SDO14114 - Kington Manor Farm, Kington Magna, Dorset. Archaeological Watching Brief

‘In June 1995 Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Humberts, Chartered Surveyors, acting on behalf of their clients Mr and Mrs H C Champion, to conduct an archaeological watching brief at Kington Manor Farm, Dorset (ST 7684 2308). The watching brief was carried out as a requirement of planning consent following the advice of the County Archaeological Officer that important buried remains may be disturbed by the proposed works and that provision should be made for adequate investigation and recording of any archaeological remains exposed during the ground works. The present Kington Manor Farm is a two-storey building of mid-17th century construction although it may occupy the site of the earlier medieval manor. Archaeological survey, fieldwalking and excavation have demonstrated the presence of medieval settlement remains in the vicinity of, and, in particular, immediately to the west of Kington Manor Farm. The watching brief recorded a post-medieval stone culvert, a cobbled surface and a wall. The cobbled surface sealed a make-up layer containing medieval pottery probably of 13th-century date. The absence of medieval deposits and finds during the watching brief probably reflects the site’s long use as a farm with the repeated construction and use of yard surfaces and outbuildings, which has probably disturbed or removed any deposits which might otherwise have survived.’