News

New garden battlefield archaeology project launched in Newbury

25 June 2022

The Battlefields Trust has launched a new pilot project in Newbury to test whether those living on the first and second Newbury battlefields have ever found artefacts from the battle when gardening.

One hundred and fifty leaflets have been distributed to houses in the vicinity of Wash Common for the first battle and around Speen Hill and near Shaw House for the second battle. 

The leaflets contain a questionnaire asking whether householders have found a range of different types of battlefield artefacts, from lead bullets to caps for powder containers.    

The Trust’s research co-ordinator, Simon Marsh, is hoping that new finds will come to light. 

‘Many people in Newbury don't realise that their house and garden is located on a major battlefield of the English Civil War’, he said.

‘There have been many finds on the battlefields over the years and we are keen to see whether anything can be found in people’s gardens. Posting questionnaires seemed a good way to achieve this’.

‘The Battlefields Trust is hoping to collate all the evidence of finds on the battlefields to help research into these important events in British history’. 

The pilot project was discussed with the West Berkshire Council Archaeology team before it was launched. 

More details about the project can be found at the Project Website.