ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION REPORT SCCAS REPORT No. 2011/003
Hall Farm, Fersfield Bressingham, Norfolk ENF 125574
D. Gill © January 2011 www.suffolkcc.gov.uk/e-and-t/archaeology
Lucy Robinson, County Director of Environment and Transport Endeavour House, Russel Road, Ipswich, IP1 2BX.
HER Information
Planning Application No:
2010/1585
Date of Fieldwork:
December 2010
Grid Reference:
TM 0637 8279
Funding Body:
Hallsworth (South Norfolk) Ltd
Curatorial Officer:
James Albone (Norfolk County Council’s Historic Environment Service)
Project Officer:
David Gill
Oasis Reference:
suffolkc1-90457 Digital report submitted to Archaeological Data Service: http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/library/greylit
Contents Summary
Page 1
1.
Introduction
2.
Geology, topography and past use
1
3.
Methodology
4
4.
Results
4
5.
Finds evidence
11
6.
Discussion
13
7.
Recommendations
14
8.
Archive deposition
15
9.
References
15
Appendix 1. Context list
17
Appendix 2. Bulk Finds list
21
Appendix 3. Licence for the removal of human remains
23
List of Figures 1.
Location map
2
2.
Trench location plan
3
3.
Plan of Trench 1 with sections
5
4.
Plan of Trench 2 and 5 with sections
7
5.
Plan of Trench 3 with sections
9
6
Plan of Trench 4 with sections
10
7
Contour map showing location of the burial at the valley head
14
List of Tables 1.
Finds quantities
11
Summary An evaluation covering a total of 148sqm was excavated at Hall Farm, Fersfield, close to the site of the medieval church and the former Fersfield Hall. The archaeological work uncovered a single Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age burial consisting of a crouched inhumation accompanied by a ‘Beaker-style’ pot which suggested a date c. 2600-1800BC for the grave. In addition to the burial a low density of features, including a dew pond and a pit, which represented the relatively recent activity of the workings of Hall Farm was also found.
1.
Introduction
An archaeological evaluation was carried out at Hall Farm, Fersfield. The evaluation was completed in accordance with a Brief issued by James Albone, (Norfolk County Council’s Historic Environment Service) and is intended to fulfil a condition on planning application 2010/1585, to construct a duck-rearing shed on the site. The fieldwork was undertaken by members of SCCAS Field Team on 14-15th December 2010 and was funded by the landowners Hallsworth (South Norfolk) Ltd. The aim of the evaluation was to determine whether archaeological deposits exist in this area and to establish their date, extent, depth and quality of preservation in order that the full archaeological implications for the site’s development could be ascertained. The report is intended to provide data to inform an appropriate archaeological mitigation strategy for the site’s development.
2.
Geology, topography and past use
The site lies c.150m to the west of the village at TM 0637 8279. The aspect is flat and relatively low lying at 36-37 m OD. The location of the site is at the head of a valley and it is surrounded by a ridge of low hills (55m contour). Drainage ditches cross the area channel water into a tributary of the Hundred River, to the west of the site, which flows south into Bressingham and Lopham Fens. The site is currently meadow and laid to grass. The village of Fersfield is mentioned in Domesday but is now part of the civil parish of Bressingham and Fersfield. The layout of the settlement is linear and runs between the church and Fersfield Hall to the south and Fersfield Common 1.5km to the north. Several timber-framed houses dating to the medieval and early post-medieval period are situated along ‘The Street’ and surrounding common, and the site of a medieval tithe barn (NHER 10905) is recorded 170m to the north-east of the site. The development area is situated 150m from what is thought to be the early core of the village as embodied by the medieval parish church of St Andrew’s (NHER 10910) and the remains of a moated site (NHER 10904) occupied by the former Fersfield Hall (NHER 39431) (Fig. 1). The fabric of the church indicates that the construction of this building has its origins at the beginning of the 14th century, although the font bowl is Norman. Fersfield Hall is a 17th century timber-framed construction which has been concealed behind a 19th
1
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Figure 1. Site Location showing development area in red and HER records in the immediate vicinity 2
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© Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Suffolk County Council Licence No. 100023395 2010
Plan Scale 1:500
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Figure 2. Trench Plan
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century brick skin and now converted into three cottages, but the existence of the moat suggests that the current building occupies the site of an earlier medieval one of similar high-status and Late Saxon and medieval pottery has been recovered from the moat platform and ditch. The development area lies slightly below the settlement which lies on or above the 40m contour.
3.
Methodology
Three trenches were originally excavated but this was increased to five, after consultation with NCC Historic Environment Service, to help characterise the initial findings. The trenches were 1.6m wide and excavated by a wheeled machine with a back-acting arm fitted with a wide, toothless, ditching bucket under the supervision of an archaeologist. The trenches opened an area of 148 sqm which equates to 4.7% of the development area. The machine removed the topsoil to an underlying pale brown silt soil horizon which at the east end of the site was cut by recent features. The silt was otherwise homogenous and masked any potential archaeological features and it was removed by machine, to expose the top of the surface geology. The trenches and all upcast spoil were subject to a metal detector search. The trenches and features were located using a total station theodolite and the survey data was plotted against the Ordnance Survey grid and datum. All potential archaeological features were excavated by hand and trench profiles and feature plans and sections were recorded at a scale of 1:20. Digital colour and black and white film photographs were taken of all stages of the fieldwork, and are included in the site archive. An OASIS form has been completed for the project (reference no. suffolkc1-90457) and a digital copy of the report submitted for inclusion on the Archaeology Data Service database (http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/library/greylit). The site archive is kept in the main store of Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service at Bury St Edmunds under the Norfolk HER No. ENF 125574.
4.
Results
Five trenches were excavated across the site, the locations of which are shown in Figure 2 and are described, by trench, below. Trench 1 (Figs 2 and 3) Trench 1 was 15.5m long and ran SSW-NNE across the east end of the development area (Fig. 2). The machine removed 350-400mm of topsoil to reveal an underlying subsoil 4
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0010 Cattle bones
0011 0010
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0012
0024
Composite through feature 0012
c.18th buckle
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S.3
Wood
Archaeological Features Natural Features Modern 0
1.00m
2.50m
0
Plan Scale 1:100
Section Scale 1:50
Figure 3. Plan of trench 1, with sections 5
5m
of fine, pale orange-brown, clay silt, 0024. Cutting through the silt 0024 in the southern half of the trench were four small circular postholes, two of which contained the remains of treated, timber posts. All of the postholes penetrated the silt 0024 to cut into the top of the glacial subsoil, at a depth of 900mm from the current ground surface. The postholes were all excavated and an example, posthole 0012, was drawn. The silt 0024 masked any potential early archaeological features and was removed by a second machine spit to expose the surface geology of mottled orange silt with outcrops of clay, at 35.96m OD. An 18th century buckle was found in the silt by metal detector. At the north end of the trench was an extensive area of darker silt, which was initially interpreted as the infill of a pond. It was cut from below the topsoil post-dating the formation of the pale-brown silt deposit 0024. Post-medieval (but pre-19th century) bricks, a terracotta flowerpot and bottle glass were recovered from the top of the pond fill at the interface with the topsoil. Two buried water pipes crossed the trench close to the edge of the feature restricting the excavation and this was sampled with a machine-cut sondage at a point beyond the pipes at the north end of the trench. Where sampled, the feature was 1.45m deep; the bottom was flat with single coarse large flints pressed into the top natural chalky boulder clay. Flints of this size were not a natural component of the clay soil and had been laid in the manner of a lining, suggesting that this was a manufactured ‘dew’ pond for the watering of stock. The bottom of the pond was filled with a fine-textured and stoneless dark silt 0011, which was sealed beneath a pale brown clay silt, 0024. Two animal bones including the jaw of a cow were recovered from the very bottom of the pond, otherwise the fills produced no artefactual material. Trench 2 (Figs. 2 and 4) Trench 2 was 23m long and ran WNW-ESE along the mid axis of the proposed development. The soil profile recorded in Trench 1 continued into Trench 2 and the layer of pale silt subsoil below the topsoil was observed over the whole length of the trench (Fig. 3). The surface geology was recorded at 0.6m below the ground surface at 35.7m OD. A crouched burial, 0002, was found towards the eastern end of the trench. The skeleton had been disturbed, probably by ploughing, and was in a poor state of preservation, but the remaining bone indicated that the body lay on its right side with the legs bent, with knees close to the chest. Only the top of one arm (rt. humerus) along with fragments of the pelvis and skull remained in situ but some long bone (?femur) fragments lay in their approximately correct position angled over the centre of the grave. The remains of the
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Section Scale 1:50
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2.50m
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Grave Scale 1:20
0
Beaker pottery 0004
Long bones (?) Femurs
Pelvis
1.00m
Humerus
Tr.5
0025
S.5
Figure 4. Plan of trenches 2 and 5, with sections
0003
Grave 0002
0013
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0004
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Plan Scale 1:100
0
Trench continues for 8.05m
0002
0003
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Natural Features
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0008
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long bones had been broken into short lengths and were displaced within the grave fill. The crushed remains of a single pot lay at the south (foot) end of the grave; the base of the pot was angled vertically suggesting that the vessel lay on its side. The grave cut was very shallow and survived as a barely discernable silt-filled oval, 900mm x 500m and 80mm deep. A 2.5kg bulk sample was taken from the fill of the grave for the collection of small bones and teeth (awaiting processing). Several potential silt-filled features were sampled along the length of the trench, but most of these were dismissed as peri-glacial features and are shown on the plan as ‘natural features’. Feature 0008 recorded at the east end of the trench was notable and distinct from the natural silt features. Its sides were well defined like the cut of a pit, but the sand fill was unusually soft and it immediately filled with ground water. Trench 5 (Figs. 2 and 4) Trench 5 was a cross-trench added to the original trench plan in an effort to determine if the grave in Trench 2 was part of a group of burials or lay within a funerary earthwork. The trench was 17m long and ran at right-angles to Trench 2 centred on the burial. Several irregular silt-filled features were sampled but none proved to be archaeological. One late pit, 0025, which was cut from just below the topsoil through the silt subsoil horizon was recorded at the south end of the trench. The pit was 0.8m across, infilled with dark silt and packed with large flints; it produced no finds. Trench 3 (Figs. 2 and 5) Trench 3 was 22m long and ran SSW-NNE across the west end of the development area. The top of the surface geology was encountered at 500mm below the current ground surface at 35.20m OD at the south end of the trench and 34.95m OD at the north. The soil profile comprised 250mm of topsoil over a similar depth of pale brown silt-clay (numbered 0007 here). Two features, a narrow ditch and a deep pit were recorded within the trench and several natural silt-filled features were sampled. The features masked by the silt subsoil were not identified until this had been removed. Ditch 0005 which ran E-W, was 0.6m wide and 0.3m deep and was filled with a fine, midgrey, clay silt which was distinct in colour from subsoil horizon 0007. At the north end of the trench was an irregular silt feature which resolved into a deep pit, 0018, upon excavation. The pit was sub-square with vertical sides and a flat base, and was 1.1m wide and 1.3m deep from the ground surface. The top fill, 0019, was a pale silt-clay indistinguishable in colour and texture from the silt subsoil horizon 0007 but it contained
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Figure 5. Trench 3 plans and sections 9
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Figure 6. Plan of Trench 4, with section 10
5m
small chalk nodules and charcoal flecks. The base of the pit was filled with dark silt-loam occupation soil, 0020, which contained small quantities of burnt clay/daub along with a low concentration of charcoal. Long bone fragments from a medium sized animal were collected from 0020 and a 20 litre sample was taken for macrofossil analysis (awaiting processing). Trench 4 Trench 4 was 16.5m long and ran SSW-NNE across the width of the development area. The top of the surface geology sloped gently down from 35.97m OD at the south end of the trench to 35.85m OD at the north, 500mm below the current ground surface and beneath a soil profile of 350mm of topsoil over 150mm of pale brown silt-clay which became gradually thicker towards the north end of the trench. A possible shallow, silt-filled ditch, 0021, was recorded at the south end of the trench; this feature was however by no means certain and produced no finds.
5.
Finds and environmental evidence
Introduction Finds were collected from five contexts, as shown in the table below. Context 0003 0004 0007 0011 0020 Total
Pottery No. Wt/g 104
175
1
255
105
430
Miscellaneous
Spotdate
HSR 759g
LNEBA LNEBA
Fired clay 1-6g CBM 1-304g, A bone 1-56g A bone 2-16g
18th C+
Table 1. Finds quantities
Pottery Prehistoric pottery The prehistoric assemblage comprises a single Beaker (0004) of later Neolithic to earlier Bronze Age date deposited as an accessory vessel to inhumation burial 0002. The top of the burial was disturbed, perhaps by ploughing and part of the vessel’s rim and upper body have been lost. The vessel is made in a grog-tempered fabric with sparse angular flint and is decorated with an all-over motif of small, evenly-spaced stamped or jabbed wedge-shaped impressions. It has a rounded upright rim and a simple stepped base. Form would be difficult to reconstruct as it is so fragmentary, but the curved body sherds indicate that the vessel has a globular body profile.
11
Post-medieval pottery The lower half of a small late post-medieval flower pot (base diameter 70mm) was recovered from the basal fill of pit 0010 in Trench 1 (0011). Ceramic building material (CBM) 17/18th century brick fragments (identified by D. Gill) were present in the subsoil layer in Trench 3 (0007) and in the basal fill of pit 0010 (0011) in Trench 1. A single fragment made in a medium sandy fabric with occasional flint and ferrous inclusions was retained as a sample. Fired clay A small undiagnostic fragment of fired clay was collected from the subsoil layer in Trench 3 (0007). Human skeletal remains (HSR) Articulated human remains (759g) buried in a crouched position were recovered from burial 0002 (0003). The bone most likely represents a single individual and includes fragments of skull, upper limbs, pelvis and lower limbs. The bone is in fair to good condition but it has been disturbed and broken post-depositionally and some elements are missing. Animal bone Fragments of a cow mandible were recovered from the bottom pond fill 0011 in Trench 1 and an unidentified metapodial (gnawed) and rib were found in the basal fill of pit 0018 (0020) in Trench 3. Plant macrofossils A bulk sample (20 litres) to evaluate the content and preservation of plant macrofossils was taken from the basal fill of pit 0018 in Trench 3 (0020). Discussion of the finds and environmental evidence Evaluation trenching produced an assemblage of finds from a limited number of features which indicate activity on this site or in the vicinity during the prehistoric and late postmedieval periods. The most notable find was an inhumation burial which contained the remains of a single individual placed in a crouched position and a Beaker accessory vessel. The top of the feature was disturbed, probably by ploughing, and part of the Beaker and bone have been
12
lost. Dating of the Beaker vessel is uncertain but almost unquestionably falls within the broad Beaker currency of 2600-1800BC (Kinnes et al. 1990). Its association with surviving human bone provides an opportunity to obtain a radiocarbon date for the vessel. Later finds include post-18th century brick and flowerpot from Trenches 1 and 3.
6.
Discussion
A low density of features was recorded on the site, most of which are relatively recent and probably represent post-medieval activity associated with the workings of Hall Farm. The field was used in the recent past for grazing cattle and the relatively low-lying position of the field means it is well suited to this purpose. The buildings that make up Hall farmyard are typical of the mixed farming that occurred in East Anglia from the middle of the 19th century and the remains of the probable dew pond found in Trench 1 is a further reflection of the livestock farming which occurred here. Beneath the topsoil is subsoil of buried silt which is result of an unknown soil process and the deposition of which is undated. The later features clearly cut the silt deposits but three undated archaeological features, including a pit containing occupation soil, were masked or sealed by it suggesting that the formation of the silt is in part the result of the soil profile having been reworked, and damage to the grave indicates that the ground has been ploughed at some point. Apart from the burial no features were positively dated to the medieval period or earlier and the complete absence of pre-18th century finds suggests that this area has always been outside the area of settlement. The grave appears to be an isolated burial. The burial rite, with the crouched inhumation and accompanying Beaker pottery, is a style of inhumation that began to appear around c.2600 BC and dates the grave to the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age. Graves of this type are often covered by a small round earthen mound and can be part of a barrow cemetery but the absence, so far, of further burials or an encircling ring ditch suggests that neither is the case here; flat cemeteries of Beaker burials are also known, especially in Oxfordshire. The burial occurs at the head of a valley (Fig. 7), one of series which run at right angles to Redgrave and Bressingham Fen, and at the focus of the catchment basin for the Hundred River (now part of the district boundary). This location is typical of burials of this period which often occupy significant positions within the landscape.
13
40
50
EBA Burial
35 45
30 ©Crown Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Suffolk County Council Licence No. 100023395 2010
Figure 7. Contour 5map showing location of the burial at the valley head.
7.
Recommendations
A low density of archaeological features lies within 500mm of the current ground surface, and these have been truncated and the burial impacted upon by previous re-workings of the soil. Although the burial appears to be isolated, the possibility exists that it is part of a small cemetery and it is recommended therefore that the stripping of the soil, particularly within the immediate area of the grave be undertaken in the presence of an archaeologist in order to excavate and record any other individuals that may be buried here. The skeleton and pottery which were excavated during the evaluation have been subject to only basic finds processing and assessment and further specialist analysis and reports are required to complete the site archive. The potential for radiocarbon dating of the human bone should be explored in order to refine the pottery date.
David Gill December 2010
14
8. Archive deposition Paper and photographic archive: SCCAS, 9/10 Churchyard, Shire Hall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 2AR. Digital archive: SCCAS, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Finds and environmental archive: SCCAS, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
9. List of contributors and acknowledgements The evaluation was carried out by Jo Caruth and David Gill assisted by Phil Camps, John Craven and Tony Fisher. Finds and post excavation were managed by Rrichenda Goffin, the finds were processed by Jonathon van Jennians and the finds report written by Cathy Tester.
10
References
Kinnes, I., Gibson, A., Ambers, J., Bowman, S., Leese, M., and Boast, R., 1991. ‘Radiocarbon dating and British Beakers: the British Museum programme’ Scottish Archaeological Review 8, 35-78.
Disclaimer Any opinions expressed in this report about the need for further archaeological work are those of the Field Projects Division alone. The need for further work will be determined by the Local Planning Authority and its archaeological advisors when a planning application is registered. Suffolk County Council’s archaeological contracting service cannot accept responsibility for inconvenience caused to clients should the Planning Authority take a different view to that expressed in the report.
15
16
17
0008
0010
0009
0010
10 January 2011
0008
0008
0005
0005
0007
0002
0004
0007
0002
0003
0005
0002
0002
0006
Feature/cut
Context
Appendix 1
Pit
Pit
Pit
Subsoil
Ditch
Ditch
skeleton
burial
Type
Cut
Cut
Layer
Fill
Cut
Fill
Cut
Category
T1
T2
T2
T3
T3
T3
T2
T2
T2
Deep pit, looks like extension to existing feature. Modern (post 18th C in fill). Partially excavated by machine. Only base 0011 excavated by hand. 1.2m deep.
Very soft, loose mix of dark brown sand and yellow sand. No finds, occasional large stone inclusions.
Oval pit under subsoil - goes under baulk. Sloped sides, flat base. 1.5m x 0.55m.
Subsoil under topsoil in T3. Fine green-grey brown silt containing very occasional post 18th C brick frags. Single sample kept. Overlies ditch 0004. 18cm deep.
Soft, fine dark grey ??? Silt. Even from top to bottom. 63cm wide x 40cm deep.
E-W aligned narrow ditch - steeply sloped sides and rounded base. Fill = 0005. 63cm wide and 40cm deep.
Pottery -beaker at foot of burial 0002. Complete pot broken in situ.
Skeleton with 0002. Crouched figure. Long bones - legs broken into short lengths in ? Antiquity. Dirty ends to the breaks. Bones lying at machining interface.
Burial to the east end of trench 2. Top of the skill and top of the grave truncated by ploughing. Crouched figure with beaker pot at west end. Very shallow. ? Cut barely visible. 0.6m x 1.10m.
Trench Description
Pit seems real in shape, but fill suspicious. Same as that in natural features elsewhere.
Interpretation
ENF 125574 Hall Farm Fersfield Context List
CBM
y
y
y
Page 1 of 3
Finds Spotdate
18
0018
0018
0021
0021
0023
0019
0020
0021
0022
0023
10 January 2011
0018
0018
Ditch
Ditch
Pit
Pit
Pit
Gully
0016
0017
Ditch
Gully
0013
0014
Ditch
0016
0013
0013
0016
0012
0012
Pit
Subsoil
0010
0011
Type
0015
Feature/cut
Context
Layer
Fill
Cut
Fill
Fill
Cut
Fill
Cut
Layer
Fill
Cut
Fill
Category
T4
T4
T4
T3
T3
T3
T2
T2
T2
T1
T1
Pale brown silt under topsoil across whole trench. Cut by modern features, but containing fragments of 18th C finds elsewhere.
Pale brown silt, same as subsoil above. Fill of ditch 0021.
Shallow E-W aligned possible ditch in T4. Flat base and sloped sides. 1.2m wide and 0.12m deep.
Basal fill of pit 0018. Dark charcoal rich silt with chalk flecks. 30cm deep.
Upper fill of pit 0018. Mid-pale brown silt flecked with charcoal and chalk.
Circular pit at N end of T3. Flat base, steep sides. 2 fills and lies under subsoil 0007. Partially under W trench edge.
Dark soft brown and yellow sand fill of 0016. Very soft, few inclusions. Not convincing, similar to fill in natural features elsewhere.
Irregular curving gully near burial. Several sections dug, but doesn't look real.
Subsoil. Same as 0007
Brown silt fill of 0013. Stones at bottom. Possible land drain but unconvincing.
Narrow gully, possible land drain. Steep sides, but edges very variable and not always convincing.
Line of modern postholes (still with wooden posts surviving. Sampled and drawn, only partially excavated. See plan.
Basal fill of pit 0010. Dense sticky dark grey-brown mud contains 18th C brick and flower pot. Sample only kept. 12cm deep. Base 1.2m from ground.
Trench Description
Possible ditch.
Natural features.
Natural feature.
Not real?
Not real?
Interpretation
y bone
y
Page 2 of 3
Finds Spotdate
19
0024
0025
0025
0024
0025
0026
10 January 2011
Feature/cut
Context
Pit
Pit
Type
Fill
Cut
Layer
Category
T2
T2
T1
Modern truncation.
Pit southern extent of trench.
Pale brown silt subsoil, same as 0007, 0015, 0023. Occasional 18th C brick rubble observed within it.
Trench Description
Interpretation
Page 3 of 3
Finds Spotdate
20
21
10 January 2011
0020
255 3
73 ABone 3-73g
CBM 1-304g
1
0011
175 Fired clay 1-6g
104
HSR 759g
Pot No Pot Wt Animal bone Nomal bone Wt Miscellaneous
0007
0004
0003
Ctxt No
soil sample
PMed
EBA
Period
Appendix 2 ENF 125574 Hall Farm, Fersfield evaluation: bulk finds list
LPMed
EBA
Page 1 of 1
Spotdate
22
Appendix 3
LICENCE FOR THE REMOVAL OF HUMAN REMAINS The Secretary of State, in exercise of the power vested in him by section 25 of the Burial Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vic., cap.81), grants a licence for the removal of the remains of persons unknown from the place in which they are now interred at Hall Farm, Fersfield, Norfolk IP22 2.
It is a condition of this licence that the following precautions shall be observed: (a)
The removal shall be effected with due care and attention to decency;
(b)
The ground in which the remains are interred shall be screened from the public gaze while the work of removal is in progress;
(c)
The removal shall be to the satisfaction of the environmental health officer for the district in which the remains are at present interred and in accordance with any additional conditions they may impose;
(d)
The remains shall be reinterred, as soon as practicable, and in any event no later than within two years of the date of disinterment, in a burial ground in which interments may legally take place. In any intervening period they shall be kept safely, privately and decently.
3.
This licence merely exempts those from the penalties, which would be incurred if the removal took place without a licence. It does not in any way alter civil rights. It does not confer the right to bury the remains in any place where such right does not already exist.
4.
This licence expires on 14 December 2011.
Paul Ansell on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice
Ministry of Justice Licence Number: 10-0202 File Number: OPR/072/67 Date: 15 December 2010
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