Sudbrooke Farm, Lincolnshire

Archaeological evaluation by trial trenching and earthworks survey of Sudbrooke Holme and a WWII camp

We were commissioned to undertake an archaeological evaluation by trial trenching and a measured survey on land at Sudbrooke Farm, Sudbrooke, Lincolnshire as a condition of planning consent for a residential development. The site is in an area of archaeological interest and the former Sudbrooke Holme residence occupied the eastern part of the site. Sudbrooke Holme was built in 1759 and was demolished c.1930, but is likely to have replaced an earlier house. The house had extensive gardens that occupied much of the proposed development area. A number of historic features associated with the survived on the site and in its surroundings, including gate piers, ponds and a bridge. During World War II, the site was used by the army as a training camp, and after the war it was used as a military resettlement camp for Polish troops from 1946 until 1948.

Nine evaluation trenches were excavated, some targeting anomalies identified by a previous geophysical survey of the site. An earthworks survey of the historic landscape features, military structures and earthworks likely to be affected by the proposed development was undertaken to record all extant features relating to the historic parkland, army base and the standing remains of Sudbrooke Holme.

Part of the former gardens of Sudbrooke Holme
Part of the former gardens of Sudbrooke Holme

The trial trenching identified a focus of activity towards the centre of the site, with pits containing domestic waste, possibly associated with a nearby medieval farmstead. The earthwork survey recorded 72 structures relating to the former Sudbrooke Holme residence and gardens and concrete bases and drainage features associated with the World War II military camp.

Concrete plinth associated with the WWII army camp
Concrete plinth associated with the WWII army camp