One project in particular will raise the curiosity of all the history enthusiasts out there. We are proud to announce that we are working with the Friends of SCP and Hampshire County Council Archaeology to start an Archaeology Pilot project. This will be the first community led archaeological excavation to take place in the park and we will be investigating several target sites including lost follies, Victorian structures and other mysteries hidden in the ground.
While our records show that the heart of the estate was well established before Sir George T. Staunton in 1767, there may be some evidence of earlier activities on the site, including Mesolithic, Roman and Medieval. While we don’t expect to find any lost treasures, any everyday artefacts that we uncover may help us to form a clearer picture of Leigh Park Gardens over several centuries.
We’ll be working with the University of Winchester and other groups to share tools and expertise. Look out for our stall at our opening launch picnic on Sunday 11 July. We hope that this project will be the start of many more to come, so watch this space!
