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History dig paves way for over 55s apartments
TV Archaeologist Phil Harding gave a corner of Hungerford some trowel treatment recently to find out more about the town’s medieval foundations. Sovereign Housing Group hired Phil – best known for his work in the trenches on Channel 4’s popular Time Team show – to organise a dig at the Fairfields old people’s home. Sovereign hopes to rebuild the outdated sheltered scheme with 38 top-of-the-range apartments for the over 55s, and Phil, who works for Wessex Archaeology, had a brief to assess the historical value of the site at the top of the High Street. The weeklong dig of the ‘burgage’ plots confirmed that the sites were laid out but remained unoccupied throughout the medieval period, and that the only artefacts unearthed were a few coins and gambling tokens. Head of Supported Housing Heather Bowman said: “The current flats are outdated and increasingly hard-to-let, and as we’re hoping to redevelop the site, this is a great opportunity to find out what historical value the site has. “Phil and his team did some very thorough work,” Heather added, “and his findings will inform our plans, which we are about to consult local people on.” The £5m project will provide spacious and secure apartments and new communal areas for older people in Hungerford, and Sovereign is also offering to contribute to improvements along the popular footpath running alongside the site. Sovereign will be on hand to answer questions about the plans at Hungerford Town Council next Thursday, at the town hall, 7.30pm. Published 16 March 2006 |
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