Chiswick House, London Borough of Hounslow: Report on the Archaeological Evaluation Trench in the Camellia Garden
Author(s): Dave Fellows
As part of the preliminary landscaping works for the Chiswick House and Grounds Regeneration Project, limited planting and tree removal works were proposed for the Camellia Garden. This is an area of high archaeological importance as it was originally part of the relatively little-studied Moreton Hall Estate (Moreton Hall being the 17th-century Thames-side villa constructed for Sir Stephen Fox adjacent to the Chiswick Estate). To enable an informed archaeological response to be made to the landscaping proposals, an archaeological evaluation was undertaken in late February 2006, with the excavation of a single evaluation trench measuring 9.7x1m positioned across the boundary between two of the early garden compartments. Much evidence for the later landscaping works were seen during the excavation, with levelling layers and planting cuts recorded. It was apparent that this part of the estate had been re-landscaped and the ground level raised approximately 0.5m above the 18th-century ground surface levels. The evaluation trench showed that the depth of cultivation proposed for the 2006 tree works in the Camellia Garden would not damage the surviving archaeological remains, allowing the planting to go ahead as planned and the regeneration project to continue.
- Report Number:
- 52/2007
- Series:
- Research Department Reports
- Pages:
- 18
- Keywords:
- Excavation Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces Post Medieval
