Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 515: summary

An archaeological watching brief at the Royal Mail Braintree Delivery Office, Lakes Road, Braintree, Essex: April-May 2009
by Ben Holloway

Date report completed: June 2009
Location: Royal Mail Braintree Delivery Office, Lakes Road, Braintree, Essex
Map reference(s): TL 7671 2287
File size: 451 kb
Project type: Watching brief
Significance of the results: neg
Keywords: -

Summary. Monitoring work was conducted at the site as a result of earlier evaluation work. An area measuring approximately 23 x 15m square (Area 1) and located to the west of the earlier evaluation trenches T1-T2 (CAT Report 499), was monitored during reduction and levelling works prior to the construction of a temporary car-park. As in the evaluation, all of the archaeological features contained material, including brick and peg-tile fragments, which indicates a post-medieval if not modern date for them. There was no evidence of medieval activity. If it existed, it was probably removed by modern terracing. The features observed during the watching brief, as in the earlier evaluation, were post-medieval and modern (18th or 19th century) and appear to relate to Parsonage Farm, which occupied the site into the mid 20th century.