Land south of Rookery Farm, Cotton End, Bedfordshire: Archaeological Mitigation

Planning permission was granted by Bedford Borough Council for the erection of a new primary school, drop-off area and car park and associated landscaping works at land south of Rookery Farm, High Road, Cotton End, Bedfordshire. Albion Archaeology was commissioned to carry out archaeological mitigation works, which included two stages - open-area excavation and strip, map and sample investigation. The archaeological investigations uncovered remains dating to the medieval to modern periods. The vast majority of archaeological remains date to the medieval period. They comprise an area of enclosed settlement and wider peripheral activity. The settlement, enclosed by a ditch, included evidence for internal division, storage pits and a post-built structure. Whilst the remains were probably part of a settlement, the relatively modest finds assemblage suggests the investigated area was not a domestic focus. The post-built structure, rather than representing a domestic building, probably represents a less substantial storage structure or lean-to. The settlement almost certainly represents the southernmost limit of the settlement identified as earthworks to the north, which includes holloways, ponds and at least one moated site. The remains uncovered during the investigations are somewhat limited in their analytical potential by the fact that only a very small portion of the settlement was uncovered, with the vast majority existing to the north. Nonetheless the investigations are able to add to our understanding of the development of medieval Cotton End. The presence of residual late Saxon pottery confirms that, although no cut features of this date were present, the settlement did exist in the 9th-11th centuries, which is consistent with references in Domesday Book, recording its existence in 1066.