Great Offley Garage, Great Offley, Hertfordshire: An Archaeological Evaluation

Abstract

Following a desk based assessment, field evaluation was carried out at the former Offley Garage site in Great Offley. Two trenches were dug, the westernmost of these in the centre of the site, revealed features on a similar alignment to those discovered previously in excavations at Westbury Farm on the opposite side of Luton Road. Pottery within the features indicated a date for the features in the 12th and early 13th centuries. The finds tended to confirm the proposition that the garage site had originally been part of the Westbury complex, separated only by the construction of Luton Road in the early 19th century. A possible building was suggested by beam slots. This was interpreted as a farm related ancillary building of the early medieval period. Twentieth century disturbance on the site had greatly impacted upon archaeological survival which was limited to the central part of the site.