both in historic maps and through observation on the ground, strongly suggested a slight ‘kink’ in the road which would, theoretically, result in it passing beyond the eastern boundary of the site. This theory was tested through geophysical survey which recorded no sign of the road, although it did identify a small number of anomalies of possible archaeological origin.
Planning consent was subsequently granted with an attached archaeological condition requiring a strip, map & sample excavation across the new buildings' footprints. The fieldwork was completed to CIfA standards, and the subsequent report was issued and approved by the County Archaeologist at the local authority, ensuring the planning condition could be fully discharged.
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