Caroline Thackray - Territory Archaeologist
EAST SUSSEX
Cuckmere estuary - managed realignment project
Historic background
The Cuckmere Valley is an iconic landscape of significant national importance. Through it the river flows out from the downland villages of East Sussex to the sea via Cuckmere Haven. The classic view of the Seven Sisters coastal cliffs, taken from Short Cliff on the west side of the haven, has been photographed and painted for many years and is the cover view on the current Ordnance Survey South Downs Map (1:25,000 Explorer 123). It is a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), a Heritage coast (HC) and possibly soon to be part of the South Downs National Park.
Only the western side of the valley is owned by the National Trust, forming part of the Chyngton Farm property that lies just east of Seaford. Across the river to the east, the land is in local authority ownership. On the one hand, little dramatic change has affected Chyngton Farm. The medieval innings and brooks (embanked valley meadows) survive from the medieval period when they were probably first laid out by the monastic (Michelham Priory) and lay landowners, with the farmed land on the upper ground and the pasturage below. But a once-thriving medieval settlement above the valley has shrunk to a single small farm, a documented port has completely disappeared, and modern suburban sprawl has reached the very boundaries of the farm.
The priors of Michelham were often appointed on the commissions of sewers for Pevensey – a useful experience for the management of the much smaller levels of Cuckmere. The monastic documents contain many references to the effects of storm and sea surges on the flood plain at the haven mouth, and references to embankments show that the river was already being controlled in order that the adjacent land could be managed or farmed.
The Cuckmere Levels had its own Water Court, which records problems with silting and choking of the river mouth, flooding, scouring and direction of flow. The catalogue of difficulties continued until the mid-nineteenth century when the New Cut was proposed and finally took place. It appears from map evidence that no further major ‘improvements’ have been made to the Lower Levels of the Cuckmere since that time, apart from clearance of shingle banks and continuing maintenance and repairs to the embankments.
The current coastal threat
Today, the valley estuary of the Cuckmere River with its celebrated relict meanders and shingle beach is still a heavily managed landscape, with the Victorian cut channel surrounded by reclaimed farmland of limited biodiversity. The meanders sit in isolation to the rest of the river and are silting up. The whole estuary environment is propped up by a series of sea defences and tidal banks that are reaching the end of their planned life and are increasingly ineffective against sea level rise.
It is now considered neither economically nor environmentally sound to reinforce/raise the banks given flood defence priorities, and in Spring 2001 a new partnership (the Cuckmere Estuary Restoration Partnership) was formed between the Environment Agency, English Nature and the National Trust. Their aim is to work with nature rather than against it and to investigate the restoration of the estuary through the creation of a biodiverse salt-marsh and mudflat habitat. This would involve realignment of the defences in a managed way with eventual reconnection of the meanders back into the estuary system. The exploration of realignment in this way was supported by the Shoreline Management Plan and the latest revision has reflected this as the adopted approach.
Managed Realignment Scheme
The scheme was originally planned as a two-phase approach dealing initially with breaching of selected banks and controlled flooding of the western (Trust-owned) side, to be followed in subsequent years by similar treatment of the eastern side.
As part of the preparation for a planning application for the works to the western side, detailed investigations were carried out on the ecology, geomorphology and archaeology of the landscape. For the archaeological assessment, building on the existing historic landscape survey of 1999 (Bannister,N.), and following consultation with both English Heritage and East Sussex County Council, it was agreed that pre-determination evaluation should take place in the form of geo-archaeological assessment of the palaeo-enviromental deposits (Development Archaeology Services, 2004) and an upgraded field walkover survey (Archaeology South East, 2004).
The results of these provided improved understanding of the west side of the estuary and on the basis of this a baseline statement was prepared by the Trust Archaeologist for inputting to the Environmental Statement and planning application. This included reference to identified archaeology or cultural heritage significance, negative and positive impacts and recommended mitigation needs if the planning application were successful.
These assessments were completed in April 2004, but before their presentation, the situation had substantially altered. Detailed results from the Environment Agency's modelling of the relative sea and land levels showed that if the two-phased approach were to be adopted, the increased flow and velocity of water would lead to the collapse of the river mouth and east bank defences well ahead of the planned restoration schedule.
The scheme reconsidered…
So, in February 2004, it was back to the drawing board and further investigation was ordered prior to a proposed simultaneous breach and a delayed planning application. During 2004 the situation was further complicated by a proposal to the Environmental Agency by a third party for the banks to be raised and protection of the existing channel increased. The outcome of this proposal is still pending, but it may create the need for a planning enquiry.
So far, for the historic environment, the project has been a very useful and instructive process. The English Heritage guidance on coastal issues for the historic environment has proved invaluable in what has been quite a steep learning curve in dealing with coastal change. So too, has the combined support from the English Heritage Inspector and the Science Adviser and the County Archaeologist. Although temporarily stalled, when the project picks up again, the archaeological evaluation on the National Trust land will already be complete and should provide an agreed model approach for the historic environment on the eastern side of the valley.
KENT
Sissinghurst Garden - the Priest's House examined
An archaeological survey and watching brief was commissioned by the National Trust prior to the minor repair works to the exterior of the Priest's House, Sissinghurst Castle, during the installation of three lightning conductors and a ramp. This survey has enlarged our understanding of the development of the structure and has yielded significant information regarding its possible original use. The archaeological evidence appears to show that the Priest's House was conceived and designed as a garden pavilion, for enjoying prospects and entertaining, as well as being an integral part of the Elizabethan mansion.
The case for this was built on both archaeological building analysis and documentary research, and the discussion is given in full in the resulting report. The position of the building in relation to the mansion suggests that it was very well placed for prospects into the Weald. It is set back from the mansion yet connected by curtain or boundary brick walls, and was well-positioned for the view, but also afforded some protection by the surrounding walls.
Peter Rumley, the archaeological surveyor, sees it as the 'ultimate fashionable building accessory' from which the Baker family of sixteenth-century Sissinghurst Castle could enjoy the view in comfort, entertain and dine. In a similar way, pavilions were being incorporated into the grand architectural designs of country houses being built across England. At Hales Place, Tenterden, some eight miles south-west of Sissinghurst, there are two brick garden pavilions remaining from a much reduced house of c1536. Similarly, other brick pavilions may be found at Royden Hall, East Peckham, c1535. The West Country has the more famous examples at Montacute House, 1588, and the remarkable banqueting pavilions at Longleat, which may be found on the roof, 1580.
Sissinghurst's pavilion had been standing for over seventy years before Sir John Baker (1608-53) petitioned for a new chapel at the mansion. Since it was consecrated in 1639, it seems unlikely that it could have been built for a priest.
The discussion is too full to enter into in detail here. But Rumley suggests that close examination of the structure and phasing of the building, and an analysis of the ground levels and views out, together with the documentary record suggests that the original building was actually a garden pavilion protected by a series of curtain walls and a dry moat.
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