SDO11426 - Royal Hotel, Newbury, Gillingham; evaluation August 2004

Two machine-excavated trenches located within the car park of the Royal Hotel in Newbury at Gillingham in Dorset, revealed a truncated clay base beneath modern car park base materials and, in one trench, the foundation and yard surface of a 19th century stables. Significantly, no ‘B’ horizon subsoils survived. No ‘cut’ features in the clay base were revealed. The report concludes that all ‘B’ and ‘A’ horizon soils have been stripped from the site, previously, and that any archaeological deposits that might have existed within them have also been removed. As no evidence of underlying – ‘cut’ – features was revealed, the report concludes that residential development of the site would not have a deleterious archaeological impact.