Test Pit 5

Test Pit 5. High House, Church Hill(HXN 065)

Property description and location

High House is a Grade II listed building (NHLE No. 1032510) dating to c.1500. Located at the top of Church Hill it is probably shown on the 1619 map Hoxne Hall map and is clearly marked on the Tithe map (named in the apportionment, together with the adjacent property which is attached to the former 19th century school, as 'House, Garden, Schoolroom' owned by Sir Edward Kerrison) and the 1st Edition OS.

Test Pit description

The Test Pit was placed on a small, flat lawn, c.2m to the front of the property. A thin topsoil, Context 1, overlaid small irregular deposits of grey clay at 0.1m depth, Context 2. Beneath this was 0.1m of dark grey, very compacted, clay soils with frequent flecks of chalk and brick/tile fragments, Contexts 3 and 4. The natural clay subsoil, Context 5, was seen at a depth of 0.3m.

Test Pit finds summary

Small quantities of LMT (15th-16th century), and GRE (Glazed red earthenware, 16th-18th C) were identified. In addition later wares included Chinese porcelain fragments and some Staffordshire white salt-glazed stoneware, both of which are likely to date to the 18th century. Other finds include fragments of TGE polychrome wall tiles with figurative decoration.

Test Pit Discussion

The results from the Test Pit support the known history of the property, the mixed finds material likely deriving from the domestic occupation of the plot since the 16th century. The thin topsoil over deposits of redeposited clay may indicate previous groundworks such as levelling of the plot or earlier uses, i.e. former yard surfaces, other than an open lawn.