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The dig – a tale told by foundations

8/9/2022

 
Another brick foundation and a stoneware drain turned up today (7 September) both where they were expected as they were a continuation of ones seen in the 1997 excavation.
 
The while thing is beginning to make more sense. The original front wall of the house has been uncovered across almost the whole length of the trench. It is mostly chalk and probably dates from the late 17th century. Some brickwork was added to the inner side of it probably in the 18th century to support a timber floor. The front wall of the original house was demolished around 1800 when the building was extended forward towards the Ponds. This seems a rather drastic change, but the same thing was done in the present Honeywood around the same time or perhaps a bit later. The extension appears to have been timber framed and then covered with laths and cement render which painted yellow. Bits of the rendering have turned up scattered through the soil and rubble. The foundations for the internal walls of the extension are only one brick length thick and not very deep. One has sunk very noticeably. It looks like the house had serious structural problems which may explain why it was demolished.
Picture
Looking south down the trench towards Pound Street. The wide foundation of the original front wall can be seen running from the top of the photo towards bottom centre. It is crossed by two thin brick walls which appear to relate to the remodelling of the house sometime around 1800. The original front wall had clearly gone before these were put up as they cut across it. Note how the one in the centre has bent as the ground has subsided on both sides of the old chalk foundation
I expect the finish digging tomorrow if the rain holds off and nothing unexpected turns up.

The dig – twists and turns

6/9/2022

 
When we stopped last night, the trench was in a rather puzzling state. In the morning it all seemed to become clear. A wide largely chalk foundation emerged in the Pound Street end of the trench in the predicted position of the front wall of the house. Something clear at last. Then, in the afternoon there were two odd developments. Firstly, a large cavity was found under a layer of hard crushed mortar. Further investigation suggested that it was probably a long disused animal burrow although it is not clear how the creatures – whatever they were – got in and out. It was too small for foxes – perhaps rats.
The second discovery was more interesting. When the original front wall of the house was uncovered, we discovered another smaller wall running off it at right angles. It may be the foundation of an early internal wall separating rooms, but this is at present unclear. Work continues tomorrow.
Picture
The chalk foundation of the original front wall. The brick on the right may have been added in the 18th century to support a timber floor
Picture
The centre of the trench with the original front wall at the top. The grey-brown foundation bottom centre appears to be an early internal wall. The red brick foundation to the right is probably part of an early 19th century addition to the front. It cuts across the earlier wall suggesting that it was demolished when the house was extended

The dig – work resumes

6/9/2022

 
Work resumed today (5 September). We excavated an area of scattered chalk which looked like it might be the top of the foundations of the front wall of the original house. It didn’t work out that way. There is some sort of foundation in a small area at the Pound Street end of the trench but the rest of it is not at all convincing and may be scattered rubble.
We then decided to excavate an area of mortar in the middle of the trench. We have wondered if this was the base of a chimney but on examination the deposit seems to be tightly packed crushed mortar rather than a bonded foundation. We have now removed part of it and there is a brick foundation underneath it. This is next to a Victorian stoneware drainage pipe which we have already partly excavated. The drain appeared to end against a stone block but on further excavation we found that this was a stone slab with a cavity beneath it. The slab has a layer of mortared roof tiles next to it which looks like another, perhaps older, drain running into the foundation. All very confusing. It is probably early 19th century, but we can’t be certain at this stage. Work continues tomorrow.
Picture
The Victorian stoneware drainpipe with the stone slab towards the top of the photo. The suspected tile drain is to the left of the slab with the foundations towards the left edge of the picture. The drain appears to have been put in to remove ground water sometime after the demolition of Honeywood

The dig – getting more interesting

21/8/2022

 
We worked on Saturday. We have now got traces of three brick walls. Two are at the north end of the trench looking 19th century and are probably connected with a major remodelling of the house that seems to have taken place at that time. They are probably both continuations of walls seen in the 1997 excavation which was immediately west of the present trench.
 
The other foundation is odd in both construction and alignment. It is made of brick, tile and chalk and appears to be the continuation of a brick and tile wall seen in the 1997 trench. That was aligned more or less east-west. It runs into the present trench and then immediately turns north. It is probably an internal wall. The brick in it looks 18th century.
 
We expected to find the foundation of the front (east) wall of the house but it has not, so far, appeared.
 
We are going to stop excavations so we can concentrate on the Oaks finds project which will be taking place next week – it is open to the public Thursday to Saturday.
 
The trench now looks quite promising, and I am intending to resume excavation in early September. The gap will also provide some time for thinking.
Picture
The chalk flint and tile foundation – probably 18th century
Picture
The north end of the trench with one of the 19th century foundations on the right above the scale. Traces of another foundation below the left-end of the scale

Dig – another slow day

19/8/2022

 
Things do seem to be getting clearer. We uncovered slight traces of a brick foundation running across the trench on or close to the line of one of the walls found in the 1997 excavation which was adjacent to the existing trench. The south end of the trench nearest Pound Street remains as enigmatic as before, a mix of dump and possible structures which are slow to disentangle. Work continues tomorrow.
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  • Home
    • Latest News
    • Find Us
    • Contact Us
    • History of Honeywood
    • Accessibility
    • Links
  • Families
    • Pastimes
  • What's On
    • Events
    • Regular Events
    • Exhibitions
    • Online Exhibitions >
      • Painted Wandle
      • Picture Postcard Page
      • No Place Like Home
      • Story of The Oaks
  • Shop
    • New Book 2025
  • The Friends
    • Volunteers
    • Acquisitions
    • In Memoriam
    • Acknowledgements
    • Privacy Notice
  • Garden
    • Front Garden
    • Back Garden >
      • French Windows
      • Well
      • Raised Beds
      • Greenhouse
      • Northwest Corner
      • Rectangular Pond
      • Oval Pond
      • Water System
      • South Side
      • Belfry
    • Garden News
  • Nearby
    • Beddington Park >
      • Beddington Park Audio Visual
    • Little Holland House
    • The Old Rectory CORA
  • Archive
    • Events >
      • Platinum Jubilee 2022
      • Open House 2020
      • Spooky Afternoon 2015
      • Carshalton on Sea 2015
      • Alices Mad Tea Party 2015
      • WW1 Centenary 2014
      • Model Rail 2013
      • Olympic Torch 2012
      • Museum Status 2007
      • Maid of the Oaks 2007
      • Other Events >
        • Horse Play 2007
        • Top Sutton Attraction 2007
        • VE Day 2007
        • Yarn Bombers
    • History >
      • Birds Eye View 2011
      • Carshalton Park Grotto
      • Culvers Lodge
      • Honeywood
      • Springs and Watercourses
      • Sutton Lodge
      • The Leoni Bridge
      • The Lodge Gatehouse
      • The Oaks
      • The Oaks Info Boards
      • The Old Rectory
      • Wallington Green & Holy Trinity Church
    • Memories >
      • 20th Century Stories
      • Carshalton Carnival 1952
      • Carshalton High Street
      • Carshalton Memories
      • Carshalton on the Hill
      • Coronation Day Morden 1953
      • Echoes of my past
      • Growing up around Sutton
      • Growing up in Station Road Carshalton 1945-79
      • Wallington in the 50s and 60s
    • People >
      • Lionel Tertis
      • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
    • Transport
  • Search