Madingley Hall, Madingley: Archaeological Monitoring and Recording of a new drainage installation

Abstract

The Cambridge Archaeological Unit undertook archaeological monitoring at Madingley Hall, Madingley (TL 3948 6034), between 12th and 17th January 2022. The Church of St Magdalene was undertaking drainage works, a segment of which crossed University of Cambridge land at Madingley Hall Institute of Continuing Education. Only this segment was the object of the archaeological monitoring. The investigations revealed a rather homogeneous sequence: turf and topsoil overlaying a levelling layer associated with the 18th century landscaping of the grounds by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. This was similar to observations within the churchyard during archaeological monitoring in 2018 and 2019. The shallowness of the trench prevented the recording of the sequence prior to that event.