SITE MONITORING
The Hunter Archaeological Society takes on responsibility for monitoring the condition of Scheduled archaeological sites, buildings and parks and gardens within the South Yorkshire area, which includes part of the Peak District National Park. Volunteers are invited during meetings to visit sites on a rotating programme every couple of years, identify any causes for concern and complete a monitoring form which includes photographs. These are passed on via South Yorkshire Archaeology Service to Historic England, to enable them to pick up on any concerns raised. Our work is much valued and helps to protect our heritage.
You can contact Mandy Hayes mandyh3@hotmail.co.uk if you would like more information about volunteering.
EXCURSIONS
We arrange a number of visits to places in the region, mostly in the spring and summer, though there is the occasional winter walk for the hardy. So please do come along and support these as they take some effort to organise, and let us know about places, sites or excavations you would like to visit.
Excursions we've had in 2024
On Saturday 16 November we were treated to a special guided tour of Gainsborough Old Hall which is about an hour's drive east of Sheffield. English Heritage took over the running of the Hall in recent years and it is really is a most amazing survival from the 15th century. It is located in the middle of a residential area not far from the River Trent, once a thriving port. We had a history talk in the great hall, putting the hall's owners into context, followed by a tour of the amazing kitchen - after Hampton Court it must be the best in England - and living spaces in the hall's wings. After lunch we explored the riverside and Marshall's Yard in the town centre, now a shopping centre but once the Britannia Ironworks founded in 1848.
We visited Castleshaw Roman Fort (near Delph, Oldham) on 20 August, where excavations are ongoing this summer by the Friends of Castleshaw Roman Fort (https://www.castleshawarchaeology.co.uk ). The Fort at Castleshaw was constructed in AD 79 but replaced and then abandoned in the 120s. Norman Redhead, Archaeological Advisor to the Friends of Castleshaw Roman Forts and former Heritage Management Director of the Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service, gave us an extended and fascinating tour of the Fort itself and trenches exploring some of the features outside the Fort - evidence of a Roman annex has recently been found containing ovens and other Roman features. We walked along the line of the Roman road from Manchester across pasture fields, and past the remains of a medieval grange previously been excavated by the Friends of Castleshaw Roman Fort.
On 24 July there was a visit to Colin Merrony's Castleton Spital excavation, and on 2 July members were treated to a tour of the work going on at Creswell Crags by Kevin Kuykendall. Members visited the Sheldon henge excavation on Tuesday 18 June to see some of the exciting finds this year, when Colin Merrony was searching for a second entrance and any internal structures. More details to follow.
We had a special tour for members of the excavations at the site of Sheffield Castle on 21 May; after a briefing and getting kitted out in hard hats, we went onto the site while some serious earth-moving was going on, so we had to view the excavation of the moat (now down to bedrock) and a new piece of drawbridge pier from higher up on the motte. This is where a previously unknown length of castle wall has survived. We also saw some newly discovered workers' houses and a well preserved gennel. Plans for the site will be reviewed in light of these new discoveries.
We've had two excellent days out. On 16 May, members visited Cannon Hall country house museum at Cawthorne, home of the Spencer family and extended by John Carr in the 1760s. A tour of the house and museum was followed by a visit to the gardens. Some of the group then moved on to Experience Barnsley in Barnsley Town Hall, a museum of social history in which many of the exhibits have been donated by the community.
On Wednesday 10 April we went to Wortley Top Forge and Wortley Hall. Wortley Top Forge is the only surviving water-powered heavy wrought iron forge with its water wheels and hammers in situ, dating back to before 1640; it is a site of national importance - a Scheduled Ancient Monument. As we walked round, our guide explained the technology of early ironmaking, the history of the Forge and the people associated with it, the social history, the working conditions and the architecture of the different buildings. We then had free time to explore all the other steam engines on the site.
We then moved on to Wortley Hall -well worth a visit; it is a Grade II* listed building, set in parkland - the ancestral home of the Earls of Wharncliffe and since 1951 owned by the labour movement. House staff gave us a guided tour of the public rooms and recently refurbished bedrooms, and one of the gardeners showed us around Wortley Hall Gardens
Excursions in 2023
On 3 October a group of Hunter members visited the Roman site at Wall (Letocetum) and the cathedral city of Lichfield. At Wall we were made very welcome by members of the Friends of Letocetum and invited to join them at the village coffee morning. We were guided around the Roman site at Wall by Dr Mike Hodder who is Honorary Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Birmingham, and he has excavated extensively at the site. Mike showed us the extant walls of the Roman baths and guest house and explained their development from 80 CE to 275 CE. There were at least two temporary camps at Wall which is on a strategically important route - Watling Street. He explained where the ditch and rampart of a large early Roman fort of circa 50 CE had been excavated, and up on the hilltop now occupied by the church and village were three Roman forts dating between circa 60 CE and 80 CE.
Back to Watling Street, we saw the remains of a walled Roman enclosure from around 325 CE - maybe a stronghold or a means of managing trade. Mike also wondered whether the enclosure became a focal point of a monastic community referred to in a seventh century Welsh poem, which described an attack by a cattle raiding party on “Caer Luitgoed”. We visited the museum in Wall which housed an impressive selection of finds, particularly the quernstones, samian ware bowls, a glass jar and a bronze statuette of a wrestler.
We moved on to Lichfield to visit the magnificent Cathedral, first built circa 700 CE to commemorate St Chad, Bishop of Mercia who moved the seat of power from Repton to Lichfield circa 669 CE. Inside the west entrance of the cathedral was the spectacular GAIA artwork by Luke Jerram. Another highlight in the chapter house was the Lichfield Gospels, dated to around 730 CE and one of the oldest manuscripts in the country. Some members visited the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum - a Grade I listed building with five floors of displays including Dr Johnson’s famous English dictionary.
On 26 July members were able to visit the excavation site at Castleton New Hall directed by Colin Merrony and supported by the Castleton Historical Society. Colin explained that this year’s excavation had revealed the east end of the southern range of New Hall. The north wall of the northern range, which had proved to be elusive in previous excavations, was also excavated. A Nuremburg counter token dated to 1580 CE to 1620 CE had been found in the excavations, which provided useful dating evidence.
On 11 July members of the Society visited the excavations at Creswell Crags, which were being directed by Kevin Kuykendall of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield. He explained that this was the third year of the current excavation programme at the site. Three trenches were visited at sites at the foot of the limestone cliffs in the gorge. Kevin then showed members finds from the excavations which included a hyaena tooth and a remarkable Mousterian scraper.
On Friday 7 July a large group enjoyed a special tour of Wentworth Woodhouse with Julie Banham, who had given us a talk Three Families, Three Houses - the Story of Wentworth Woodhouse on 10 January this year. Julie is a very knowledgeable tour guide at the house. She started off in the Chapel with an outline of it’s history, and then led us outside to point out details of the facade of the Palladian east front of the house, followed by explanations of some of the symbolism on the brick-built west front. Inside, we climbed the grand staircase to view the sculptures, the amazing ballroom and some of the state rooms.
We had a memorable visit to the excavation of a possible henge near Sheldon in Derbyshire on Tuesday 20 June, not only because it rained the whole time but also because it was most certainly not a 'possible' henge but a very definite one. With a diameter of around 70m and deep ditch and bank, it is surprising that it has only just been discovered on LIDAR. Colin Merrony's team had opened two trenches, one across the bank and rock-cut ditch and one across the entrance, and gave us a great talk about the discovery and its context. The pub in the village also comes highly recommended.
Our visit to Brodsworth Hall and Gardens on Wednesday 24 May was led by Colin Merrony, who researched and excavated the remains of the previous hall, walled garden and medieval village as part of the Brodsworth Community Archaeology Project. He gave us a comprehensive tour of the whole garden which looked magnificent in the sunshine, and outlined plans to develop further areas. After lunch, we toured the house which survives as a fine example of an 1860s Italianate mansion furnished in the latest fashion.
On Wednesday 17 May we joined Peak District NPA staff and volunteers for Scheduled Ancient Monument site monitoring training at Brunt's Barn by Padley Chapel near Grindleford. Since Hunter members carry out regular site monitoring visits to almost 100 scheduled sites in South Yorkshire and north-east Derbyshire, this was a great opportunity to learn what the role involves and to improve our practice. We tested out our skills on a visit to the ruins of Padley Hall and then walked up to Lawrence Field to discuss how we would report on the medieval field system and longhouses.
We had a great visit on Wednesday 19 April to the Waterloo Kiln and the Swinton Pottery Ponds where the amazing Rockingham pottery was made by the Brameld family under the patronage of the Earls Fitzwilliam, followed by a walk to see an impressive section of the Roman Rigg in Wath Wood. We followed that up with a visit to Clifton Park Museum to see some of the Rockingham pottery.
Excursions in 2022
On 30 March we visited the WW2 Prisoner of War camp at Redmires/Lodge Moor which was being studied by archaeology students from Sheffield University, on 14 April we had a guided tour of the archaeology being surveyed on the Stanage North Lees estate, and on 16 June we were treated to a guided tour of the Roystone Grange Archaeological Trail and Minninglow led by our president Ken Smith. On 28 June Kevin Kuykendall from the Archaeology Department, a Palaeolithic specialist, showed us all round Creswell Crags, where trial trenches are attempting to locate the earlier levels outside the caves and the wider landscape is being studied.
On Wednesday 20 July we toured the University of Sheffield excavations at New Hall, Castleton, guided by Colin Merrony. In this beautiful location, the slight remains of a 16th century hall were being investigated. A deep well had been found and many fragments of a fine plaster ceiling.
The Friends of Graves Park obtained lottery funding in 2019 for their project “Finding Lost Norton Park”, enabling them to discover many hidden features of the park previously unknown or unrecorded. They are currently applying for further funding to continue their investigations. Caroline Dewar, joined by Ian Rotherham, took us on a walk around the park on 6 August to show us what was found and tell us what they hope to look into further. Ian followed this up with a talk in October.
On 10 August Society members were invited to visit the excavation of an Iron Age/Romano-British enclosure near Penistone by Roughbirchworth Community Excavation Group. Two trenches were being excavated by ARS and community volunteers, funded by NLHF, and they had clearly revealed the bank and ditch of the enclosure.
For two weeks in September, University of Sheffield excavations took place on former cottages adjacent to Bishops' House in Meersbrook, and members were able to visit on 6 September for a tour of the dig and the house. Old stone cottages at right angles to the house were demolished when the road and estate were built, and the excavation revealed their foundations and cellars.