Archaeological evaluation on land east of Berden Village Hall, The Street, Berden, Essex, CM23 1AE: June 2026

An archaeological evaluation (three trial-trenches) was carried out on land east of Berden Village Hall,
The Street, Berden, Essex, in advance of the construction of a new dwelling. The proposed
development site lies within the historic settlement of Berden, amid numerous cropmark complexes,
some of which indicate the presence of medieval field boundaries. A ringwork motte also lies a short
distance to the south-west; when excavated in the 1950s, it produced evidence of activity during the
12th or 13th centuries. Excavations revealed a ditch which bounded a raised area of the site, to the
south of this feature. While it was thought that this raised part of the site might have represented a
platform for the construction of a building, no structural remains were encountered.