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| 23 September 2011 |
| Finding clay tobacco pipe stems with the maker's name on them is fairly unusual but one has been recovered from Wimpole during the 2011 excavation. This pipe was researched and found to be most probably made in Cambridge by Ann Cleaver (or Cleever) sometime in the mid 19th C. For more information see this article
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| 27th August 2011 |
| We have now finished the survey work on site and the trenches will be filled in next week. The many pieces of yellow ceramic floor tile from the 18th century extension have been kept to allow us to play jigsaws to determin the size of the slabs. More finds have been photographed including these two ceramic balls which could be early 'marbles'. | |  |
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| 24th August 2011 |
| We have yet to finish the site survey, problems with GPS equipment have held us up. Hopefully the site work will be completed this week and the trenches will be backfilled next week. There are still plenty of finds to be washed and identified at Barhill on wednesday evenings. | |  |
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| 16th August 2011 |
| Two weeks after we stopped excavating and we have nearly finished all drawing and photography. This has been the year of the wine bottle, from one context alone there are well in excess of 30 bottle necks of early 18th century date. The photos in the gallery show a very small selection of other finds - more to come soon. | |  |
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| 7th August 2011 |
| We are begining the long task of analysing the finds from this year's excavation. There is a lot of glass, window and vessel, including a nice rim of a glass with an engraved pattern - a poor photo at the moment but we will take some better ones soon. | |  |
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| 1st August 2011 |
| After nine days of excavation we have completed what we had hoped to do this year on Mr Radford's house. There is clear evidence of medieval occupation, pottery and possibly a large clunch chalk wall, replaced by a 17th century timberframed long house on a red brick wall, and then in the early 18th century an extension to the west re-using the earlier clunch foundation. The south end of the 17th cent. house has a brick gable end with an inglenook fireplace. Now comes all the work sorting finds and writing an interpretation. Perhaps now like the 17th cent. occupiers we can have a glass or two of wine! | |  |
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| 30th July 2011 |
| The picture used yesterday showed the red brick wall of the 17th century house. We now think this foundation was re-used, and sits on a large clunch foundation built in the Medieval period. So our house built with red brick walls is now seen to partly overlie an earlier clunch wall. Very nice to see a new member making an interesting find in today's picture. | |  |
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| 29 July 2011 |
| We have now uncovered the massive brickwork of the gable end of the house and and projecting into the room (north) is brickwork forming the east side of an inglenook fireplace. | |  |
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| 28 July 2011 |
| The red brick walls of the 17th century house have been found plus a large extension on the west side built with a clunch wall and clunch under floor (clunch is a hard chalk) layers relating to the underlying medieval house are now appearing. | |  |
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| 27th July 2011 |
| The walls and floors of the 17th century house are now showing and we have discovered a large, slightly later, extension on the western side. New finds include some interesting, hopefully datable pottery.
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| 25th July 2011 |
| We are underway with our excavation and here is one of our early finds, a ceramic ball. Is this a toy or for a board game? | |  |
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| 23rd July 2011 |
| The excavation begins - briefing for diggers on day one. | |  |
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| Excavations at Wimpole Hall |
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| 17th July 2011 |
| The excavation is underway - trenches set out and turf removed on 16th and 17th July. Come and see us from the 23rd to the 31st July. | |  |
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