Crowthorne and Sandhurst

A local Sandhurst archaeological project has been awarded a £20,000 grant to explore the site of a Victorian manor in Sandhurst.

Ambarrow Court, Sandhurst had a varied history before it was pulled down in the 1970s, including being used by the Ministry of Defence during the Second World War and the Cold War.

The grant was awarded by the Local Heritage Initiative which is a national scheme which helps groups investigate, explain and care for their local landscape, landmarks, traditions and culture. The initiative is a partnership between the Heritage Lottery Fund, Countryside Agency and Nationwide Building Society.

The project will begin this year with some initial site surveys being carried out by an archaeological contractor. This will help to determine where best to dig.

Most of the work will be done in partnership with four Sandhurst schools in the summer term next year.

Pupils from the Sandhurst schools will become house detectives, tasked with finding out as much as they can about the house and the site history.

Then, in July next year - timed to coincide with National Archaeology Weekend 2007 - the schools will take part in a week long investigation on site.

Over the course of the week each school will spend one day on site. During the day they will have sessions where they will learn about different aspects of archaeology such as excavation techniques, site survey and recording and how to exhibit and display.

The week will culminate in a public exhibition of material relating to the site, anything found during the week and extracts from the children’s diaries. The public will also have the chance to do a little hands on archaeology.

The work done during the week will be marked permanently either with information boards or with the outlines of walls marked out. It is hoped that people who worked at the Sandhurst site when it belonged to the MoD will come forward to help with the project and tell some of their memories.

Heritage officer Agostina Hawkins said: "We hope the project will help us find out more about the site, enthuse pupils about local history and archaeology and encourage cross generational work with people who remember working at the site relating their memories to school pupils."

Cllr Iain McCracken, Executive Member for Leisure and Corporate Services, said: "Having an archaeological dig is a superb way to educate children about our heritage. I look forward to seeing what they have discovered next summer."

Bracknell Forest Borough Council ~ Sandhurst