Exploration of solar farm site at Wickham Hall reveals new clues to Roman activity in and around Bishop’s Stortford
Layers of Bishop’s Stortford history have been excavated by archaeologists before the construction of a new solar farm.
The dig, which unearthed Roman remains, was carried out at Wickham Hall for Endurance Energy as a condition of planning permission for a 35MW (megawatt) facility granted in January 2023.
Oxford Archaeology experts tackled 144 trial trench evaluations in January and February this year, targeting geophysical responses.
Their work uncovered evidence of later prehistoric, Roman, medieval and post-medieval activity on the site 1km north-west of Bishop’s Stortford, on the north-eastern side of the A120 Little Hadham bypass
Evidence of Bronze Age activity was potentially associated with a larger complex to the immediate east of the proposed development.
Evidence for late Iron Age and Roman activity included three rectilinear enclosures, an oven, ditched field systems and cultivation rows.
The post-medieval activity recorded consisted of field boundary ditches related to past agricultural use.
A single, isolated pit containing a human cremation was also recorded, but could not be accurately dated.
A small collection of middle Bronze Age pottery is described as “significant in demonstrating activity during this period”.
The archaeologists also found sherds of middle and late Iron Age pottery and 222 fragments representing a minimum of 39 individual Roman vessels.
They indicate continuous occupation during the whole Roman period, with “possibly more intense domestic activity in the investigated area from the mid-2nd century to the late 3rd century AD”.
The experts conclude: “This is an assemblage from a community living and working in a rural settlement, a community plainly active both pre- and post-conquest.
“Therefore, we can observe the course of their life through their table habits illustrated with the presence of vessels used to transform food, such as a strainer bowl, mixing bowl, mortarium [Roman pottery kitchen vessel], cooking jars with signs of sooting or burnt residue on the sherds, storage vessels to preserve and protect the food, or other vessels used to contain liquid such as flagons.”
The report adds: “A single sherd of imported ware, a south Gaulish Samian, indicates the process of Romanisation, but it is not enough, at this stage, to imply the presence of a higher-standing Roman settlement in the vicinity of the site during the 2nd century AD.”
The finds add to the history of Wickham Hall, which the Norman Domesday survey records as a large settlement with a population of 24 households.
Bishop’s Stortford stands on Stane Street, a major Roman road between London and Colchester. Important evidence of a transport interchange and town was uncovered by an Oxford Archaeology team digging at Grange Paddocks in 2022 before a new 3G sports pitch was built.
Originally Endurance Energy, which is working on the solar farm project with Wickham Hall owner David Harvey, earmarked 114 hectares (282 acres) for the project in East Herts, mostly in Albury parish, and 35.77 hectares (88 acres) in Uttlesford, primarily in Farnham.
While East Herts Council granted planning permission, Uttlesford District Council refused.
The Government put the Essex local authority in special measures because of its poor planning performance. As a result, Endurance could revise its plans and submit them directly to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The application for a photovoltaic facility in Uttlesford capable of generating 14.9MW of electricity – enough to power over 4,000 homes sustainably each year – was the subject of an inquiry by the Planning Inspectorate at the end of August. A result is expected around September 19.
