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Speaker: Ian Parker Heath

In 2015 the Tudor Farming Interpretation Group took the next step on their research on the story of a small farmstead in the Dove Valley. With the help of a Lottery grant this involved a programme of archaeological work, historical research and a lot of community engagement. The results were pretty impressive and included revealing a late 17th century house. In 2022 a further Lottery grant helped the group undertake more archaeological work including trying to find out more about the environment in the past. A small peat bog on the valley side held the key to this, and the initial analysis of it’s pollen showed exceptional levels of preservation. A more detailed look at the pollen resulted in one of the richest pollen records in the country in incredible detail. Our latest research is showing us how the field system there has developed over centuries by dating the soil buried under agricultural features such as banks, boundaries and ridge & furrow.