Just before the final destruction

Another of Mike Sims's' July 2004 series when he recorded the demolition of Ullenwood for posterity. All the contents of the mess hall were thrown out in an untidy pile before the final razing to the ground began. Sad sight.

1977: Robin's ditch

A fine set of beautifully cleaned steps cut into the limestone: 'Robin [Hall]'s ditch' is the caption Becky Sanderson attached to this picture: Neolithic, C-H-M suspects. Wonder what the weather report was the day this was dug out ...

Leaving the past behind ...

Evolution in progress: when Dr Ferris saw this 1979 Anna Behan photo of C-H-M gnawing on some limestone (for the camera, I assure you), he thought that it was a depiction of a 19th century feral child, possibly from a Paris gutter. In fact, I was digging out the ditch on Cutting AXVII: I think I knew, even at the time, that you weren't supposed to eat the spoil.

Later today C-H-M (aged 49 3/4) starts a new life as a student for the next 9 months, at Leith's School of Cookery and Wine. This is very exciting, and is unlikely to involve a diet of oolites. At least I hope it won't. I hope the suppliers of shellfish produce something a little fresher...

But if the postings on the blog become a little less regular than in recent months, I hope readers will forgive me: I will do my very best to keep the blog up-to-date but there may be times when the stoves will have to take first place in my affections or when I will be cooking or waiting at various events and establishments. But for those who of you who come and stay at the Albergo Parker the quality of the nosebag should improve ...

Back to 1972 ...

A peaceful scene from 1972 on Clive Anderson's cutting, kindly supplied by Lydia Savage. This must have been exactly the phase when the large postholes for the Iron Age longhouses and roundhouses were emerging. Let's hope the digger sitting on the edge of the cutting wasn't as miserable as her hunched outline suggests. This picture is looking southeast towards the southern section of the Iron Age rampart.

What are they waiting for?

A charming photo taken at Ullenwood in 1980 sent to C-H-M by Sue Lee Jeffs (now Bauman). L to R: Jo Bacon, Kate Gilbert, Sue herself and Lucy Loveridge. Now they're obviously waiting for something. Maybe the clue's above Jo's head. Was it a bed? Was it a man? Or did they hope to have a shower, but only on two nights out of three? Ullenwood was always full of possibilities.

The Times 20 August 1981

My thanks to Kate Dumycz for this abstract from 'The Times' of 20 August 1981:

"BROOCH OF 600BC FOUND

A bronze brooch believed to be the oldest found in Britain has been discovered at Crickley Hill near Gloucester.

Dr Philip Dixon, who is leading the thirteenth annual dig at the site, believes the brooch, which is in several pieces, dates from about 600BC. About the size of a large safety pin, it has been sent to the British Museum to be reassembled.

More than 3,500 relics of the Stone and Iron Ages have been found at this year's dig, which was carried out by a record number of 300 volunteers, including many from abroad."

More Neolithic ditch

Time for an archaeological view: another stretch of Neolithic ditch from Andrew Powell. Professor Dixon identifies: "Cutting CIV, showing the ditch 603 looking south, partially excavated; bank on the right overlies the causewayed enclosure ditches." A somewhat higgledy-piggledy turf wall in the background: not one of our best efforts.

Having a breather ...

I've been trying to figure out exactly what type of long-handled b***er Joe Stone is holding in this 1981 photo from the Chronicler's archive. A clout-iron perhaps. On that beautiful sunny morning long ago, Dr Cleal's shirt is emblazoned with the (slightly) boastful legend "SUPERVISORS DO IT MORE - CRICKLEY".

Catbashing, sorry, lump hammering exhibition

Was it time for that baulk to come down? It looks as though Gail Boyle went at this bit of cat-bashing with such verve that everyone else stopped to watch her demonstration. This 1982 episode was captured for posterity by Dr Phillpotts. L to R: Big Les, Gail, Tony and Rhian Locke. Stop press: Dr Phillpotts advises that Gail is using a lump hammer and not a catbasher to trim the baulk.

Roll call for the finds ...

Fresh from his latest peace-keeping mission in his UN beret, giving the shorts an outing and the legs an airing, Arwel Barrett has spotted Rebecca Chambers with the camera: Jane Dineen is concentrating hard on recording finds information properly. Let's hope Arwel's sitrep met with approval. My guess is that this is c 1980, based on the location of the cutting right by the fence between the National Trust and the Council land, the length of Jane's hair and a dendrochronological fix on Arwel's knees.

Foz and digger

It looks as though Foz may have put quite some effort into the angle irons supporting his planning frame: even allowing for a bit of foreshortening when Jill Hummerstone snapped him at work: that one on the right must have needed at good belt with a clout-iron to get it into the limestone. In the background, not a JCB, for once, but a Massey Ferguson back hoe loader: a model 50HX which, according to C-H-M's research, seems to have been manufactured in the late 1980s and early 1990s: that would be about right. A used one would set you back between $5,000 and $15,000 according to the Machinery Trader website.

Jane Dineen writes: "I remember having one of these on site, trying it out, and lifting JP in the big bucket. And bringing him down again gently. ('84, I think.)"

Er ... something like this, Jane? I have tried to see whether it's you in the cab in this 1983 shot from Dr Phillpotts (which did appear on the blog in November 2008) but even on high magnification it's hard to see: maybe JP had a taste for riding in the bucket?

These weren't dug up on the hill ...

C-H-M has a dozen people coming to lunch tomorrow and is short of CH inspiration this morning as thoughts turn to the kitchen, so here are some square plates by John Pollex which I found in Hay on Wye at the gallery of the wonderful Sara Bowie that you can enjoy while the stove beckons. Bon Appetit!

Laura leads the way

There was only ever going to be one winner of the "Crickley Hill Most Fabulous Wellington Boots" award: it goes to a young Laura Savage. Here she is stepping forth across the hill by the shelter on an appropriately damp day. Her father keeps a gentle eye upon her progress.

Corky Gregory says "I found a photo of the "little Savage" on site - possibly 1978. I saw a note on the blog saying that she remembers a lot of us from the photo outside the yellow caravan." Laura de la Hoyde wrote about that post (which is definitely 1981): "This brings back ancient memories for me: I was 3 at the time, I'm Richard Savage's daughter, and over my childhood spent many happy hours hanging round annoying people ... at Ullenwood and on site. Happy memories..." So based on Laura's evidence, I reckon this must be a bit later than 1978 and may well be 1981.

Fine drystone wall

I can never get over quite how well the Iron Age ramparts were constructed. The top wall and an intersecting gangbreak between the walls show up nicely in this 1979 picture of Cutting AXVII taken by Anna Behan.

Steve Vaughan's cutting in 1981

Mystifying patterns and holes in the limestone in this 1981 Phillpotts archive view of Steve Vaughan's cutting. Did someone just keep on digging to create the pit behind Maryam Ghaffari or does it just need a good brushing? Also, amongst others, Mike Adams and Bruce.

The view from Leckhampton

Oddly enough, given more than 30 years visiting a certain hillfort, one of C-H-M's omissions has been a visit to the hillfort next door. So it is a delight to find amongst Lara Unger's 1993 photographs this view "from Leckhampton fort towards our camp (which you can just barely make out in the centre". So that's what it looks like over there ...

A meticulous record was kept ...

Dixon 1994: "It is our practice to draw all stones and details down to the size of an old florin (about 30mm across), which is the smallest mark that is reproducible when the 1:20 drawing is reduced to 1:50. ... At present these site drawings occupy rather more than two acres of drawing film. At the height of the season as many as twenty drawing frames are in simultaneous use, in the hands of volunteer diggers. We have found that acceptable drawings can be produced by almost all: instruction, monitoring and the final assembly of the individual squares has been the task of the directors of planning. Once completed, the original pencil drawings are traced in ink and photographed for safe storage and reduction to 1:50 which has proved to be a convenient scale for filing and examination of groups of cuttings during the post-excavation work: at its original scale the overall plan of the site measures more than 16 metres in length, and even in this reduced form would amount to 6 metres by 4 metres in size."

So here's an example of an ink tracing done by Eric van Dorland on 10 and 11 August 1990, of Cutting CII including features 10100 and 10114.

Corky Gregory says: "Just a quick note to add: I can confirm that there are acres of drawings as well as mountains of finds and libraries full of feature books, supervisor's notes, and odd notebooks. In 1983 I went to Nottingham University to help with some of the tons of stuff and was given the task of sorting through the supervisor's notebooks and feature books. By that time a record was being kept of feature numbers and what the feature was. In the early years no feature books existed and the supervisory staff kept journals which included all sorts of interesting data and comments. I believe Robin Hall even gave weather reports for the day's work (it's ****ing it down - having to bale out postholes. Wind is gale force, etc) Those aren't direct quotes but simply how I remember it.

I saw piles of inked drawings plus the originals (even saw one I had drawn in '76 on site). There were walls of boxes of finds boxed according to feature numbers or cuttings/layers. I have blocked out the thought of the soil samples ... Anyway, think of all the diggers that lent a hand in all that stuff ... drawing the stones the size of a florin (Phil needed to use a currency exchange system that Americans and others could understand), tracing drawings (remember the year we tried that on site??), saving, recording, washing, marking and sorting bits of pottery, bone, flint, etc., scrunging dirt to find seeds and snails, brushing dirt off stones for photography, JUST AMAZING."

Work scene 1980

Jane Dineen must have got her magnifying glass out to manage to spot even Naomi Jackson, Philip Dixon (examining) and Anna Collinge in this atmospheric 1980 shot. C-H-M had forgotten a feature of digging when the site is dry and dusty: all diggers face away from the wind to stop the dirt blowing into their eyes: the breeze must have been from the south that day as most people are facing north.

The joining instructions for 1993

Lara Unger has kindly sent me the background information sheet and the joining instructions that she received for the 1993 season.

The background sheet reads:

"CRICKLEY HILL EXCAVATIONS

The twenty-fourth season of excavations will take place between 9 July and 17 August 1993.

The site is on a hilltop of the Cotswolds overlooking the Vale of Severn, with a wide panorama from the Warwickshire uplands to the Black Mountains of Wales. Excavations here began in 1969, and have continued each summer since. Remains of about twenty phases of occupation have been identified, ranging from the Neolithic (c.3000 BC) to the sub-Roman period (c. AD450). In the Neolithic a series of settlements, enclosed by ditches and banks, stood on top of the hill. After repeated attacks they were abandoned, and the site was occupied by ritual monuments - a stone circle and an earthen long mound. Much later, about 500 BC, two successive hillforts with substantial defences were built: each was destroyed by fire. Late in the Iron Age, just before 1BC, the hill was reoccupied, but without defences. After the Roman conquest of Britain the area was farmed, with a country house and a farmstead below the hill. At the end of the Roman period two separate settlements were built inside the old defences, probably during the fifth century AD. Both were burnt, and the hill was abandoned to pasture. An illustrated booklet describing excavations is available, price £2.50 (incl. p&p): please indicate on the form if you wish to receive Village, Fortress and Shrine, and enclose payment with your form.

During the 1993 season we hope to excavate in two areas: to the north-east of the Neolithic settlement, where surface indications suggest the complex rampart structure, and to the north of the western gate of the Neolithic camp, where excavations in 1992 showed an Iron Age roadway.

Accommodation for the team is in the Ullenwood Civil Defence Centre, which is less than a mile from the excavation site. Here we have dormitories for men and for women, washrooms and showers, a dining hall, kitchen and sitting room, and a lecture theatre, together with plenty of space for tents and caravans, set within a former army camp. The accommodation comes with full board (a cooked breakfast, sandwich lunch, an evening meal, and tea and biscuits during the morning and afternoon breaks) for an inclusive cost of £37.50 a week. Vegetarian meals are available by arrangement. We do not like diggers to cater for themselves in the camp, as our experience is that it is very difficult for the digger and distracting the staff, because of the problems of shopping. Lectures about the site and related subjects will be given normally on four evenings each week, and we hope to be able to organise a coach trip to visit monuments in the area during the training week. The excavation is run by a charitable trust and exists only with the aid of donations and sponsorship. All (including the director and staff) are unpaid volunteers. A few grants-in-aid, however, are available for those in special need, to cover part of the cost board and lodging. If you wish to be considered for one of these, please indicate this on your application form. We normally have to limit these to experienced workers.

On site we work six days a week between 9 am and 6 pm. Thursday are free days, when shops are open in Cheltenham and Gloucester. During the Advance period we shall be cleaning the camp and setting up the site huts, and making ready for the excavations. During the rearguard period we should be clearing up and putting away the tools. Note that board and lodging are free to diggers during these periods. Do not worry if you feel unfit: a wide range of jobs is available on site, from heavy digging to recording, drawing and finds processing. We hope that volunteers will be able to gain experience in as many different tasks as possible, and training and advice is provided by the supervisors and staff. Previous experience is not essential, but it takes about a week from the beginning to understand the work: try to join us at least at this period if you have never done before. We can, however, accept weekend-only diggers if they can make it a regular commitment. We are always ready to accept experienced diggers for shorter periods.

Training week: between 1 August and 7 August there will be a special training period, which will run in parallel with the normal digging. During this period those who enrol for training will receive additional lectures and tutorials and fieldtrips, and will be able to accompany the director supervisors at their tasks, in addition to some general digging on site. The cost of the trainees during this period will be £140, including full board and excursions. If you would like to receive further information about this, please indicate it on the application form. Note that during this period the normal digging programme will be available for non-participants in the training week at the normal rate of £37.50 per week.

If you wish to join us, fill in the application form and indicate the day on which you intend to arrive, the first meal you wish to take, and the day (normally the next day) on which you wish to start digging. If you find you enjoy it, you can normally arrange to extend your stay with us. Send your application, together with your deposit of £37.50 (which is your first week's board and lodging) to me at Nottingham, and I will send you a map, joining instructions, and some suggestions about what to bring with you.

Thank you for your interest in our work. Philip Dixon."

Said joining instructions are these:

"CRICKLEY HILL EXCAVATIONS

Dear Lara

Thank you for your application to dig at Crickley Hill between 7 July and ......... We have accommodation/space for your tent/caravan from 6 July to ...........

The Site is above the Air Balloon roundabout (the junction of the upper road from Cheltenham to Stroud with the road from Gloucester, at Nat. Grid Ref. S0934162. Immediately to the NW of the roundabout, on the Cheltenham Road is a sign to Crickley Hill Country Park. Follow the tarmac road up the hill to the Car Park and the Park Information Centre, which is about 100 yards to the east of the excavation site.

Accommodation is in Ullenwood Civil Defence Centre, Greenway Lane, Lech Hampton, Cheltenham, Glos (NGR SO 936174). Greenway Lane is a narrow road on the north side of the road from Cheltenham to the Air Balloon. [Take care not to go to Ullenwood Star Centre, which is an institution to the south of the Cheltenham Road, nor to Ullenwood Manor, which is a private house immediately to the west of Greenway Lane.] At Ullenwood CD Centre we have our dormitories, dining and lecture halls, kitchen and washrooms, and space for camping. Campers use the normal facilities of the Centre. Self catering is strongly discouraged, as there are no local shops. We can provide vegetarian meals. Those who use the dormitories should bring sleeping bags or sheets, or pillows and blankets. If this is difficult, we can supply pillows, sheets and blankets at the cost of their laundry.

Please arrive on the afternoon or evening before your first morning's digging with us. Cheltenham can be reached by coach or by rail. The camp is about 4 miles to the south of the town centre; many walk, since there is no convenient local bus service, but taxis are available: they should cost about £5. When you arrive, come either to the excavations (but not after 5 pm) or to Ullenwood camp, where most times of the day, and certainly after 6 pm, you will find members of the excavation. You should report your arrival at the earliest opportunity to the kitchen staff.

We will provide you with all meals at cost, which will amount to £37 50 per week: this includes a cooked breakfast, sandwich lunch, a full cooked meal in the evening, and biscuits and tea during the morning and afternoon breaks. On Thursdays, our day off, breakfast is confined to cereals/bread and jam, and lunch will not be provided: most of the team will be away in town or visiting on this day. Dinner on Thursdays is normally a cold buffet set out about 6 pm (and sometimes consumed by 6.30). During the rest of the week dinner will be served about 7 pm. In the evening after dinner (normally on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Fridays) there will be lectures for any who are interested on a range of subjects including the weekly site lecture (on Sundays), the background to the site, and problems of archaeological techniques and interpretation. During the week from 1 to 7 August there will be additional lectures in the evening as part of the training week. During this period there will be a field trip by coach; this should cost about £5 or so per head. If you are taking part in the training week this trip will be free, and you will be given your supplementary programme of teaching and site visits when you arrive.

Digging will take place between 9 am to 6 pm daily, except for Thursday. We have an hour after lunch, and tea breaks in the morning and afternoon. Bring warm clothes, which you don't mind getting muddy, and something really waterproof. You will need waterproof footwear (but nothing with heavily serrated soles, which leave marks on the site) and light but comfortable shoes (e.g. old trainers, but not sandals or beach shoes, which give your feet little protection). The weather can be very hot on the hill, and the next day cold wet and windy, and so you may need gloves, sun hat, dark glasses, sun lotion and insect repellent. Most people bring two (old) mugs, one for the site and one of the camp. We have stocks of utensils, but you may wish to bring your own: a knife, fork, spoon, plate, soup bowl. If you do, do not bring anything precious, since things get broken and lost. Unless your hands are already tough you will certainly need surgical spirit and Elastoplast. You may find a kneeling mat or a piece of foam rubber useful. It is certainly softer than kneeling on the rock. You will need a trowel. This should not be gardening tool but a builder's pointing trowel, diamond-shaped, and with a shank forged in one with the blade. They cost from £4 pounds to £15, dependent on the make, and the cheaper ones break very easily. The size is important: 4" or 5" is best; 6" too long. You are advised to mark it as clearly as possible with your name, or paint the handle distinctively, since they are universal tools which people habitually leave lying on the ground, and others pick up. You will need to bring two or more hard pencils (4H or 5H) for drawing and one of normal (HB) hardness for writing, a pencil sharpener, eraser and coloured pencils (red, yellow and blue) for planning.

Medical: for any work which involves digging with the chance of abrasions, a tetanus inoculation is recommended, if you have not already had one. We have an excavation doctor in Cheltenham, and are accustomed to first aid on the site (mostly blisters!). If you have any question about these instructions, please telephone or write as soon as possible: telephone numbers and addresses are given below.

For urgent communications during the period of the excavations contact: Mr R. D. A. Savage, etc. While at Crickley your postal address will be c/o Ullenwood Civil Defence Centre, Greenway Lane, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, Glos, England. There is no telephone at our base (though outgoing calls can be made from a nearby public box). If you wish to contact me during excavation period, please use this address. Some people try to reach me at the University during this period. This is pointless, since I shall not be there. I enclose a map which shows the site, Ullenwood camp and nearby roads, and look forward to seeing you."

One Thursday in 1985 ...

A day off in Cheltenham: this looks like a beautiful sunny day in the Imperial Gardens somewhere adjacent to the beer tent: amongst others, Corky Gregory, Rick Cleal, John Parry, Clive Anderson, Kate Heathcott and Ken Collier. Photo: Dr Phillpotts.

Lunchtime portrait 3

Denise Gosling and Malc White in a lunchtime pose for Jim Irvine. Jim can't recall quite when this was - I'm guessing it's late 1980s or early 1990s. I bet Malc will remember ... clue in the camera model? Malc's beard length? Denise's shirt?

Malc says: "This would have been around 1990/1991. I remember Denise making the T shirt. I was either digging with MK arch. unit at the time or had just started at Cheltenham hospital. Probably the former as I may well have had shorter hair when I went to work at the hospital."

It must have been blowing a Gale: limestone in motion ...

A curious perspective on the Gale family in this 1990 Phillpotts photograph: Julie's legs are top left as John throws a palm-sized piece of limestone into a bucket, which the Chronicler has captured in mid-air. John looks as though he's been buried up to mid-calf of his right leg and is patiently digging himself out, piece by piece.