HS2 work has disturbed battlefield, says historian

Part of the site of the Battle of Edgcote is being used as a temporary soil storage for HS2

A historian said lessons must be learned after the site of a medieval battlefield was disturbed during the construction of a HS2 viaduct.

Part of the Edgcote battlefield in Northamptonshire has been used as a temporary soil storage site for the rail infrastructure project.

Graham Evans, the chair of the Northamptonshire Battlefields Society, said the landscape - which had remained the same since the Battle of Edgcote in 1469 - had been changed "enough to make you cry".

A spokesperson for HS2 said the project took its "responsibility to the historic environment very seriously", adding that "all works have been undertaken in accordance with full planning and heritage requirements".

Mr Evans said that the contractors who moved the soil did so without a full appreciation of the "special issues" arising from working on the site of a registered battlefield.

HS2 said that "all works have been undertaken in accordance with full planning and heritage requirements"

The historian said legislation protecting the heritage assets was "weak" and that if it was strengthened the work would have been deemed as illegal.

He added that he had no criticism of local planners at West Northamptonshire Council who he said had "followed everything to the letter [of the law]".

Mr Evans estimated that a "huge amount" of about 500,000 tonnes of soil - excavated from other sites – would be stored on the site during its use.

He said that this decision meant that context of any artefacts found on the edge of The War of the Roses battlefield - which has never been metal detected - would no longer have any archaeological context as a result.

The Battle of Edgcote was a key milestone in the War of the Roses

Historic England had previously granted registered battlefield status to the site, which means it must be considered during planning, but it does not offer any statutory protection from development.

HS2 said the land had been acquired for temporary stockpile purposes through permitted development rights and that an environmental assessment deemed any impact on the battlefield likely to be "low".

It said it had completed "archaeological geophysical surveys across the HS2 construction area to help identify any below-ground archaeological features".

Mr Evans said a geophysical survey was "inappropriate", and that a metal detecting survey overseen by a battlefield archaeologist was required.

He said: "Using geophysics to find post battle artefacts is like using an X-ray machine to do a blood test."

Mr Evans, who has written a book about the Battle of Edgcote, said the case was evidence of the vulnerability of "these rare heritage assets" and hoped Edgcote would prove "a catalyst for change".

He said: "It [the damage to the landscape] is enough to make you cry if you're someone like me. It's utterly heartbreaking and was avoidable".

What is happening with HS2?

HS2 trains will speed through the south Northamptonshire countryside at up to 225mph (360kp/h)

Work on the 515m (563 yard) Edgcote viaduct for the HS2 project started earlier this year and will carry the new railway over the River Cherwell flood-plain.

HS2 was originally designed to facilitate high-speed rail journeys between London and northern England, but rising costs resulted in the previous Conservative government scrapping the route north of Birmingham.

The newly-elected Labour administration made it clear in the King's Speech that it did not intend to reinstate the section between Birmingham and Manchester.

Construction continues on the London to Birmingham phase, which will feature more than 50 major viaducts.