AS Archaeology & Heritage Services was commissioned by Mr Harrison Brown Blue Spruce Properties Ltd to produce a Heritage Statement with regard to a planning application for a residential development of 47 homes with associated vehicular access and landscaping on land to the W of Paulls Lane, Broadway, Ilminster, Somerset.
The heritage statement site background
The heritage statement for the proposed residential development is located within a large, irregularly shaped pasture field (formerly subdivided into two enclosures) situated on the W periphery of the village of Broadway, about 4.8km W of Ilminster, Somerset. The field, which is approximately 3.0ha in size, is bounded on all four sides by substantial tree-lined hedge boundaries and lies between Paulls Lane to the E and Pound Road to the W. To the immediate N, the field is bordered by a long rectangular pasture field adjoining the roadway of Broadway Street, extending E-W between Croft Farm and Broadway Pound, while to the S is a field laid out to grass and subdivided into riding paddocks, extending southwards downslope towards the River Ding.
Historic background
Historic mapping and field name evidence suggests that the long rectangular plot to the N of the proposal site might possibly represent evidence of a long-abandoned westward extension to the medieval settlement of Broadway. There is also potential for evidence of buried agricultural features and extractive activity to be encountered within the boundaries of the site, however these features, if encountered, would be considered to be of limited significance in archaeological terms.
The potential for encountering archaeological remains of prehistoric and Romano-British date has been assessed as Low, reflecting the general lack of evidence for these periods in the archaeological record, although it should be noted that the presence of superficial Head Gravel deposits in this locality might suggest limited potential for recovery of prehistoric lithic finds.
The site is not located within a Conservation Area or an Archaeological Priority Area and there are no designated or non-designated heritage assets recorded within the site. The grid reference for the site (approximate centre) is NGR ST 31658 15244.
