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Copped Hall Trust Archeological Project: FIELD SCHOOL 2008
Continued excavation of a sequence of Tudor and medieval grand-houses at Copped Hall on the edge of Epping Forest, Essex Monday 11th - Friday 15th August 2008; The name of Copped Hall first appears in a document of 1258 but the family named in the document had been granted land in the vicinity in 1165. Waltham Abbey owned the Hall from 1350 till 1534, when it passed to the Crown. Mary Tudor lived here and celebrated the Catholic mass under her Protestant brother’s rule. Queen Elizabeth I granted the manor to her Chancellor Thomas Heneage, and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream may have had its first performance at Heneage’s wedding festivities here in 1594. Later it was home to Lionel Cranfield, a Lord High Treasurer of England under James I who was condemned by Parliament for ‘bribery, extortion, oppression and other grievous misdemeanours’. However, the grand house at Copped Hall – save for some ‘romantic ruins’ – was demolished in the mid-18th century and replaced by a new one 250 metres to the south-east. This in turn was gutted by fire in 1917 and stood ruinous for much of the 20th century. In 1995, however, the Copped Hall Trust succeeded in saving it from the developers and vandals and has since then been working to restore house and gardens to their original condition. The Copped Hall Trust Archaeological Project (CHTAP) was set up, with the support of the West Essex Archaeological Group (WEAG), to investigate the remains of the earlier house. In previous seasons an intriguing sequence of brick walls and foundations overlain by the landscaped gardens of the 18th century house has been uncovered. In 2008 the CHTAP wishes to look closely at more of the masonry and answer questions about the different phases of building and rebuilding. For the last 5 years the CHTAP has held training digs for beginners but this year the dig will be confined to people who have already learned the basic techniques of archaeological excavation and recording. To this end we will be running a Field School for two weeks in August 2008, from Monday to Friday each week, and would welcome to it anyone who has learned the basic techniques at Copped Hall or elsewhere and is keen to further develop their skills. No formal training sessions are planned but you will be working under supervision by professional archaeologists. A certificate of attendance will be available if required. Directors of the Field School will be Christina Holloway and Lee Joyce. The cost will be £100 per week (£90 for members of WEAG); lunch and tea/coffee will be served free. All tools except a digging trowel will be provided. Accommodation will not be made available at Copped Hall but details of nearby B&B/hotel/hostel/camping accommodation can be supplied. The site is just off the M25 and easily accessible by car. Though not directly on any public-transport route, a taxi firm operates a service from Epping Station on the Central Line. If you wish to join the dig, please fill in the attached form and return to Mrs Pauline Dalton, Roseleigh, Epping Road, Epping, Essex, CM16 5HW. For further information about the project see www.weag.org.uk or phone Mrs Dalton on 01992-813-725, or email pmd2@ukonline.co.uk |
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