Honeywood Oaks Excavation 2011

The Friends of Honeywood Museum
Registered Charity No. 1067131
Honeywood Museum by Carshalton Ponds
Honeywood Walk, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 3NX Telephone: 020 8770 4297
e-mail: lbshoneywood@btconnect.com

The site of the dig in Oaks Park
Picture courtesy of © Richard Fitch
See more of Richard's fine pictures HERE

Download the Design for the dig by clicking HERE
NOTE! This is a 1.3Mb PDF File

Download a history of The Oaks by clicking HERE
153Kb PDF File

Day ONE Report

This excavation aims to find the remains of a cock fighting pit which the 12^th Earl of Derby built into the floor of one of the two ground floor rooms in the east wing of the house. The Earl, who is now known chiefly for horse racing was, in his lifetime better known for cock fighting, a sport which was then popular but has long since been banned for its cruelty. The pit is said to had seats which folded out from the floor and also an ‘escape tunnel’ which was perhaps a drain. There are more details about the excavation in the Design pdf file which you can download from the link above.

We started excavating trenches A and B today in (see PLAN). These cover part of the more likely of the two rooms. We have removed the turf and top soil and have reached a layer of rubble probably left when this part of the house was demolished in 1959-60. We plan to excavate this layer tomorrow and things will hopefully get more interesting. We have not done any work on trench C which is on the site of the second room. We won’t open this until we have a good idea of the likely results from A and B.

Day ONE pictures

Carl Brown from the Friends of Oaks Park barrows with aplomb	Derek from CADHAS takes a few moments to join The Friends of Honeywood Museum	On your marks.....	..... get set!


John and Mike, well satisfied	John makes a start	A low-down greeting from Steve	Not that sort of cock-pit!


An old dinosaur for John - no comment!	On the turf - just like Lord Derby	Jane swings the shovel	Shiny buckets and spades


Sue and Jane get down to it	Surveying the progress during Day 1	A welcome cuppa!	Where's the start button!

Day TWO Report

We have spent the day clearing a layer of soil chalk and rubble from trench A. This seems to have been deposited in 1959/60 when this part of the house was demolished. This job is now almost complete and tomorrow we will work on the underlying layer of rubble. We are, therefore, still awaiting significant developments.

Day TWO pictures

A trickle of visitors on a chilly and windy day	Carl stands on buckets to hold down the roof	John improvises a lunch-time wind break	Madam Bucket


Mike entertains Canadian visitors	Pat and Mike are not getting any warmer	Pat finds 'stuff' to clean	Steve and Jane find it hard going

Day THREE Report Work today has concentrated on trench A where we have uncovered short sections of the west and south walls of the house. We already knew that the house had been demolished to below the original floor level and that we would be looking at the space below the floor. We have found a brick pillar near the west wall which probably once supported the floor joists. The original earth under floor also survives around it. A little to the east of this (further into the wing) the under floor earth has been cut away. It is not yet clear when this was done or why. It may be connected with the demolition of the cockpit but this is far from certain. The area to the east – the most likely site of the cockpit – is still covered with rubble. We plan to excavate this tomorrow and hopefully things will become clearer. The area by the foundation of the south wall is also problematic. The area inside the wall is loose rubble to a much greater depth that expected. This could suggest that there was a cellar but this idea is not consistent with the remains by the west wall. We are hoping that tomorrows work will also clarify this. We have found a number of pieces of plaster from Robert Adam’s original decoration of the room at the end of the 18^th century. One is a piece of the cornice where the wall joins the ceiling. Another piece from an as yet undetermined position still has the original gold leaf on it. (See today’s photos). We have done a little more work on trench B but without any significant finds.
Day THREE pictures

A buzz of expectancy	A cautious approach as some of the interesting features emerge	A glint of gold plaster	A high degree of concentration


A very chilly start	Another touch of gold colour	Are these floor supports?	Going down


Hear no evil, etc!	Hoodie and Hattie	Jane holds the find of the day	John Ede, Sue and Derek focus on the doorway


More emerges on the west side	More visitors today	Not enough to count as treasure	Robert Adam plaster cornice c.1790


Sue springs into sudden action	The foundations are just a few centimetres from the chalk outline	The spoil heap grows!	This Adam brick has a fine frog

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Two shovels - a blur of action!			Val and Pat's trays begin to fill

Day FOUR Report We continued work on trench A and have removed the 20^th century rubble from the suspected site of the cockpit. We found the base of another brick pillar which appears to have supported the floor. This was in the area of the suspected cockpit so it looks like we are in the wrong place. We have therefore started work on trench C which is on the site of the other east wing ground floor room. Work here has not gone far so there are no significant results yet. Trench B was designed to look for a drain running from a cockpit in trench A. As the cockpit site has now been ruled out there is no point in continuing with trench B so work has stopped. The location of the pit now depends on trench C. If the weather on Saturday 16th July is as bad as is being forecast work on the site will be suspended until Sunday.
Day FOUR pictures

A break in the shade	A feature that causes a re-think	A mint 1903 farthing	An interested visitor is thrilled to find Val's poetry book


Derek, Rosemary and Sue turn their attention to the east trench	Goin' fishing!	Harry grows steadily	Jane, Roger and Steve ponder the variations of the primary site


John and Mike write-up the context record	Mike and Paul oblige a Mayoral enquiry	More a plumb than aplomb	Shut down Tom and Dick: full ahead Harry


Steve holds a piece of fine quality 18th century clay pipe	The re-think causes change to the site layout	Time to measure	Val and Pat are amused

Day FIVE Report Work as continued in trench C where there have been some nice finds including two pieces of painted wall plaster and a Georgian sash window handle. We have still not reached the bottom of the demolition rubble so we have not got any further information on the cockpit. We have been recording in trench A and have found that the pillar nearest the south wall goes deeper into the under floor soil than we thought. We are wondering if we are missing something here and have decided to carry out some further excavation. Trench B, which was abandoned yesterday, is now nearly backfilled. After Saturday's wash-out the dig will recommence on Sunday from 10am, and continue for so long as the weather is clement!
Day FIVE pictures

Even more striding proves necessary	From information to catering at a stroke	Good Progress in Harry	I'm with Roger!


John and Mike explain a trench to Tom Brake MP	John explodes into action	Packing up, but we still continue to get enquiries	Purposeful striding is in order


Ready... steady... TROWEL!	Scallop motif follows the theme in Taylor's design for the dining room	The site director gets in with the action!	Trench etiquette demands a suave posture

Day SIX Report and Pictures

After today's wash-out the dig will recommence tomorrow from 10am, and continue for so long as the weather is clement!

Day SEVEN Report This morning we started excavating a number of pieces of plaster in trench C. More appeared as work progressed and, with frequent interruptions for rain, it was about 7pm by the time we finished. It appears that the plaster had been thrown into a bonfire when the house was being demolished presumably to get rid of the wood attached to it. On a first look the collection probably comes from the dining room (the area where it was found) and it will therefore date to the mid-18^th century. We did some recoding in trench A and a small amount of back filling. If the weather permits we plan to continue excavating trench C tomorrow and maybe we will find the remains of the cockpit.
Day SEVEN Pictures
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Andrew applies his talent for sketching			Breathtaking finds, but can we extract them


Familiar faces return to see the progress	Horne & Co., Removals	Jane reveals a treasure trove of Robert Taylor plaster-work c.1765	John and Andrew hard at work


John and Sue Horne have been on site every day to prepare the shelters... well done and thanks	John directs himself under the table	Making the most of it as the clouds roll in	At least Jane can carry on in the dry


Ramblers escorted off site by a Jack Russell	Shirley strikes camp so the gazebo can protect the plaster as the weather worsens	Steve loses his head in Harry	Discipline is everything!


Sue shows the trench to another interested generation	The director ponders on where to head for shelter in the event of a cloud-burst	Steve proves a match for the rain	Time to put this trench to bed

Day EIGHT Report We have continued excavation in trench C and have found further pieces of plaster. A large part – possibly all of it seems to have come from the cornice between the wall and ceiling in the dining room where the trench is located. We will need to make a detailed study of the pieces to be certain of this. Some of the material is burnt. It seems to have been thrown into a bonfire when the house was demolished presumably to get rid of associated woodwork. We have exposed the top of the foundation on the west side of the room and also found a brick column which probably supported the floor. Still no sign of the cockpit.
Day EIGHT Pictures

	Two of the pieces of plaster excavated today

Day NINE Report We did a rather short day so there is not much news. We did some more excavation in trench C and found a few more pieces of plaster. However, we seem to have cleared the main deposit and the excavation was largely in rubble. Work resumes tomorrow.
Day NINE Pictures
There are no new pictures today

Day TEN Report We have made a good deal of progress today. Most of the demolition rubble has now been removed from trench C and there is no obvious sign of the cock pit we are seeking. We have found some more plaster and stonework from a fireplace. There is a small amount of excavation to be done tomorrow and, after that some recording and, of course, backfilling.
Day TEN Pictures
There are no new pictures today

Day ELEVEN - FINAL Report

We finished clearing trench C today. There was a brief period of excitement when we found a flat area on the soil that had been below the floor at the east end of the trench. We wondered if it was a trace of the cockpit but I am included to think that the flatness was caused by workmen trampling the soil; as they built the house. So in the end we have a lot of plaster and no cockpit. Win some, lose some – that’s the way with archaeology.

There is a bit of recording to do, backfilling and a lot of work on the plaster but this is the last of the running reports. Thanks for following them.

Click HERE (410Kb PDF file) for an initial summary of the results of the excavation.

Unless otherwise stated, all images and text on this web site are
Copyright © John Phillips, Paul Williams and The Friends of Honeywood Museum 2011
and the Authors noted