Archaeology

FEATURES OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL INTEREST
OS maps mark a tumulus on Chislehurst Common, at TQ 442703, which is no longer be traceable on the ground.

On the edge of the restored heathland on St Paul’s Cray Common, at TQ 448693, there are banks which appear to be the remnants of field boundaries dating from a time when that part of the Common was cultivated.

Also on St Paul’s Cray Common, there are slight indications of earthworks at TQ 452690, attributed by Nicola Bannister (1997, Hawkwood And Petts Wood Estate: Historic Landscape Survey, National Trust) to the pre-Roman period, suggesting the remains of a field system. Bannister days that, in the 17th century and into the 18th century, “small fields were carved out of the Common …. Either with the licence of the manor or more often without it, ie. squatters. These fields were probably cultivated for a period of time until either the soil became too exhausted or the manorial court could exert its influence in throwing the encroachers off the land.”

Between TQ 453687 and TQ 451692 there is a woodbank forming the boundary between Petts Wood and St Paul’s Cray Common. Throughout most of its length of around 500 metres it is very clearly visible as an asymmetrical bank topped with pollarded oaks, with a ditch on the St Paul’s Cray Common side. Bannister considers that this woodbank and its associated pollards form “probably the oldest known archaeological feature” of the area, being “probably of considerable antiquity.” The woodbank is described in more detail in the of Spring 2006 and Spring 2007.


The ancient woodbank on the boundary of St Paul’s Cray Common.

In the grassland known as the Village Green, close to St Nicholas Church, there is a circular depression 1.5 metres deep and 37 to 38 metres in diameter, with a slightly raised circle in the centre 11 metres in diameter. It may have come into existence through gravel-working, as there is no sign of excavated soil, but it was almost certainly adapted for use as a cockpit. If not unique, it is certainly one of the best preserved of its kind. After cock-fighting became illegal in 1834 it was used as a village arena and for bouts of cudgelling and single-stick, probably as part of the annual fair.

Coming much closer to present times, in the early hours of 16th October 1987, there was the Great Storm. The damage inflicted on Chislehurst and St Paul’s Cray Commons was very considerable, but it was not surveyed in any quantitative way. However, a study was conducted for the National Trust, by Ken Palmer (1988, Counting The Cost: A Tree By Tree Survey Of The Effect Of The October 16th Storm On Willett Memorial Wood, National Trust), of Willett Memorial Wood, part of Petts Wood, which is contiguous with the southern boundary of St Paul’s Cray Common. He carried out a tree by tree survey of all specimens which had a girth of 16 cm or more at shoulder height. He noted each tree’s species and put it in one of three categories: “undamaged”, or virtually so; “damaged”, signifying that, although the tree was still standing, it had lost at least one major bough and/or had suffered some root disturbance, and “fallen”, including trees uprooted or snapped off below the first bough. He found that only 30 per cent of trees were unscathed, or virtually so, and 27 per cent had fallen. Of the more common species, sweet chestnut and birch had suffered the most, with 58 per cent and 56 per cent respectively damaged or fallen. Although the storm struck very unevenly, the damage varying considerably even between closely adjacent parts of the wood, due to variations in the densities of the trees, the proportions of the different species and the random distribution of the strongest gusts, there is no reason to believe that the overall impact on Chislehurst and St Paul’s Cray Commons was very different from Palmer’s survey results. Following the storm, the policy on the Commons was to clear pathways of fallen trees and to cut down trees which were in a dangerous condition, but to leave fallen trunks and boughs which were not causing a hazard, in order to provide habitats. In common with many other wooded areas throughout the South East, it has been found that fallen trees with a reasonable root-ball, especially oaks, have produced fresh shoots.