Lower Gravenhurst Before 1086

The Bedfordshire Historic Environment Record [HER] contains information on the county’s historic buildings and landscapes and summaries of each entry can now be found online as part of the Heritage Gateway website. Two sites in Lower Gravenhurst have been identified as dating to before 1086.

East of Rectory Farm is a cropmark. Cropmarks are visible differences in growth patterns in crops caused by walls, ditches and other features below the surface. This particular mark shows a curved ditch and enclosure thought to be prehistoric in date  [HER 20339]. It may be the site of a small later prehistoric defended settlement, or it could possibly be medieval, only excavation is likely to decide the matter. The ditch is about 8 metres wide.

Early Roman pottery was found in 1978 when digging an agricultural drainage ditch on the southern edge of Poor Hill Plantation, part of Great Ion Farm. Samian ware, high status orange decorated ware from Gul dating to the 1st or 2nd century AD and being the remains of about five bowls, was found as was coarser ware and a roof tile [HER 11291].