Archaeology of Helpston

Frieda Gosling and other volunteers digging at Torpel House

School children from John Clare School digging a test pit in the school grounds in 2016

Map of Test Pit Locations

How did Helpston evolve? To try and find out, volunteers aged 9-90 dug over 30 test pits throughout the village. All indication of human activity was recorded and over 1,000 pottery sherds were analysed.

There was no evidence of occupation in prehistoric periods. However, an exciting, unexpected discovery of large numbers of Roman pottery sherds led to the suggestion (later confirmed by excavation) of a Roman farmstead at a site close to the present church.

Occupation continued throughout the Saxon and Medieval periods with expansion initially along West Street and Woodgate. The arrival of the paper mill and the railways led to further growth along Maxey Road and Glinton Road.

A more detailed report of the finds and conclusions can be found in the PDF download.

To see further details of the History and Archaeology Group project led by the Langdyke Trust – click the link below.

Langdyke Countryside Trust website

Source
Google Maps