Myddelton House, Enfield
Sep 01, 2010 by John Duffy
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club are constructing a world-class training academy at Bulls Cross in the London Borough of Enfield. The proposed development sits within a Medieval and Post-Medieval landscape and there are a number of important prehistoric sites in the area. L – P : Archaeology completed a desk based assessment in 2006 for the initial planning application. This early study assessed the varying impacts of the different types of proposed pitches (natural and artificial) on any surviving archaeology and advised on strategy for a properly targeted field evaluation. L – P were subsequently contracted by KSS Group in early 2009 to carry out the archaeological investigations.
In liaison with THFC and English Heritage, L – P’s East of England project manager devised an appropriate programme of works for the 65 acre rural site. The large-scale 3-phase archaeological evaluation consisted of 170 trenches excavated by L – P’s field team during a 12 month period.
The first two areas produced evidence of Medieval and Post Medieval agricultural use. In the third phase prehistoric activity was identified in the south east corner of the site, the dominant feature of which was a large ditched enclosure probably Iron Age in date. Processing of finds and samples is underway, and further analysis will provide information on the prehistoric remains. There will be no direct impact to the remains during construction – the depth of the archaeological horizon is significantly below the development activity and the archaeological features will be preserved in situ.
Frequent consultation with the clients and English Heritage, and the tailoring of each phase of archaeological work to fit into the construction schedule, allowed the scheme to continue with minimal disruption.
| Client: | KSS Group, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club |
| Site: | Enfield, London |
| Development type: | Leisure |
| Archaeological Contract: | 75,000 |