Excavations at the ‘Royal Hunting Lodge’ at Church Place, Denny Wait
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2017-12-05

A number of sites across the New Forest are considered to be the remains of medieval hunting lodges, constructed in the 14th or 15th centuries by order of the king. More than half a dozen are described as such by Historic England and are protected as Scheduled Ancient Monuments and, in some cases, it is possible to link the surviving earthworks with lodges named in various court rolls. While there are many similarities in the layout of the earthworks, there are also some important differences in both the apparent height of the banks and the presence, or absence, of building material that might indicate significant structures. Geophysical survey and excavation of the scheduled site at Church Place, Denny Wait, in 2016 and 2017 suggests that there is greater variety in the nature and function of these sites than has previously been thought. While the archaeological evidence supports the dating of the site, the absence of confirmed structural remains suggests a more ephemeral and perhaps temporary use of the site. This paper will outline the background to the excavations, and consider the results and possible interpretations arising from them.
Dr Paul Everill, University of Winchester